Pyrophobia

Arsonphobia

Chapter one

I was twelve when it happened. I considered it the worst day of my life thus far. The house fire killed my baby brother and left me with burn marks on my back and side. My parents were left unharmed, besides the broken heart from the loss of their son. The amount of therapy and counseling didn’t help my new fears; Myctophobia and Arsonphobia (Considering the fire happened while everyone was asleep; it was only natural I was afraid of the dark).

I was a monster, I never wore tank-tops or swimsuits; I had to hide the marks. I blamed myself for my brothers death, no matter anyone’s words that tried to tell me differently, I never even told anyone what had happened in that room of his.

I kept to my close group of friends, never going out of my comfort zone. Many people knew about the fire, but the loss of Dawson was kept hidden from pubic. No one knew about my scars, or my brother, besides my closest friends. They were there for me in a time of need, and I couldn’t ask for anything else.

Senior year is supposed to be fun, right? It’s been six years and nothing bad has been brought up about my past. If anything was brought up, I didn’t hear about it.

After my nightly nightmare, unfortunately for me was only just a memory, I woke up and got ready for the first day of school.  My shoulder length red hair was straight, my face was make-up-less and my brown eyes didn’t pop out. This was how I liked it best, when I was unnoticeable. 

“Melinda Rose, you better hurry down here!” My father demanded from the living room. I snapped out of my thoughts and ran to my bed, grabbing my shoes underneath it as I rushed down the hall and to the front door.

“Be safe, don’t do drugs, don’t go skipping class and-”

“Make all the right choices, dad. I get it, now can we hurry; I don’t want to be late on the first day!” I pleaded, not wanting to hear his yearly ‘back to school’ lecture. He mumbled something under his breath but continued to grab the keys off the side table and open the door for me. I slowly walked to his car, my back slightly stinging from the scars once I sat down. My dad, Grant, noticed my slight wince as he proceeded to take out a couple pain killers and the emergency water out of his glove compartment. I greatly took them, slighting giving him a reassuring smile as he put the car into drive and drove away.

I looked out the window, watching the trees pass by and a lone bicyclist on the side walk.

“Melinda, if anything happens or you’re hurting just give your mom or I a call and we can come get you, do you understand?” I nodded my head as he pulled into the front of the school, putting the car in park while I grabbed some things. My burns will always burn or be sore at random times. The doctors said I had a high chance of skin cancer; I should go back in if I felt any unusual pain. As you can tell, my parents were very protective.  

My dad gave me an awkward side hug as he unlocked the door so I could get out; I walked into the brick school building I will be spending the next ten months in.

“Mel!” I heard Toni shout as I was grabbing my schedule. With the extra attention she brought upon me, I just gave her a smile.

“Oh, look, if it isn’t poor Melinda.” Someone said beside me. I looked up at them a little confused as they just laughed and walked away with some of their friends.

“Thanks for ignoring all my calls!” Toni said as she caught up to me.

“I’m sorry; you know how I feel about summer Toni.” I said, looking at the ground as I walked towards my locker. I absolutely hated summer; the warm weather and all the offers I got to hang out with friends at the beach or just down town. I always locked myself in my room, not wanting to wear anything besides long sleeved shirts, and definitely not swimsuits at the beach. Toni gave me a small guilty smile instead of saying something back. None of my friends have seen my scars and I plan on keeping it that way.