Complicated

Gym Class

Riley's POV

"Maya, wanna walk to gym class together?" I caught up with her in the hallway.

I know she usually skips, but I still asked in hopes she would say yes since I haven't seen her around in a couple days.

"Sure," she said nonchalantly to my surprise.

"So, how have you been?" I asked.

"Good, how about you?"

"Good," I awkwardly said. "How have your mom and Shawn been? I heard they may be moving."

"I don't know, I haven't seen either of them since last week," she shrugged. "My dad made it really clear he didn't want Shawn around."

"I'm sorry," I put my arm around her.

"It's fine," she sighed, but I could tell she wasn't fine with it.

We made it to the locker room and I started changing into my gym uniform.

"Aren't you gonna change, Maya?"

She was just sitting on the bench on her phone.

"No, I've got a note from my 'doctor'," she said with air quotes.

She went into the small compartment in her book bag and searched around for it. She then went into all the other compartments and folders she had and didn't find it anywhere.

"Fuck!" She yelled punching one of the lockers causing a loud bang and leaving a big dent.

"Holy shit," she mumbled holding her fist in pain, the same one she used to punch the mirror at the beginning of last week.

Her hand was a little red, but nowhere near how it looked last week.

Maya's POV

"Um, can I skip this class?" I asked the teacher in his office.

"Why? Do you have an injury?" He asked.

"My hand is...very red," I came up with.

"It looks fine to me," he said.

"It's that time of the month," I then whispered.

"Nice try, Miss Hart. Get changed, class starts in five minutes," he said before going back to his paperwork.

"Is he letting you skip?" Riley asked when I came back.

"No, fucking bastard," I  spat.

I stood there holding my gym clothes in my hand, too afraid to change into them.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked me.

"Don't you know, Riley?" Two girls came up to us. "She cuts," one said.

"No, I don't," I said trying to stay calm.

"Yes, she does," the other joined in. "Why else would she be afraid to change in the locker room?"

"Maybe she's afraid of looking like a beached whale," the first one mocked.

"I still think she cuts," the other said, pushing me into the locker making me bubble over the edge.

"You wanna see what I'm hiding?" I screamed in the girls' faces, a crowd of girls forming around us to watch the scene unfold.

I angrily pulled my sweatshirt off, revealing cuts and bruises, new ones and old ones alike.

Riley's POV

She then ripped off her shirt, leaving her only in her bra. Even more bruises covered her stomach and her back was littered with cuts and scars.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" Maya screamed at the two girls who had been mocking her that were now scared and backed up against the lockers.

Everyone else around us watched in silence, pitying Maya when she broke down sobbing.

"Maya, what happened?" I wrapped my arms around her small frame, tears falling down my cheeks.

"Shawn took me out to breakfast Tuesday morning and again on Wednesday," she cried. "My dad lost it. He was hitting me with his belt and throwing beer bottles."

"Shh," I stopped her. "You don't have to say it," I tried calming her down, everyone else still watching not knowing what to do except for one girl who went and got a teacher.

"Everyone, leave," the teacher said to the other students.

Maya had calmed down to the point where she wasn't sobbing. We were sitting on the ground and I was rocking back and forth with her in my arms.

"Miss Matthews, Miss Hart, please come with me," the teacher said sympathetically.

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