Fake It Till You Make It

Liars In My Home

Charlie:
My name is Charlie Estevez. I'm 13 years old. I have brown hair, bright blue eyes, freckles by my nose on my tanned skin. I spend a lot of time out in the sun, skateboarding.
"Charlie, get out of the car." Neil tapped on my window, breaking me out of my daydream. He rolled his eyes and walked up the stairs. I flipped him off behind his back. As soon as I got out Billy was already unloading the car and piling boxes onto me. I assumed he was making me carry his stuff in. I did anyways, even though I knew he was being a dick to me. He always is. I walked inside, along with Billy, Mom, and Neil. "Billy, how about you take Charlie out to explore." Neil took the boxes from me and literally dropped Billy's stuff on the floor. "No way, I'm not taking her with me." He scoffed, reaching for his keys, but Neil beat him to them. "You will take your sister out, you hear me boy?" Neil got up in Billy's face. "Whatever." Billy muttered, snatching the keys from Neil and walking over to the door. He turned back when he saw I wasn't following him. "Let's go!" He yelled angrily, and I scrambled out after him. Soon we were speeding off in his blue camaro. "You're not my sister, you know that right?" He looked at me. "What?" I asked, turning away from the window. "You heard me. You're not my sister and you never will be. Dad and Susan will probably get a divorce soon anyways." He mumbled the last part but I still heard him. "I know." I sighed, looking towards the window again. Mom hasn't been able to really settle down since Dad left. She's not the same. I saw Billy shoot over a guilty look, but his face hardened back quickly. He didn't know I could see his reflection in the window. He stopped at a place that had an arcade sign. "I'll pick you up at 8:00. Tell them and you're dead." He blasted his music so I didn't even have time to object. He sped off down the road, probably going to a party or something. I didn't think there would be much to do in Indiana. I walked into the arcade and sat at one of the tables by the entrance. I didn't really feel like playing the games. I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes, just sitting there.
Lucas:
This girl walked into the arcade just my friends and I were about to leave. She was so pretty. She looked about 12 or 13. We were all staring at her since we knew she's new in town. "Hey Lucas, I bet you 5 bucks you won't go talk to her." Dustin grinned at me. "What, you don't think I can talk to her?" I asked, shocked. Sure I could. Mike and Will grinned and shook their heads. "Fine, I'll do it." Without another word I marched over to her table. It looked like she was sleeping. Maybe she was waiting on somebody. I better make this quick. I sat down across from her. "Um, hi." I mentally slapped myself in the face. What a sissy move! Her eyes snapped open and she looked at me. "Those your friends?" She asked without turning around. Smooth. "Uh, yeah. They said I wouldn't come over here and talk to you." I told her. "Well, I guess you proved them wrong. You can leave now." She leaned her head back once again. "Wait, what's your name?" I asked, my knee bouncing in nervousness. "Charlie." She told me. "Oh, I'm Lucas." I smiled. "That's nice." She sighed, closing her eyes. She dressed nice too. White T-shirt with a belt, and blue jeans with black and white converse. "So, are you waiting on somebody?" I clasped my hands together. "Nope." She glanced at her watch. "Still got 3 hours to kill before I get picked up." She told me. "Oh, well maybe my friends and I can show you around town. We can have you back here by 8:00." I grinned. "Whatever." She started getting up, and I eagerly followed. The guys were already on there way over to the door. We all made our way outside, the boys shooting me thumbs up and Dustin giving me a jealous look. But before we even got off the sidewalk, a blue camaro came speeding into the parking lot and stopped beside us. The guy in the car rolled the window down. "Charlie, get in the car."
Charlie:
"I thought you were picking me up at 8:00." I looked at him skeptically. "I didn't ask for your questions, get in the fucking car!" He turned up his music extremely loud and I had no choice but to get in the car with him. I noticed all the boys looked frightened. We left the parking lot and drove down the empty streets. "Those kids you were talking to. Who are they?" He asked more like a demand than a question. "Nobody. They were just gonna show me around." I told him, looking out the window. "Don't talk to them again." He looked at me. "Why?" I asked, staring at him. "Because I'm older, and I said so. You're a piece of shit but I'm stuck looking out for you."
The Next Day:
The first day at Hawkins Middle was finally over. Great. I wasn't thrilled about going to school, especially the same school as Billy, since the middle and high school were connected, but it get's me away from home. And Billy would be giving me a ride. At least that's what Neil says. I walked out of the building carrying two books my teacher said I have to read. I would not be doing that. I was already late for getting the books. Billy would probably be gone by now. As I looked around the empty parking lot for Billy's car, I felt a hard shove on my back. It caught me off guard, and I dropped the books. Thankfully I only stumbled and didn't fall. I turned around to two boys. I recognized them from my second period. They were picking on a boy as small as me. I guess it was my turn. "She's a little thing to be in the eighth grade, don't you think Kevin?" The one with brown hair smirked, then punched me across my jaw. I fell to the ground, my head spinning. I felt the boys weight being put on me and he put his hands on my hair, gripping it tightly. I grimaced. The other one was holding down my legs, and I couldn't move at all. I couldn't help but let a few tears slip out. Him pulling my hair was really starting to hurt. My face stung and my arms hurt from his knees pressed against them. He used one hand to cover my mouth and my screams became muffled. Then I felt his body being hurled off me and the other one got slammed onto the concrete. Someone grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me to my feet. I shut my eyes tight, thinking it was someone else who came to beat me up. "Charlie, it's me." I opened my eyes to Billy in front of me. Billy was the one who saved me? I thought he hated me. "Come on." He helped me to the car. Well, if helping is a strong grip on your arm that made it hurt even more. I was shocked he even came back for me, much less help me from the boys. We started driving for a few minutes before he spoke. "What are their names?" He had a cold tone in his voice, colder than usual. "I-I don't remember." I shrugged. "Don't lie to me, Charlie!" He beat his hands on the steering wheel. He has bad anger issues. "What are their names?!" Billy yelled. "Kevin and Mark." I muttered, rubbing my arm. Billy grabbed my sleeve and yanked it up. A bruise was forming where Mark had been sitting on me. He didn't say anything, just turned the music up full blast and started nodding his head to the music.
The next week, I glanced across the classroom. Mark had a black eye and Kevin had a gash above his eyebrow. Once they saw me looking at them they quickly turned away, burying their faces in the books. Billy. He must have beaten them up before class. In sixth period, I noticed that Lucas boy was in my class. And this class apparently had a substitute all week, so the dumbass teacher made me stand up. "Everyone, this is Charlotte. She came all the way from California!" He smiled. "Charlie." I corrected him. "Pardon?" He looked at me. "It's Charlie. No one calls me Charlotte." I told him in a cold voice. I hate teachers. "Oh. Very well. You can take a seat now." Yeah, that's what I thought, four eyes. I had gotten paired up with the boy I met at the arcade for our science project. Great. Billy would flip if he found out I was hanging out with him, even for a stupid school project. I sat down next to Lucas. "Hey, Charlie." He smiled. I didn't return it. "Hey." I muttered, opening my notebook. "So, who was that the other day? Your brother?" He asked, setting up the microscope. "Step-Brother." I corrected him quickly. "Oh." He nodded his head. "Must be cool in California." He pointed out. I didn't answer him, just started working on the sheet of paper in front of me. I wanted to get this done as soon as possible "So, do you like it here so far?" Jesus Christ, this kid never shuts up. "Nope." I told him in an irratated tone. "Oh, well, you'll get used to it." Still didn't take the hint. Finally the bell rung and I grabbed my books and scurried out of the classroom. He followed me out the front doors of the school. I knew he had to go to his locker first cause I saw him do it yesterday. He didn't today. I spotted Billy leaning on the passenger side of his car, smoking a cigarette. I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. Spinning around, I knew exactly who it was. "Hey, maybe I can show you around town today with my friends. If you're not busy." He walked along beside me. "I am. Another time." I sighed. I just couldn't shake him off. Great, Billy spotted me. "Oh, okay. Tomorrow?" He asked hopefully. "Fine. Meet me around the back of the school tomorrow. Don't go around the front to get there, either." I told him. "Why?" He looked confused. "Because I said so! Now, go!" I shooed him away, frustrated. This kid never knows when to stop! I found out quickly today that he had zero friends, besides the ones he was with at the arcade. Well, I didn't have any either, but still! I finally made it to Billy's car, but he didn't move from the door. "What? I'm not late!" I looked at him, still flustered from dealing with Lucas. "What did he say to you?" He asked, still staring at Lucas who just got in a truck. "Nothin'." I muttered, looking at the ground. Billy started walking around to his side. "Then why are you so upset?" He got in, me following. "I'm not." I put my seatbelt on. "Why do you care, anyways?" I asked, looking out the window. "I told you, Charlie. Dad would kill me if I let you get hurt again. And I'm not getting grounded cause you can't protect yourself." He scoffed. "It's not my fault I'm smaller than everyone else! Trust me, I've been getting that all week. Not one fucking person has left me alone since we got here." I felt hot tears in my eyes. "I hate it here!" I threw my bag on the floor. "People have been giving you a hard time about being small? I thought it was cause you're new." His voice wasn't so cold anymore. "Easy for you to say. We've only been here for a week and everyone loves you. I'm just a freak who doesn't have any fucking friends." Tears streamed down my face and my voice choked up. Why did Dad have to leave and Mom meet Neil, of all people. Billy hates me, Mom blames me for dad leaving, and Neil is giving me hell about every little thing I do. "Listen kid, Let me know who's picking on you and I'll take care of it. Okay?" He put his hands on the steering wheel. "It's everyone, Billy. Everyone. I can't even go to the bathroom without someone holding the door when I try to get out." I bit my lip. "I'm so pathetic-" "Hey, no you're not. I haven't ever seen you cry, you know? You're pretty cool." I looked at him, and he was smiling. I can't believe I used Billy and smiling in the same sentence. "I thought you hated me." I pointed out, since he's told me so many times before. "I don't- I don't hate you, Charlie. It's just, I don't know. Tell anybody and I'll kill you." He turned his music up and drove out of the parking lot. "I'm dropping you off at the arcade." He told me. "What? Why?" I looked at him. "Cause I'm meeting with a hot babe. I might pick you up later." And there he was, back to his cold self. He seems bipolar. I guess he has to be extra mean to make up for the 2 minutes of being nice to me. Or, maybe, he was just being sarcastic the whole time. I walked inside the arcade by myself and walked up to a basketball machine. I felt a tap on my shoulder after about 3 long games of basketball. "Sorry. We were wondering if you wanted to come back to our house." Take a big long guess who it was. Lucas and his nerd friends! I glanced at my watch. 8:00. Wow, I've been playing for a long time. I guess Billy isn't coming back for me. And I forgot my skateboard in his car. "You could come with us to my house, if you want." The one with the bird looking face said. "Yeah, okay." I lightly smiled. "Hey, that's the first time I've seen you smile." Dustin pointed out as we walked out of the diner. "I don't like smiling." I stuffed my hands in my pockets. I really don't smile that often. Neil and Billy probably have never seen me smile. "How come?" He sounded shocked. "I'm not telling you that. Don't want you to pick up my habits." I muttered, but he heard me. Soon we got to his house, and we all went into the basement and sat on a couch. There was another girl that a guy went over to talk to. She had a shaved head. "Oh! I forgot to introduce you to my friends. This is Dustin, Will, Mike, and El." Lucas smiled brightly. How could he always be so happy? "So, were you waiting on your step-brother again?" Lucas poured himself a glass of water from a mini fridge and sat down next to me. "Not really. I'm not sure if he was even coming back for me." I shrugged. "He just left you there? By yourself?" Dustin asked. "Yeah, why?" I didn't think it was a big deal. "Well, some things have been happening around here lately. We've all been carrying pocket knives." Mike told me. "Yeah, sure. I'll just take one of Billy's." I told them. I most definitely wouldn't be taking one of Billy's. He literally threw me out of his room once cause I came in without knocking. Understandable, but his music was way too loud for him to even hear me. How else was I supposed to tell him his breakfast was on fire in the kitchen that he was "cooking". "That brother of yours sure is something." Will spoke quietly, leaned up against the couch. "He thinks he's all big and bad. Really, he's a physco." I told him, clasping my hands together. "How come you wanted me to meet you around the back of the school when I was gonna show you around?" Lucas asked me. I sighed. "Billy told me not to talk to you. Any of you." I played with my thumbs. "Why?" All the boys asked. "Cause, I don't know. Billy's just like that. He's always in charge of me. Always. Especially now that we're family. He told me "You're a piece of shit but I'm stuck looking out for ya" He probably just thinks since you're all guys then you're bad. His dad, Neil, he treats him like shit. He sees Neil in every guy, I guess." I don't know why I was telling them my personal life and Billy's, but I felt like I could trust them. "Does he hit you?" Will asked quietly. "Who, Neil?" I asked, looking at him. He nodded, but before I could answer, El spoke up. "Yes." She said abruptly, and we all looked at her. How does she know that? All the boys looked at me. I didn't need their pity. "It's not a big deal." I told them, but before they could answer, I got up. "Hey, I gotta go before Billy beats my head in. I'll see you guys around school." They all said bye to me as I walked out the door. I knew I was in deep shit if Billy came back to the arcade and I wasn't there. His car wasn't in the driveway. The screaming match Neil and Mom were having was louder than Billy's music he plays in his car. When I walked in, I saw my mother on the floor, holding her cheek. Neil was standing over her, his hand raised for another hit. I've never seen Neil hit Mom. Only Billy sometimes and me twice for talking back to him. Billy doesn't know he hit me. He wouldn't care. Without thinking, I ran up behind Neil and pushed him. He stumbled away from my mom, but didn't fall. He quickly shoved me into the glass wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. I fell straight through it, glass cutting up my face and hands. Neil grabbed my mother and stormed out the door. I heard the car driving away. I picked myself up from the glass surrounding me and went into the bathroom. There were little scratches on my face after I cleaned myself up. Oh well. I picked up all the glass that I could see from the wall. Billy probably wouldn't even notice it was gone. I went to bed after that, wishing Mom would divorce Neil and we could leave this place.