Beautifully Broken

4

It's been a week since Jennifer spread her rumors and people have started noticing me again. But not in the way I was used to.

"Mina. How are you?" Cheryl asks. She's another senior of the team and second in command next to Annika.

She keeps in step with me as we walk from the hallway and to the locker rooms.

"Fine, I guess. Nothing unexpected's happening." I reply with a tired smile.

"Does your mom know?" She asks quietly and I shake my head in reply.

"If anything else happens, you have to tell someone. We're here for you." She says, embracing me as we split ways to change.

I hear more buzzing from my phone but have learned not to look at the notifications.

Mina the whore. Instead of Minator we got a Minawhore

No wonder she's such a freak. Her dad's on her

I wonder how many abortions she's done

Baby killer

I flush out the words swirling on media. From anonymous twitter accounts to viral screenshots on Facebook, my name is seen everywhere. The whole school knows. And it's only been a week.

Why did it have to happen this year? Why did it have to happen at all?

Anger swirls inside me as I boil down to the main points. This is all his fault.

I slam my locker which makes the other girls jump.

Cheryl comes back to my side. "Come on, Mina. Let's burn some energy."

I follow her out and do some quick stretching before taking off.

I know Cheryl told Annika about my sudden mood change. I've been having mood swings more often the past week.

I run for two hours straight, no stopping. The newbies stop to watch as I take a break for five minutes and continue running.

"That's our champ for you." Hailey says with a proud smile.

The seniors are cooling off, watching with proud eyes as I slow down on my last lap.

Cheryl, Annika, Naomi and Fallon watch. Hailey's a junior, getting ready to take the lead next year. She might get her popularity dream after all.

I smile as I join the girls for a night off. We head to Annika's house where her mom's got snacks and her dad's out at the grill.

We chill for the night, studying together and talking about random things like we used to.

We avoid the rumor and the horrible topic the whole time. I'm relaxed and feeling better when I arrive at the house. Cole was real kind taking over my shift today.

I run into the backyard, knowing that it's already pretty late, and reach up for the rope when the backdoor opens and the light flushes out the darkness that I could've been hidden in moments before.

"Mina." The deep voice growls.

Oh, no. What could this be about?

I let go of the rope. He never noticed it hanging from it's hiding spot.

He struggles to find me in the dark and I take deep breaths.

"What is it, Ron?" I ask, trying to sound more confident than I feel.

He yanks at my wrist and I almost fall inside. He slams the door shut and I shudder at the sound.

"You told them." He says, anger burning in his eyes.