Two Kinds of Fighters

CH 3

I wake to my alarm blaring. I didn't dream of the beach like I normally do but, instead I had nightmares of the different things Rex could do to me now that he knew what my life was like. I slammed my fist on the old alarm clock making the noise stop. I don't have a phone so father bought me this to wake me up for school.

I got about two hours of sleep but, that was actually quite normal for me. I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed. I grabbed my one hoody and put it on. I wore it everyday to school.

I was ready in twenty minutes. I am not allowed to eat breakfast so my morning goes by fast. I walk to school. Its about half a mile away from my house.

I don't want to go to school today but, that is a much better alternative then dealing with my father.

I arrive at the front gates sooner then I would have liked and adjust my hood so it covers most of my face. I try to keep it that way as much as possible. During class though teachers make me take it off.

I walk to my locker and get what I need. I then quickly walk to my first period. I try to stay out of the halls as much as possible. I get to first period which is history and take my normal seat in the back coner.

People slowly trickle in. I was the first in here like usual. I stare at my desk thinking about everthing that happened last night when I hear someone sit in the seat right next to me. No one usually sits in that seat. I hesitantly glance over and see Rex. My hood is still hiding most of my face and I don't make eye contact. I quickly look down. The teacher still wasn't here which meant students were still talking.

"Hi."

Did Rex just say hi to me?

He did! What should I do? I guess I can say hi back if I don't he'll probably get mad.

I glance up but don't make eye contact and quietly say, "Hi."

He smiles slightly which looks quite good on him. He is extremely good looking. He's quite tall which can be a little scary and he has a lot of muscles which is really scary. My father barely has any muslces and he is able to hurt me a lot. I can only imagine how bad it would hurt if Rex hit me. But, he has the sweetest eyes, they hold kindness and he almost seems gently when I look at his eyes.

Wait, I'm making eye contact with him! Right when I notice that I flinch back remembering what happened the last time I looked into his eyes.

"Are you ok?" Rex asks.

No I'm not ok. I'm never ok and I'm never going to be ok.

But, I whisper "yes."

The teacher walks in just as the bell rings. He sits at his desk and starts roll.

"Rex" he looks to where his usual seat is and starts to write absent when Rex speaks up from beside me and says "Here." The teacher jerks his head to where Rex is and looks puzzled but just shakes his head and marks here next to Rex's name.

"Alexis," he looks at me when he says my name and then says, "Hood off Miss Alexis. I don't know why I have to tell you this every class."

I roll my eyes under my hood and then push it back. I keep my eyes down because people always stare when my hood is off and I know its because of my horrible hair cut but it makes me feel uncomfortable. I can feel Rex's eyes on me for a while before I can't bear it anymore and glance over at him. He is staring directly at me.

He looks at my eyes and then looks away. I ask, "what?" and he snaps his head so fast it actually made me flinch because of the sudden movement. I cant help the flinching. That's what happens when you are beat every day since you were nine.

He whispers, "sorry." He doesn't talk loud because the teacher is giving a boring lecture and he probably doesn't want to get in trouble. I whisper back, "Why were you staring at me?"

He just looks at me for a moment before replying, "You cut your hair?" But it sounded more like a question then a statement.

So, I answer him as if it was a question and say, "yes, I cut my hair."

"But why" Rex asks.

I shake me head and look away from him and start taking notes.

Rex doesn't say anything to me after that. The bell rings shorty after and I pack my things and start heading to my locker. It is still hard to walk upright and it will be for a long time. The gashes on my back are deep and they needed stitches but all I could do was cover them with bandages. I can't wear my book bag on my back for obvious reasons so I just drag it beside me. I didn't notice Rex until he was standing by my locker and I started to lean down to open my book bag and hissed in pain and Rex grabbed my bag and said, "what did you need taken out of your bag?" I had to take a moment to collect myself after the pain that just shot through my knees and finally say, "I just need to exchange my history book for my English one." He just nods and does what I said.

I can't help but wonder what he is doing talking to me. Why isn't he telling the whole school about me being a whore? I start to tear up when I realize he must think I'm disgusting. A tear falls down my check.

Rex looks back at me when he closes my locker and frowns when he sees me crying. I'm not crying a lot just a few tears and then I will collect myself once again. He's about to speak when I hold my hand up. I start putting one finger down at a time and wipe my tears by the time I get to one I'm not crying anymore and I have a neutral look on my face.

I then look back at Rex and he looks confused and actually quite sad. I pipe up, "sorry about that. It doesn't happen that often but, when it does I just need five seconds to calm down."

He just nods and turns to our next class still holding my bag.