Bind Me To You

Chapter Two

Avery always waited to be the last person to leave the bus. Prolonging the amount of time she had to spend inside the walls of West Lakeshore High was all she could do. Ethan walked past her seat first, followed closely by Paige. As Paige turns to exit the bus, the smile that she had held earlier was now nowhere to be seen, replaced with a disgusted scowl as she looked towards the blonde still seated next to the window. Avery simply looked down. By now you would think she would be used to seeing that expression, but that was far from the case.

Avery stared out of the bus window. She wasn't ready to face the crowd of strangers who all looked at her with the same eyes. Disgust, pity, loathing. Each pair of eyes brought with it a heaviness that weighed in her stomach, building up over the weeks to make her feel as though she was hauling around weights on her ankles and wrists. She felt trapped when she was in those walls, surrounded by shadows that haunted her.

She was never in a hurry to get to class. She had no friends here and she wasn't given much of a chance to make any before she became Paige's target. Nobody was waiting for her, nobody but the silhouettes of people that were ready to make her feel worthless and alone.

The door to her locker was wide open as she reached it. Books scattered over the concrete hallway floor. Despite Avery's best efforts she felt tears begin to pool in her eyes again as she bent down to begin gathering her items. As she reached for her Physics book, a heeled boot came down, trapping it on the ground.

"What's up Avie-Wavie" Paige taunted as she ground Avery's book into the floor. Avery raised her gaze to look at Paige's chin, not daring to meet her eyes. "Dropped your stalking notes?". Addison; Paige's best friend and captain of the soccer team, gave a throaty laugh as she began kicking at the pages that covered the floor, sending them flying up in a whirlwind.

Avery remained silent and began to pick up her other books, carefully avoiding Paige and Addison's feet. A heel quickly came down on her knuckles and a small screech of pain erupted past her lips. She looked up at Paige and saw that her expression had twisted into a foul scowl.

"Are you ignoring me, you bitch?" She growled, putting all of her weight onto her toes and twisting her boot back and forth. Avery winced, trying not to let her bully get what she wants - tears and begging. "Paige, the bell's going to go" Addison says, nudging the brunette's elbow. Paige huffs, "See you later, slut". The click of their heels filled the halls as the duo quickly retreated, the sound of the first bell filling the halls after them.

The small crowd that had gathered around the scene slowly began to disperse. Avery always wondered why nobody ever tried to step in. Was she really that worthless of an existence that nobody felt the need to help her? A sob escaped her lips as she dropped the books that she had collected back onto the concrete floor, her hands lifting to cover her face as she cried.

She had already regretted all of the missed opportunities to stay home. She wasn't ready to face this again after a week of playing sick. It was too much. The small glimmer of hope that maybe things would be different fizzled out like a flame reduced to embers. A week away from this nightmare had changed nothing.

_____

The look on Miss Edal's face as Avery slunk into religion five minutes after the bell had rung was one of disappointment and exhaustion. Avery was ready for her to say something but the teacher simply sighed and continued on with her lesson.

"Can someone please tell me whether the archangel Michael plays a role in the process of passing from this world to the next?" She asks as Avery takes a seat at an empty desk towards the front of the class. "Anyone?" The teacher loudly asserts, leaning against her desk with an inquisitive expression.

"No", She answers, "The bible says nothing about his involvement with this kind of 'Grim Reaper' role. However..." she begins, strolling across the front of the classroom, "Other religions such as Judaism suggests that there is a specific entity that plays this role. The 'Angel of Death' - Azrael. Although, this name cannot be found in the bible, and there is no mention of any other entity with a similar role".