How long will I love you

Chapter 1

I force my sore red eyes open and squint to see the time on the clock next to my bed. It's too early for my liking, but I get up anyway. I feel the aching lump on my cheek and remember the awful night I had last night. My muscles quickly tenses up as a bolt of pain rips through my spine. I swing one leg over the side of my bed and stand up. I walk to my bathroom on the other side of my room and look into the mirror. My bruise is purple and swollen up more than any concealer could ever hide. I start to remember what happened and it makes my head start to hurt just thinking about it.
The heart-renching memory should have never happened if it weren't for Alex. She is my best friend and my only friend. Alex meant well but it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. She insisted I get out more and go to a party with her. Unforgivingly, I decided to go. It wasn't terrible at the beginning and I was actually excited with my outfit that surprisingly looked good for once. But, I didn't know anyone at that party except for Alex and Brook. Brook is the meanest girl I have ever met. She is the type of girl that will 'accidentally' trip you in the lunch room and then laugh as your drink explodes in your face and takes a picture to show her friends (well, the people who kiss her ass for her). Anyway, Brook's boyfriend was being nice and got me a drink after he saw me all alone in the corner of the room on my phone. He offered me a drink and asked if I wanted to hang out with him and his friends, but Brook must of gotten super jealous of me. I don't even like Eric at all and she knows that! She came over to me and asked to talk with me privately.

I walked outside with her and she did something I would never have thought she was capable of. She got me right in the jaw line with a powerful punch. The force hit me so hard that I stumbled back and grabbed my throbbing face. In between blows, I remember looking at one of my hands and there was blood. I was mad and ready to fight back. I was determined to get revenge. I remember people running over to film the action, but not a single person helped me. Brook is a lot taller than me so she had an advantage on me during the fight. She got closer and punched me for the second time except this time on the side of my head. My vision in one eye started to get blurry and it stung from the blood and sweat falling down my face. The third hit came a second after, but this time went right into my stomach. I felt sick, but I was fed up with her so I ran at her. I grabbed both of her wrists tightly and dug my nails deep into them until she started screaming for me to stop. I let go but I didn't stop. Forcefully, I shoved her to the ground and she landed with a loud thud as the air got knocked right out of her. I lunged forward and pinned her forearms down with my knees as I pressed her shoulders into the mud resulting in bloody handprints on her white, slutty dress. I looked up and I remembered that there was a giant crowd of people watching. I looked back at Brook and wanted to finish her off, I but didn't. Now that I am looking back at the event, I regret my decision greatly. For some reason, I let go of her shoulders and my blood dripped down onto her face making her start crying again. I pushed my self up but I stepped on her hand so she couldn't get up right away. Her cheeks were stained with tears while mine were stained with blood. I turned my back and pushed my way through the crowd of people to go find Alex. I saw Alex flirting with this one guy like she didn't have a clue what happened. I grabbed her arm and we left just like that. I never looked back.

What happened last night is burned in my mind. I feel like I can't show my face ever again. I shuffle through my drawers and pull out a black hair tie. I lean closer to the mirror and start pulling my light pink hair off my sticky wounds. I pull my matted hair into a messy bun and fling a towel over the shower door after turning the water on high. I close my bathroom door and strip of my clothes. I frown at the ugly face I see in the mirror and prepare myself for the pain of the water in my cuts and wounds. I already have clothes picked out that are sitting on the closed toilet seat. I cautiously climb into the steaming hot shower and wince at the shocking pain. I don't know what I will tell my mom or my little brother. Sam is the sweetest little boy ever. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He just turned 7 last month. When he was 1 year old, he was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma which is a type of cancer. Sam will most defiantly ask what happened to my face, but I don't know what I am going to tell him.
***

After my quick shower, I go into Sam's bedroom to wake him up. It's my routine every single morning to help get him ready. I am pretty much his mother figure. Our real mom has been having trouble lately trying to get over the fact that my dad is fighting on the front line. She fell into depression and is addicted to drinking, especially the giant bottles of Bailey's. Instead of helping me save up for college, all of her money pretty much is spent on alcohol or painkillers.
I tiptoe across the hardwood floor in the hallway to go to Sam's room. I crack the door open and turn on the small lamp in the corner of his bedroom. In its dim light, I sit down on the side of his bed and rub his back softly.
"Sam, it's time to get up," I say gently to him. He rustles into a sitting position and raps his tiny arms around my neck.
"Good morning Abby," he manages to let out with a big yawn.
"Good morning sleepy head, " I smile down at him and hug him tightly.
" Do you need my help this morning to get your stuff together or do you want to try and do it yourself today?" I ask him. Lately, he has been trying to get ready on his own but he has trouble a lot of the time. We've been working on it every morning.
" I want to try on my own!" His face lights up with a big grin as I chuckle.
" Go for it! I will be down stairs making breakfast and you know what to do if you need me," I rub the top of his head and stand up to exit the doorway. I close his door behind me and go down stairs. I tear open all the drawers until I finally find some bread, peanut butter, and jelly. I toast the bread so it is a little bit crunch and slide jelly and peanut butter all over it. The second one I make is for me, but it has no peanut butter as I'm allergic. Instead I replace the peanut butter with the JetPuff's marshmallow spread. I pour two glasses of milk and set our breakfasts on the kitchen table.
"Hurry up bud! We can't be late to the first day of school silly!" I playfully remind him.
I hear loud thuds pound the stairs and I know without looking that he is upset about something.
"Abby," he calls for me not leaving the bottom of the stair." I can not find my other shoe," he looks at me in distress.
"I'm coming, did you look under your bed? You might of accidentally kicked it under," I reply trying to help him
"Okay I will look,"

He comes running back down the stair satisfied and sits down for breakfast.
"What happened to your face Abby? Are you okay?" I look at him and desperately trying and think of so thing fast.
"Well, I was at a friends house last night and I accidentally slipped and hit my head in the corner of the table," I hope he bought it.
"Oh, I'm sorry," and he did!
"I will be alright, just eat so we can get going,"I reply after swallowing my last bite.
I take my phone out and start scrolling through my unread messages. Nothing important shows up on my screen. I hear a door slam and my mom comes thundering down the stairs. She has a not to pleasant look on her face and is holding an empty beer can. Oh gosh, what now?
I quickly stand up and before she gets close enough to hear me, I grab Sam's arm and tell him to wait for me outside. After he is gone, I turn and face my mother.
" It's the morning, how could you still be drinking?!" I ask angrily
"I..." As she obviously has drunk to much and has hic-ups.
" I am not drinking that much, really. I'm throwing my trash away." Yeah right mom...
" We'll next time, wait until Sam and I are already gone because I don't want that innocent boy around a drunk," I say super pissed off. She looks at me as if she is in disbelief and walks away. I storm out the front door and stop before I get into my car. I take a deep breathe so Sam doesn't know that I'm angry and crawl into the drivers seat. Sam is in the back playing on his gameboy as I pull out of the driveway.