Fly Away (OLD VERSION)

Chapter 36 - Surprise

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My eyes fluttered open, taking in the light that began to flood in from my window. I checked the time. 10:03 am, Saturday, April 3 my phone read. 

There were a lot of other notifications on my phone, but I decided against opening them. 

Eh, I'll just do it later. 

Why are you so lazy, Raven? whined my conscience. Come on, open Snapchat, you know you want to.

I internally rolled my eyes. Later. I really want to get rid of this morning breath. It's gross. 

Fine.

Yawning, I threw my covers off my body and rolled out of bed. It felt like just another typical Saturday until realization struck.

Today is my birthday. 

Today, I turned seventeen years old. 

I flipped the switch in my bathroom, turning on my light. I looked back at the girl in the mirror, my reflection.

My deep blue eyes stared back at me. Long, straight black hair that falls down to my waist, complementing my lightly tanned skin. I used to have a thinner frame because I lost my appetite from my former days of torment, but now that I've stuck to my commitment of taking care of myself, I've been eating a healthy amount. I noticed that by build was starting to slightly fill out more with muscle from working out and the slight amount of fat that naturally comes with overall weight gain. My cheeks are no longer hollow, my eyes have a happy glint that never used to be there. 

Until now. 

Until my life was finally content, just like I've always dreamed. 

Of course, it's not perfect - nobody's is - but I'm no longer spending every waking moment wishing for death which is the peace that I needed.

A year ago, even before the car accident, I wasn't even sure I'd make it to seventeen. Even though my school life before was tolerable, my home life tormented me every single day. 

My mom divorced my father when I was twelve after realizing how emotionally abusive he was. She used to blame it on herself - and sometimes even me. She took the blame, constantly apologizing for mistakes she never made just to keep him from harming her or me. 

It's funny how one can be so blinded by love. 

She thought he was only being emotionally abusive, which she thought she could handle. It only got almost unbearable when he was drunk, and he would spew countless insults and verbally bash the two of us.

My mom thought that was the only thing he did to me, and she would occasionally reassure me that it was just him being a jerk.

Unbeknownst to her, my father started hitting me when I was eight.

She found out three years later. 

I had to lie about how I got bruises and the occasional cut. I knew she didn't believe me, but she didn't know what else to do. 

"Raven. You'd better not fucking tell anyone, even your mother, about this. You know what's going to happen," he would warn after he finished beating me. 

He swore that he would make me watch as he killed my mother, before ending my life as well.

So I never told a soul.