Baby

Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Nightmares 

unedited 

TW: BULLYING/ABUSE

"You're such a freak, Baby." Sarah and her posse of girls catch up to me in the hallway after dinner. I always tried to ignore her but I guess it caused her to be angrier. Suddenly an hand grabbed onto me and dragged me into the janitors closet. Another hand was placed over my mouth. There was nothing I could do at this moment. If I resist, they were to hurt me worse. "You're a lowlife Baby. I don't know why you're still alive. Please do everyone a favor and kill yourself." It kept on going. Punches after punches. On some day's it felt like an eternity till they were done with me. Today were one of those days. Finally, after a while, it came to a sudden stop. The headmasters voice came through softly on the other side of the door. All the girls started to scatter out the room, all except Sarah. Before leaving, she turned to me one last time. "One day, Baby, if you ever find yourself somewhere other than here or six feet underground, just remember my face, and remember that you'll never be anything other than a waste of space and oxygen. No one will ever love you. You are and will always be alone."  Then, in an instant, she brought her foot to my face as hard as she could. My vision faded immediately, and I just laid there for a couple hours, unable to move, before anyone found me. 

My body tensed, jolting me awake and sending me upright on the bed. Instinctively, I wiped the beads of sweat away from my forehead. Sighing, I grabbed my phone from under my pillow and checked the time. It was three in the morning.

Glancing over at Beverly, I saw that she was blissfully asleep. Frustrated and restless, I pushed the covers off me, feeling a chill as my feet touched the cold floor. "Jesus," I muttered to myself. "Is it always this cold?" 

I found myself in the community bathroom, the cold air from the hallway lingering around me. Making my way to the sinks, I turned the faucet and splashed water on my face, trying to wake myself up from the remnants of the nightmare. 

My reflection in the bathroom mirror revealed a disheveled appearance - dark bags under my eyes and a damp, sweat-soaked shirt clinging to my back. I muttered a bitter curse under my breath. "Fuck you, Sarah."

Looking back, I had to admit that I once believed her manipulative words. I thought that without Baby Sinclair, there would be less trouble for those around me. It was only when I started to focus on myself and my education that I began to see through her malicious lies. No way, I was going to let her have the last laugh. Over my not dead body.

As the sound of the door opening startled me, my gaze jumped to the left to find Selina standing there, her face adorned with a warm smile.

"Oh, hey!" I replied, trying to match her cheerful demeanor despite feeling like a mess.

As we exchanged words, I chuckled lightly and admitted, "You startled me."

Selina then asked, "What are you doing here at three in the morning?"

I replied, "Couldn't sleep. What about you?"

She confessed, "Same. I get really homesick sometimes."

A wry smile tugged at the corners of my lips, and in thoughts, I mused. Not me. The sound of footsteps from outside the bathroom suddenly snatched my attention. Why were we all awake at such an odd hour? 

My curiosity piqued, I decided to check who was coming. I pushed the bathroom door open and peeked out into the hallway. No one was in sight. Odd.

"Who's there?", Selina inquired as she flushed the toilet and headed towards the sink.