They Say Opposites Attract

VIII. On The Surface

"And that's the story," my teacher concluded, talking to the one person I had hoped he wouldn't talk to.

I bit my lip, wanting to scream that what he said was wrong. That I would never do such a thing. I grabbed a notepad that I always kept on me and wrote a single sentence on a blank page.

The one who had taken time out of their day to come here, who was none other than my "dad", barely glanced at what I wrote.

ᴛʜᴀᴛs ɴᴏᴛ ʜᴏᴜ ɪᴛ ᴠᴇɴᴛ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟ.

I misspelled a few words because of my shaking hand, but I know that the story was wrong. I meant to hit Faron. Not that boy. It's her fault.

When I didn't get any form of acknowledgement for what I wrote, I bit my lip a bit too roughly and looked at the floor.

Face it. Between a new girl and a teacher, who would be believed?

And worst of all, why did my "dad" come here instead of my mom. Why!? I stood up and tugged on the back of my dad's shirt in hope of getting his attention.

That is to say, I did in fact get attention. I staggered backwards and tripped on the chair that was behind me, hitting my head on the wall behind it. I clenched my eyes shut, the sound ringing in my left ear.

When the pain became a bit bearable, I looked back up at the man who had committed such an action. There's a first for everything, they say.

This was the first time I ever got slapped by the one I should be calling my father.

It didn't take long, but i eventually found myself walking down the main hallway of my school, a few feet behind my dad. He was speaking to me, but I was ignoring every word he spoke.

I know I shouldn't but... there was just t-

"Hm? Is that who I think it is?" A voice called out to me. I stopped walking and turned to see the one other person whose timing is stupidly impeccable.

I glared at Raven, who wore an expression softer than her normal one. She had a hand on her hip as she adjusted her weight to one foot. Her eyes trailed to my neck as they widened. "Oi, kid, who did that to you?"

Confused, I subconsciously raised a hand up and gently touched the wound on my throat. I pulled it away and looked down to find a red metallic substance I was starting to know to a personal level.

I looked at my "dad" to show him the wound. That was a mistake.

"And now you think I'll take sympathy for you," he spoke in a tone filled to the brim with annoyance. "Just because you tried to slit your own throat!?"

The loud voice that rang throughout the hall caught the attention of a few students who were now transitioning to their next class.

N-no. That's not how it is. This is from th-

If I had a voice, I'd surely scream. "Raising a hand against your own daughter," Raven spoke. I looked back up to see her holding her stomach in pain. At that very moment, the whole world drew to a stand still. No one dared to make a single sound.

Raven broke the silence with a cough in pain. "To do such a thing in front of a large audience isn't wise at all." As she said this, the entire hallway burst into murmurs.

Despite the situation, I could tell that most of them were talking about how Raven stood in front of me, instead of letting me take the hit. I looked between the two as their eyes finally met.

I grabbed my notepad and wrote a single sentence on it. I tapped on Raven's shoulder, who looked back at me with a questioning look. She didn't say anything as she read it.

Raven let out a small laugh at that and placed a hand in my hair, rubbing that spot as one would a cat. I couldn't help but smile at that for some reason and looked at her.

"Mine," she whispered before turning to face my dad. "So let me guess, you don't care about her, huh?" Before anyone could say anything further about the subject, Raven let out a small laugh. "I get discipline and stuff like that, but hitting? For a medical reason?"

Raven shook her head at that before grabbing my hand. "On another note, I heard about what happened. And I'll make sure Faron pays for what she did."

Raven says as she starts to walk away, my hand in hers. However, we didn't get far before my "dad" called out to me. I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Why do you lie about stuff?" He asked in a calm voice that made me step backward. "You know that isn't true. You're just trying to get out of your situation."

Raven pulled at my arm in response, but I didn't move an inch. I haven't seen you in so long and yet this is how you treat me? Why?

Why does everyone treat me this way?

Among all of the talking, a single statement stood out.

"Maybe if she wasn't a damn mute, she wouldn't be in this mess."

So it's because I cant speak, huh.

What was it that caused this?

Ah, right.

That.

(Again, sorry for the late chapter. Stick around for the first side chapter later this week!)