Haunted by the mantra "I'm nobody," I echoed these words in my mind, feeling as though my entire existence revolved around catering to the happiness of others. Despite having friends, a constant undercurrent of self-doubt lingered, as if I were an anchor holding them back. In the shadow of my brother Adam's fame with the renowned band Three Days Grace, I was the family's black sheep, an outcast in our town.
My academic prowess and hardworking nature seemed to count for naught, dismissed by my father as failure. Even my past relationship revealed a cruel truth - I was a mere experiment for my ex-boyfriend's infidelity. While my brother Adam basked in the heroics of our town, I felt cast aside, deemed a potential threat to other teens and shunned like a contagious disease.
Despite my pleas for help falling on deaf ears for years, my existence seemed insignificant, unnoticed. The reflection in the mirror, one last look before I just contemplated ending it all, reflected a soul weary of pleasing others at the cost of my own emotions. With black lipstick, I scrawled a poignant question on the mirror: "Are you happy?"
In the final, desperate act, as I pushed myself to the brink, a rush of relief mingled with the pain. Yet, as I succumbed to the darkness, a familiar voice called my name, disrupting the silence. Awakening to a hospital room, my feet tied to the bed, a blond-haired, blue-eyed figure lay by my side, a silent sentinel. Even in my darkest moment, he defied my wishes, standing vigil over the remnants of a life I sought to escape. The tangled web of emotions unfolds as I grapple with the unexpected second chance, questioning whether the bonds of love and resilience can conquer the shadows that once consumed me.
Any party I go to, the plan has always been the same thing. Drink, get high, dance, make my friends stop me from doing something crazy like stripping in public, the list goes on. With my rusty red hair, I easily made the creatures with dicks flock all over me like I was their mama duck.
In that area, there were three Fs I followed strictly by.
Flirt.
Fuck.
Flee.
Simple.
Despite my friends never hesitated to name me an alcoholic, I made sure not to drink too much so that the moment dawn reached, I was gone. So they wouldn't have the opportunity to either want more, or beat me into leaving first. I cringed at the first one, and was terrified of the second. I hated being left alone so I did it to others. So tell me how on earth in all my twenty-seven years of being on this earth, I woke up with a stranger in my car?
The little dimple faced dude from last night's gender reveal party was in here, by my side, and was...
AWAKE.
With the most disturbingly cynical smile I had ever laid my eyes on.
What the hell?
And guess what was the first thing he said to me.
"Who knew noble-births liked fucking in a parking lot? Nice tits by the way."
SLAP!
I found my palm on his stunned cheek.