Chapter2

#Chapter2

He rudely answered. His words hurt me and before I knew I replied.

"Excuse me?" I timidly spoke while staring back at him. He arched one of his eyebrows at me.

"You heard me," he gritted through his teeth and I shyly looked around.

"If I wasn't looking then you could have looked and not collided with me." This was the most I had ever spoken to a stranger - especially a boy. I just didn't like the way he said those words to me. He dumped all the blame on me. I wanted him to know that I could stand up for myself but my voice betrayed me as my words were low and weak and I don't really think he heard that.

'That is what I am. Weak.' I thought.

"Whatever," he hissed agitatedly. I don't even think he heard me. Giving me one last look he walked away without glancing back. I shook my head at his coldness and went to my next class.

This was my first interaction with the mysterious angry boy of the school and I was already regretting it. He was so... mean and cold. No wonder why people steered clear of him.

The rest of the classes went by quickly and soon the school ended. Luckily I didn't see Heath for the rest of the day and I was glad. At the end of the day, I went to my locker and switched out my books with the ones I knew I had assignments of. Locking it I began my trip back home.

I preferred walking, not that I had a car or anything for commuting but I liked it. It gave me time to reflect on the cruel fact that my life was a complicated mess.

My parents got divorced last year. The news shook me to the core and broke something within me. But it didn't surprise me because deep down I always saw it coming. But hearing it aloud surely gave me a mini heart attack.

A few years before their split-up, my parents began to quarrel a lot. It just started one day and then became a regular thing. Not a single day went by without them arguing over the tiniest things that sounded absurd sometimes. They would yell at each other in loud voices, and it all felt foreign to me at the beginning but as it continued for ages, I got used to it.

The weekends were the worst. The three of us would be home altogether and my parents would quarrel with each other even more. They thought I didn't listen but I heard everything as they always yelled at each other. The long continuous back and forth fights soon turned into a divorce.

I didn't belong to a rich family, and that was one of the reasons why my parents argued. They were always fighting over money, not understanding the effect it had on me. And sometimes the toxic environment was just too much for me to bear. This went on for a long period until dad found a lady and filed a divorce to be with her. I didn't know much about her but I did know that she had money.

The look on my mom's face was heartbreaking. She was in anguish pain and my heart went out to her. She couldn't think of getting separated from someone she truly loved. It was surely devastating. But she knew how dad's drastic change in behavior was affecting us - her, so in the blink of an eye, she signed it. I know she did it because she didn't want me to be affected because of their daily-fights but what she didn't know was that the damage had already been done.

I was afraid of being yelled at. There was this constant fear in me that anger would result in something which could hurt me. That something was abuse.

Shortly a small two-story, old, red-bricked house came into view. I quickly unlocked the door and went inside.

This place was my home.

Walking into the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator in search of something to eat, when my eyes landed on a plate full of spaghetti. Quickly I took it out and put it in the old microwave which half heated the thing. The appliance needed a bit of repairing.

I took it out and ate it silently. When I had stuffed myself with food I went upstairs into my room.

My room was simple. Plain scrapped white walls with only two photo frames on them. One frame had a picture of me when I was 5 years old and had chocolate smeared all over my mouth. I loved chocolates since childhood, but I didn't get to eat much of them. The other one was a family photo that a stranger took when we all went to a park. Dad was carrying a three-year-old me while mom was pressed against us. We all were smiling happily and I loved this photo. It was a beautiful picture and reminded me of the good times that I had lived with my parents - both of them.

A weak wooden study table was near the window with my stack of books and pens on it. In the center of the room was my rusty and ancient bed. To the right of it was a walk-in closet with a bathroom attached to it. Unlike most girls, my room wasn't a typical girly room. I didn't have walls painted with fancy colors and Polaroids hanging on them. Neither did I have any makeup or a wardrobe full of clothes.

I grabbed the novel I was reading the other night. Throwing my shoes on the floor somewhere I slumped onto my bed. Adamant to finish it tonight, I continued it.

After a few hours, my eyes began aching and I fell asleep. When I woke up it was night. I did my assignments until my stomach started gurgling, so I went downstairs to eat.

The house was quiet, meaning mom was not home yet. I sighed sadly.

My mom was a nurse, so she wasn't home most of the time. In fact, it was very rare for her to be. She worked at two different hospitals to be able to fulfill our financial needs and save up money for my college tuition. I was sure that I would get a scholarship, but being the thoughtful person she was, she saved money anyway.

I made myself some sandwiches and ate them before walking back to my room.

I was laying in bed staring at the ceiling when my thoughts drifted off to those mesmerizing blue eyes.

I was intrigued by Heath. He was mysterious and definitely someone you shouldn't talk to or in my case even look at. Everyone knew he was bad. I didn't believe the rumors at school because I know to never judge someone on some stupid opinions. Most of the time, people's judgments are incorrect.

I felt my eyes slowly draw shut as sleep overtook me, thoughts about him still circling my mind.