The Abused Girl |Old Version|

Chapter Four

I HADN'T TALKED to Victoria since the nurse's office. I was a little sad because a part of me imagined being friends with her. I knew thinking that someone like her would ever be friends with me, was ridiculous. She had her own reputation to uphold, and being seen with me would only drag her down to where I was.

We all had it drilled into our brains that to be liked, to be accepted, you had to act a certain way. You had to be someone you weren't. There were all these unwritten rules that you had to follow. And if you didn't. . .

You ended up like me. An outcast. You became marginalized from everyone.

I thought Daniel had taken my advice when I hadn't seen him in two days. I presumed he had found his own group to hang with out. I wouldn't have been hurt by it; in fact, it made sense to me and I wanted him to do that. It wouldn't have surprised me either; he was naturally a social person and I had the feeling he would get on well with most people here.

I felt like I was dragging someone down every second they were in my presence. While I obviously felt a little sad at the idea of someone else leaving me, I wouldn't have been bitter or sad by it. It was so normal to me now that I would encourage people to stay away for me. I didn't want to subject anyone to what I was dealing with on a daily basis.

However, Friday morning, I was surprised when I saw Daniel himself walk down the hallway casually, his eyes scanning over everyone until they landed on me. His eyes brightened in recognition and he started walking more determinedly in my direction. My eyes widened as everyone started turning to turn and look at where he was going. Their eyes widened when they landed on me. Whispers started breaking out in the hall and my skin started prickling.

I needed to leave.

I slammed my locker shut and kept my head angled towards the floor as I started walking away despite my body's protests.

"Anastasia!" I heard him shout behind me but I didn't stop, no matter how much my body begged me to as my muscles ached. My breathing grew labored as I pushed past people. The halls were so small in this school and it didn't help that we had so many students here too. I pushed and elbowed past students, trying to make it outside where I could breathe.

Like a movie or show, the students didn't move, only whispered and watched, getting their daily dose of entertainment. I heard his loud footsteps behind me and he quickly reached out and grabbed my arm gently. He spun me around and frowned deeply at me.

"Did you not hear me?" He asked and I looked around me, the stares of the other students only fueling my anxiety.

"Daniel," I pleaded and tugged on my arm urgently. "Let me go. Everyone's looking." My eyes nervously looked left and right, shrinking at some of the glares I was receiving from students.

He did as I asked and released my arm. He took in my troubled expression and sighed. "I know you said not to -"

"I said it for a reason," I whispered harshly and turned to leave. "Please just go. You're only going to make it worse for yourself."

I didn't wait for his reply as I kept walking with my head bent low, as I passed, I saw the disgusted faces of others. Their judgmental expressions would forever remain engraved in my mind.

"Get out of here freak!"

"Look it's the mute!"

"She's so ugly."

"Where did she get her clothes? It looks like she got it from the rubbish."

I flinched as a piece of paper hit the side of my head. I heard a few sniggers from the crowd but I paid no heed to them, as I desperately wanted to leave.

I sped up, not wanting to hear all the horrible things they had to say to me. I turned around at the last second and saw Daniel still standing there, a permanent frown etched on his face. My heart sunk a little bit more when he didn't say anything to anyone as they shouted out insults to me. But why would I expect him to do something like that for someone like me anyways?

However, the loud clicking of heels got my attention. The hall grew silent as the loud whispers stopped and curiosity got the better of me and I turned around. There stood Victoria, her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at everyone.

Her eyes landed on me, trailing down to pieces of paper and pens around me. Slowly, she inched forward, lent down and picked up a ball of paper. She looked at it, throwing it up and down in her hand.

"Who threw this?" She asked quietly. No one answered.

"Who." She raised her voice, turning on her heel. Her voice was deadly calm but you could hear the underlying anger in it.

Slowly, two students raised their hands. I locked eyes with them and nearly flinched at the hatred visible.

Victoria smiled thinly at them and took a step towards them. She uncurled the ball of paper and started reading it.

"Dear Freak," She began, walking around the two students whose faces had gone red, with anger or embarrassment I wasn't sure. "No one will ever think you're beautiful. You're a piece of s**t and you make me want to die because you're just that ugly. How do you put up with yourself? Go kill yourself bitch."

She stopped and stood in front of the two students and held up the paper. "You think this s**t is acceptable?" Her voice was low and angry. My eyes connected with Daniels who looked at me sadly but also anger was evident in his eyes.

"Who the f**k does you think you are, to write s**t like this to someone?" She hissed, stepping close to their face.

One of the students tried to put on a brave face and shrugged carelessly. "Why do you care Vic, it's just the freak -"

"My name is Victoria." She snapped, cutting him off. She pointed a pointed nail towards him. "And she has a f*****g name. Use it."

The loud shrill of the bell rang through the hall and many students rushed off, not wanting to face off with Victoria. The two guys took that as a chance to leave but she grabbed them by the scruffs of their shirts.

"And just where do you think you're going?" She asked sweetly.

"Vic come on we have class," One of the guys groaned. "I can't be late again."

"Oh, you'll get to class don't worry. We just have a pit stop to make first." She dragged the two of them down the hall despite their protests. . . Towards the principal's office?

Our eyes connected and her lips tilted upward and she shot me a subtle wink. All the time, I stood there, rooted to the spot, shocked. The hall slowly cleared out, however one person remained.

Daniel.

He took a tentative step towards me. "Anastasia," He began. He opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say. "Holy shit."

I let out a dry chuckle. "I told you Daniel. I'm not liked here."

He shook his head in frustration. "I just don't get it. What the hell is going on here?" He had a look of frustration on his face as he tried to understand what just happened. "How often does this happen?" He asked.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "A few times everyday maybe. I don't know anymore."

His eyes widened comically. "Are you serious? And they just get away with it?"

"You'd be surprised how much the principal and teachers are willing to overlook."

"That Victoria girl. . ." He said. "She your friend?"

I shook my head and smiled sadly. "I don't have friends."

He raised a brow. "Hey, I'm your friend."

"No, you're not Daniel." I sighed. I looked up at the clock and cursed. I cut him off from whatever he was going to say. "Come on Daniel. We have class. We're already late."

"We're not done with this conversation Anastasia." He warned as we headed in opposite directions.

"Oh yes we are." I muttered under my breath.

~~~

THE REST OF the day passed quickly and before I knew it, school was over. I didn't see Daniel after that and I quietly walked over to my locker pulling it open. I dumped my books inside and pulled my bag over my shoulder, wincing when I saw the heavy rain pelting down.

I hadn't seen Victoria or the two guys either. Normally, they were in my English, but neither of them turned up surprising me. I doubted they got into big trouble though. Their families were extremely rich and would pay any amount of money to keep their child's name clean.

I pulled up my hood and sighed before pushing the school doors open, the cold immediately making my teeth chatter. I stepped out, feeling the heavy rain pelt over me and I started walking quickly to get home before John did. I took the familiar path that I took everyday, seeing a car or so pass by, barely missing me when they zoomed past a puddle of water.

When I arrived home, I was dripping wet and I shrugged off my coat, throwing it in the wash basket in the bathroom before squeezing my hair in the sink. I threw my hair up in a small bun before running downstairs to the kitchen to start making John's dinner.

However, I didn't even get the chance to take out one ingredient before I heard the front door being slammed open. My heart started slamming against my ribcage. My hands starting sweating and my mind was going overdrive with my thoughts. I looked up at the clock and realized he was home early today.

I heard his heavy boots stomp in the floor until he kicked the kitchen door open. The door slammed loudly against the wall, the loud sound echoing in the kitchen. My breath for caught in my throat from fear, but I kept my back to him, my hands clutching the counter top tightly to stop them from shaking.

He hadn't said anything yet, all I could hear was his heavy breathing, making me aware of his close presence.

"Aren't you going to welcome your Dad home?" He finally spoke, slurring his words. I shakily turned around to face him. His bloodshot red eyes glared at me and his hands were already in fists. Not a good sign.

"Welcome home," I whispered. I kept my head slightly bent in submission. He took a step towards me. The silence was killing me - he could be so unpredictable sometimes.

Without warning, I was suddenly slammed up against the wall, his arm at my throat - not completely choking me but enough to make me terrified for my life.

"You think it's okay for you to w***e around, while I'm not here?!" He roared, spit flying in my face. His face was extremely close to mine, his breath fanning over my face. His face grew red in rage while I squirmed under his hold.

"What?" I gasped for air, his trip getting tighter. I could barely register what he was saying to me. My vision started blurring around the edges.

His almost black eyes pierced straight through mine. "You don't think I have people watching you? You think I don't know about your new boyfriend? Huh?!"

I started sobbing, and squirming against his grip, "He's not my boyfriend I swear! I swear he's not!"

"LIAR!"

He suddenly released me, and my hands immediately went up to my neck, massaging it. He looked at me with such hatred and disgust. "Don't let me see you with him unless you want to go to his funeral next week."

With that, he stormed out and stomped upstairs, while I was left on the floor, crying.