Flourish

"Chantel! Breakfast! And you're gonna be late for school!" Chantel sighed after hearing her stepmother's voice, making her wonder where in the world her father picked her up from. It most certainly had to be done out of pity. Chantel rolled out of bed and landed straight on her soft, carpeted floor. 'Can't I just stay here? Forever?' She asked herself in her mind as her palm gently caressed the light blue, soft carpeting, "Chantel! Don't make me come up there! Your food is getting cold, and the bus is gonna be here soon!" The irritating sound of Chantel's stepmother's voice snapped her right out of her trance, forcing her to really get up this time. She sighed and lazily got up from the floor to get ready for school. At least she had her friends to look forward to, so college days weren't always that bad. Chantel, Rebecca, and Chantel's father lived in a small, quiet suburban area with decently nice people, or so they thought. Ever since Chantel was 16 years of age, they've been moving from city to city due to her parents looking for long-term jobs. It messed with Chantel's mental health, as well as the relationship between her parents. It was rough around the edges, but she made it work. For the most part, Chantel lost a lot in life due to moving. She lost a lot of friends, a lot of great boyfriends, and she even lost her pet animals. Half of them ran away, as the other half died of old age or from sickness. Chantel began to think that she was cursed or something or that God was punishing her, but what could she have possibly done to deserve such a miserable life? She wasn't sure, but she was glad that her parents had finally decided to settle down in this suburban town. She didn't make many friends per-say because she had a feeling they'd move again and she certainly couldn't handle the pain of letting go and moving on, not again. She kept to herself and pushed anyone away that attempted to introduce themselves to her. It was selfish, but her selfish acts were for a good cause. Many tried to flirt with her every time she was on her way to school. Her fashion sense would catch many people's eye, her chocolate brown skin glistened in the sunlight and her mid-long black hair formed many styles that fit perfectly with whatever mood she was in. She was perfect for some. Kids look up to her, the elderly gave her advice and perverts, can't forget those, who always attempt to get her number or even her email. She didn't fall for their little tricks, though. She wanted to save herself for someone special, not some creep looking for a quick hit-and-run action. On the other hand, some people didn't like her just because of her looks, personality traits, and her clear skin. Of all things, they hated her for her clear skin. So much so, they'd bully her about her being fake and wearing make-up, but jokes on them, she never once attempted to wear make-up. Chantel wanted to be a professional singer. She had the voice for it, according to her dad. She couldn't deny that, though, because she really did. After all, her name meant singer/stone. Her motivation to become a singer got struck down as soon as these five, good-for-nothing boys crept into her life. She saw nothing wrong with this, but her stepmother definitely did. Her grades were dropping, she continuously snuck out at night to attend parties with an extremely heavy alcohol intake, she got frequently suspended from school and occasionally went to detention for being such a distraction when it comes to class. It was absolutely horrible. Chantel's stepmother was trying her best to get her back on track, but Chantel was hard-headed and stubborn; she didn't like listening whatsoever, especially to her stepmother, Rebecca Hughes. Rebecca made a promise to her fiancee, Chantel's dad, that she'd make sure Chantel stayed on track since he was on a business trip due to work, but it looks like she's breaking that promise. Chantel lazily descended the staircase and sauntered into the kitchen, her attitude sour as ever. She took a seat and immediately began to eat her breakfast: toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, "Good morning to you too, Chantel." Rebecca uttered as she took a quick sip of her coffee. "So, about those 'boys'-" Chantel immediately raised her hand, stopping Rebecca from talking. "Don't even. I'm not in the mood for your bulls**t this morning. We have already talked about this. Leave it at that if you don't mind, Rebecca." Rebecca stared at Chantel with pure fear in her eyes from that statement. She was meant to be her stepdaughter and, fearing her shouldn't be a thing but Chantel was an absolute demon to Rebecca. "I just... don't think you should hang around them anymore. They seem like trouble, don't you think? I mean—look at the monster they've created. Your grades are dropping, you're extremely unmotivated about singing now, and..." Rebecca paused, unsure if she should even continue onward with this endless list, "I made a promise to your father. I promised that I'd make sure you pursue your dreams of becoming a singer one day. Is that too much to ask, Chantel?" The silence was loud between the two because Chantel knew she was in the wrong here. Her ego took a big hit. She finished her food and then got up from her chair with nothing but a fake smile spreading across her freckled face. "How cute." For a second, Rebecca thought that Chantel was finally taking her words into consideration here, but to no avail, Chantel's smile faded right after those two words were uttered, "Do me a favor and shut the f**k up about it, yeah? I'm 18, you're not my mom and you don't have the right to tell me what to do. This is my life, not yours. And my room had better be cleaned by the time I get back." Chantel then stormed off, exiting the house and leaving Rebecca speechless. Chantel's mother passed away in a fatal car accident 5 months ago. She died a day before Chantel's birthday, which led to her not celebrating it. She refused all the happy birthdays, gifts, words of appreciation, and so on. She wanted nothing to do with her birthday. Chantel stood a few blocks down the road from her house near the bus stop, awaiting the boys, 'They should be here any minute now.' She stated in her head as she checked the time on her phone. In no time, she saw them strolling down the pavement, taking their sweet time, "Can you guys walk any slower?!" She shouted as the boys laughed, historically. She didn't find it that funny though, "Relax, hotshot!" Kendall shouted as they approached closer. Kendall, the leader of the group, got close enough to Chantel to whisper something, "Guess what." She shuddered from his warm breath, but she caught herself while slowly pushing Kendall back. "Personal space? And what is it?" Kendall backed away once he was pushed, getting the signal, "We're skipping school, again. And I'm sure you're in? Yeah? Yeah." Chantel blinked a couple of times, recalling the time the principal told her stepmother that if she skipped school again, she was going to get suspended for at least 3 weeks. Two weeks longer than usual. She nervously laughed and then glanced back at her house. "Kendall, If I skip school again, I'm gonna get suspended for 3 weeks. I have exams and outstanding assignments." Kendall didn't like that response. His smile faded as he folded his arms across his chest. "Since when did you care about exams and assignments? Yuck. Don't ever say those words again." He grimaced as the others cringed and chattered in the background. Chantel knew herself. She'd never turn the boys down, "You're right. What the hell am I even thinking? Let's go!" Kendall and the boys cheered and rejoiced at the change of mind, "That's the Channel I know!" Kendall shouted as he grabbed her hand and began to rush off, heading to a secluded area with the rest of the boys. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ------- Chantel, Kendall, and the rest kicked back and rolled up a bl*nt. Rebecca always told Chantel that smoking was bad for her, but she didn't see the harm in any of it. "M'lady." Kendall handed the bl*nt over to Chantel and she didn't hesitate to take it. This was most likely her 10th time doing this, so she was pretty familiar with this; she knew exactly what to do. Kendall also handed her a lighter, "Why thank you good, sir. How kind." She stated with a chuckle as she lit the bl*nt and immediately began to smoke. She let out a sigh of relief. "Holy s**t. I forgot how relaxing this felt. I definitely needed this, sh*t." She stated in a somewhat slurred voice, mostly relaxed, "And wait, that's not all. Look what I got." Kendall hurriedly went into his bag and slowly pulled out two bottles of vodka. He placed those down and pulled out a pack of red cups too, "No way! How the f**k did you get these?!" Chantel shouted as she picked up a bottle to examine it more closely. "I have my ways." Kendall stated with a cheeky smirk on his face and that wasn't any ordinary smirk either. "Let's get f****g wasted!!!" Everyone cheered at this and immediately opened up one of the bottles. Kendall did the honor of filling everyone's cup, serving his last. They passed the bl*t amongst each other while downing vodka like crazy. Chantel certainly didn't slow down, even if she knew she was a lightweight. Kendall knew this, and he'd usually force her to slow down, but this time – he didn't. After her 5th cup, she was wasted and delusional, "Y'know, I love you guys. I could see it.. us living in the biggest mansion ever." Kendall laughed at what Chantel said. "You're drunk, Chantel. There will be no us after today." Since Chantel was wasted, she barely picked up what Kendall said. "Huh? What was that? You agree?" Chantel gazed up at him with hazy eyes, her vision blurred and her mind clouded from the intoxication. Kendall smiled and nodded. "Yeah, definitely." Chantel watched as he glanced at the rest of the boys, but she didn't think anything of it. She cuddled up next to Kendall and sighed. "You're so warm." She mumbled under her breath as she began to feel soft lips on her cheek giving her repeated kisses until those kisses trailed down to her neck, causing her to bust out laughing. "That tickles, you dumba**!" She could hear the faint, echoed laughs coming from Kendall after that was said. She calmed down, though, and enjoyed the kisses she got. It was getting heated. Kendall's hand slithered down into her loose jeans and into her undergarments to begin pleasuring her. She flinched from this feeling and groaned. "Wait.." She began to weakly push Kendall away, but Kendall gently grabbed her wrist and shushed her. "Hey, hey, it's fine. Trust me." She sighed as she was barely able to keep her eyes from closing. "Okay.." She murmured in a weak tone as Kendall continued to pleasure her, making her feel good. Making her feel relaxed and making her feel needy. On instinct, she weakly began to undo her pants and Kendall was glad that she had done that because that meant his plan was working. Things escalated from there, having a drastic effect on her life, her future, and her mental health. ㅤㅤㅤan hour later Chantel slowly but surely began to wake up, her head throbbing to the point where she had to hold on to it. "Sh*t. What the hell?" She looked around and saw that she was in her room, but—how? The last thing she remembered was being with Kendall and the boys smoking and drinking, so how was she here?" She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was 4:53 p.m. She had to get to the park by 5 p.m. to meet up with them. All of a sudden, she grasped her mouth and immediately rushed to the bathroom to throw up in the toilet, 'Gross. I hate the effects of alcohol." She complained as she took a seat on the floor next to the toilet, panting and wiping her mouth from the excess vomit. She leaned up against the wall and sighed as she began to wonder what happened after they got intoxicated not too long ago. "What the hell even happened?" She asked herself, but she then realized something. Her lower area felt weird as if someone had touched her or something. She had a feeling of what might have happened, but she wasn't going to assume the worst yet. She needed answers, and she needed them right now. She quickly got up from her bed and proceeded onward with getting ready to head out. She raced down the stairs and took a peek inside the living room to see her stepmother pacing from one end of the room to another. 'What's her problem?' She wondered to herself and decided to confront her. "Rebecca?" She then slowly walked in and, in a frenzy, Rebecca rushed over to Chantel to pull her into a warm embrace. "Thank God, you're okay. Someone found you unconscious in some dirty-run-down place. They said you were half-naked and intoxicated. What happened back there, Chantel?" All the dots were slowly beginning to connect with this new information, but she still refused to assume the worst. She zoned out for a while until Rebecca snapped her fingers in front of the zoned-out Chantel. "Chantel, talk to me, honey." Chantel shook her head and backed away from her. "I have to go." Chantel then sped off in a frenzy, barely getting a chance to close the door behind her on the way out. "Chantel!!" Rebecca shouted as she attempted to chase after her, but, of course, she was a tad bit too old for running anymore. Thirty-six years old was something. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ------- In about ten minutes at most, Chantel arrived at the park. It was pretty dry, but she saw Kendall and the rest of them on the bench. She was hesitant to approach them, but she did anyway. "Hey, guys." Kendall and the others grew silent, everyone's eyes landing on her, but they decided not to make it awkward. "Chantel! You're here! Come, take a seat." Kendall tapped the seat next to him with his palm, but Chantel politely declined; she didn't plan on staying, "Um, no. I didn't come here to chill and kick back. I need answers. What happened after I got drunk, Kendall?" Kendall's smile faded in an instant once he realized that she was onto him. Kendall looked at the others. Everyone looked at each other. Chantel stood there, confused and clueless as to what was going on here. "Um—Nothing happened, Chantel. Trust me-" Chantel got extremely furious at Kendall, lying like that straight to her face. "How could you lie to me? My f*****g stepmother told me that someone found me naked, unconscious! Nothing happened, huh? Yeah, I look stupid, Kendall. Tell me what happened and DON'T lie to me." Kendall was hesitant, but he had to come forward with what he did. "Let's just say—we had s*x and yeah." Chantel froze from this. She was right. "You did this on purpose. You forced me to skip school, made me smoke, made me drink, and let me drink all I wanted to." Kendall's POV " Are you really going to do this, man? She's gonna find out, dude." Tyler complained as Kendall side-eyed him. "Relax. Tell me, how is she going to find out when she's going to be drunk off her a**?" Tyler didn't have an answer to that one and, of course, Kendall was the boss around here, "You're right." Tyler mumbled while lowering his head in defeat, I always am. Trust me, Tyler, this plan is going to work." Kendall stated with a smirk as they saw Chantel in the distance. "Kendall, I really don't think this is a good idea, man. You could go to jail." Tyler complained once again. Kendall side-eyed Tyler once again and scoffed. "You're the only one complaining here, b*tch-boy. Shut up and follow my league." Tyler nodded as they heard Chantel shouting at them in the distance. "Can you guys walk any slower?!" Kendall and the others laughed at that statement and they couldn't agree more; they were walking quite slowly now that they thought about it, "Relax hotshot!" Kendall shouted with a grin spreading across his face." As he approached Chantel, he got close enough to whisper a few words into her ear. "Guess what." In response to this, he got pushed away. Internally, this aggravated him, but he brushed it off. "Personal space? And what is it? Kendall backed away, catching the hint. "We're skipping school again and I'm sure you're in, yeah? Yeah." "You knew damn well I was a lightweight, and you didn't stop me!" Kendall glanced at the boys while Chantel cuddled up next to him. All of them nodded, signaling to go for it, and in return, he went in for the kill. He did his dirty bidding with Chantel, being fully intoxicated. From time to time, she'd try to escape from the pain, but she was too weak to even do anything. Her blurry vision gazing up at Kendall, her monster. Tears began to form in her eyes from this because she knew that her future was ruined at this point. "You—r**ped me." Chantel held back her tears as much as she possibly could. Kendall and the others were dead silent because Chantel was right. "You can always just... use a Plan B. Chantel look, I'm-" Chantel immediately cut him off. "DON'T! Rebecca was right. You're no good! I don't want to see you ever again. Please block my number. Don't even confront me at school. Just—disappear!" Chantel then stormed off, heading straight back home. Chantel didn't know what she was going to do. She was going to be pregnant with an a**hole's child but she couldn't just abort it. It's a human being. At this rate, Chantel began to panic. What was Rebecca going to think? What was her dad going to think? She was going to be pregnant at such an early stage in her life, along with going to college, 'Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!' After that day, Chantel turned into a complete mute. She was humble. The principal decided to spare Chantel even if she skipped school. This time, she went and got to all of her classes on time, and, within a week, her grades improved. From time to time, she'd come across Kendall and the others, but, of course, she avoided their gaze. She had more respect for Rebecca, but Rebecca didn't know how or why Chantel became so humble all of a sudden. This wasn't like her, but who was Rebecca to complain? She was elated to have the old Chantel back. Rebecca informed her fiancee about the drastic improvement as he himself was just as shocked by the news; he was glad either way. Rebecca even got Channel a therapist, but she'd always storm out because she didn't see the point in going to therapy. So Rebecca had to endure the silence of her beloved stepdaughter until she decided to speak. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤSaturday, 9th, 2015 Both Chantel and her stepmother were seated at the dinner table eating their last meal for today until Chantel began to feel upset all of a sudden. She held her mouth and rushed to the nearest bathroom to begin puking her guts out. She knew it wasn't the food either. Rebecca rushed in to comfort Chantel. "My goodness, Chantel. Stay here. I'm gonna get you a glass of water." As Rebecca attempted to leave the bathroom, Chantel grabbed her by the hand, stopping her, "Wait." Rebecca was beyond shock to hear Chantel's voice after so long. Two weeks isn't much, but to her, it felt like a month. Rebecca crouched down to Chantel's level and paid close attention to her. "I have something to tell you. I wanted to say it but I was too scared, so I muted myself. Remember the day I was found unconscious in that secluded place? Kendall and the rest of us were drinking vodka and smoking. I'm a lightweight, so I can't consume a lot. Kendall would usually stop me from overdoing it, but he didn't. I got overly intoxicated and clingy. Kendall took this as a sign and decided to go in for the kill. We had s*x, but it wasn't consensual. I was drunk and now I think I'm showing signs of this entire pregnancy thing." It was silent for a while. From the look on Rebecca's face, she was shocked and most definitely disgusted. She wanted to be mad, but she just couldn't. She had to support her stepdaughter. A frustrated sigh came from Rebecca before she pulled Chantel into a comforting hug and, in an instant, Chantel began to cry. "I'm sorry... I should've listened." Rebecca pulled away from the hug to look at her stepdaughter, "It's okay, Chantel. I'm not sure how your father is going to take the news, but—" Rebecca paused, stood up, and then helped Chantel up. "Come on, follow me." Rebecca walked off and went straight upstairs to her bedroom and went into one of her drawers to pull out a pregnancy test stick for Chantel. She then turned around to look at her. "Here, use this." Chantel took the pregnancy stick and gazed at it for quite some time, as if she didn't know what to do with it. She didn't, "Right, you don't know how to use it." Rebecca explained to Chantel how the pregnancy stick was used, which sort of freaked her out a bit, "Understand? Now go." Rebecca commanded as Chantel wasted no time entering the bathroom to take the test. Once Chantel was done with her pregnancy test, she emerged from the bathroom with her mouth covered. This wasn't good. Chantel franticly handed the pregnancy test stick to Rebecca. Nothing but a disappointed sigh escaped her lips. She grasped the bridge of her nose with two fingers, "You're pregnant." Rebecca mumbled as she gazed at the positive pregnancy test. She didn't know what to say anymore, but she had things to do, "Okay... I'm gonna call your father and—tell him about this." It was clear that Rebecca was hesitant because she hated it when he was angry. He already had so much on his plate. This entire ordeal was about to make his head explode, "No, let me do it. This is on me." Chantel insisted as she rushed out of the bedroom and went to her own room to retrieve her charging phone. She quickly FaceTimed her dad and waited for him to pick up. After a few seconds, he picked up. He looked like sh*t. His hair was all messed up and those bags under his eyes proved to Chantel that he barely got any sleep, "Yes, Chantel? Something wrong?" Obviously, Chantel was hesitant, but she had to say it anyway. "Dad. I'm pregnant. Please don't be mad. It wasn't consensual. He ra-" Her father calmly raised his hand, forcing Chantel to stop talking. "I'm coming home tomorrow morning. I'll deal with this. Anything else?" Chantel wasn't expecting her father to be this calm about a situation like this, but it seemed as though he'd been dealing with bullsh*t all night, so that's probably why, "I'm dropping college." This caused Chantel's father to freeze from hearing such a thing. All that could be heard was a sigh while he rubbed his temples in pure frustration. "Chantel. Just—alright. I'm way too tired right now. We'll talk about this in the morning. Good night." He then hung up. Chantel sighed and placed her phone down as she heard faint footsteps approaching her. "You're dropping college? Did you even know how special that was to your father? Chantel held her head in her hands as Rebecca sat next to her. "Rebecca, I have to focus on this baby now. I know this is a bold move, but what else am I gonna do?" Rebecca had nothing to say to that. She had no choice but to give in to Chantel's choice, "Okay, Chantel. I'll support you through this as best as I can." Chantel then pulled Rebecca into a warm embrace and Rebecca didn't hesitate to comfort her stepdaughter. She needed it. Next morning, Chantel kept hearing faint knocks on her bedroom door along with a faint voice, "Chantel!" Chantel groaned from being woken up. She didn't have school since she made up her mind about dropping out. "What?! Dad?!" Chantel got out of bed and opened her bedroom door to see her father standing out there. He was an absolute mess. "So, where's the punk that got you pregnant?" Chantel was hesitant about telling her father about the person who did it because she didn't want her dad to hurt anyone, "It was Kendall." Chantel noticed as her father's hands balled up. He knew exactly who that was. "What the f**k did I tell you about hanging around Kendall? He was just using you. He does it to every female he comes face-to-face with, Kendall. I warned you." Chantel was speechless at her father's immense anger. She backed away from him and lowered her head in pure shame, feeling guilty and stupid for falling for Kendall's tricks. They've been friends for about 10 months and he's been nothing but nice to her, but it was all a setup to gain her trust. "I'm sorry." Chantel mumbled under her breath. Her father didn't want to hear Chantel's apology right now. He was determined to give Kendall a piece of his mind, "Stay here, go help your mother with breakfast, will ya?" He then turned around and proceeded to leave, but Chantel grasped her father's arm, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Wait, what are you gonna do to him, dad?" He yanked his arm out of her grasp and side-eyed her. "You shouldn't care what I'm about to do to him. Not after what he's done to you." He then walked off and made his way to Kendall's house. Chantel was determined to follow him, but she knew that her mother was going to hold her back. She had an idea, though. She quickly changed her clothes, grabbed her phone, and snuck out her bedroom window. She hid behind bushes and other objects while keeping an eye on her father. Kendall only lived a few blocks down the road from them, so walking there wasn't much of a problem for him. Once Chantel's father got to Kendall's house, at the best time possible, Kendall exited his house and, in an instant, Chantel's father tackled the young boy to the ground and began to beat him to a bloody pulp. Chantel watched as this unfolded before her eyes. She didn't even know that her father was capable of doing that to someone. Kendall was fighting for his life, but it wasn't enough. Chantel's father had beaten Kendall so badly to the point where he got knocked unconscious. Blood trickled out of his nose and he even coughed up blood. "Don't you f****g EVER touch my daughter again!" He then spat on Kendall's face before getting up. He dusted himself off and then, at the corner of his eye, he spotted his daughter looking in his direction, her mouth covered and her eyes widened from how shocked she was. "Chantel." He rushed over to her and in an instant she attempted to run, but she was too slow. He grabbed onto her arm and turned her around. "He deserved it, Chantel." Chantel broke down into tears before her father pulled her in for a hug, allowing her to cry all she wanted to. "I told you to stay home and help your mother. I didn't want you to see this. Come on, let's go." Chantel's father glanced at Kendall on the floor before beginning to walk back home with her upset daughter. Chantel, Rebecca, and Frederick, Chantel's father, all sat at the dining table in silence. "So, Chantel. How are you planning on getting a job since you decided to drop college, any plans?" Frederick quizzed as Chantel avoided eye contact with her father for a while. "Maybe you can help? I can work with you. I can move and stay in an apartment or I can stay with you and help and-" She paused, realizing she was rambling, "Absolutely not. That means you have to move and I don't want you moving, not away from Rebecca. She's going to help you take care of this baby, so you're going to find a job here. Do I make myself clear, Chantel?" Chantel kept her mouth shut, refusing to answer, but she couldn't deny her own father. "Yes." She mumbled as Frederick got up. "I must go. Rebecca, please take care of Chantel and if she's being disobedient, call me. I'll be there, alright?" Frederick then sped over to Rebecca to give her a long kiss on the lips, making Chantel groan at the sound. "Okay, will do, honey. Be safe, love." Frederick then took his leave after taking one last look at his distressed daughter.