Ch.2: Scarry face
1845 Words
She felt it in her bones, the cold atmosphere sending chills down her spine, her heart beats racing, cold sweat dripping, her brain sending signals, her adrenaline rushing to every part of her body, putting her senses in their highest sensitivity levels, waiting in a defensive mode...
Her eyes were fixed on the road up ahead, she knew she messed things up... And she'd be doomed to fall.
She saw it all in "Uncle" Raven's bulging veins and his clenched hands on the steering wheel. The deep silence was suffocating enough, killing her brain cells at an alarming pace.
The Rosenvelts' residence was situated in the center of the forest... They were on their road surrounded by giants trees, the yellowish, sorta reddish fallen leaves on the road made the sight of her b****y corpse flash right in front of her eyes...
It was a thirty minutes ride from the house to Lake Wood High-school and they just left the house for not even five minutes and they still have fifteen minutes til they reach the outskirts of the small town they live in...
Her body would be already rotten by the moment they realize she's missing and find her corpse... And the forest was the best place to hide the crime.
"Elle..."
The ice toned voice was like a splash of icy-cold water on her face... And that was all it took to make her lose her cool and reach for her school bag. She' ll use anything in order to defend herself...
"... Elle..." He called her name again, and the short silences felt like an eternity to her, "Don't you ever ask why or how again."
Not even leaving her any time to react, he pulled a box from the rearseats that she never realized they were there before.
Seeing him put the well-decorated box on her lap, she froze for a second... Not knowing what happened at all.
"Open it!" A short order from Raven was enough to make her realize what's going on, and unconsciously, her hands reached to pull the ribbons, unboxing it.
Met with the sight of glittering jewels on the silky crimson-red fabric, the soft coolness yet warmth slipping through her fingers' touch, made her skip a heartbeat and lose herself even more in utter silence.
"... I've heard it's your school's Autumn Ball two weeks later and I won't be there to see you... So I had to pick something I thought would look great on you..."
That was actually the longest sentence she's ever heard her uncle say, and that left her speechless...
"Uncle... That's literally the prettiest gown I've ever seen... But..." Happiness was written all over her face, mixed with confusion and irresolution, "I wasn't planning on going to the ball."
It was like the bomb on calm water, that left the two of them speechless.
"Why?" A sentence fighting her way out of Raven's mouth before he sealed his lips tight.
"... I just don't want to..." Elle answered while looking at the gown in the box with a sarcastic smile that shows her utter heartbreak and dilemma before adding, "It's utterly pointless..."
Raven didn't want to let silence kill their conversation, "Do you not have a partner?"
"That's not it..."
And before she could even finish her sentence, he showered her with a waterfall of questions.
"Don't you know how to dance?"
"Huh?... "
"Do you still need money?"
"What?... "
"You need new high heels?"
"No!..."
"You don't like the gown?"
"I love..."
"Are you getting bullied?"
As he posed that question, it seemed like the cat got her tongue.
"... No..." That was the answer coming out of her sealed lips after the short silence.
"That's not a reason to back out like a scaredy cat! School activities are not pointless..." As though he realized his words were not convincing enough, he added, "...Even I would have to participate in social activities."
The thought of the anti-social introvert that sends death glares without even trying, joining crouds brought a laugh to her... She really felt sad for the people dealing with this living monster.
"I'm really thankful for that, uncle... Thanks for this beautiful dress. I'll make sure to put it in great use..."
She finally gave in to the unspeakable eagerness in Raven's eyes... And she sorta felt a sense of accomplishment in the shadows of the smile forming on his sealed lips.
"This should be enough, I'll be walking on my own." Elle let out these words seeing that they were already a twenty meters away from the high-school's entrance.
Letting out a sigh after a very, very long silence, Raven pulled out on the disponible parking lot.
"Elle..."
As she was opening the door, he called her name and said his final words, "Take care of yourself, try to be as discrete as possible and try not to catch any of your uncles' attention... Stay away of trouble as much as possible... I won't be there for you..."
And before he can finish his last saddest sentence, he was taken by a sudden surge of warmth mixed with a fresh sweet smell enchanting his sense of smell, and took him by surprise...
"Thank you uncle..."
These words rang like a melody in his ears, a memory of an angel surrounded by roses and beauty all around flashed through his eyes... Yet the sweet sensations all faded as he lost hold of what he's been missing for years and were replaced by the sight of Elle's tiny figure fading away in the distance, not realizing the remorseful tear falling down his face...
Somehow he wanted to hold that angel once, even though he knew he's gonna lose his mind...
But he knew he'll never do, because that angel went to heaven and he'll never see her again. And somehow, he felt like he's gonna lose this innocent girl forever too...
*******
Elle who was keeping her cool as she ran away of her crime scene had actually blood-red flushing cheeks... That was actually her first time hugging her "Uncle", and she didn't know where did she get the courage from...
Maybe she was just going to miss him and thus did that without even thinking?
"Look who's there?"
"The b*tch is still alive, huh?"
The sounds of wicked giggles reached her ears, and she knew it all along, that high-school was her battlefield...
Samantha Graham and Lindsay Lincoln were her living nightmares and sworn ennemies... It was pointless trying to win a match, but all she could do was hoping for surviving another day.
She tried to ignore them and walk by, yet she was pulled from the hair as she was passing by... Her handbag falling down and a part of the box gifted by "Uncle" Raven just now.
She fell right down on her knees to put everything inside again hysterically, not even feeling the pain of her hair being pulled up by Ashley Bourne, the real mastermind and the real devil.
"Girls, guess what I've just seen on my way here?" Ashley with her playful slutty gone rang in the echoing hallways, surpassing those of the croud around.
"What? A BMW?"
Samantha answered in a hasty sarcastic tone before Lindsay cut her short repulsively.
"Shut the hell up b*tch! Bet you ten dollars it's this sl*t spreading her legs for a bunch of n*ggas!"
Looking at the two girls clashing, Ashley took the role to drop the bomb, "No my girls, I saw this sl*tty wh*re prostituting with her sugar daddy in a black SUV right in front of the entrance!"
Shocked by what the great devil just said, Elle couldn't even react, not understanding a thing about what's going on or who are they talking about.
"Say b*tch, how did you seduce that good-quality sugar daddy?" Ashley added as she pulled on her hair harder.
Feeling the surging pain coming of her damaged scalp made her let out a painful soft groan, that was when Samantha sat on her knee to reach her level before seizing her chin with her hand and articulated her thoughts, "Ash, you sure you've seen that b***h in a SUV?"
As Ashley responded with a slight humming sound, a heavy slap landed on her cheek, and Elle did feel the pain that sent her to the real world back again.
"Just say it b*tch," Ashley insisted, "Who's that hottie 30-some years old sugar daddy?"
"Uncle?..." And as she unconsciously disclosed the identity of the man, she was sent again into utter silence by another heavy slap on the face.
"Uncle?!" Lindsay exclaimed out in surprise, "You f*cking with your uncle huh? Or is it how he wanted your relationship in public?"
"... No! I..." And before Elle could say she was just giving him a goodbye hug, that she was innocent and that was really her "uncle", she was met with another heavy-landing slap.
She felt the pain itching, her cheeks swallowing red and burning with pain, but she couldn't do a thing, even the crouds in the hallways have been either playing it blind or laughing at her miserable state...
That's why she hated the unwanted attention and toxic carefulness that always adds up to the reasons of her getting bullied.
"Samantha Graham, Lindsay Lincoln!" And in the middle of the deathly silence, a shrill scream came from the end of the hallways.
It was Principal Ludwig, Catherine Ludwig.
She had that stern powerful aura all the way until she reached the actual scene.
And at the sight of Ashley, the daughter of Headmaster Bourne, she switched her face and posture faster than flipping the pages of a book.
"Disturbing the peace of the institution and causing problems first thing in the morning..." Looking at the miserable face and swollen cheeks of the real victim, she straightened her back and announced, "Elle Rosenvelt, detention after school!"
As she saw the satisfactory smirk on the school's princess' face, the principal took her leave with a winner's attitude, not even leaving a second glance at Elle's heartbreaking figure and her donwcast face...
Samantha stood up and let go of her face at the order of her commander leaving and so did Lindsay leave after spitting on the bullied face.
Such a casualty was pretty frequent, in fact, Elle was pretty positive that they didn't inflict this much harm this once, and it was all thanks to the principals punishment that made the great devil get her pleasure for the day...
Standing up with a seemingly ghostly vibe, she went straight to the ladies' bathroom, to wash her face, cool down her swollen cheek and hide her scarry face...
Girls would put on make-up to make themselves prettier, but for her, make-up is her shield with which she hides her feelings and scars of her past...
And in front of her dark reflection on the mirror, her whispering voice echoed...
"...I still have Uncle's gift..."
- Writer
