บท 6: Chapter 5
MOTHER SAT WITH HER CIGARETTE HANGING FROM HER LIPS.
Blowing the smoke into my face, I coughed, turning my head away. She sat with a disinterested expression on her face. "You're overreacting," Mother sighed, rolling her spider lashes. "Honestly Isla, if you just stopped and used your brain for once, he wouldn't have to get so angry."
I balled my hands into small fists, anger running through my veins, that it almost burned. My eyes stung with unshed tears as I stared pleadingly at the woman who was supposed to be my Mother.
"Devin is sitting upstairs with blood trailing down his forehead!" I hissed, knocking my chair back. "Do you even remember who Devin is?"
Mother chucked her cigarette onto the counter carelessly. Her face scrunched up in an ugly expression. "What do you take me for, an idiot? Devin is my son -"
"Then act like his Mother!" I yelled, cutting her off. I could feel the veins popping out of my neck as I slammed my hand down on the counter. "By all means, forget about me, but for God's sake, Devin is ten years old!"
Mother pointed her bony finger at me, her blue eyes icily glaring at me. "Watch your tone with me young lady! Don't try and pin this all on me when you're the one we should all be blaming!"
I flinched back as if I had just slapped. "Excuse me?"
Mother gave a firm nod of her head, "Think about it, Isla. You're always the one making him mad. You're always the one messing up. You're the one putting Devin in danger -"
"How fucking dare you!" I hissed, feeling myself seething in anger. "I'm the one who makes him angry? By doing what? By existing? By forgetting to put out his beer for dinner?!"
"If you just did as you were told, he wouldn't need to discipline you." Mother argued. Scoffing, I realized she truly believed what she was saying. "If you stopped being such a selfish brat half the time, then -"
"What about Devin?" I snapped, trying to calm myself down. "What's his fault? Why is he upstairs with a gash on his forehead, huh? Did he not do as he was told either?!"
"Do not raise your voice at me." Mother snarled, the ugly side of her coming out. "How dare you stand there and lecture me about how to parent -"
"If you did a half decent job, I wouldn't need to!" I screamed. Any patience I had, had run out. "Maybe if you actually acted like a Mother for once, we wouldn't be living like this!"
Mother's palm smacked across my cheek, faster than I could blink. My head flung to the side, a tingling sensation running through my face. I lifted a hand to my burning cheek, holding back my tears. Mother looked down at her hand, almost disbelievingly.
She reached towards me, before retracting her hand. "Isla, I..."
I raised a hand. "Don't even bother. You know, you and Father are a good match." I let out a pained laugh. "Neither one of you gives a shit about us."
Mother's mouth opened and closed, struggling to form a coherent sentence. I pushed past her, smacking into her shoulder roughly.
"Isla, wait!"
I ignored her calls as I pounded up the stairs. My nails dug into my skin, my emotions threatening to overflow. How could a Mother treat her children this way? I didn't care for how she treated me, but it was when she let Father get away with hurting Devin...
That's where I drew the line.
I pushed my bedroom door open, quietly peeking inside. Devin was curled up in my bed, the blankets wrapped around him tightly. I shut the door behind me as I entered, kneeling down beside him. With a light touch, I gently pushed his hair off his forehead, watching him as he slept. His chest rose with and dropped with a snore, and despite everything, it made me smile.
The smile dropped at the large square patched bandage that covered his forehead. When I had come home to find Father standing over him with a wooden spoon, bruising his already weak body, all I saw was red. While I had gotten my fair share of hits trying to get him off Devin, I didn't care, as long as he couldn't hurt him. As his older sister, it was my job to protect him, but today...Today I had failed him.
As I looked down at his sleeping form, I vowed that no one would ever hurt him again. No matter the consequences.
"Long time no see, Isla."
The annoying voice of Trevor filled my ears. I knew it was about time I had to deal with him. He seemed to have disappeared for two days, something I definitely didn't mind and wouldn't question.
I turned around with a heavy sigh, ready to snap back at him when the words froze in my throat. My eyes were wide in shock as there was a black bruise under his jaw, and a fading purple one around his other eye. My gaze trailed up red, angry scratch marks on his neck and arms.
"W-Wha..."
"What?" He snapped.
Uncaring if I had been on the receiving side of his taunts and punches, I stepped closer, inspecting his face. He stumbled back in surprise, before pushing me away roughly.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What the hell happened to your face?" I asked.
"None of your fucking business," He growled. "Why do you always stick your nose in where it doesn't belong?"
Knowing I was a going to sound like a complete hypocrite, I looked up at my bully with a sad gaze. "Because as much as I hate you, if someone is hurting you -"
Trevor scoffed, shooting me an insane look. "Someone hurting me? Who do you think would dare touch me?"
I pursed my lips tightly, unsure of whether I should probe more. Deciding to go for it, I shrugged my shoulders. "Your Father?"
A surprised look flitted across his face before his familiar scowl came back. "What nonsense are you talking about now?"
I shoved my books in my locker, slamming it shut. I turned to him, feeling mixed emotions. Never before, would I have imagined there to be so much behind Trevor Jenkins.
"So, you're going to go around school like that all day?" I asked curiously, deciding not to push the topic of his Father too much. It was no secret that he didn't have the best relationship with his Father, having been seen fighting on multiple occasions.
Trevor rolled his eyes. "Not like anyone would care enough to say anything."
I felt a strange tug in my heart. In rare moments like these, I was beginning to see the rawer version of Trevor. The boy who was scared, not the one who pretended to be a cocky jerk. The boy who only wanted to be cared about, not the one who threatened people to be his friends.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He snapped, his cheeks flushing red. "Stop it."
"I'm not looking at you like anything." I defended.
"Yes, you are," He insisted, before rolling his eyes. "Don't give me your pity looks."
I sighed, clutching my books to my chest. "Trust me Trevor, I think I would be the last person to give you pitiful looks."
He stopped to give me a strange look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I opened my mouth to reply when the shrill of the bell rang, cutting me off. I gave him a strained smile. "I guess I'll see you around Trevor."
?I knew the halls would be flooded with students in less than ten seconds, and he wouldn't want to ruin his reputation by being seen talking to me. I walked away, making sure there was a decent amount of distance between us before everyone came out of class.
"W-Wait!" He called out, a hint of desperation in his voice, but I didn't turn around as classroom doors banged open, everyone filing out.
I let out a breath of relief as soon as I turned the corner. I placed a hand on my chest, resting my head against the wall.
Had I just had a normal, non-violent conversation with Trevor? Why was he suddenly being nice? Compared to his old behavior anyway, I would definitely call him nice.
"Isla?"
I straightened up at the sound of my name, smiling when I saw Xeros shooting me a funny look.
"Oh, hey!" I exclaimed, "What's up?"
"What are you doing?" He asked with a breathy chuckle.
I shrugged my shoulders casually, playing it off. "Oh, you know...Just chilling by the wall."
I nearly face-palmed at the dumb things I tended to say around him. Why was it I could never come up with anything even remotely intelligent when he was around?
"Right," He chuckled. "Because you have no friends?" He teased.
"You know, you're becoming meaner by the day," I pointed out with a mocking stern look. "I don't like it."
Xeros shook his head. "No, I've always been like this. I was just holding back when we first met."
I scoffed at the teasing smirk on his face and clapped my hands. "We have a gentleman here, ladies!" Xeros laughed as we walked side by side, attracting curious looks.
"Do you want to head to lunch together?"
I glanced up at him with a surprised expression. He wanted to have lunch with me?
Hesitation filled me, unsure of how everyone else would react. I knew people were becoming more and more accustomed to seeing us together every day, but the it was the girl's I was more afraid of. They were completely ruthless when it came to boys. If you looked at her boyfriend for longer than a second? I wouldn't be surprised if she trashed your locker, ripping up your notes, the very next day.
"It's okay if you don't want to." He muttered after a few silent moments.
"No!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. "It's not that I don't want to, I'm just worried about...Well about what everyone else will say..."
"Why should you care about that?" Xeros shrugged his shoulders. "I don't understand why you place such importance on what other's think. Who cares?"
I bit my lip, heaving a sigh. "Well...okay then."
Xeros smiled brightly at me. "Come on then, I heard they have pizza today."
I trailed behind Xeros as he bounded towards the cafeteria in excitement. Any other day, I would have gushed about how adorable he looked when he was talking about the pizza, however all that clouded my mind was anxiety over having to stand in front of hundreds of students.
Xeros banged the cafeteria doors open. I tried to cower behind him for as long as I could until he turned to me with an encouraging grin.
"What's the worst that happen?"
"Don't say that!" I hissed, looking over my shoulder. "You know, every time someone does, something bad happens, right?"
He let out a deep chuckle. "You're just being too paranoid."
"Uh, for good reason!" I defended in a low voice, "Do you not see everyone staring?"
While the room still buzzed with chatter and laughter, it was still blatantly obvious how people were trying to sneakily observe us.
"Just ignore them," Xeros shrugged, "What, are we not allowed eat now?"
An uneasy feeling swept over me, my skin prickling at all the looks and glares I was receiving.
"I guess..."
"Isla Leighton!"
My face dropped as the high-pitched voice of my classmate shrilled in my ear. Even Xeros made a face, shooting me a curious look.
"Who invited Brittney from Alvin and the Chipmunks?"
I snorted a laugh, covering my mouth. "Don't make me laugh."
He shot me a wide grin before it abruptly fell. Melis Carter stepped in front of us, her hand on her hip. She gave me a fake smile, showing off her pearly teeth.
It wasn't to be mistaken; Melis wasn't one of those girls who looked like they had plastic surgery done, or bleached their hair blonde. In fact, if I was to describe her, she was just very naturally pretty. Her light brown hair flowed down her back in waves, her tanned olive skin giving her a subtle glow.
"Melis." I greeted, trying to sound positive.
She reached across, placing her hand on mine. "How have you been, Isla? I haven't talked to you in ages!"
Part of me wanted to throw up at her obvious falseness. I knew the only reason she was here, was because of Xeros. Despite having a boyfriend, she didn't seem to think it was wrong to flirt with other boys. However, even though she shot Xeros a flirty look, she was met with a bored face in return.
"Good." I replied shortly, hoping the conversation would end there. Taking a step back, I smiled grimly. "Well, we were just leaving so -"
My sentence fell short when I felt something cold spill over me. Spluttering as I realized it was sour milk, I spat out the bitter liquid out of my mouth, wiping it away from my eyes. The room fell silent as Melis let out a snort of laughter, her eyes gleaming in delight.
"Oh, whoops! I wonder where that came from?" She fluttered her lashes innocently at me.
Seconds later, the cafeteria was filled with the loud cries of laughter. Even under all the sour liquid, I could feel my cheeks burning in humiliation. My eyes stung with tears as I shot a look at Xeros, but he seemed to be frozen in shock.
"What's the worst that could happen, huh?" I muttered bitterly. "This. This is what happens."
"Isla -"
I shoved past him, running out while everyone booed at me, trying to take as many photos as they could before I left. I slammed the doors shut behind me, blocking their jeers out. Sniffling, I looked down at my ruined clothes. They mightn't have known how rare it was for me to get new clothes. They mightn't have known how many beatings I had to go through to beg my Father to buy me something that fit a seventeen-year-old and not a thirteen-year-old.
But I did, which made everything they did to me, hurt more.
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