Underneath The Scars

Chapter Three

Underneath The Scars

Chapter Three - Scars

My conflict with Finn would not have bothered me if it wasn’t for the fact that he continued to stare at me throughout the lessons we had together. I felt close to tears, at breaking point.

He didn’t get it.  He didn’t get what it did to me.

I knew I was horrific; I had long ago come to terms with it. For some reason his endless staring got right under my skin.

Some days I just wanted to wear a paper bag over my head, maybe then I wouldn’t feel so disgusted every time I caught sight of my reflection and the ugly, jagged scar that ran from my temple to my jaw on the left side of my face. Ten months ago my mother had had one too many drinks one night and insisted we go out to get more alcohol. She passed out at the wheel and now I was the one with the permanent reminder on my face.

Finn Miles was exactly the kind of guy I would’ve been involved with before the accident. But now? Now, I could feel nothing but hatred for him. I closed my eyes to escape him but all I saw were those blue eyes, always watching me, waiting for something. I didn’t want to find out what.

                                                                   ***

“What happened?”

Harris looked up at me from his seat at our usual table in the canteen and shrugged. I hurriedly sat down, resting my elbows on the table to be closer to him. His deep brown eyes were heartbreakingly sad.

“I need to change, Eden. This is no way to live,” he mumbled.

Instinctively I reached across, taking his hand in mine and looking at him until he looked back at me.

“You’re not the one who should change, it’s them. You’re brilliant as you are,” I said softly.

Harris attempted a weak smile but instead more tears filled his eyes. “I just want to end it all,” he whispered.

I shook my head, squeezing his hand as if I could pass the remainder of my strength to him. “What about me? You can’t leave me.”

After a long moment he looked at me, eyes full of tears, and shook his head three times. “I can't make promises anymore, Eden. I don’t know what I’m capable of.”

                                                                 ***

That night I paced in my bedroom, desperately trying to call Harris. He was declining my call and I knew he was but that didn’t stop me from calling. He needed someone. He needed me.

Eventually I shoved on my shoes and hurried downstairs where I grabbed my jacket and put it on. I was almost at the door when I heard the footsteps.

“Where do you think you’re going?” my mother slurred.

I turned slowly, taking in her bleary eyed gaze and smudged lipstick. She was wearing pyjamas that were stained and dirty, her black hair a matted mess. In her right hand was a bottle. The bottle containing liquid that had given me my scar.

I tried to appear unrushed as she watched me. “Harris’s house. He needs help with something.”

She laughed loudly and the stench of her breath filled the air between us. “All that fat kid wants is a shag, Eden. You’ll give it to him sooner or later,” she said, still grinning maniacally. “That’s if you haven’t already.”

I pressed my lips together to keep me from losing it and screaming at her. “Where’s Daisy?”

My mother’s smile turned to confusion for a short moment. “School.”

I clenched my hands into fist, hoping to release some of the fury in my chest that felt as if it was crushing my heart. “School ended an hour ago!”

We watched each other for a long moment before my mother shrugged. “So go get her then,” she said, stumbling away into the other room where I heard a low masculine laugh greet her.

I closed my eyes shut tight, feeling the burn of tears in my eyes and throat. Harris and Daisy both needed me and I hated the woman who had given birth to me more than I hated anything else in the world.

Someday, I thought, someday she will pay.

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I attempted to make the chapters longer.

this is when the story starts to get kind of personal... so i hope you enjoy it ^_^