Beautiful Things

Adjusting

Fiona waited in the bathroom stall as everyone else changed. At 14 years old, she had no self-confidence. There was no way she was changing in front of others.
She put the ugly pe shirt on with shorts. Her legs looked skinnier than sticks. Her arms were twigs. She looked in the bathroom stall door gap.
She heard laughter and footsteps. The girls were finally leaving. She envied what they had. They were happy. She didn't understand how their lives were so perfect.
She glanced at herself in the mirror before going to class. Her long hair covered her face. She hated how she looked.
"Who's going to play with Fiona?" Her coach asked. They were playing badminton, and Fiona was the only one without a partner.
"I will." A girl with blonde hair said. She recognized her as one of the popular girls. She was probably only playing with her to make fun of her.
She wasn't horrible at badminton. She and her partner were up against two dark-haired popular girls. They did a victory dance every time they won a point. Fiona was so irritated. She looked over at the blonde girl who was on her team.
"Does their victory dance annoy you?" She asked quietly.
"What?" The girl asked, preparing for a serve. Fiona considered asking again.
"Nothing. Never mind." Fiona felt like she was drowning in a flood. She knew she would never forgive herself. How could she? She thought she was worthy of someone's attention.
She went to use the restroom. She began to cry, which gave her relief. She was sick of feeling numb. She wanted to feel something.
She was trying her hardest, but it was never enough. She was told all her cages were mental. It was hard to be anywhere when she felt like an open wound. She wanted to scream.
She dried her tears off, looking at her puffy eyes in the mirror. Another girl came in, and she realized she had to go back.
She saw the blonde playing against the others and having a great time. They still did their stupid little victory dance, but the blonde wasn't fazed. Fiona wondered if they even noticed she was gone.
A/N: Everything up to here is based on something that happened to me
Would anyone notice if she ran away? Fiona grabbed her school bag and walked out the door. The coach didn't even know her name. He certainly wouldn't notice.
She had no plans. She had no idea where she was going. Just anywhere but there. Pe was the last period of the day, so school would let out soon.
She hadn't gotten far when she recognized her father's truck. He was driving home from work. He slowed down as soon as he saw her.
"What do you think you're doing?" He yelled. Fiona's heart was beating so loud she was sure it would explode. Her palms became sweaty.
"Get in." He unlocked the door. She reluctantly got in the shotgun seat. He normally made her sit in the back with the wood.
Her father grabbed her hair when they got into the house. She held her breath.
"Where were you going?" She couldn't respond.
"Answer me!" He twisted her hair.
"Nowhere." Fiona tore his hands off of her hair and ran to her room, grabbing a pair of scissors. She didn't want him to have any power over her.
She looked in the mirror and watched her long black hair transform into an ugly bob. Another thing to hate when she looked in the mirror.
Taylor woke up, sweating. This had happened to her, and now she was having nightmares. She hadn't had nightmares in a long time.
"Are you ok?" Selena asked, coming in. Taylor nodded, trying to catch her breath.
"Just a bad dream. Probably because I'm going to therapy with Abby today. Something I never got." She failed to mention the one time she had tried therapy.
"Let me know if you need anything." Taylor got up to make breakfast.
"Is Dorthea nice?" Taylor asked.
"Of course she is." Selena sipped her smoothie.
"I wonder how Abby will react. I asked her to come to therapy with me. I'm not sure how to tell her it's for her." Selena nodded, putting their dishes in the small dishwasher.
"Just be honest." Taylor got in the car and drove to Abby's house. Abby opened the door with a solemn expression. She gave Taylor a big hug.
"I'm so proud of you." She whispered in Taylor's ear. Taylor looked at her.
"I was thinking about both of us going to therapy."
"Ok. Do you mean I need help?" Abby asked.
"Yes." Abby was speechless but pulled Taylor in for another hug.
"Thank you." She said softly. Taylor saw the tears streaming down both of their faces. They got in the car. It began to snow. The wind howled.
"Do you have a coat?" Abby asked Taylor. Taylor nodded and asked the same question of Taylor. They both realized at the same time that they were trying to avoid therapy. Taylor had been there before and felt like she was pouring her heart out to a wall. She wasn't sure how it would feel now.
A/N:
This is such a sad chapter
2 more chapters until the end!
I'm going to upload another chapter along with this one bc I've been writing my new story and I want to publish that soon