August's POV
"Today, class, we're going to be reading a series of passages and deciphering the setting, theme, and conflict of each excerpt. Starting with..." Mrs. Nelly, my english teachers, words blend together in my mind as I blink my eyes open and closed in a weak attempt to stay awake. I'm trying to focus, I'm just so tired and reading always makes me even more sleepy.
I'm in my first class of the day and I already can't take anything else. Dealing with Mark this morning messed with my head and then work added more stress on top of everything else and I still have so much more to do today. Usually after school I would go home and take my nap but I don't feel very safe going home just yet. I'm too scared Mark will be there and he'll finish what I know he was about to start. Mom won't do anything about it either, she'll just let him do what he pleases. She doesn't care about me anyways, honestly, it's a miracle she still lets me stay at the house.
Instead of going home I plan on just going to the public park near the bar and staying there for a few hours. It won't be perfect but it'll be better than taking the risk of going home.
I just don't want to be hurt anymore, Mark's words hurt my feelings but when he hits me it hurts even more. If I stay away for a little while then hopefully he'll forget anything ever happened and he'll leave me alone again.
The only thing I have to look forward to today is seeing Mr. Brooks next period, he always makes everything better. I know he won't penalize me for not being able to focus in his class, he'll help me and work with me to get my assignments finished.
Everyday I crave the tender care that I receive in his class, it's the only thing that gets me through every other hardship in my lif-
"Mr. Miller?" I flinched when I heard my name being called out by a shrill voice. Looking up I noticed Mrs. Nelly glaring at me from the front of the classroom with her hands on her narrow hips.
"Mr. Miller, would you do us the honor of letting the class know what the theme of the last passage was?" I quickly looked down at the paper we were given but it was no use, I wasn't paying attention and she knows it. The time it would take me to read the passage would be too long to cover up my lack of knowledge.
"U-Ummm..." I said unsurely as I tried to think of some sort of answer. No matter how hard I tried, the only thing I could think about was the fact that everyone was staring at me. "I-I'm n-n-not sure, M-Mrs. N-Nelly. I-I'm s-sorry." I finally answered as I looked down towards my desk, too embarrassed to actually look at my teacher.
"That's what I thought. Pay attention or you'll be getting a zero in my class, young man." The whole class began laughing as soon as the words left her mouth. I could feel the heat radiating from my face, I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato at this point.
I tried to actually focus on the lesson for the remaining parts of class but my efforts were proven fruitless as I was left staring into space until we were told we could pack up.
I started throwing my class work into my backpack and made my way out of the claustrophobic classroom as soon as possible, breathing a sigh of relief when I was finally in the hallway.
"Nice going, fag." My relief was short lived when I heard the voice of one of my lead tormenters, Joey.
Joey's been bullying me since the beginning of school when he started dating Brittany. As one of the most popular jocks at school, everyone else follows in his footsteps and makes fun of me too.
"Were you too busy thinking about how much of a pussy you are to answer the questions?" I cringed at his fowl choice of words but stayed still, looking intently towards the ground. Usually if I don't respond he'll leave me alone.
"I asked you a question, bitch! Are you, or are you not a pussy?" He drew the words out slowly as he stepped closer to my cowering frame.
I just want to leave. I want to go to Mr. Brooks classroom and hide away from the real world for a little while. He'll make me feel safe, he always does.
"Damn, you really are stupid, aren't you? Fuckin' dumb boy." I let out a pathetic whimper when he got so close to me that I could feel his hot breath fan out against my face. Joey's never actually hit me before but I can feel it now, he wont hesitate to lift his fist and-
"What's going on here?" My thoughts stop as soon as I hear Mr. Brooks questioning tone. He sounds scary and intimidating, it doesn't fit his looks or his usual personality but it's not the first time I've heard this voice. He uses it every time he finds someone picking on me. I'm not scared of it, though because he's never directed it towards me. I think I'd die the day he does.
"N-Nothing, sir. August and I were just having a chat about some... homework." Joey sounded unsure about his answer and after sparing a quick look up to Mr. Brooks, I could tell he didn't believe it at all.
"Sure you were. August, why don't you go to my classroom and get ready for class? I'm just gonna have a quick talk with Joey, here." I immediately complied, giving Mr. Brooks a tiny 'yes, sir' before moving away from the two of them and walking down the hall to his room.
The classroom was completely empty when I entered so I sat down at my usual desk in the back of the class. I got my things out for math that day and the homework from the day before and sat quietly until Mr. Brooks joined me in the room. He didn't look very happy as he walked through the door but he smiled as soon as he looked in my direction. It was a comforting smile, one that told me everything would be okay.
"Are you alright, honey?" He asked me in a soft tone as he moved across the room to sit down next to my desk.
"Y-Yes, Mr. B-Brooks." I replied quickly without thinking about my answer. I'm not okay but Mr. Brooks doesn't need to know that, he shouldn't have to deal with hearing me complain.
"You know, August, nothing that Joey or anyone else says to you is true. You are one of the bravest, most sweetest boys I have ever met." I could feel my brain starting to get fuzzier as he said the words, on the brink of slipping into my little space. It didn't help when he brought his hand up and lightly rubbed my cheek. It felt so good to feel a soft touch instead of the harsh hitting I'm used to.
It was a bittersweet feeling when the final bell rang and kids from my class started flooding into the classroom. Mr. Brooks gave me one more sweet smile before getting up and heading to the front of the room.
On the one hand, I was able to suppress my little space but on the other, Mr. Brooks left me. I just want him to stay by me forever.
"Alright guys, I'm going to start going over yesterdays homework. Sarah, would you like to start us off by reading number one?" After Mr. Brooks started going over the homework my tiredness began setting in all over again.
His soft voice helped to lull and calm my mind down, without my permission I could feel my eyes starting to droop.
Sleep hit me so fast that I didn't even have time to think about where I was or the consequences of my actions...
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a/n - hey guys! sooo... i know this chapter is shorter than usual, sorry about that :( i just didn't know where to end it and i didn't want it to go on for like 3k words sooo... yeah :)
anyways... i kind of have an important question.. is the book making sense so far? i feel like it's maybe going a little too fast and i'm not writing in detail enough but i don't know. feel free to comment and let me know of any input you might have on my writing so far <3 positive or negative criticism is greatly appreciated!
thank you so much for reading and don't forget to vote! i hope you all have a lovely day/night!
p.s. i just saw that the book already hit 1k reads.. that's absolutely insane :) thank you all so much for reading and interacting with the book!!
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•did you get enough love, my little dove?•
FanfictionAugust Miller is burning the candle at both ends. He's a freshman in high school yet he already works two jobs. He pays the bills at home and is responsible for keeping his mom and himself afloat because she's too busy with her boyfriends and drugs...
