Anorexic

Chapter 2: It's Never Gotten this Far Before

Leo's P.O.V.

She looked like a deer caught in headlights. That made me want to laugh. But she had a right to look shocked. I have never spoken to this girl before. What made me want to make a conversation with her now?

I only knew her name. Sadie Warren. I knew nothing of her family, what her friends were like. Actually, considering how people treated her in this high school, I wasn't too sure if she actually had any friends.

"So..." She didn't saying anything. Was that a good or bad sign? "My name is Leo. What's yours?"

I already knew her name, because of so many teachers calling roll, but I figured that it was the reasonable thing to say. She was silent. I couldn't make out her facial expression. Ah, well. I could say I tried. I turned to my eisel and picked up the brush. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her do the same.

"Sadie."

Sadie's P.O.V.

He confused me. One minute, he decides to introduce himself, and I did the same after my shock. Leo never said anything else the whole class. Art had gone on and on. The bell finally rang after four days. I put away my supplies and got out of there as soon as I could.

My house is close enough to where I can walk. After fifteen minutes, I arrived on the driveway. 'Oh no!' I thought. There, by the garage, was his red and white pickup truck. My feet felt like a thousand bricks. What was Robert doing home? I inched to the front door.

"Sophie?"

"In here!"

I sighed in semi-relief. Sophie got home an hour before I did everyday, and I always worried what would happen in that hour when Robert came home. I ran to the kitchen, and found her finding some food in the fridge.

"Where's mom?"

"She has another headache today."

"Where's Robert?"

"Looking for me?" Turning around to the deep voice by the doorway, I could feel fear boiling in me. Robert stood there, with amusment in his eyes. He always had that look on his face, probably so I couldn't tell whether or not he would hit me. Now, I'm not much of a church-goer. But when Robert gets home, I like to pray. It helps me feel safe, even for those couple of minutes.

"Can I talk to you, Sadie?" Oh, crap. I looked at my sister. Sophie was just confused. It was good that she didn't know anything. It was for her safety.

"No problem." I walked past Robert, and walked quickly out the front door. He was right behind me, and shut the door on his way out. We stood on the front porch. I always made sure we stood out here when he wanted to talk to me. That way, maybe I could run away, or get help if I screamed. It was just a precaution, even though it wasn't ever really needed.

"So, a teacher called this afternoon. Said you were drawing in her class again."

"Oh. Well-"

"How many times do I need to say this? Stop drawing in school, kid! You go there to learn, so you can get out of this house when you turn eighteen!" He interupted, his voice growing higher. Not a good sign.

"Sorry! I jus-"

My head was forced to the left. I could already feel my cheek starting to swell. Touching the tender part, I could feel wetness dripping down to my jaw. Looking at my hand, I confirmed what I thought the wetness was. Blood. It's never gotten this far. He's never slapped me that hard before. It was always a bruise of some sort, something I could cover with makeup. I looked at him. Robert didn't have a trace of emotion on his face. His brown eyes that I unfortunately inherited didn't even show amusement anymore. His black beard had crumbs tangled in, fresh from his dinner.