Fight For Me, Not Just My Life

Chapter One

She was my first fan! Thank you sooo much! :D

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This chapter is three weeks after the prologue!

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Chapter One

I stared at the clock blankly, willing the hand to move faster. It was the last class before our first winter break. Five more minutes and I was free.

After a moment, I was suddenly aware of a hand waving in my face, and someone repetitively saying my name.

“Miss Asher. Miss Asher!” My teacher stood in front of me, a look of pure malice in her eyes. No one really liked Mrs. Hubble, when you got down to it. She wasn’t kind. If you zoned out in her class, she gave detentions quicker than most people can blink. “What is the answer, Miss Asher?”

I looked at her sharply, and smiled. “The answer is x y over thirty-seven.” I recited, earning a shocked look from her and blatant laughter from most of the class. She really should have learned by now that I can listen and learn while zoned out.

RING! RING! RING!

The bell rung, shrill and clear. I stood up, pulling my backpack out from underneath my chair in the process. Mrs. Hubble stood stock-still, not having moved since I told her the answer a moment ago. I smiled my little-angel smile, and bowed politely.

“Have a good day and break, Mrs. Hubble.”

With a smile and a nod, I was out the door and on my way home.

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                I threw open the door to my room, and suddenly didn’t know what had hit me. I fell back, crashing to the floor and scattering the papers I had been carrying. Dizzily, I looked up to find out what had happened.

“Zander…?” I said, my voice slurring slightly. I shook my head to clear it, and shakily stood back up.

“Nicole, you cheating bitch!” he screamed, throwing another punch at me. I dodged, but not before he kicked my leg out from under me. “Why did you do this, Nicole?!”

He fell down, his knee digging into my hip and stomach. I gasped in pain, and shook violently in an attempt to get him off. He wasn’t having any of that. He raised his hand again and I screamed, bracing myself for the sharp sting. Once it came, I yelped yet again.

“Zander, please! I’m not Nicole! I’m your sister!” I pleaded, coughing as I finished. His eyes were a little dull, and I stared in shock. “You’re drunk, Zander.” I said, disbelief coloring my words.

“Wh-What…? Airiccah..?” He said, stuttering and shaking his head. He stared intently at me for a moment, and then pulled himself off of me. Standing over me, he laughed. “Damn. Bitch, I don’t care.”

With one swift kick to my ribcage, I was unconscious.

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I woke up hours later, and pulled myself to a standing position painfully. I staggered into my room, and did a basic inventory of any damage done. No broken bones. That was good. I stretched out as much as I could, and walked into my bathroom.

And expression of pure shock crossed my face as I took in the girl I looked at. My face was bloody, and I had a small gash underneath one eye –probably from one of Zander’s rings. An ugly purplish bruise was already formed on my lower cheek and jaw. I slid my tank top up, and gasped painfully.

There was a dark, black bruise surrounding a cut on my ribcage. Tears welled up in my eyes, and fell nearly instantaneously. My mother knocked on my door and I walked into my room quietly, making sure to pull my shirt back down.

Walking in, she said, “You better find a way to cover the bruises, Airiccah, because I’m not going to have your brother in trouble for hurting you. As far as anyone knows, your clumsy ass fell down the stairs.” She gave me a look colder than ice, and walked straight back out; slamming the door as she went.

I moved over to my desk, and searched for the little black boxes that had exactly what I needed in them. Tears fell from my eyes as I looked, forcefully throwing drawers open and closed frantically. A seemingly endless string of profanities found its way from my lips.

Finally, I thought; pulling the small box of new razorblades out of the back of a drawer. I locked my bedroom door, and walked into the bathroom. Flipping the lock behind me, I stuffed a towel under the door and turned on the shower, drawing a hot bath.

I’ll only do a little… I thought, tears streaming furiously down my face. I hit the stopper in the bath and yanked a blade from my black box. Gritting my teeth, I sunk both of my arms down into the scalding water. I quickly struck the blade across my arm, not feeling the sting until it bled a couple of moments later.

I wiped my eyes on my upper arm, and yanked the blade across my skin again, and again, and again. Each time I drug the blade, the cuts became deeper and more worrisome. Eventually I yanked my arms out of the water, wrapping the bleeding one in tight gauze under an Ace bandage.  I gritted my teeth against the sharp pains coming from my wrist, and instead focused on trying to pinpoint certain areas.

I thought back to moments ago, counting. If I counted correctly, that would mean that I had made at least twelve or thirteen cuts in the last few minutes. I checked the Ace bandage around my arm, and noted that there weren’t any signs of blood yet. I smiled in spite of myself.

I made myself more presentable, and walked out of my bathroom quietly. I tossed my bloody tank top into a dirty clothes pile, and had just yanked on a new one when someone walked into my room. I rubbed my eyes, and soon just stared in shock at the person I was seeing.

“Aiden?!” I gasped, tripping over my own feet as he caught my attention. With quick thinking, and probably more strength that I realized, he caught me effortlessly. I steadied myself and stared at him, taking in his normal appearance. His short blond hair was messy as usual, and his green eyes were tinged with concern.

I thought for a moment, looking for a cause. I remembered the bloody tank top and the blood on my hand. Quickly putting my hand behind me, I smiled. “What’s brought you here, Aiden?” I’d never tried so hard to sound causal.

“Just came to see my best friend…” He said, words barely escaping his lips. Heedless of another word, he walked forward a step and pulled my hand out, staring at the blood on it. He looked at me, concern etched plainly on his pretty-boy face.

“I’m glad to see you, Ai.” I said, trying to avoid the subject. He swiftly walked past me and picked up the bloodied tank off the floor. Tears were in his eyes as he turned back to me.

“What is all of this, Airiccah…?” His voice cracked, thick with tears and worry. I nearly fell apart into tears myself as I listened to the sound echo quietly.

“It was my best kept secret, until now…” I said, shaking as I spoke. He took my arm in his hands, and unwrapped the Ace bandage. With shaky fingers, he pulled gently at the gauze it was covering so well.

“Please talk to me, Airiccah…”

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Ohh! Cliffhanger. Kinda. XD We all know what's gonna happen next!

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