Brake My Bones ✓

02 | What You Deserve

"There's been talk of delinquents robbing houses in this area," She stepped back and reached for the door handle. "You can never be too careful."

Then I knew exactly why. She was paranoid. Not for me, though. For my sister. She didn't want her to be at home alone, so she brought her here.

When the door shut and the smell of her flowery perfume lingered in the air, I sighed and rested my back into the seat.

I felt tears burn through my eyes, and before I knew it, the warm sensation of them slipped down my face. Angrily wiping them away from my skin, I got up and walked to the wall sized mirror at the back of my bedroom. My gaze landed on the reflection of my eyes. I wanted to watch myself - see if there was any way to fix the way I look, the way my eyes looked. They were disgusting. The brims were tinged with red, holding back more tears. She wasn't worth them.

Yet, when I focused on the small spot of blue in one eye, I tried to hold back a sob. It was the only part of me that reminded me of my mother. Maybe that was why she hated me. I didn't look like her at all, except the tiny area of blue that resembled her eyes.

I remembered the way Gabriel looked at them. His eyes widened at the sight of it, and I knew it wasn't a good thing. Maybe that was a good thing. If he didn't like it, he wouldn't approach me, and I'd be relieved. I wouldn't have to crush on him for longer than necessary.

Now his eyes were playing on repeat in my mind, and the thought of them hindered my ability to cry. Hazel. Would it be stalker-level crazy to say that it was starting to become my favourite colour?

"Serenity," My door creaked open, and the sound of my sister's sweet voice snapped me back to reality.

I saw her reflection in my mirror and smiled at her. She never knew they were as fake as her.

"Melody," My voice didn't tremble. "Can I help you?"

I received a blink before that plastic smile of hers was gone and she was making her way toward me.

"I have a lot of homework to do, actually," Sensing she was about to dump an hour vent on me, I scrambled for an excuse and made my way back to my desk.

"You need to tell her the truth," Melody's sweet tone turned sour, accusing me of what I told her was a lie. "She's our mother, and Bailey was mine."

I felt my blood run cold at the mention of his name. Bailey was Melody's ex-boyfriend. He was a boy who lived across the street from us, until a month ago when my mother wreaked havoc on another relationship that wasn't hers.

"I didn't do anything," My voice remained calm as I sat down in my seat and pulled myself closer to the table. "I've told you so many times, but you won't listen."

She sighed dramatically and plummeted onto my bed. I clenched my jaw and picked up a pen, fumbling with it as the anger beneath the surface began to build up.

"Because you're a liar," Melody almost spat out, and I straightened myself up in my seat.

Hoping Arlo, my brother, was close enough to hear Melody raise her voice at me, I ignored her. He was usually protective of me, but he had his own problems to worry about. I'd given him enough trouble over the years.

"And you're not even denying it!" Her voice screeched and I wanted to stab myself with the pen in my hand to block it out.

"When I do deny it, you don't listen to me. When I don't deny it, you don't listen to me," I spoke quietly, flicking through my papers. "Are you seeing the pattern here? You don't listen to me, period."