Charlotte's playlist (a Steve Harrington x OC fanfic)

002. Shout -Tears for Fears

I opened the door slowly, stepping over empty bottles. My mom was at work. She was mean but she was nowhere near as bad as my dad. He was violent. He worked early. 4am to 12pm and then he came home and drank and slept. He was currently asleep on the old sofa in the living room. I snuck past him and quickly made it into my bedroom. Our house was small. We had luckily been able to afford one that had a tiny second bathroom which was for me. I had a small bedroom, and it was very messy. My small bathroom was just across the hall. A tiny sink and a toilet somehow fit in beside the shower. There was a small cupboard under the sink that was filled with soaps and hair products. The side of the sink and the 10 centimeters of bench space beside it were covered in makeup products. I had a towel slung over the side of the shower, drying. I had a quick look in the mirror. My hair was frizzier than this morning and little bits had fallen from the ponytail. I took off my sweaty school clothes and changed into something comfortable. I sat on the floor with a poetry book and started to read. It was a collection of poetry from different romantic poets. Keats, Byron, Shelley. I looked over at my clock after a while and dropped my book on my bed. I had to make dinner. I hurried downstairs to the kitchen and started to cook pasta. Soon after I started, my mom walked in. She nodded at me and headed to her room to change out of her work clothes. I'd managed to avoid her yelling at me. I sighed in relief as I finished cooking. Mom and I ate in silence at the table. Dad would eat right before work. I put his portion in the fridge and cleaned the dishes. I heard him stir and I tried to work faster so I could escape to my room. This resulted in me dropping a fork. Nothing broke but it did make a loud noise. My dad walked in, glaring, and angry.

"What the fuck, Charlotte! Can't you be quiet for once? You are useless, honestly." He slapped me across the face. It stung but he'd done worse, so I took it as a win. I nodded and apologized. He huffed and stormed out. I finished the dishes carefully and walked back to my room. I got my bag ready for school the next day and sat on my bed. I pulled out some homework and tried to do some of it. It was a struggle, but I managed to get through a few questions. I sighed and set the homework aside. I got up and looked at my face in the mirror. It was still red, but the mark seemed to be fading. I decided to have a quick shower before bed. I sat on the floor of the shower and watched the water swirl down the drain. I thought about school and how hard each class was. At least I had English again tomorrow. I smiled to myself at the thought. It was right before lunch, so I was going to stay behind and chat with Ms. Richardson, the English teacher. She happily talked to me about what I was reading at the time and would give me great recommendations. I got out of the shower, now excited for tomorrow. I got ready for bed and lay down. I stared at the ceiling for a while until I started to fall asleep.