Title Goes Here

Chapter six

I woke up and it was Tuesday. Today our school had a memorial thing for Ethan that lasted all day. I'm honestly glad our school did that, because I did not want to take my biology test today.

It started off with the morning announcements. The principal read this whole 2 page essay that his friends wrote about him. It was super boring, but again, I feel really bad. He never bullied anyone or did anything wrong. He was popular, but he never hurt anyone at all. Once the essay was over we had 6 minutes of silence because apparently 6 was his favorite number. It was kind of nice though. I didn't have to hear anyone in my class screaming about random shit, and I didn't have to worry about being lost in my own thoughts without missing anything we were learning.

     After, we all wrote cards for his family. Our school has 6 advisory classes per grade, and each advisory class had to make 2 lanterns for him. Luckily Luke was in my class, and a couple other people we tolerate, so we worked on a paper machete lantern. I don't understand why we had to do it, but whatever. Our school does this for every student that passes away, which there's been 3 or 4 others this year alone because the school system sucks and all this pressure drives kids to committing suicide.

     After we finished our lanterns we had an assembly for him until lunch, then they let us go home early. It was just depressing honestly. After school I saw Isaac again. This time, he was with Evelyn. They came up to me and started talking to me. "Hey Finn," Evelyn said, "can I talk to- can we talk to you?"
"I guess?" I said.
"So," Evelyn said, "we were thinking tonight we would go back to the tree house and get a better understanding, since if we actually see the destruction it will be easier to figure out who or what really did this."
"And why is he here exactly?" I asked.
"He's here to be my supportive bo- friend, my close guy best friend." Evelyn said. He looked at her with confusion. He whispered in her ear. It mostly just sounded like gibberish, but I could pick out "I'm not," "don't", "her", and "love you." I looked at them thinking they saved themselves, but it was very obvious that he was telling her he's not ready for the school to find out there dating.
"Anyways," Evelyn continued, "it would be very helpful if you brought your friends over to the same gas station we always meet at and discuss this."
"What time?" I said, "because since it's a school night, my mom won't let me be out later than 10, so, sorry."
"You didn't hear?" Isaac said.
"Hear what?" I asked.
"School is canceled the rest of the week. We have a break." He replied.
"What do you mean? I'm sure if it was true I would've already been informed about it." I said. Just seconds later I got a text from River.
River: NO SCHOOL!!!!!
"Okay, I guess I'll go." I mumbled.
"Great!" Evelyn said, "I can't wait to find everything out finally. We will finally get justice."
"Yeah, justice... or death." I said.
"Oh come on," Evelyn said, "try thinking positively for once."
"Yeah Finn, don't be such a downer." Isaac said quickly after.
"Since when did I say death would be a bad thing," I said while walking away, "bye bitches!" They stood there in shock. They said a couple things while I was on my skateboard, but they just sounded like a bunch of mumbles.

I rode my skateboard home, then when I opened the door, I saw my mom. "Wow Florence, ditching school I see?"
"Shut the fuck up mom." I said back.
"I gave birth to you, you have no right to be rude to me!"
"That's your problem for having unprotected sex, not mine."
"What is with the Additude Florence?"
"As if your not abusive to me!"
"When have I ever hurt you? I would never harm my daughter physically or mentally!"
"Then stop calling me by my dead name!"
"All this gender shit is fucking bull shit! You're just trying to be different and quirky, but in reality you're just an average teenage girl who likes boys and makeup!"
"I don't identify as a girl, and I like all genders, not just boys!"
"That's because your a slut! And if you really don't identify as a girl, cut your hair right here right now!"
"First of all I'm not a slut, and second of all I'm not going to cut my hair! It's my fucking hair, I can do whatever the hell I want with it!"
"That's because you're too scared to cut your hair because you don't want to admit that your just a slutty little girl!"
"Shut the fuck up mom! I fucking hate you! All you've ever done is ruined my life!"
"That's because your the worst child to ever exist! I wished you died instead of Peyton, at least she was kind and didn't believe any of this shit!"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I fucking hate you! Burn me, hit me, kill me, do whatever the fuck you want to me, but just know that if Peyton saw how you treated me right now, she'd hate you for how horrible of a person got are!"
"That's it you little whore!" She took a gun and aimed it at me. I didn't know what to say, and I honestly just accepted my fate. I closed my eyes, and I heard a shot, but no harm was done. When I opened my eyes, I saw my mom laying on the floor. I was so confused, but then I saw that she shot her own foot and fell over. "Are you okay?" I asked, but she never answered. All I heard were whimpers from her.

I grabbed her and carried her to her bed where I duck taped her mouth and tied her arms together so she couldn't try doing anything. I disinfected the wound and I could tell she was in agony. I bandaged up the wound and took the tape off her mouth. She was crying from the pain, but I gave her some melatonin and she was asleep within 10 minutes.

I went to the living room and worked for about 30 minutes getting all the blood off the floor and cleaning up the glass from a shattered vodka bottle that must've fallen before I got home.

I went to the bathroom to wash my hands when I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked at my hair and let my fingertips go to the length of my hair, which fell a couple inches past my shoulders. I saw scissors by the sink then I looked back and forth from my hair to the scissors. I though about what my mom said, and I took the scissors and cut my hair short. Tears flooded  my eyes making  it foggy, but all I knew was that my hair was short. It looked like boy hair, whatever that means.

     I threw my hair in the trash, then I took some hair stuff and I styled it. If my mom didn't believe that I didn't identify as a girl anymore, maybe this'll help. I looked in the mirror one last time, and I smiled. I just felt more me with that hair, and I can't explain why.

     I texted the band group chat asking if they could call.
Me: heyyyy
     Luke: Hi!
     River: what's up?
     Rylie: the sky
     River: shut tf up
     Me: can you guys call?
     River: yeah
     Luke: Did something happen?
     Me: well...
     Me: yes
     Luke: is it bad?
     Me: you'll see
     Rylie: ok?

     I FaceTimes them with my camera facing the ceiling. Once everyone joined, I said, "I want everyone's honest opinions."
     "Alright." Luke said.
     "5... 4... 3... 2... 1.5... 1.35..." I said.
     "Just hurry up and show us already." River said.
     "Okay, okay," I said "1." I showed my face finally, and I could see Rivers slight confusion for a second.
     "Is it... bad?" I asked.
     "I really like it!" Luke said.
     "Yeah, I feel like it suits your aesthetic more." Rylie said. I saw Rivers mouth moving, but not a single sound was coming out of their mouth. At first, I assumed they were muted, but then they left the call. I assumed their phone was just glitching, so I let it be.

A few moments later River called me. They told me they liked my hair, but they left the call because they heard his parents fighting again, and they heard glass shattering. They said their mom stepped in glass, and their dad tried killing her with the shards of glass. They got a little glass in there arm while trying to stop their dad, but they had to lock their dad in a room that you can't unlock from the inside.

They had to help their mom by cleaning up the wounds. I told them I had to do the same with my mom. They said they were okay, but I was worried about them. I asked them if they'd be up for going to the tree house tonight, and they agreed. I talked to everyone else about it, and they seemed willing to do it. All we had left was to actually go to the place all my sisters friends died. Seeing what destruction had caused that everyone seems so persistent that my father did it. The reason he's in jail. The reason my mom became abusive. I told myself over the summer I'd never go back, but here I am, going to the place that caused my life to turn to shit.