Infinity

Chapter 13: Mason

I live in a house with a women suffering from depression and a six-year-old girl who spends every day fighting for a place to fit in (and no one should ever have to fight to fit in when you're in the 1st grade). You would think that I would be used to crying, especially girls crying, but nothing could prepare me for this moment. I don't know why it hurt so much, seeing her there on the cold floor, alone in the long and desolate hallways. Maybe it was how she was curled up against the royal blue lockers, arms wrapped around her shaking body. Maybe it was the fact that I could very faintly see the outline of a dark bruise on her cheek covered up by her pale foundation, and the knowledge that that wasn't the only bruise on her. Or maybe it was the thought of someone hurting her to the point where she was not only in an extreme amount of pain but also scared her enough to have her terrified of anyone discovering what happened or who it was. Obviously, I was angry, but there was nothing I could do this at the time. I didn't know who did it, nor why or when (though it must've been earlier that day or late last night), but my heart ached at the thought of someone hurting her, the same way I felt seeing my little sister come home with black and blue bruises covering her arms and legs, knowing that there was nothing I could do just yet to end their her suffering. But what hurt more than anything, more than watching her practically collapse in the other room to seeing her like this, was when I held her in my arms as she cried softly into my black and grey hoodie, the feeling of her thin shoulders shaking as she covered her face, trying to muffle the sound of gentle yet desperate sobs. I stroked her hair awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. This was a foreign situation to me, holding a girl I barely knew this close to me and attempting to comfort her when I didn't even know why she was so upset in the first place, why she trusted me enough to allow herself to reveal even this much of her. I didn't know why even though she was obviously distraught, and I was extremely worried and slightly angry, why this moment felt so absolutely right. Why she fit perfectly in my and I almost never wanted to let her go, and all I wanted was for her to stop crying so she could be happy. Why I cared so much. But I couldn't help it.

"Ella..." I whispered pulling her in a little bit closer while also trying to keep from hurting her even more. She shook her head silently, causing her hair to fall down over the sides of her face. I gently pushed some of it back, tucking it behind her ear, before slowly standing up and holding out a hand to her.

"Come on, let's go back. Or take you home. Your choice, but you missed the bus again so you don't really have any other options."

I watched as she took a deep, shuddering breath, before wiping her eyes quickly grabbing my hand with her trembling one, damp with tears.

"I-I just want to go home..." She said softly as I helped her to her feet.

"Alright, shall we go ger our bags then?"

She shook her head quickly, and I noticed her wince slightly this time.

"T-That's okay, I can get it tomorrow."
"Are you sure? It'll only take a second."

"Y-Yes, I'm positive."

I couldn't tell if there was any paticular reason as to why she didn't want to get her bag yet, but I didn't want to ask her and upset her more. Instead, I settled for silence as we made our way to my car for the second day in a row. Neither of us really looked at each other throughout the short walk to the parking lot, but I could still tell that she was in pain from the shuffle of her steps, the sharp intake of breath when she stepped on her foot the wrong way. I would've carried her to the car if I hadn't thought she would freak out, but I settled for opening the passenger side door for her and digging around in the glove compartment for the bottle of ibuprofen I kept in there.

"Here, take two of these. It should help with whatever's hurting you. I forgot, I have to get my bag from the Music Room, will you be okay for a few minutes?" I asked, handing her the pills. She nodded silently, mumbling a soft "Thank you " before I closed her door and jogged back into the school.

I arrived in the Music Room to find Pen, Nathan and Devin all grabbing their backpacks and other belongings in a worried silence. Pen was the first to notice me, since I grabbed Eleanor's bag first which was directly next to Pen's black and white checkered backpack. She looked up at me, and smiled faintly.

"So you found her?" She asked. "Is she okay?"

I shrugged, unsure of how to answer.

"Well," I started, "She's about as okay as you could expect. I'm about to drive her home."

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Nathan asked, looking up from his attempt to shove a thick, worn out binder into an already packed messanger bag.

"No, I didn't ask." I said as I walked over to my bag and threw it over my shoulder gently.

"Well, tell her we hope she feels better soon, and that if she needs to talk we're here for her." Pen said. "Plus, if she's up for it, we can work on the projects again tomorrow. We'll be down here during lunch tomorrow, you should come down! It'd be awesome to have more people hanging out in here."

Nathan nodded in agreement, standing up. "Unlike Mean Girls, you guys can sit with us." He said, laughing. "See ya around?"

I nodded quickly, already walking towards the door.

"Yup, see ya!" I said, waving as I stepped out of the room and started my way towards the parking lot.
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A/N: I wanna apologize. I know it's been forever. And this chapter is short, and it sucks. But I don't know where to go from here. I have the worst writers block ever, and I've been dealing with a lot of stuff over the past few months. I PROMISE I will try to update more often, but I just wanted to let you guys know I'm not dead or anything. I'm still writing!! Once again, I am SO sorry. I love you all..

Peace, Love, and What the Hell are Nugs?

Olivia <3