Distant

1

"Skyler James, this behaviour is unacceptable! What do you have to say for yourself?" Ms Hillingdon screeched. Skyler had been through this moment many times before and had to use up almost every excuse in her book. Self defence seemed to be a good one,
"I-I had to. His friends were bullying me-"
"You've used that excuse before!" Mrs Hillingdon cut Skyler off before she could finish her sentence, but she merely just rolled her eyes and let the old hag talk.
"Take this home and have your parents sign it, you know the drill." Ms Hillingdon handed Skyler a small note filled with scribbly writing that she could barely read. She stuffed it in her jean pocket and strode down to her lockers, passing many of her classmates, some of whom Skyler favoured for many different reasons to others. They smiled and waved at her, which made Skyler feel slightly better than she had before. She smiled back and continued walking. It was the end of her school day and thankfully after this she would just go home and spend an hour or two on the phone to her friend, Austin. It's what she did almost everyday. The two of them had been doing this same arrangement since they were in second grade, and they were now twelve. Skyler came to her locker and dug around in her pockets for the keys. She found them and unlocked her dull grey locker. The inside of the locker however, was decorated with pictures of her early days with her foster family and of her and Austin. And one other. The other was of a beautiful, pure black German Shepard that Skyler had found roaming the streets one day. She took the dog, tamed it up to standard and gave it a fitting name, Kodiak. It seemed to fit him rather well. Almost every evening on her way home from school, Skyler would take a detour through an alleyway to see Kodiak and feed him her leftover lunch. He was perfect, he was Skyler's perfect pet.

"So, how'd it go?" Skyler jumped as Austin slammed his bag against the locker next to hers. She rolled her eyes and pulled the black and blue satchel from her locker. Austin ran his hand through his dusty brown hair and flashed a smile at Skyler, but she didn't take the action as Austin had expected and she punched him straight on in the stomach. He winced and followed Skyler as she pushed passed him, clutching his stomach. The two scuttled through the crowd of school children and exited the big iron gates. The street was not its usual self, the town had done a clean up the day before and the streets were looking far cleaner. They turned corners and crossed roads until Austin felt safe enough to ask about Skyler's meeting with the Principal. Just before Austin had the chance to say anything Skyler cut him off,
"It was fine, the meeting. But—" Skyler's voice became distant, as if she weren't really speaking to him, but to another figure near by. She looked left and right, sending her long dark hair flailing everywhere, and studied the road for cars—she was very concentrated. Austin smiled at the expression painted across Skyler's face, he never really knew what she was doing but he enjoyed watching her be cautious for once in her life. They crossed the road to the other side, where their houses were situated and Austin took Skyler's small, frail hand in his. She squeezed his hand like she were holding on for dear life. It ran through Austin's head that in fact Skyler was hanging on for her life. She would get home and a few minutes later Austin would hear shouting or screeching from her house. Her foster father would not be pleased with Skyler this afternoon and Austin ever so wished that he could just take Skyler home with him and keep her from the monster she called a father.
"But what?" Austin stopped in his tracks when he heard Skyler sniff and he turned to her. A tear rolled down her cheek and she held her eyes closed. Austin took his hands to her face and wiped away the tear. She sniffed again and Austin wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her towards his chest. Skyler clung to his neck with all her might. She did not want to let go and neither did Austin. She cried into Austin's shoulder and he kept a tight grip on her.
"Don't let go." Skyler sobbed, breathing heavily. She gripped his T-shirt and squeezed him so tight she though he might pop. Austin had a decent build, the perfect mix between muscle and bony, the perfect height for his age.
"I won't." Austin smiled in Skyler's shoulder. He took a deep breath and moved into his knees, bringing Skyler down with him. The two of them sat hugging on the pavement. Five minutes had passed and Austin remembered Skyler's father. If she was late then he would surely beat her. Austin hurried Skyler to her feet and they ran to her house, passing people bustling around and groups of school children crowding near the skatepark. Panting, Skyler stopped them.
"What's the rush?" She bent over, clasping her wrist. She shoved the sleeve of her shirt up her arm, exposing many scars and deep scratches. Austin grimaced and Skyler looked up to him, smiling a weak smile. She pulled her sleeve down again and they kept walking. Austin grabbed Skyler's arm and pulled her closer to his body. She was more than happy to move closer, of course, but she couldn't help thinking that Austin under estimated her just a tad. He was protecting her when she needed no protection. Well, to be honest, she did need protection, but she never showed that she wanted it. They reached Skyler's house and Austin gave her a short hug then left her alone, staring at the great house that stood before her. Her heart pounded as she feared the pain that awaited her. Slowly, she tiptoed through the door and into the kitchen. Her father's rough figure and harsh eyes met her instantly.
"You're late." He scolded her. Skyler hung her head in shame and shut her eyes from the sight of her father clasping his belt. Before Skyler was ready, a hard whip struck across her back, leaving a hell of a mark. Skyler would definitely not be able to hide this from Austin, he would find out, sooner or later. Her father repeated the action over and over. Skyler opened her tear-filled eyes and her father look down at her with an expression of discust. She hated him. Despised even. The only person in the world who could possibly save her from such a vile man was her foster mother. But her mother was usually away on business trips, while her father stayed at home and drunk away his sorrows. Her mother was rather wealthy but did not raise enough to leave her husband and flee with her daughter, for she knew that he would follow and possibly kill her. Skyler merely had to stick it out until she was eighteen and could leave home, so only 6 more years of pain, but it seemed like so much longer to her. It seemed like every time her father whipped her, her life would be set back a few weeks, so time would never run out. She feared that thought deeply, more than anything, the thought of never escaping. She stretched out her hands and rolled up her sleeves, ready to receive her another scar or two on her wrists.  The pain was agonising and it soared through her arm and up to her shoulders then vibrating all around her body. Her father gave another vicious whip and Skyler screamed as loud as her lungs could bare. Her father grimaced at the noise and whipped her once more on the back to shut her up. She collapsed to her knees and let her tears pour down her cheeks and onto the floor. Her father put his belt on again and walked into the living room to watch sport and drink. Skyler would expect nothing more from her deadbeat father that cared only for himself and his beer. He was a rotten old man who only married for the money and Skyler was just a mistake to adopt. He'd twice tried to give her away but her mother had always stopped him before it went too far. Skyler picked herself off the floor and left her bag on the counter as she walked up to her room, only taking her phone up with her. She ran into her bedroom and practically ripped off her shirt, cursing at the blood stains. She took a bandage from the medical supplies in her room and wrapped it around and around her back, then others around each of her wrists. She grabbed her phone and rang Austin. The phone rang for a couple of seconds, but eventually her room was filled with the sound of Austin's calming voice.
"How many strikes?" He asked with a sigh. Tears still poured down her face and she wanted a hug from Austin more than anything in the world.
"Three. I need to talk to you, we need to leave. Just for a little, please!" Skyler almost shouted but then very quickly lowered her voice as she realised her volume. She could almost hear the smile on Austin's face.
"Yeah sure, where'd you want to go?" He replied bubbly, which brought a smile to Skyler's facial features.
"The Skatepark down town after picking up Kodiak." Austin already knew the answer before Skyler had said it. They both put the phone down. Skyler knew that her father had to be drunk by now, he would let her leave to go to the park, wouldn't he? She ran down the stairs after throwing on a nice shirt. She almost tripped down the stairs but managed to keep her balance. Skyler headed for the door when she heard a loud, drunk voice,
"Where'd you thing you're going?" Her father said, slurring his words. She cocked her head to look over the couch at her father, who was sprawled out and smothered in beer, you could smell it all throughout the house.
"Just meeting up with some friends at the skatepark—"
"What with that boyfriend of yours?" Skyler's cheeks reddened with anger. She hated when people referred to Austin as her 'boyfriend', it put her off completely. She just rolled her eyes and strode out of the door. The sharp pain in her back and wrists was still in the mist of her mind, but she tried her hardest to ignore it. She thought of Austin and the fact that he seemed so happy to see her after they had just spent the whole school day together. She slowly walked down the road towards Austin's house. A bang of a door closing rang out through the empty complex of houses and Austin appeared in front of Skyler. He wore the same denim jeans and a red T-shirt that made his golden eyes stand out that he had worn to school. Skyler liked this outfit as it really did bring out his eyes, she liked his eyes. She knew them as the soft ones that belonged to the boy who cheered her up when she felt like she was worthless. Skyler's heart warmed at the sight of him looking so happy. The two of them jogged down the street and down a back alley that took them to a pile of bins that Kodiak had created a place to rest behind.
"Kodiak." Skyler whispered and a skinny black German Shepard bounded out to greet her. He pounced onto her, sending her flying back. Skyler nudged and pushed Kodiak off her and Austin helped her up again. They laughed as Skyler pulled out a half eaten biscuit and threw it up in the air. Kodiak jumped for it and caught it in his jaw filled mouth. He hungrily chomped away at the biscuit and within seconds it was gone. Kodiak looked up at Skyler and she scratched behind his ear.
"C'mon, lets go." Austin said huskily, almost as if he were jealous. Skyler smirked as Austin looked back over his shoulder at her kissing Kodiak's forehead. He angrily turned away and gestured for them to follow. Skyler giggled and followed him, Kodiak following behind her. Austin lead them through the roads and streets to the skatepark. Skyler sat down on a bench with Kodiak sitting beside her and she patted him on the head. He licked Skyler's face, leaving a trail of slobber. She gaged and wiped down her cheeks. Austin slowly walked to the tall net climbing frame, alone. Skyler hated it when they were together and he was talking to someone else, so he had every reason to feel the same way about Kodiak. She hoped up from her seat on the bench and sprinted towards Austin. She jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He laughed and placed his hands under her knees, giving her a piggy back. Skyler muffled his hair and he spun around, nearly loosing his balance. Kodiak sat peacefully on the bench watching their madness and Skyler was pleased to see that he was still there. Austin pranced around with Skyler on his back. He would often give her piggybacks, it was one thing she very much enjoyed.

After a while of playing on the climbing frames and monkey bars, Skyler, Austin and Kodiak settled down under a tree. Skyler told Austin about this afternoons beating and she lifted up her sleeves and pulled away the badges, showing him the two more scars she had acquired on each wrist. Austin ran his fingers over the scars and she grimaced in pain.
"Sorry." He said quickly pulling his arm away. Skyler shook her head and nestled into his shoulder, which he opened up to comfortably. Kodiak gazed into her eyes. His glazed eyes were soft and happy and his green irises reflected the sun. Skyler gently stroked him as she started to relax. She looked up to Austin, who had dozed off already, and the sight made Skyler blush. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off. This afternoon hadn't been so bad after all, but Skyler had a burning fear in the back of her heart that wanted to run home and keep her from receiving another beating. She kept that little sliver of fear as contained as she could and focused on the sound of the breeze. After a few minutes she was sound asleep. Breathing evenly for a change and her mind filled with the images of things that made her happy. She dreamed peacefully. Never was she more peaceful than she was at the park, under her favourite tree, with her two favourite people.