Bruise

Ch. I | dēsīderium

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"Lonely girl; alone inside her head
her dreams slip through her fingers again"

Rolling Girl - Nano

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An unfamiliar hand slid up my thigh, its touch warm and clammy. Though light, each touch seemed to press down on me, preventing me from escaping. Another hand was gripped around my wrists, holding them high above my head. A lecherous voice commented on how beautiful I was, yet the 'compliment' made me want to throw up. I wanted nothing more than to escape, yet I knew that I couldn't; I had to stay and suffer.
A foreign pair of lips fell upon mine as if to suffocate me, and all faded to black.

***

I awoke with a start, my chest heaving and my heart hammering away at my ribcage. I wiped frantically at my lips, trying to remove any trace of what I had just felt.

"It was just a dream, Will." I wasn't sure whether I was trying to reassure myself or inform myself; deep down, I knew that it wasn't a mere dream, not by any means. It had been a memory, made vivid by night's sweet embrace. They had been more frequent lately, but there wasn't much I could do to stop my mind from conjuring up memories. They were part and parcel of my life now, whether I liked it or not.

I glanced at my clock and rolled out of bed. 6 am. At least I had time for a shower before I had to head to school. I grabbed a towel before dancing across the chilly hallway and into the bathroom. Pulling my sweat-soaked vest over my head, I was greeted by the regular sight of the bruises which decorated my torso, most of which were 'gifts' from my mother. I seemed to be her personal punching bag for whenever she got somewhat annoyed; once my dad left us, she began to feel the need to take out her frustration on me. Her only restraint was that she would never hit my face; it was her 'money maker.' I tried not to think about how sick my situation was. I only had to endure one more year, and then I could finally leave. Just one more year of hell.

I shook my head and turned on the shower, waiting a few moments for the water to get hot. I stepped gingerly into the stream before just standing there, relishing in the sensation of the water hitting my body. The heat helped me to relax, allowing my mind to clear. I could almost imagine the memories that the night had dredged up being washed away and down the drain, though I knew it was nowhere near that simple; the only thing being washed away was my own dead skin.

The sound of my phone vibrating reminded me that I couldn't spend all day in the shower, as relaxing as it was. I turned off the water and stepped out of the cubicle, pulling on my robe. I rushed to my room, where I pulled out a clean set of clothes.

"Willow!" My mother's voice echoed from her bedroom.

"Yeah?" I wrapped my hair in a towel and began to pull on my jeans.

"Make sure you're home early today. You know what day it is." I resisted the urge to either throw up or roll my eyes. Of course, I knew what day it was. How could I forget? It was Friday, which meant that tonight I would be spending the night with another random man in order to earn my mother money.

"Yeah, no worries," I called back, grabbing a hoodie and pulling it over my head. No worries? Who was I kidding? The very thought sickened me, yet I knew better than to talk back to my mother, 'sassing her,' as she would call it. I shook my head and picked up my bag from beside my desk, and my phone from my bed. I quickly checked the time. Somehow, I had managed to waste an hour, meaning that my train to school was in fifteen minutes. I grabbed my keys and ran downstairs and straight out of the door.

I inhaled the cool morning air and jogged towards the station. I was happy to be out of the house; school was my safe haven, my only piece of normality. It helped keep me grounded, stopped me from going off the rails. Nobody, not even my friends knew of my home life, and I intended to keep it that way. Just one more year was all it would take, and I would be well on my way; I would be miles away from my mother, free to finally live.

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Hey! Here's the first (extremely short) chapter to my new story, Bruised. It's been revised a few times over the years, and this is the version I'm finally happy with. Future chapters won't be anywhere near this short, I was just extremely excited to upload this. Anyway, thanks for reading!

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If there's anything you want to know or say about the story, please comment with your thoughts!