Wonderlust

Already Like The Trees

I felt my bones freeze over once he said those words. Princess. Her. They cut like dagger into my lungs and lodged there. I tried to walk away but they stood in front of me. I backed up and hit a wall, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"G-guys, please I just want to leave." I forced out.

"Guh, guh, guh, guh, guys!" He mocked, letting flecks of saliva hit my face.

"Stop it, just let me be on my way." I said carefully, still pressed against the wall.

"Oh, but we can't do that? Can we? You're one of those little freak perverts, aren't you? The special little snowflakes with mental disorders."

Oh God I was going to cry. It wasn't fair. We were trying to get away from all of this. I shouldn't be going through this anymore. This type of treatment should be done with. I can't cry. Not now.

I didn't say anything. I didn't want to provoke them any longer. That's what this was, some dumb teenage boy with something pent up inside him and he needed to take it out. It was his fault he was doing it in such a destructive manner and ultimately it would screw him over one day. Unfortunately, that day was not today.

"Quiet huh? Nothing to say?"

He turned back to his friends. "You want to know why?"

"It's because she know's she's wrong. She knows she's making it all up for attention. Her daddy probably left her all alone and her mommy probably hates her for it. I saw it on the news, it's science." Then he leaned back in, so close that I could smell his putrid, reeking breath. "You got daddy issues little girl?"

In the back of my mind I could see Dylan's face. The glint in his eyes. I stared at the boy with all the hate I could muster, then drew back my first and punched his brow as hard as I could. There was a loud crack and I felt pain shoot up my wrist. The boy stumbled backwards, yelping and holding his nose. Blood was trailing down his face from a small cut and from his nose. I gasped in pain, because my whole hand was in pain.

The boy shrugged off the hands of his friends of his friends and a scowl pulled at the corners of his lips. His whole face got a shade darker. I tensed, then tried to run, my feet slipping on the dirt covered concrete. They grabbed my hoodie and pushed me the ground, kicking me with as much force as they could muster. I cried out, feeling sharp feet dig into my back and head. This went on for what felt like ages until finally they stopped and I looked up to see Dylan was ripping them off me.

"Go pick on someone your own size you shriveled failure of human beings!" He yelled, watching as the three of them laughed and stalked off.

He grabbed onto my hand and lifted me up. "Are you okay? I came here as soon as I heard the noise. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

I was still shaking and everything kind of hurt. "I'm okay. I need to sit down."

"Of course." He walked with me until we got back to the car.

By that time, I was limping. He opened up the trunk and pulled out a first aid kit. I sat on the back while he cleaned off any blood.

"You need to take your binder off." He asked softly. "It'll be really bad for you if you're bruised anywhere under it."

I bit my lip. "How long until I can wear it again?"

Dylan sighed slowly. "I don't know. A few days at least. We won't go out anywhere, you can just rest."

My face scrunched up in frustration. This sucked. Dylan shut the trunk and I changed out of my binder. Thank God for my hoodies because I just felt humiliated. I knocked on the window and he turned back around and reopened the car door. A few minutes later we both had our legs hanging over the edge of the car door, the brisk smell of old trees surrounding us, and with the periodic sound of cracking because Dylan had gotten out some chocolate. Gas station chocolate bars, so they were huge.