Beautifully Damaged

20. Strength

The red head had told me that knowledge made me more vulnerable, but wasn’t it supposed to make me stronger? Who was this ‘Him’ that she had mentioned? The guy that had attacked me on my way home from the hospital had brought up ‘Him’ as well.

Why was it that all my answers generated further multitudes of questions?

Again, my frustration was directed at Alex. I was sure he knew at least something. So why would he keep it from me? Perhaps I was just making it up, fabricating it out of annoyance.

Class began, and Jenna scurried in, sitting down just as Mr. Blakely started speaking. He kept us busy and on our toes for the whole period. Jenna and I never had the chance to talk.

Everyone bolted out of the classroom when the bell rang, except for Jenna and I.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you at the hospital yesterday!” She exclaimed, frowning as we exited the classroom.

“Don’t worry about it, I was fine,” I lied, hoping she wouldn’t notice the falsity of my tone.

“It’s just, my parents found out that I’d skipped and freaking, even though I told them what had happened. They made me go home because they said that one of us staying there for you would be enough, and I really tried to stay-”

I laughed, cutting her off and let her recover the breath that she hadn’t dare take during her apology. “It’s okay, Jenna, honestly. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I didn’t want to leave you with Drake,” She concluded, looking at the floor.

Drake? Drake had been the other person?

“Don’t worry, you didn’t.”

“What do you mean I didn’t? Of course I did.”

“He wasn’t there when I was discharged,” I answered, keeping my eyes on the hallway ahead, attempting to fight away the angry blush that would have been clear on my face.

“Your parents were there, though? To discharge you.”

I took a deep breath, preparing myself to explain something that I barely understood myself, “I don’t have parents, Jenna.”

She stopped, her head tilting slightly as she stared at me, “Wait, what?”

“I am legally emancipated. Technically, I am my own guardian.”

I knew it puzzled her that I didn’t give anymore information, or that I hadn’t told her before, but I could not do much abut it as we moved onto our next class.

***

After school, I headed out to the parking lot, not quite sure what I wanted to do. Days had become boring, there wasn’t much to entertain myself with at home, but I didn’t want to hang around at school. Either choice seemed very uninteresting.

So, I walked slowly to my car, only coming to a stop when I heard catcalls directed at me. I shouldn’t have paid them any mind, but it was weird for me to be noticed for anything besides gossip.

Actually, when I paid attention to what was being said, which was vulgar and derogatory, I wish I had kept walking. I turned away, bright pink and trying to ignore their attempts to demean me. A couple of cars away from me, Drake was with Tina, but his eyes were on me.

I clenched my teeth, angry for always looking weak in front of him. A textbook slipped out of my grip; I still hadn’t managed to put them in my locker. Of course, when I bent down to pick it up, the rest dropped to the ground. Calming myself, I stood there for a moment, before reaching to gather them all back up.