Dusk **UNDER CONSTRUCTION**

Chapter 22

You know the feeling when you're in the middle of a really good dream then you wake up?

Yeah, I get it. Except I hardly ever have good dreams and I was rudely awoken by my Mother for the umpteenth time.

"Get up! Time for your run!" she screeches as she pulls open the blinds.

I groan as I shield my eyes with my arm. "No," I state simply.

"No?" her tone of voice is coloured with shock. "You dare to defy me again?"

"Keyword: again. I figured that if I'm gonna defy you then I better go full throttle," I turn over onto my side, away from her.

She grabs my arm and forcibly yanks me out of bed. I stumble before a sharp, stinging pain hits my cheek, accompanied by a loud slapping noise. My hand instantly comes up to feel my cheek, which is grazed.

My own Mother had slapped me.

I knew she hated me but I never thought she would slap me.

Shock briefly crosses her face before it's replaced with her usual hard exterior. I find myself shedding a few tears when I blink.

"You're nothing more than a selfish, worthless brat! It should've been you that died that day, not your brother! Hell, I wish it was you!" she screams. She all the sudden takes a step back, looking surprised once again. She mumbles something incoherent to herself. "I didn't mean it like that, you know I didn't mean it," she reaches forward, her arm outstretched to touch my cheek.

I take a step back. "What people say in anger is exactly what they feel. Now get out."

"But your exercise-"

She can't be serious, "I don't care about exercise now get out!" She quickly retreats.

I stand there, pure shock coursing through my veins. Was I really that hated?

Was I really that worthless?

As I lay in bed with a shaky breath, I hear harsh muttering, muffled by the walls. Somewhere in the house, people were arguing at this ungodly hour of the morning but I didn't care. Not now.

My nimble fingers frantically run through my tangled hair as tears silently stream down my face. This was my fault, I knew that I'd been pushing my Mother lately and I just kept going and she... snapped. Why couldn't I be a better person? I used to be so put together, so elegant.

So perfect.

But I was also so unhealthy, so sad and so, so self-conscious. But then again, not much has changed. The only difference is that the positives no longer exist.

So where did it all go wrong? Was it when I lost the two most important people in my life? Or was it before that, when my one goal was to please everyone except myself?

I lay there, simply staring at the plain, white ceiling for what feels like only a few minutes until my phone vibrates from me bedside table. The times reads 8:00am exactly, there's an unread text from Luke.

Good morning gorgeous, look out your window xx

I quickly get out of bed and peer over my window seat and out into the street. A smile briefly crosses my face when I see Luke leaning against his car, a drink tray containing two cups in his hand. His gaze catches mine and he grins as he offers a short wave.

Still in my pyjamas, I rush out of my room and jog downstairs. By the time I open the front door, Luke is already waiting. He pulls me in a one armed hug. "Hot chocolate?" he offers as he pulls away. He does a double take of my face. "What happened to your cheek?" he asks, his tone laced with concern.