The It Factor

Chapter 8

I stood there, glaring at her.  If this bitch thought she could-

"Right now!"

Jumping slightly, I turned around and walked to my room.  I slammed the door behind me and screamed, cupping my burning cheek.  Damn that woman could pack a punch!  I jumped up my bed, sobbing into my pillow.

I haden't really cried that hard in a while.  I was gasping for breath and screaming at the same time, and I just couldn't seem to stop.

"If you think you're going anywhere anytime soon, you're sorely mistaken!" My mom screamed through the door, hitting it with her fist.  Clearly, she still needed to get rid of some steam.

Suddenly, I felt trapped.  I couldn't be here anymore.  Not right now at least.  I flew from my bed to the window, pushing it open and looking down.  It was quite a long jump, and I'm pretty sure I would break a bone or two when I landed.  So instead, I put both of my feet on the ledge and ducked out, grabbing either sides of the window firmly.

Somehow, I managed to turn myself around so that I was able to grab the edge of the roof and pull myself up.  The way my house was designed, it was at its highest point where my room was, which was the back of the house.  Then it got just a little shorter, where it dropped off for the roof of our garage.

I slid down to the garage part and let myself drop, landing with a thud.  I was praying my mom couldn't hear that, because I really couldn't let her catch me.  If she did, I would basically be under house arrest.  Slowly, I slid to the edge of the garage and held myself there, dangling over the edge and dropping to the grass beneath.

Sniffing, I turned on my heel and started to run away.  If my mom had heard me on the roof, I only had a matter of seconds before she came out front and saw me, so I had to get out of there fast.  I kept running down the street, turning to the left and heading to the small park a block from my house.  It wasn't far, but I didn't take my car for obvious reasons.

When I got there, I collapsed on the ground in a heap of tears and deep breaths.  I couldn't breath partly because I wasn't in very good shape, and because I was crying so hard.  Shakily, I pulled out my phone and tried to decide who to call.  I didn't want to be alone, but I also couldn't call Kyle because he had a family thing.

Could I really call Vincent?  I mean, we had just spent the day together...

Deciding it wasn't that big of a deal, I clicked on his contact and it started to ring.

"Hello?"  His voice asked.

"Vincent?" I gasped, sniffing and wiping away some tears.

"Serenity?  What's wrong?!  Why the hell are you crying?"  He suddenly sounded really concerned, I would've been flattered if I wasn't so upset.

"Can you come get me?" I sobbed, "I don't want to be alone."  I heard something crash in the background, and then the sound of a car starting filled my ears.

"I'll be right there," He said, "Where are you, anyway?"

"I..I..I'm at the park near my house..."

"Got it, I'll see you in a few."

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 When Vincents car pulled up, I didn't even get off the ground.  I didn't have energy left.  My crying had been reduced to randoms gasps of air, apparently I had cried all my tears.

"Serenity," Vincent yelled, apparently not seeing me in the dark.

"I'm here," I called back in a pathetic, raspy voice.  I heard him jogging over, and soon felt a hand on my shoulder.  He pulled me up, set me in his lap and tucked my head under his chin.  I grabbed him tightly.

"Shh, it's okay," He whispered, stroking my hair.

"No it's not, I'm pretty sure my mom hates me now," I whispered into his chest, feeling like a looser.  Of course Vincent had to see me like this, of course.

"I'm sure he doesn't," He said into my ear, "She loves you."  I shook my head, sniffing again. God, my nose was so runny. "Come on, we're going somewhere," Vincent said, scooping me in his arms and carrying me to his car.  I could've walked myself but hey, I wasn't complaining.

He set me in the front seat of his car, jogging around to his seat and starting the car.  I didn't even ask where we were going, I just let him drive off. 

"Why do you think your mom hates you?"  Vincent asked after a while, breaking the silence.  I lifted my head to look at his profile while he was driving, then I answered.

I chuckled, "The horrible things I said to her...But then again she's not exactly innocent..."

"What did you say?"  He asked, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"Well..." I laughed now that I thought about it.  I had a childish comeback, I'll admit it. "I said she was jealous of me because I could keep a guy interested for longer then her...And that's why my dad left us.."

"Ouch,"  Vincent laughed, making a sharp right turn.  We were out of town now and headed into the country. "What did she say to you?"

Suddenly, it got really quiet.

I pulled my legs up to my chest, hugging them tightly. "You're not half as pretty as you think you are..."  Did she mean that? ...Was it true?  Was I really not pretty?  Maybe I was ugly, and I should've known that from the beginning.  I mean, if my mom was willing to say that to me, then surely it must be true.

"Hey," Vincent said, touching my shoulder, "What did she say to you?  It must've been pretty bad, you started crying again."  I reached up and touched my face, and it was indeed wet.  I wiped away the tears and looked out the window, finding that we had stopped in the middle of a field.  There was tall, dead grass everywhere.  Why had Vincent brought me here?

I got out of the car and started walking away, hugging myself.  I didn't want to be one of those self conscious teens that had to wear a ton of make up or slutty clothes just to feel good about themselves.  But now, I was having doubts.  Maybe I needed those things to make me attractive...

"Serenity!" Vincent yelled, grabbing my hand and turning me around.  I almost fell off balance, so he grabbed my other arm to steady me. "What did she say to you?"  He was looking at me with such intensity that I felt like I had to answer him. 

So I said in a really weak voice, "....She said I was ugly..."  Okay, maybe those aren't her exact words, but that what she meant.  I could tell by the look in her eyes.

"What?"  He asked, making a face, obviously taken aback.  I took a step away from him, suddenly angry.

"She said I'm ugly, okay?!" I screamed, gesturing to my body. "And of course she's right, she's my mom!"  It wasn't right for me to take my anger out on Vincent, he didn't do anything, but I just couldn't help it. 

"No, you're not." He said in a serious voice, staring intensely at me.  I blinked at him.

"Excuse me?" I whispered, wrinkling my eyebrows.  I must've heard him wrong, surely he had the same opinion as my mother?

"She's wrong," He said louder this time, taking a step forward closer to me.  He cupped both sides of my face firmly and said, "You really are truly, one hundred percent, beautiful."

I was taken aback by his words.  Even if I wanted to doubt it, I couldn't.  I could tell by the look in his eyes he meant every word of it.

So, before I lost all my confidence, I stood on my tip toes and pressed my lips gently to his.

***UNEDITED, SORRY***