I quickly set the table and put the food on the plate. I wash my hands and race upstairs to my room. I pull out all of my textbooks from my backpack and sit at my desk, opening my notebook to a new page to start my homework. Instead of actually doing my homework, technically I pretend, I'm to busy listening to my surroundings, waiting nervously for him to call me this time, again. I hear shuffling, then a loud groan emerges from his mouth.
"Beatrice!!," he shouts.
I squeeze my pencil really hard, my fingers turning a light shade of purple. I stand up and open the door. Don't talk back, I tell myself before I say anything stupid. I walk slowly down the stairs, with each step their is a new sound of creak the floorboards make. Bud slouches against the wall finishing what's left in his beer bottle. He sees me and immediately starts yelling.
"What the fuck is this!"
"Whats what?," I say.
"The mail came in."
"Shit," I mumble under my breathe.
"This was in it," he says holding up a piece of mail. I look at it closely and I for god's sake it had to be my report card.
"I can explain," I say with my voice shaky.
"You. You Are not going to explain anything," he slurrs and starts approaching me.
I back up all the way to where the wall is. I hit my head against it and touch the spot lightly, doesn't seem like it did any damage. With every step he takes the floorboards follow his rhythm, until he is too close for me to smell his alcoholic breathe.
"You are failing your classes," he says.
"Its only one class," I say.
He throws the glass bottle to the other side of the room and into the wall. I jump hitting my head against the wall again, this time it's more painful than before. Glass is everywhere, you'd have to be even more careful to watch where you step.
"Don't talk to me like that, I'm not your pet," he says through his teeth. "Im going to teach you a lesson."
I don't have time to react for as he grabs me by the hair with force and pulle me into the kitchen. He turns me around and puts me in the face up position. The curved metal instrument was just above my eyes, I am in the sink.
"Wait!," I start, but water slashes on my face.
The water starts going up my nose. The sensation is horrible, I feel it in my throat, burning. I want to scream but if I do it will only make it worse, so I hold my breathe and close my eyes. I try pushing him off, but he's too strong. There isn't much time for me to breathe and the water starts dripping down to my shirt. I'm becoming hazy when the water stops.
I open my eyes and a little droplet of water splashes in between my nose. He pulls me up from my hair again rapidly and I start coughing. I don't have time to react, a throbbing pain goes through my left eye and I scream in pain.
"Shut up bitch, you want complaints from the neighbors!," he whisper yells.
I shut up immediately and I hold my eye. He grabs me by my now wet shirt and launches me towards the ground. I don't have a lot of force and I fall on the ground. He starts kicking me saying,"You like that! It's what you deserve." I keep trying not to scream in pain, every time his foot connects with my body I feel a burning sensation and I can't let out my screams because gangs will come over carrying guns telling us to shut the hell up as they've done it many times before. He stops and grabs me again, this time I'm too weak to respond. He gives me a disgusted look and releases me.
He walks away while I lean on the counter to steady myself, my hand slipping as I try to stand up. The door to his room is slammed closed.
"Beatrice," he says. "Bring me my food."
I slowly make my way across the counter trying to avoid the unbearable pain in my ribs. I hold onto them, trying to make it go away even though I know it won't, at least not for a few days. As I pick up the plate, I head straight to his room. My ribs ache with every step I take, I try to speed walk, see if that makes the pain faster and less hurting, but I'm wrong, it's just worse. I knock on his door.
"Its open," he says.
I walk in and keep looking at the floor. I refuse to look in his room, scared to find anything horrifying. The night stand was just a few inches away. He's watching a football game, I can tell by the screams of the fans. I put the plate on his night stand and quickly leave. I look up the stairs and let air blow out of me. With my eyes closed I forcibly run fast up the stairs. As I reach the top, the pain starts settling in and I wail a bit, holding my sides. I open the door to my room and once I'm in, I lock the door. In the bathroom I look at myself in the mirror. A bruise is forming under my left eye and I have a split lip. I lift my shirt and see ugly bruises on my ribs.
I take off my cloths and turn the water on, to a luke warm setting. I step in the tub and sit on the white ceramic tub, letting the water wash over me. I stand up slowly and start washing my hair, my body's next and Im very cautious about not hurting myself. After I finish, I turn the water off and wrap myself in a towel. I get dressed in my pajamas pants and some regular t-shirt. I let my hair down to air dry and sit at my desk, finishing what's left of my homework.
*********************************
I wake to the sound of something hitting the ground lightly. It's my pencil. I sit up and a sharp pain goes through my body. I lift my shirt and a purple shade of bruise is finished forming at my side. I look for my phone and look at the time. seven twenty am. Crap, Im going to be late. I quickly get up ignoring the pain that surges through me. I rush to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I have a black eye and a split lip, but unfortunately I have no time to worry about that right now. I brush my teeth and head to my drawers. My drawers are a mess and I can't find my favorite t-shirt, so I end up pulling out a red and black flannel shirt, pants, and some socks. I put everything in my backpack and quickly put on my ankle length Chuck Taylor's. I run out the front door, knowing Christina has already waited, but grew to tired and left. So I sprint towards the school with my ribs in pain. Not as worse as yesterday, but still enough to slow me down
I make it to school, but it's eight minutes into first period. I run to my locker and try putting in the combination, but the damn things doesn't want to open. I put it in one final time and It unlocks. I put my math book in and take my english book out. I close my locker with force and run all the way across campus to get to my homeroom. I enter with my hair going in my face from the wind pushing it back. Automatically the eyes of my classmates look at me and some have a disgusted look on their face and some have puppy dog eyes. It takes me a moment to realize that they were staring at my face. Damn it I forgot to go to the restroom to put on my concealer.
"Beatrice, we are glad you could make it, ne-," the teacher starts, but stops after she sees my eye. "What happened to your eye?"
"I hit my eye against my door," I lie. The teacher stares at me for a while then finally tells me to go to my seat.
*********************************
Every one that walks by my locker stops and stares at my face. I do my best to avoid eye contact and focus on trying to cram everything in my locker. I close it and head to the cafeteria. I stand in line, choosing what I am going to eat today. I punch my number in and look around for Christina. She sits in our usual table and I approach her, feeling awkward with everyone I pass by staring. I sit down next to her and she rubs my arm.
"Did he do it again," she says softly.
"Yeah..," I say quietly and continue eating my lunch.
I take a bite of my sandwich and someone stands in front of me. I swallow my chewed sandwich and look up. The same guy from math class and english class stands there.
"May I take a seat?," he asks.
I hesitate for a moment and look at Christina. She nods then says she has to leave to do some science lab. I look back at him and eventually say yes. He sets his bag on the floor and sits down next to me.
"Whats your name?," he says.
"Tris."
"Is that a nickname," he says.
"Yeah."
"What is is short for?"
"Guess you'll have to find out," I say with a small smile.
My lips hurt when I smile, due to the cut opening a bit.
"What happened to your eye?," he says.
"I hit it against the door frame," I say.
"Stop lying," he says.
"Im not and I did hit it," I say trying to sound convincing.
"Who did this to you?," he says, his voice deep and soothing.
"Can we stop talking about this," I say with annoyance in my voice.
We sit there in awkward silence, until he brakes it and says," Tell me about yourself."
"Ummm, My favorite color is red, I like to write," I say.
"Thats it," he says.
"What about you?," I say.
"Not much, but I'm into photography. My names Tobias by the way."
"Cool. Do you have a camera," I say.
"Yeah, its an old camera, like from the 1970's. My grandpa gave it to me," he says. "Wanna hang out sometime?"
I shoot my head up and look at him with confusion. I don't recall ever hanging out with someone. I don't know what to say.
"Uh- I, ummm, sure I guess," I say.
"At claremoore park, saturday, 12:00pm," he says.
"Okay," I say and continue eating my lunch and he does the same.
We sit there doing nothing, but eat. Absolutely, nothing.