Chapter 1

There are a few things you should know about me before we dive into how I came to be in the situations that have currently transpired. First, I have no friends. Second, my parents and my sister all hate me and regret my existence. Third, yes, my father does abuse me. And finally, that is why I can't stand anyone touching me.

Did I sort of throw you off when I straight up admitted that I'm in an abusive family? I apologize if I did. I didn't mean to, I really didn't. I just thought you should know and hey, it's not like you are going to go running and telling anybody that I care about anyway right?

The only place I am really safe is when I am at Emily's, the only family member I have that cares about me. She gives me an open ear and medical assistance when it gets to be too bad. She just seems to know when to show up at my house after I have passed out due to the pain and get me out of that house. There are times when I will spend weeks at her house under recovery.

I think my parents like when I go over there. It gets me out of the house and away from them. They don't have to put up with all my "bullshit" as they so quaintly call it. I would live with Emily if she allowed it, but I don't know why she won't. It's probably because her husband, Sam, isn't my biggest fan. And all of it is because I steal his precious Emily away from him because I get severely beaten and everything is my fault apparently.

I wake up from my pain-induced coma sometimes to hear what sounds like an angry mob yelling at each other over food, but when Emily wakes me up again to take me back to that hell-hole of a house I live in, no one is there but me and her, and maybe her son Nick.

I sort of find it annoying how much my uncle doesn't care about the abuse I go through. I have known him all my life and he hates me enough to send me back there time and time again without even threatening my family to stop treating me like Cinderella and beating the shit out of me for the hell of it. That just isn't right to me.

No one at school seems to notice. I have become an expert when it comes to applying makeup in a way that you can't see the cuts and bruises. To the kids at school I am just some freak emo cutter. They aren't necessarily wrong but they don't know any part of the true story. They don't talk to me, I don't talk to them. The teachers don't care that I am gone at least half of every month it seems. They just mail my homework to Emily and I turn it all in when I return. I ace their tests and keep my grades high and they don't care. I only have a semester left before I am out of there forever and they are just trying to get me out of there just as much as I want to be out of there.

When I am out of it from the pain, sometimes I hear Emily talking about Sam's friends. She talks about them with nothing but caring, like she is the mama bear in the pack they have forming. It's the only time I get to imagine a scrap of motherly affection, when I pretend I am an important part of the pack. But instead my mother just can't seem to handle the fact that I am different. She calls me the spawn of Satan and that I am going to the devil.

I am different yes but there isn't much I can do about the way I am. Just accept it I guess. I like music, I wear dark clothing, I suffer from depression, and I like to play the guitar and sing. Emily got me an acoustic that is kept in my room at her house and when I feel up to it, sometimes I just sit there and sing. Only when I am in the house alone do I dare to even touch it.

I am skinny because the only time I am allowed to eat is when I am awake at Emily's. I am skinny yes but I have a curse that granted me curves that anyone would kill for. I have legs that go on forever and a torso that is better endowed than I would like it to be. Yes I am very attractive and I resent it. I use my attitude and natural ability to give off a vibe that says "I'm a freak, get away from me, you don't know what you are getting into when you talk to me" to scare all my would-be pursuers off. That doesn't stop them from looking. I am glad that I reside at a comfortable barely-above-average height around 5' 10" or so.

But I think that's enough about me. That was just me ranting about how shitty life is going for me. Life is about to change for me and I don't know how long I would have lasted without it. It all starts out when I get a phone call from Emily.

My phone starts ringing and since so few people call me it can only be Emily. Chase would always text me before calling. Chase is my best friend, my only friend. I have known him since he was two and he is the only person I have told about what is going on with my life, he knows everything about me. And he always is willing to join me for a skate on our skateboards or a surf out on the ocean.

I pick up the phone and wait for her to say why she called.

"I was wondering if you would like to move in with me. If you are unsure about it then we can try it as just a summer thing. I have already talked to your mom and she expects you out of the house no later than 20 minutes after school is over so she doesn't have to see you again. So what do you say?" She was always so blunt and straightforward when she talked to me. I was thankful for it too. She knows I am not much of a talker and would prefer to keep conversations to a minimum so I can go be alone again to read and listen to music.

"What about Sam?" I can't help but ask, he has always told her no before, why not now?

"Oh, don't worry about him. He is just a big pushover when it comes to me. But between you and me, I think he got sick of my whining about how much you mean to me and how I need my favorite girl to be living in the house with me so I can make sure she is doing ok." Her light laugh sounded over the phone.

"I'll be ready whenever you need me to be."

"Great! I know you aren't doing anything this last week of school because you have taken all of your finals right? Well of course you have. I am going to have to remember to call in for you though. But anyway! I'll pick you up at seven." The beep sounded over my cell phone to indicate that the call had ended.

I put my cell phone down next to me and bookmarked my book before I set it down on my bed too. I open the door to my room to go get boxes to pack, but unsurprisingly, my mother had already done that for me and several boxes were sitting at the threshold to the door. I moved them all inside before I began setting about getting what I needed.

My books all filled four large boxes by themselves, and that was just my collection here, every time I went to Emily's there were at least two to three new books in the guest room that they transformed into a library for me. For living on a reservation they had a nice house with several rooms, and enough space to turn an extra bedroom into a library at Emily's request.

My clothes only filled two boxes and the rest all fix into one box. I didn't have many belongings, anything important to me that I kept here always seemed to mysteriously disappear or end up broken when I came back home. Everything important to me resided at Emily's. If I haven't said so yet, I absolutely love Emily, she is the greatest aunt anyone in my situation could have.

At quarter till seven Emily came bursting into my room, ready to help me carrying everything down to Sam's pickup. Emily was one of the most gorgeous people I have seen. She had gorgeous long brown hair that curled in a way that even models would be jealous of. Her chocolate eyes always have a shine that seems to light up a room, and it's nothing compared to her smile. Her white teeth absolutely glisten with some unknown power that the best dentists are in awe of. She is on the short side but is curvaceous and can catch anyone's eye. Most people don't see her for her beauty though; they just see the scars that are running down the side of her face. But that is the last thing I notice when everyone else stares solely at those marks that will never go away and remain as a constant reminder of the hard life she has had.

Sam carried all the boxes with my books with ease and Emily carried a box with random belongings and my laptop in it while I grabbed my clothes. I don't know why I even bothered packing clothes because I know that the first thing that would happen as soon as everything got inside and unpacked would be a shopping trip with her and a few other wives of Sam's friends. They had a thing for shopping, even if it was for things in my style; they always seemed to find the types of things that I absolutely loved and always wore.

I know Emily showed up early because I had a particularly bad beating right before they came. I was weak and bruised along with blood clotting along my hairline and a few other nasty cuts. This time I actually think the jerk broke a few bones.

"We will get you some help as soon as we get there. Our friend Dr. Cullen is already at home waiting for us. Ok?" She comforted me as we began the few hour long drive to my new home. I was good at hiding my reaction to pain but it was very tough this time, so I just let the darkness overcome me once again.

I vaguely remember being picked up and carried into a house and up some stairs to be laid on a bed. Someone came in the room and stuck an IV in my arm, nothing new. A few more people entered, I recognized Emily's perfume carrying its way over to me, and Sam's dirt-scented smell. But there was someone else, he smelled like woods and ocean, it smelled really good, even though it was really strong. Dr. Cullen smelled sweet almost as he stood next to me filling my IV with morphine or some type of anesthetic to make me pass out, I have had to take a few of those but I willing let my mind go as I knew resetting bones was a painful business.

"You'll be ok dear, I will be here to see how you are feeling when you wake up ok?" those were the last words I heard before I lost my ability to think and remember when the blank darkness over took me. Seeing as my eyes weren't open, I don't quite know how he could tell I was halfway conscious and listening, but he seemed to have known. That is what confused me most.