House of:Dirty Little Secrets

Nina's POV:

"Nina! Get down here now!" Gran yelled. I ran down the stairs. "Why don't you ever have an A on your report card?" she yelled. "I-I'm s-sorry Gran, i-I try b-but I can't do it." I stuttered. "You can too do it!" she yelled and slapped me across the face. I tenderly put my hand to my cheek and whimpered. "Go to your room!" she screamed. I nodded and slowly walked away. Why couldn't I just get the scholarship to England? I would get away from this terrible place. I walked into my room and plopped on my bed. I put my hand back to my face. It throbbed. I got up and walked downstairs to the front door. I opened it and walked out into the cool night air. My Gran didn't care where I went. I could be smoking pot behind a bar and she wouldn't care. She only cares that I'm stupid. But I'm not, I make straight B's and I have dyslexism. I think I'm doing pretty well. Maybe I'll walk to the beach. No one is there this late.

I sat on the cold sand. It always gives me reassurance. I listed to the sound of the ocean. It sounded so peaceful. I closed my eyes. I imagined what it would be like if I did get the scholarship. I smiled to myself at the thought. "Excuse me." Someone behind me said softly. I turned and saw a boy. He was about my age. He had dark hair, and a British accent. "I'm sorry if I startled you; I was just wondering if I could sit next to you." He said. "I-I guess." I said, my tone surprised. He came and sat next to me. "I'm Fabian Rutter." He said, holding out his hand. I timidly took it. "I'm N-nina Martin." I said. "Wait, did you say Nina Martin?" he asked. I nodded. "Are you the one who applied for the scholarship?" he asked. My jaw fell. "How d-do you know about t-that?" I asked. "I go to that school; why didn't you come?" he asked. "I didn't get in." I said sadly. "Yes you did." He said confused. I lifted my eyebrow. "No I didn't." I said. He nodded. "Yes you did, you were assigned to my house. We have been waiting." He said. My mind raced, I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. "But my Gran said-" I stopped. Gran! She lied! She knew I wanted to get out of here and so she lied! Why would she do this? Oh yeah, because she's a (rhymes with) witch! "Are you ok?" Fabian asked. "I'm fine, but can I still have the scholarship? Will they let me?" I asked hopefully. "Yah, they said you can as long as you come before the first semester." He said. "But how am I going to get there?" I asked mainly myself. "Most people take a plane." He said. "My Gran won't let me." I said sadly. "The school pays for the ticket." He said. "Really?" I smiled. He nodded. "You can go to the airport and tell the receptionist that you are from the school." I smiled. "Wait, if you're from the school then why are you here?" I asked. "My family lives here, they're from England, and one of my family members died. I got permission to come visit a while." He said. "I'm so sorry." I said. He shook his head. "Its fine, but I should probably go. My mum will be looking for me. You should go too. Your mum is probably wondering where you are." He said as he got up. "Trust me, she's not." I said quietly, but he heard. "What?" he asked. "Nothing." I said. "Well you should get home." He said. "Bye." I said before he forced me to go home. "Bye." He said and walked away. I guess I should go home. I got up and walked back to that miserable place I call home.

I got up early breathing hard. I had my nightmare again. Why wouldn't it just stop? I better go before Gran wakes up. I got up and quietly ran to the front door. I looked behind me before I slipped out and ran to the ocean. The one thing that Gran hasn't taken from me.

I sat down at my favorite spot. The familiar feel of the sand made me sigh in pleasure. I'm glad I have this little spot all to myself where Gran can't take it. It feels so good to get away from that excuse of a house. "Nina?" the voice sounded kind of familiar; I turned around. It was Fabian. "Why aren't you at school?" he asked. "I-I, um, why aren't you?" I asked. "Because it's in England; your turn." I blushed, I am such an idiot. He came and sat next to me. "I-I j-just, I wasn't, are you g-going to tell?" I asked trying to find the right words. He smiled. "No, if you tell me why." He said. "It's complicated. I would have to tell you my life story." I said. "We have nothing but time." He smiled again, but it faded quickly. "What happened to your arm?" he asked concerned. I looked down at my arm. He was referring to my scar I got when my Gran pushed me down the stairs last year. "I j-just fell d-down the stairs." I stuttered. It was a habit I got from being afraid all the time. "How did you fall?" he asked. I looked down. "I don't want any pity." I said. He nodded. "I still want to know." He said. I took a deep breath. "I was pushed, but it's no big deal. It happens all the time." I said. I looked up at Fabian and he seemed shocked. "Who pushed you?" he asked. "My Gran." I said.

Fabians POV:

"What?" I asked in utter shock. "Why would she do that?" I asked. "I have to tell you everything else before I tell you that." She said. I nodded and she started speaking. "When I was five my parents died in a car crash. I don't have any other family members so I had to stay with my Gran. She has a mental disease and it makes her extremely violent. She calls me stupid because I have dyslexism, it's a learning disability. Sometimes she hits me; and when she does I come out here and sit. It calms me down. She hit me yesterday because I made all B's on my report card. That's why I came out here." She said, and instinctively put her hand to her right cheek. Now that I look at it, it is bruised. My eyes widened. How could a girl so beautiful, so calm, so put-together, come from a life of abuse. "I am so sorry." I said. She nodded. It looked like she was holding back tears. I scooted closer. "It's ok, you can cry." I said softly. She shook her head. "I don't even know you; you don't need to be nice. I can't cry, I would look pitiful. I'm not; I just have a harder time than most people. You're the only one who knows." She said, turning her head. "I'll help you; I'll help you get out." I said. She turned towards me. One tear fell. "Really?" she asked. I nodded. She smiled. She has a beautiful smile. "Thank you." She said sincerely. "Nina, it's not good to keep your emotions bottled up. You can cry, I won't think your pitiful." I said. She looked down again. I saw a few tears fall. She looked up at me. Her eyes apologizing. More tears fell from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't want to cry." She said quietly. I shook my head as she continued to sob quietly. Why do I like her so much? She's obviously beautiful, but I don't know her. Do I just feel sorry for her? No. I liked her before she told me this. Nina Martin, what is so special about you?

Nina POV:

I lay on my bed. I didn't want to go to bed and have the nightmares take me again. I heard a noise. "Ping, ping, ping." I looked around and went to my window. I opened it and saw Fabian. "Nina, pack your things, we're going to the airport." He whispered. "Ok!" I whispered back and ran around my room getting my things. I didn't have a lot. I can't believe I get to leave tonight.

I walked out the door with my suitcase. Fabian was standing on the steps. "Thank-you so much." I said. He nodded. "Let's go. We should get there around lunch time tomorrow." He said and led me to a taxi. I put my suitcase in the trunk and got in the back with Fabian. I'm finally getting out of here!

About 5 hours later…

Me and Fabian were in a taxi in England. The driver was friendly. "Nice to see you again Fabian." He said. Fabian nodded. "Nice to see you too, Phyleo." He said. "Who's this pretty girl?" he asked. I blushed. "That's Nina. She's the scholarship student." He said. Phyleo smiled. "Nice to meet you." He said. "Nice to meet you, too." I said. "Here we are." He said and the taxi stopped. Me and Fabian stepped out. A beautiful house was in front of us. "I told Trudy that you were coming, she's our house mother." Fabian said. I nodded and grabbed my suitcase. Fabian walked to the door and I followed. We walked in and a woman in her late-thirty's came over. She looked nice. She smiled. "You must be Nina! We have been so excited for your arrival!" she said in a cheery voice. I smiled. "Thank-you." I said. "The other kids are at school, you'll meet them later. You can room with Amber. I'll warn you though; she's a bit of a talker." Trudy said. She started for the stairs and I followed. She led me to a nice room. Half of it was covered in boy-band pictures and pink stuff was everywhere, the other half was empty. I walked over to the bed and sat down. It was comfier than my old bed. My old one was from a garage sale. It was ten dollars and I'm surprised we bought it for that much. I never got any sleep on it. "I'll let you unpack. The other kids will be here in an hour." She smiled and walked out. I started unpacking.

I just finished unpacking all of my clothes when I heard a knock on the door. I went and opened it. A blonde girl was standing there. She squealed. "Omg! You're Nina, I have been waiting so long for you to come! I'm glad we're roomies! Let's be BFF's and share secrets!" she clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "I'm Amber." She said. I nodded. "Come on, you can meet everyone!" she said and grabbed my arm. She pulled me to the room next to ours. She opened the door. "Mara, Patricia! Look Nina's here!" she yelled and two girls looked up. One had short, curly, dark brown hair and light brown skin. The other had long, straight, brown hair with a red streak and pale skin. The one with short hair smiled. "Hi, I'm Mara." She held out her hand. I shook it. Patricia just glared at me. Why doesn't she like me? Is it because I'm American? "Come on Nina, let's meet the boys!" she said and dragged me out. We walked down the hall. "Why doesn't Patricia like me?" I asked. "She's just cross because Joy left early. Joy is her BFF." She said. We turned the corner and she went to the first door on the left. "This is Fabian and Mick's room. Mick's my boyfriend." She smiled and opened the door. Fabian was sitting on his bed reading. He looked up and smiled. "I see you've met Amber." He said. I nodded. There was a blonde boy sitting on the opposite bed. He looked up and smiled. "Mick, look, Nina's here! She's my roomie!" she said excited. "That's great. Hey, I'm Mick." He said. I smiled. "Come on Nina, we still have to meet Jerome and Alfie." She said and pulled me into the hall. Two boys walked out of the door across the hall. "Jerome, Alfie!" they turned. "Look Nina's here!" she yelled. One of the boys had dark skin. The other had light. One stepped forward, the one with dark skin. "I'm Alfie," he said, "do you believe in aliens?" he whispered then. Amber slapped his arm. "Alfie!" she laughed. He shrugged. "What? Do you?" he asked. I shook my head. He sighed and walked away. "And this is to cool to speak, also known as Jerome." Amber said." He rolled his eyes and walked away. Amber looked at me. "Fun, isn't he?" she asked. I laughed. She grabbed my hand and led me to our room.

Once we were inside she pulled me towards her bed. "Come on, I want to know all about America!" she said as we both sat. I shrugged. "There's not a lot to say." I said. She rolled her eyes. "Yes there is! Come on, why don't you tell me about your life in America?" she suggested. "You know, boyfriends, parents, friends, family, everything!" she exclaimed. I was silent. I couldn't tell her about any of those things because I don't have them. "Well?" she prodded. "Amber, I can't talk about this stuff." I said and got up. "But why?" she asked. I shook my head. "I can't tell you." I said. "Did your boyfriend dump you?" she asked concerned. I shook my head. "Never had one." I said. "Did your friend go against you?" she asked. I shook my head again. "Never had any." I said. She gasped. "Why?" she asked shocked. I shook my head. "I never went out and made them." I said. "Did your parents get in a fight with you about England?" she asked. "Don't have those either." I said and walked out the door; leaving a very shocked Amber in the door way.

I sat in the girls' bathroom against the wall on the floor. I cried. And I cried. I didn't try to hold back the tears. I let them fall. I told Amber too much, she'll pity me now. I don't want that, I want understanding. Not pity. I heard the door to the bathroom open and Patricia walked in. I quickly wiped away the tears and stood up. I started for the door. "Homesick are we?" she asked, her voice full of venom. "Yeah, sure." I whispered and walked out. I went back to my room. Amber wasn't there. I went and lay down on my bed. I covered with my comforter that I brought from home. It was my mom's. It still smelled like her slightly. I sniffed in the scent. My eyes welled with tears. I pulled the comforter over my head and surrounded myself in warmth.

"Nina dear, you have a phone call." Trudy said, shaking me slightly. I opened my eyes. "Sorry to wake you, but someone is calling." She smiled. I sat up and grabbed the phone. Trudy walked out of the room and I answered. "Hello?" "Nina, this is Pastor Vaneli. I have some bad news about your Gran." "What happened?" "She was in a car crash and died yesterday." "Really?" should I be happy or sad? She may have abused me but it was because of her illness. When I thought about her dying, it didn't make me sad. "Yes, I'm sorry. Bye." He hung up. I put the phone down and went back to sleep. A better life, here I come.

I went down to eat breakfast. When I sat down, everyone stared at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Nina." Amber said. "For what?" I asked. She raised her eyebrow. "Because your Gran died." She said, confused. "Oh, thanks." I said. I sat and everyone looked confused. "Don't you care?" Patricia asked. "Yes, I do." I said. "Well you're not acting like it!" she said. I didn't respond. "See, that proves that she has no heart! That proves that she had something to do with Joy!" she yelled. Jerome touched her arm lightly. "Calm down Patricia." He said. "No! I will not calm down!" she said louder. She got out of her chair and walked over. "Tell me where Joy is!" she yelled. I shrugged. "I don't know." I said calmly. "How dare you just shrug her off!" she said and slapped me across the face. I barely flinched. I was used to it. She didn't even slap me near as hard as Gran. When I didn't cry or slap her back, she ran upstairs. "Are you ok, Nina?" she asked. I nodded. "I'm fine." I said and started eating my breakfast.

"Why don't you ever get upset?" Amber asked. I shrugged. "I don't have any real reason." I said. She raised an eyebrow but got into bed. I climbed into mine to and quickly fell asleep.

"Mommy, can we go get ice-cream when we get back from the zoo?" I asked as I swung my feet in the back seat of the car. "Of course, Nina." She said. I smiled. "Yay! Daddy, can we see the crocodiles?" I asked. "Yes Nina, we can see whatever you want. It's your birthday." I smiled more and leaned back in my seat. I heard a loud horn and there was a huge six-teen wheeler heading straight towards us. Dad slammed the breaks. There was a terrible crashing noise. I screamed. Blood went everywhere, but it wasn't mine. I was trapped in the car. I couldn't move. A man rushed over and got me out. I sobbed. "It's ok." He said. But it wasn't. "B-b-but i-it's my b-birthday a-and we were g-going t-to the z-zoo!" I sobbed. I didn't get anything that day, I just lost my parents.

I bolted up-right in bed. I was shaking and my face was wet. The nightmare followed me. "Nina, are you ok?" Amber asked. "You were crying in your sleep, I tried to wake you but…" she trailed off. I lay back down and closed my eyes, trying to push away the images that kept coming back. The worst part is; my birthday is next week.

"Class, today we are going to talk about the medieval time period." Mr. Winkler said. I was sitting in the back of the room. The images from last night stuck in my mind. I couldn't pay attention. I forgot to take my medicine this morning. (For dyslexia). I couldn't stop thinking about Gran either. One girl shouldn't be surrounded by so much death in one life.

When I got back to the house Trudy came over to me. "Nina, why didn't you tell us that your birthday is next week?" she asked. I swallowed hard. "Please Trudy, don't talk about it." I said. "Why?" she asked. I shook my head. "Just please don't." I said and walked to my room. Amber wasn't back yet. She went on a walk. Mara and Mick were training, and Heaven knows what Patricia and Jerome are doing. I sat on my bed and heard a knock on my door. I opened it and Fabian stood there. "Hey." He said. "Hi." I replied. He smiled a beautiful smile. "How was your day?" he asked. I shrugged. "Normal I guess." I said. "Can I come in?" he asked. I nodded. He walked in and looked at my side of the room. It was bare, except for a picture of me, my mom, and my dad the day before they… passed. Fabian walked over to the picture. He looked at it sadly. I took a deep breath. "I really am sorry." He said. I nodded. "Thanks." I said. "Isn't your birthday next week?" he asked. "Don't talk about it." I said. "Sorry. So, did you understand everything in school ok? It looked like you were having a little bit of trouble." He said. I nodded. "I just forgot to take my medicine. For dyslexia." I said. He nodded. "Nina, why won't you talk to me?" he asked suddenly. I was taking aback. "What do you m-mean?" I asked. I curse thy stutter! "You aren't telling me everything." He said. "I don't have to." I said stubbornly. "No, you don't. I'm just trying to help you Nina. You need it, you've been abused and traumatized." He said. I looked into his eyes, his pool of dark blue filled with sadness, eyes. "Nina, I'm sorry if I have caused you trouble." He said and walked out. He didn't cause trouble, he fixed it.

Nina's Birthday, Saturday…

I awoke to bright lights. I sat up. Amber wasn't in her bed. I got up and started downstairs for breakfast. When I got to the bottom of the steps everyone jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" I looked around. Fabian was in the background. I remembered what today was. No. I ran upstairs to my room and slammed my door. I heard footsteps rushing up the stairs. My tears fell as I stared at the picture on my wall. The door opened and someone put there arm around me. I looked up and saw Fabian. "What happened?" he asked worried. "F-fabian, my p-parents d-died on my b-birthday." I sobbed. Fabian's face turned to pure horror. I buried my face in my hands. Fabian tightened his arm around me, he put his other one around me and hugged me. I hugged him back. I soaked his shirt with my tears. I needed someone so bad. It felt good to tell him. I never told anyone before. I sobbed until I was dry of tears. "I-I'm s-s-sorry." I said as I pulled away. He shook his head. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

Fabian POV:

"What's wrong with her?" everyone asked. "Guys, I don't know if she wants me to tell you. Just don't bring it up. Please." I said. They all nodded. I went back up the stairs. I opened the door and walked in. Nina looked over. She patted the space next to her. I went and sat next to her. "I-I'm sorry Fabian." She said. I wiped away a few of her tears. "You apologize to much." I said. I looked into her eyes. "Thanks for b-being here for me." She said. I nodded. She looked so beautiful sitting there, her face tear-stained and eyes puffy. She was still the most beautiful girl in the world. And I think I love her. I lightly swept my finger across her cheek. I leaned close to her and placed my lips on hers.