TRIGGER WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THAT KIND OF STUFF, IT IS BEST TO NOT READ.
Leni Loud sat on her bed as she brushed out her long, pale blonde hair. Her siblings were getting ready for school, and they would leave in a couple minutes.
Leni herself dreaded school the most out of all her siblings.
Now you may assume it's because school is too difficult for her, seeing as people see her as a stereotypical "dumb" blonde. However, that would not be the case.
Leni was seeing someone. She had been with him for 3 years. Since she was 13 and in middle school. She thought she liked him, and she still does(or at least, she tries to convince herself that she does). She shows him all her love, gives him whatever he wants, and what does she get in return?
Bruises. Lots of bruises. Both emotional and physical.
It didn't start immediately. In fact, the first year they were together, he was perfect. But slowly he faded away, into something distant and cold. She didn't know what caused it, but she assumed it was something she did. It was her fault. It was always her fault.
She wanted to end things. She tried to, in fact, however that only resulted in black mail and threats. It scared her a lot, because most of the threats were having something to do with her family, and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if someone in the family got hurt because of her.
She also felt guilty for leaving him, and so she decided everything would be easier if she just stayed.
So here she is, bound to this guy that she doesn't even want to be with.
Leni wore a high waisted light wash denim skirt, with a cropped white T shirt and white sneakers. Her straight hair went down to her hips and was almost as light as her brother's, but a couple shades darker. Her pale blue eyes used to be full of light, but were now washed out. No one seemed to notice. Then again no one noticed she had a boyfriend for three years. He was smart though, only hitting her in places that would be hidden by clothing.
Leni wasn't dumb. She wasn't. It was an act she put on for years, to hide her pain. It started because she cared about how she looked, and her siblings would assume that she cared more about appearance and less about education and so they started making remarks. She didn't much like being "the dumb one", but she figured there was no getting rid of that title and even if she did, there wouldn't be much else to define her. She didn't think she had a good personality, at all. Her siblings thought she was too nice. She hated that.
It doesn't matter. She can use her fake "stupidity" as an excuse for anything. Coming home late. "Forgetting" an event. Failing tests because she didn't get enough sleep last night since the whole night was interrupted by nightmares of him.
She heard people downstairs, and figured she'd better hurry up and get to school.
She got up and went downstairs. Her siblings were all sitting at the dining table, eating. Leni checked her phone, they had 5 minutes until they had to leave. She wasn't that hungry, so she just grabbed a piece of toast and sat down to eat. Besides, he didn't like it when she ate a lot.
She went through her phone and was half paying attention to the conversation when Lori asked her a question. She didn't hear the question, but didn't want to bother with asking what it was so she just smiled and replied "good". She was used to fake smiling.
Eventually, it was time to leave and so they all got in the car. The first stop was Royal Woods Elementary/middle school where everyone besides Lori, Leni, and Luna would be dropped off. The next stop was the Royal Woods high school, where Leni would have to face him again.
As soon as they parked, Leni got out of the car without saying bye to anyone and walked as fast as she could to her locker. As she opened her locker, she was about to put her things away when she felt someone grab her from behind. Realizing it was him, she smiled as he hugged her.
"We still on for tonight?" He asked. He was tall, 6 ft at least. He was big too, and was part of the football team. Everyone loved him. Well, all the juniors at least. His brown, shaggy hair, his emerald green eyes, his bright smile.
None of that existed when they were alone.
His eyes were stone cold, staring at her with full hatred. He didn't smile, only frowned upon her. It was a completely different person.
But around other people he was amazing. They were the "perfect" couple.
Leni didn't care what he did to her. She probably deserved it. She loved him anyways, or so she thought. Sad that her poor misconception of love had blinded her from seeing how wrong and toxic her relationship actually was.
"Yeah" she beamed at him. He was in a good mood. That was good.
"Cool" He replied. "See you at lunch?"
"Of course" Leni breathed.
He walked away and Leni sighed, opening her locker again and slamming it shut once she had her things. The bell rang. It was time for first period.
Lori knew about their relationship. Of course she did, they were very public about it at school. When Lori found out Leni had begged her to not tell anyone at home. Lori reluctantly agreed. He was a good guy(Lori was unaware about how he really was), and she wanted Leni to be happy without being bothered by her siblings. Lori learned that the hard way.
Luna didn't know. Although she went to the same school as Leni, she was a freshman and Leni was a junior so they tended to stay away from each other.
That being said Leni was safe. No one knew, and no one had to know. Her secret was safe, for now.
