I didn't know how short I was until I was trying to attach banisters to the top of the doors in the auditorium. The school play was about a month away; everyone was in a hurry to make sure that everything would be set for the day of the show. I frankly believed that we would be finished a week before the play, but everyone thought differently.
A pair of arms snaked around my waist, tightening just enough for me to squirm in pain. I turned around to see Eli's smirk; he obviously didn't seem to think anything of it.
Relief washed over.
"I thought you could you use some help reaching; of course, I was going to help you with that."
Eli closed the space that was between us and I smiled shyly as his lips met mine. I would never give this away, no matter what. Ever since K.C. and I had dated, I always expected this to be what we were going to have; instead, I got the complete opposite thing.
His hands slid down to my waist, making me jerk away. I couldn't meet Eli's eyes while I recovered from the pain that burned in my sides.
"Sorry." I murmured, trying to keep my posture straight. There was no way I was going to give in when I had been fighting so hard. I could tell that Eli was going to question me every time that I did this; I knew that I was losing the love of my life.
"Care to explain?" He asked a little too harshly, and I couldn't help but wish that I could disappear from the scene. We had been through this before, but I couldn't give him the rational answer that was the truth.
I shook my head, glancing up to see furious emeralds disconnect with mine. He stalked away as I called his name out, only to be left empty handed. I threw the banister down before running out of the auditorium through the other door, looking for peace from everyone else. The halls were already cleared out; school had been out for about an hour. Not many people roamed the halls but the janitors.
I slid down behind one of the walls, caressing my side with my hand. It had never been this bad; it usually only left bruises from where the bottle would make contact with my skin. But this time it was… unexplainable.
The cuts, the wounds-all that were now a part of me. I didn't feel safe anymore knowing that anyone could reveal that purple spots that printed my waist and the small cuts on my lower stomach, reaching to my back for more coverage.
I couldn't help but wonder if Darcy had had this happen to her before-she never was fond of "Dad", if I could call him that anymore. He didn't seem like a dad anymore; not with all the beating, all the slurred tones and laughs he brought to the peaceful atmosphere of our house.
I took out my phone, calling who I knew would be there for me.
"Hello?" Adam said in a sleepy tone. I shivered once more before I could speak.
"Hey," My voice was raspy from all the tears-I cleared my throat. "Are you doing anything today?"
I heard a sigh from the other side of the phone, making me roll my eyes; of course Eli would be there. "Never mind" I quickly said before hanging up. I did not need to talk about what had just happened; not again.
Only Hope
I dragged my almost-lifeless body down to one of the cafés that had live entertainment; I had been waiting to hear some of the singers from the area perform-it had been too long since I had heard one live performance.
I could hear from the end of the street a beautiful voice over all the commotion in the town; a beautiful, light voice that drove me half-crazy to hear. I wish I had that voice; one that was almost an angel's. My pace quickened while I forgot about the wounds, the battle scars that covered me.
I entered the café hastily, my eyes locking on the person on particular that was singing; he was still in the middle of the song that I had heard, but now I could hear his voice.
"Let's forget what happens
and go away for a while
where no one can hurt us"
How ironic was the only thing that came to my mind as I listened to what he said, getting lost in my own thoughts as I thought of how much I longed to run away from all the pain and suffering that I had been receiving lately.
His fingers strummed the strings even harder than before, showing the true passion that he had in the song. I beat my head lightly as he finished off the chorus and went to the ending of the song, replying with a light "thank you" before hopping offstage.
The boy looked oddly familiar; he had dark brown hair but his eyes were blue, sending off a large but quiet message. My eyes followed to where he sat at one of the tables, where he hugged several people who sat there with him.
Helplessness washed over me; he had lots of love and support. That was the kind of life that I had always wished for. His lyrics meant nothing to him, only telling someone else's life-mine.
The urge to flee overwhelmed me once again and I bolted for the exit-a light hand touched my arm. I turned to see that it was the singer that led me to the café, but I couldn't help but try thinking of petty excuses for me to leave.
"Hey," he said in a cheery voice. "I wanted to thank you for coming here today. It was my first opening in a café; didn't think many people would come for me."
My eyebrows rose. "I'm sorry? I didn't have any idea that you were performing here-I just had heard you singing from down the street." I shrugged. "I don't know who you are," I said honestly.
The boy rolled his eyes, a small chuckle coming out from him. "Seriously?" He asked, and I couldn't help but question him.
"Excuse me?" I asked, a little surprised by how the boy thought that I was lying. "I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are. And I'd like to leave, if you don't mind."
He raised his hand off of my arm in defeat before smiling. "Can I at least have your name?"
Why was he wasting his time on me? I already had a boyfriend.
"Clare." I stated a little strictly. "And yours?" I blurted out, confusing myself.
His head rose slightly higher before he said, "Goliah".
"Goliah?" I asked, chuckling to myself. "Pardon me-it's just that I've never heard someone's name be that."
"Well Clare," he said, returning my tone. "I didn't think that someone like you would be named 'Clare'-it's too unoriginal."
I scoffed. "Well someone is mistaken; Clare fits me quite well Goliah."
Goliah rolled his eyes. "Whatever; its nice meeting you." He gave a small smile before I chuckled, leaving the scene.
Only Hope
I entered the house as quietly as I could, a small smile playing on my lips. Goliah was truly a comedian; I hadn't been able to have a conversation like that in a while-Eli hadn't tried to connect with me like that recently.
I could only wish that Eli would forgive me soon enough so that we could have our old relationship.
Sneaking up the stairs, I looked at my drunken father who slept on the couch, his arms thrown in back of his head. He looked so stupid nowadays; he hadn't bothered to shave recently, his hair was too long and he had gained a few pounds.
I went to my bed, falling onto my back. I closed my eyes, giving in to the perfect silence that enveloped in my room. It was so peaceful when he wasn't awake; I just hoped that he wouldn't remember about me. I had lost the lock on my door and all of my privacy. I could imagine that someday I wouldn't even have windows so that I could suffer in darkness.
I tried falling asleep, only to be failing the attempt by thinking about what would happen when he would wake up. Would he just leave bruises, or do worse like last time? I couldn't go through this for much longer-the pain was unbearable nowadays. I could now understand what animal abuse was like; having no voice to speak out the pain that you adapted to.
A tear fell down my cheek as my eyes widened; footsteps heavily walked up the stairs.
As always, criticism and your opinion on the story is always accepted!
