Okay, so with all my spare time, I've decided to rewrite Seventeen Ain't So Sweet.
It WILL be different than before, cuz obviously I can't remember my exact plot from before, so there will be changes. You guys can totally contribute ideas if you want, or help me out if you remember something you liked, cuz I'm not too sure exactly what to write.
I've got another story out currently, called "The Streets of Big Apple". It's got some similar attributes, but seriously, it's NOT THE SAME. So yeah.
Hope you go check that out too.
I hope you guys review. I remember I got tons of support when I first wrote this story, so I'd really appreciate it if I had the same now. I will try to speed things up, because I know when I previously wrote it, it was so freakishly slow, it even annoyed me.
I'm going to try follow of the same plot, but there will be differences.
So, please review, and tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Chapter One
Finally It's The End
The empty liquor bottle smashed against the railing of the staircase. I whimpered in fear, as he stalked into the hallway, glaring in his drunken temper.
"Get back here, bitch."
He grabbed the lamp from the table beside, and hurled it towards me. On instinct, I dodged up the staircase, ignoring the screaming pain, as shards of the shattered bottle pierced the underside of my hand. I stood on the rim, which luckily was not littered with broken glass, but my hands had hit the ground.
The lamp tugged harshly against the cable, still attached to the electricity socket, and clattered loudly at the foot of the staircase.
Silence. Everything seemed to freeze, as I locked eyes with Phil.
He smirked, alcohol dribbling down the side of his mouth. It was almost like seeing a rabid dog, hungry for its kill.
Taking a deep breath, I raced up the stairs, ignoring the sharp jabs of pain here and there.
As soon as I reached the first landing, I slipped through the small door, slamming it behind me. I tugged on the lock, hoping that it would work this time.
I sucked in a breath, trying to calm down. I could feel the beginning of tears in my eyes. Grabbing the ratty hair band around my wrist, I tied my hair into a quick sloppy ponytail.
I bit my lip, trying to ignore the pain throbbing at the base of my palm. With one hand, I frantically roamed the surface under my thin mattress, looking for the stack of Band-Aids, and first aid supplies, I had purchased last week.
When I found them, I grabbed the alcohol bottle. I clenched my teeth together, as slowly I dripped the alcohol onto my hand, letting it soak on my fresh wounds.
I closed my eyes, ignoring the screams that were fighting to make its way out of my throat. It was like a fire, burning in the cuts in my hand, stinging in excruciating pain.
I let a single tear slide down my cheek, as the immense burning feeling slowly died away. I glanced at the open wound briefly. I could see a sharp glass piece glinting in the dim light of my room.
My eyebrows narrowed, as I carefully tapped it with my finger, testing the depth of the wound. Pressing my lips together, I ignored the shocks of pains and numbness it sent rolling up and down my arm, as I pulled it out, between a thumb and a forefinger.
I let it clatter to the ground, and watched blankly as an image of my face bounced of the reflections of the large glass piece. I watched as the single tear rolled of the sharp cheekbones, trailing from my plain brown eyes.
Stray mud brown hairs waved around my heart-shaped face. I glanced in pity and despair at the picture in the glass, trying to ignore the growing pain, worse than the burning of alcohol, throbbing in the deep center of my chest.
I choked out a sob, as I quickly plastered a band-aid over the biggest wound.
I held my breath, ignoring the blood. It bothered me, but after all these years, it wasn't hard to get used to it.
I hiccupped once, as I packed the kit away, leaning against the corner of my bedroom. Well, it wasn't much of one. It was the attic of the house.
Blankly, I drew my finger across lines I had cut into the side of the wall. They were carved into the corner, near my mattress, so it was hidden in the shadows. If anyone in the house knew that I had 'vandalized' my room, I would be throttled.
Each line signified a year of my life. Just a month ago, I had cut my seventeenth line. My seventeenth birthday. My seventeenth year of my life.
It wasn't like anything had changed. I was still the miserable little girl I was years and years back.
My life was a wreck. I deserved it. I had been told over and over again, about what a disgrace I was to the family.
I held not single glimmer of beauty. I was not an athlete. And I wasn't really smart either.
I tried though. I tried so hard, yet I didn't earn one spark of satisfaction from my mother. It killed me inside, but I hadn't ever stopped trying, to hope for a single light in my life.
I didn't deserve to be here. I didn't deserve to be anywhere. She hated me. I knew that. She had beaten me, screamed insults at me, yet I still respected her.
I couldn't do anything about it. I had considered options before.
Suicide; but I couldn't balance out whether I was more scared of life or death.
Running away; but I wouldn't be able to deal with any of the atrocities that I heard existed outside my house.
I knew that I was no more than a worthless coward.
My mother, Renee, had been in control of my life, from all the times I could remember. It felt as if I had been unwillingly, yet permanently, bound to her.
Although she hated me so much, she just wouldn't give me the option of escaping the life she had created for me.
And the front door slammed downstairs.
My eyes widened on instinct, and I jumped up, my back pressed tightly against the wall. My fist clenched, my fear overwhelming the fresh pain building up at the base of my palm.
"Hey, sweetheart," Her voice travelled through the house, words that I would never be able to receive.
"Honey, you're home!" Phil replied, with a false sweetness that was enough to make me puke. Yet it was what he said next that made my blood run cold in my veins. "That daughter of yours again, she-"
And I covered my ears, not willing to hear a word more. I knew what was going to happen next.
Exactly I had assumed, no more than a mere five minutes later, a fist pounded harshly against the rickety door of my bedroom.
"ISABELLA SWAN, YOU GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!" Although she had married Phil, my last name wasn't changed to match hers.
My eyes widened, and pain shot through my arm as I tightly grasped a pipe trialing my room with my injured hand.
Suddenly the pounding stopped, and suddenly, there was a loud 'click', and the rusty doorknob creaked round.
A key! She had a fucking key!
Fear enveloped my chest, and I could feel my stomach twist uneasily in horror.
And Renee entered the room, her chin held up proudly, but her eyes glaring in such ferocity, my heart stuttered unevenly.
There was not a single breath in my throat, as I tried aimlessly to shrink deeper into my corner.
"You little bitch." Though her voice was quiet, it throbbed with menace and hatred. "Phil told me about what a total disgrace you were today. And you lost him a few beer bottles, I hear?"
Her teeth clenched, as she watched me in complete loathing.
"I would kill you if I could, you know. You're nothing but a disgusting sewer rat, and you are worthless to me."
I winced, as her words burned in my chest. I had heard this speech before, but her sentiments never failed to stab at my heart.
She licked her lips.
"But guess what, little Isabelly, I have found you a way out." She smiled in eager triumph, and spat at the ground of my room. "You're going to go far, far away from us now. Don't try to turn back."
I hiccupped in surprise, Renee throwing me a quick glance of disgust.
She tossed a couple flyers on the wooden flooring. "You'll be leaving next week, no arguments necessary. I've already sent in the forms. You won't visit. And finally, you and your bitchy little scheming will finally leave this house. Forever."
Finally, she leaned forward, gazing viciously in my eyes. "Oh, and don't forget. One word of complaint from the school, and me and Phil won't regret providing a little visit, and, well, let's just say; you'll have a little lesson of your own."
And she slammed the door behind me, letting the room tremble momentarily. I could hear a drone of voices through the walls, as Phil and her muttered frantically.
"And you didn't think that it was too expensive, 'cause-"
"Jesus, it's not my fucking fault! This woman was handing out these flyers, and one look at the words 'Boarding School' and my mind was set. I don't give a shit where she goes. So-"
"Where is this boarding school anyway?"
"California." She sounded smug. "I know it looks close on the map, but you couldn't walk there, for Christ's sake. Plus, its only October, flights won't be that expensive."
"Couldn't have been another country, huh?"
"Hey, at least by next week, she'll be out of our lives.
"And then we can move to wherever we want. Finally with her gone."
I could hear victorious laughter, as they conversed of the freedom of their lives without me.
Wincing, I took in a few steady breaths, letting my heartbeat slow.
My hand shaking, I slowly picked up the flyer, sitting crumpled on the ground. Gently, I flattened out the folds, and read on.
Southern California Boarding High
A school of diversity
Southern California Boarding High, opened a mere 10 years ago in 2000, is a school which holds strongly the belief that all students are competent of achieving success in learning and contributing to the interests of a diverse and interdependent world.
The goal our school holds intends for students to leave our schools with the self-confidence that comes from a satisfying, successful life here. We hope to attain this mission, promoting the clear expectations of high academic achievement. Along with that, we hope to enhance and unite the diverse range of culture and ethnicity in our school.
We emphasize the joy of learning among our students, so that enthusiasm for knowledge as not forgotten as they leave the school, to pursuit their lives, hopefully with the rightful influence, strong enthusiasm for understanding, that our school hopes to provide.
And it went on and on. I doubt that Renee ever read this, before confirming to send me to this school.
I closed my eyes.
A week from now, I would not live here anymore. I'd be in a complete different state, living in an entirely different world.
It was so huge, so overwhelming, I wasn't able to wrap my head around it.
One minute, Phil was flinging beer bottles at me, and I was trying not to scream in the pain. By the next week, I wouldn't live in this house anymore. This living hell.
I don't know if I was excited or scared. Joy wrapped around my chest, at the thought of being a thousands of miles away from this hell-hole.
But I was scared as well. How would I be able to deal with everything, a new school, a new life, all alone?
Mixed emotions swirled in my head as I closed my eyes, trying to absorb the blur of events that had just happened.
By next week, I knew my life would change drastically. In California.
With people I had never met in my life.
It sounded so very far away.
---
"Get out," She hissed, pointing towards the airport entrance, as if I couldn't see it. The window was open, and she forced a polite smile on her face as the traffic conductor glanced at her gesturing arm.
"Need a hand, miss?"
"No, it's alright." She smiled sweetly, but dropped the façade as soon as the man had his back turned.
Finally, the car stopped to a curb, and hurriedly, I shoved the door open, ignoring the unpleasant hiss from Renee.
Without turning around one last time, I made my way to the airport. My ratty suitcase creaked behind me, as I dragged it towards the counter.
I tried my best to look considerate today. I had never been so far from the house, which I didn't call home, before.
School was the single place that I would ever see people, and this airport was filled with random pedestrians.
Feeling vulnerable, surrounded by all these strangers, I lowered my gaze, and wrapped an arm around my chest, walking forward robotically.
Quietly, trying not to make a scene with my loud, clunky suitcase, I made my way to the gate, and sat on the navy benches, waiting for boarding time.
I detested attention to myself. I hated the thought of a spotlight wherever I walked. I tried my best not to draw any notice to myself, as I shuffled uncomfortably in the blue seats.
Closing my eyes, I tried to relax my muscles, ignoring the sounds around me. I could hear loud voices, chattering excitedly, and the constant blare of the loudspeakers, reporting airplane arrivals and boarding times, every few minutes.
I didn't have to wait long for mine.
"ATTENTION: FLIGHT CA3546 TO LOS ANGELES IS NOW BOARDING. I REPEAT: FLIGHT CA3546 TO LOS ANGELES IS NOW BOARDING."
I could hear a loud shuffle, as people around me stood up, preparing to enter the plane.
Glancing uneasily at the large crowd of people, assembling at the gate, I bit my lip and waited a couple minutes, until the line cleared a little, before I stood up and handed my airline ticket to the stewardess.
She smiled politely at me, beeping the barcode against the monitor, then gestured me onto the airplane.
Seat 24A
I blinked a couple times in uncertainty, wondering who I would have to sit next to for the next hour or so.
As I made my way there, the seat was currently empty. I sighed in relief, shoving my small suitcase in the gap under the seat in front of me, and sitting down patiently, checking briefly at the time displayed on the handlebar next to me.
8:32 AM
By the time I made it there, it would be around 10. Staring out the window, I watched as airport workers rushed around hurriedly, making finishing arrangements before take-off.
Finally, as the last passengers made their way onto the plane, a girl around my age stopped and stared at the seat next to me.
She was gorgeous. Though short, she was skinny, and did have a nice figure. Her hair was cropped, spiky, and a deep glossy ink black. A perfect straight nose and pouty pink lips, along with kind grey eyes, gazing at me with evident curiosity.
"Hi, sorry, but I'm 24 B. I sit there." She gestured apologetically at my duffle bag, which was placed upon her seat.
Blushing, I quickly grabbed the duffle bag, and shoved it frantically under the chair in front of me, along with my suitcase.
"S-Sorry," I muttered, looking away. This girl was so beautiful, it stung.
Exactly the kind of person Renee would regularly compare me to, yelling at me, blaming me for not be the kind of angel-looking girl she was.
The thought of Renee throbbed in my chest. Despite the way she had treated me, even up to now, the way she hated me, it always hurt me a little bit.
"So, hi, I'm Alice." The beautiful girl next to me smiled, holding a hand out expectantly.
Surprised by her friendly introduction, I jumped.
"Um, I-I'm Bella." Tentatively, I shook her hand.
The plane's seat-belt sight flashed on, and I quickly clasped the two buckles together. She did the same, and then looked at me again, the same curiosity flashing in her pretty eyes.
"So, where you from? Oh Jesus, that's a stupid question. Well, where around do you live?"
"Phoenix." I gave a blank answer, not really sure how to converse with this cheerful beauty.
"Oh, that's nice. I'm only here for visiting. Originally, I came from Washington, but I go to school in California. School's already started, you see, but my mom sent me here briefly."
"U-Um, Why?" I didn't mean to pry, but her face was one that simply drew my trust, and her tone sparked curiosity of my own.
"Well, yeah," She made a face. "A really important friend was visiting, and s-she's not doing so well. So we had to visit for a while. Everyone left first, but I stayed an extra week."
"Oh." I didn't know what to say. For me, it felt awkward, but Alice seemed very laid-back, talking to a complete dim-witted stranger like me.
"Yeah, I know. She's originally from Washington, but the doctor said she needed some sun. Arizona sounded pretty good."
I gave a small smile. "Well, Phoenix is the land of the sun."
She laughed. "Exactly! So how old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Oh, that's cool. Me too! When was you're birthday?"
"Last month."
And her questions kept coming, one after another. Fear started to subtly build up, as the topics of her questions jumped randomly.
What if she asked something to personal? What if something slipped?
I didn't want to be too cryptic, but I didn't want give her an invitation into the horror of my world.
I liked Alice. Though we had met around two minutes ago, I liked her charming, cheerful personality, and the way her smile lit up the dim interior of the plane.
But I didn't know her enough to reveal the haunting past I had lived through for seventeen years.
My eyes darkened briefly, and she seemed to notice as I flinched in remembrance.
"You okay, Bella?" Her large eyes were full of concern, and she reached out a hand and touched my arm.
I jumped, and she removed her hand, hesitance beginning to grow on her perfect face. "You alright?"
The plane rumbled. I was silent, as the seat began to vibrate. I could feel the speed as it rolled forward, along the runway.
My stomach jumped around, as the plane lifted off. I closed my eyes, letting the feeling sink in.
When I opened them, Alice was still staring at me, anxiety wavering on her face. "Bella?"
"I'm okay."
I let my muscles relax as the plane began to glide smoothly through the air, on the way to Los Angeles.
Word Count: 3,060
So there you have it. My rewritten version of Seventeen Ain't So Sweet.
I hope it's better than the first one, and it's more improved.
Please review!! I'd love to know what you guys think.
So thanks for reading.
I'll update as soon as I can. Hope you guys read my other story as well.
Please submit a review and give me your opinion. Thanks.