I literally just wrote this and idk if it's shit or horrible or none of you want to read it but I've written it anyway. I have more done ready to post but obviously I won't post it if I get like zero responses, yanno?
No one's POV
It's strange how fast a life can change. How just in the blink of an eye everything as you know it can cease to exist. Five years ago Selena Russo would never have thought that she'd be in the situation she was currently in, and she'd never have thought that she would make the decisions that had placed her in said situation, but even so she wouldn't be inclined to change it for the world. Although sudden changes are strange, perhaps they have a deeper purpose. Perhaps if Selena hadn't have winded up where she was, she would have winded up in the morgue.
Selena Russo is a very complicated and troubled girl yet she holds so much strength – way more than you can even begin to imagine. The young girl's troubles began when she turned eleven and she was diagnosed with depression. Being that age and beginning puberty is hard enough as it is, without the added stress of mental illness, and the pressure tore her apart. She looked to self-harm, drugs, and alcohol for reassurance and spiralled herself down so deep that she wasn't sure she could ever recover.
One night, in December, it was particularly difficult. Things had escalated and she'd begun sleeping around with whoever and whatever she could find – she was crashing hard. It was a Sunday when her father, Bryan, had come home from work and found her having sex with a girl in her room. Selena will never forget that night, the way the rain pounding against the window had mirrored the way her father's fist pounded her face. The way that the booming thunder matched her father's booming voice repeating 'I hope you die' over and over. The way that the lightening flashing throughout the room copied the way she was flashing in and out of consciousness.
Selena ended up in the hospital that night. Her mother, Mandy, hadn't left her side – she was praying for her only child, for her baby. Selena had taken an overdose once Bryan had left the house and it had been Mandy that came home from work and found her lying there on the floor, so still. The poor soul was only thirteen years old.
That night was the worst and most low time of her life and yet also, the most hopeful, positive time too. The doctors had done scans to check the damage inflicted upon her body, and whilst doing so they discovered that she was pregnant. Selena, at thirteen years old, was carrying a baby. At first the staff at the hospital were adamant that an abortion was best for Selena but Mandy knew that killing her child was something the younger girl would never recover from – it wasn't an option.
As soon as social services got wind of the affair they swooped right in and threatened to take the baby away once it was born. At this point, Selena was aware of the pregnancy and she was determined to sort herself out. This was a big deal, for anyone that knew Selena, because she had never once spoken in a positive manner concerning her mental health. With combined efforts from both Mandy, and psychologists, they managed to strike an agreement so that the baby could stay within the family. Selena would move into a sober facility, aimed for young troubled teens, for the entirety of her pregnancy.
Getting clean and sober was by far the hardest thing that Selena ever had to face. She had been on every single drug on the face of the earth and was hurting herself constantly, but even so she got through the eight months and she ensured that her baby girl was born safe and healthy. Considering the dedication Selena had portrayed, even at such a young age, she was allowed to keep the baby as long as Mandy was a guardian as well and Selena had to attend regular check-ups at a clinic for drug tests, alcohol consumption tests and body checks for any sign of self-harm. Selena didn't mind, she'd do anything for little Lea Russo.
Now, Selena is sixteen years old and her baby girl is three. Mandy has had to go back to work full time in order to be able to support Selena and Lea and so Selena is a full time carer for her daughter. Whilst Selena attends school, Lea goes to a special all day pre-school and then Selena cares for her out of school times, with Mandy still in the house, for the majority of the time, as the guardian.
…
Selena's POV
I stepped down from the podium and took a deep breath, trying my hardest to calm myself down. I had just finished giving my background speech at the regular young person support group and was still just as scared as the first time I had attended. Nerves always got to me and even though I knew I was respected here I always felt ridiculously insecure.
I'd left Lea in the crèche area near the entrance so once I'd stayed for everybody else's speeches I headed in that direction.
"Hello Selena, how are you?" One of the workers asked, as I walked into the room.
"I'm good thank you." I smiled.
A quick scan of the room located Lea in the far corner and I noticed she was talking to someone, which immediately raised flags for me. I quickly walked over and the second the small child saw me, she jumped into my open arms.
"Mommy, this is Demi." She told me.
I looked to the woman and saw that she had her hand extended so I quickly shook it, trying my best to be polite.
"I wait here for my sister to be done inside." She explained, satisfying my worry.
"I asked her to help me with lego's, mommy." I ran my hand through Lea's messy curls and placed a quick kiss on her head.
"Your building is really good." I complimented as I glanced at the lego on the floor.
Minutes later I felt Lea begin to wiggle in my arms as she pointed at the play area on the other side of the room.
"Do you want to go play?" I asked her.
Her head started moving vigorously so I carefully placed her on the floor and giggled as she practically raced to the other side of the room.
Demi and I were both left alone and I couldn't help but feel completely over whelmed when in contact with such a stunning woman. Now that I knew she wasn't a threat to my child, I could genuinely soak her in and she was phenomenal.
"So who's your sister?" I wondered.
"Madison."
I knew who she was talking about; she was around four years younger than me and was the sweetest girl ever. She often talked and played with Lea and the three year old absolutely adores her but usually it's Madison's mother, Diana, that fetches her.
"I know Maddy, she's a sweetheart." I smiled.
"She is, so do you know someone who goes too?" She inquired.
I guess she didn't assume that I attended because the group was for 10 – 19 year olds, and considering she now knew I had a three year old child, she probably thought I was older.
"Yeah something like that, so where's Diana?" Changing the subject was the only thing I could think of in order to dodge answering her question.
"She had to go somewhere today so she asked me to fetch her."
"Sweet sister, ey." I winked.
"Well, I do try." Demi smirked.
We would have spoken further but Madison came running over with Lea on her back.
"Hey Sel." She beamed.
"Hey sweetie."
Madison was literally the definition of adorable and it killed me to know that she had ever had struggles in this world.
"You haven't seen Lea around anywhere, have you?" I joked.
I heard Lea's cute little laugh echo from behind Madison but I pretended not to notice and acted as though I was searching the room with my eyes.
"I haven't." Madison played along, as she 'discreetly' lowered the child to the floor.
"Have you seen her anywhere, Dems?" Madison added.
Demi laughed along with the rest of us and quickly shook her head.
"Mommy I'm here!" Lea shouted, as she jumped out from behind Madison.
"Baby, be quieter and remember your inside voice." I kindly instructed.
"Sorry mommy."
She shot me her cheeky grin and I quickly picked her up, tickling her sides and relishing the feeling of actually bonding with my child. As much as I wish that I could stay here with Maddy and Demi, I knew that I had to get home because it was late and I had school the next day.
"We're gonna make a move because we have to get back home but I'll see you next week Mads, and I hope I see you again soon Demi." I shyly said.
"Definetely."
No one's POV
Selena and Lea were both exhausted when they finally got home from the support group. Selena obviously couldn't drive so they had to get the bus home and they had both been tired already.
"Hey babies, dinner is on the table." Mandy told the girls as soon as they entered the house.
Selena went straight to the table, feeling absolutely starving, whereas Lea jumped into her Grandma's arms. Lea was certainly a mommy's girl but she also enjoyed the older woman's company as well.
"Let's go eat, babe." Many told the child.
Soon enough, the three women had finished all of their food and Mandy was in the kitchen doing the washing up.
"How about we get you in the bath and then snuggled up to sleep?" Selena suggested to Lea.
The three year old simply nodded her head sleepily and reached out her arms for Selena to carry her. Around an hour later, Selena had managed to get Lea completely clean, dressed in her frozen pyjamas, tucked into bed and had read her a bedtime story. She was now sleeping soundly so Selena took it as her queue to go and get into her own bed, deciding to have a shower the following morning.
Selena's head had just hit the pillow when she heard her phone vibrate.
To: Selena
From: Madison
10:22pm
Hey Sel, can I give Demi your number? She thinks you're really cool and wants to get to know you x
To: Madison
From: Selena
10:23pm
Sure sweetie x
The teens heart was now beating fast in her chest in anticipation of the text that she was about to receive. She kept thinking why would somebody like Demi want to get to know somebody like her?
To: Selena
From: Demi
10:30pm
Hey, sorry if this is a bit weird but I really liked talking to you today and I wanted to get to know you better. Besides, Maddy was telling me how amazing you are and how much you've helped her so I wanted to say thank you for that x
To: Demi
From: Selena
10:32pm
I don't mind at all:') And Mads is awesome so I wouldn't want it to be any other way with her! I love helping her x
To: Selena
From: Demi
10:33pm
Speaking of awesome people, Lea is just the cutest! How old is she? X
To: Demi
From: Selena
10:35pm
She's three! She is the cutest little thing ever, she's literally my pride and joy x
To: Selena
From: Demi
10:39pm
You should be proud! She's literally such a smart, adorable little cutie like seriously! So you never did tell me why you were there and Madison won't tell me either:( x
Selena's heart sunk at the idea of having to tell Demi all of her problems. She knew for a fact that Demi was a lot older and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the older girl or have her not want to speak anymore.
To: Demi
From: Selena
10:45pm
Confidentiality and all that;) To be honest I don't really want to talk about it, yanno? Like I just feel awkward expressing everything to people because it's a big part of my life, I'm sorry x
To: Selena
From: Demi
10:47pm
Hey, don't apologise! I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you because it's not even any of my business x
A yawn escaped the tired girl's mouth and she glanced at her phone to see that it was nearly ten to eleven at night. Knowing that she had to wake up early to get herself and Lea ready, she decided to call it a night.
To: Demi
From: Selena
11:00pm
Maybe I'll tell you one day but anyway I have to go to sleep now because I need to be up early in the morning, night! X
To: Selena
From: Demi:
11:01pm
Me too actually! Sleep well, I'll message you tomorrow x
…
Selena's POV
A ringing resounded through my head and awoke me from my deep slumber. I groaned as I rolled over and quickly turned the alarm off before sitting up and dragging my hand across my face. The flashing numbers '6:00' slightly depressed me, but I left the comfort of my bed anyway.
I headed straight to the bathroom and splashed water all over my face in an attempt to wake me up and then I traipsed downstairs into the kitchen to make myself some coffee. I was just about to sit down when I noticed a note taped to the fridge, at a quick glance I could tell it was written by mother.
I hope your first day back at school goes well sweetie! Send Lea my love for pre-school too please. Don't forget to lock the house up before you leave and make sure you have everything, you know the drill. Love you, see you later. I'll be home at about seven, mom xxx
The thought of going back to school and having to hide everything away again almost drained me completely but I knew that it was the price I had to pay. Nobody at school, apart from my best friend Ryan, knows anything about my past, not the drugs, not the alcohol and not even about Lea either. I'm not ashamed of her or anything, because she's a proper little princess, but I don't want the constant judging – I just want to get through school.
Once I'd finished my coffee and had something to eat it was nearing 6:30, so I went upstairs to have a quick shower. I still had to straighten my hair, get dressed, and apply my makeup for the day so I was trying my hardest to hurry.
By the time I was dressed and completely ready for school, with my bag packed and everything, it was eight O'clock so I went to wake up Lea.
"Wake up, Lee!" I screamed, whilst flicking the light on and off.
"Mommy!" Lea moaned.
I stopped messing with the light and ran to dive on her bed, making sure that I didn't land on her or hurt her. She never was a morning person - she was even worse than me - so it tended to be hard to get her up.
"How's my little munchkin this morning?" I asked.
"I'm tired." She pouted.
"Same sweetie but we have school." I tried to encourage her to get up but she just kept pushing me away.
"I want to sleep."
I knew that I was fighting a losing battle and I was going to end up being late for school so I had to come up with something pronto.
"How about if you get up now, we can watch Frozen after school?" I suggested.
She quickly bounced up and sat perched on the edge of the bed. "You promise?!"
"I promise!" I smiled.
"Then let's go!" She squealed.
Before I even had chance to react, Lea was running out of the room and down the stairs. "Race ya!"
"That's no fair!" I whined.
No one's POV
It took Selena about twenty minutes to get Lea to settle down and eat her breakfast, even after the Frozen promise, and then around fifteen minutes for her to get her dressed and ready for school. The fact that Lea was allowed to wear whatever she wanted for pre-school was proving to be a big issue, everything that Selena picked was either 'too pink', 'too frilly', or 'too big'.
They were finally ready to leave the house so Selena slung her bag onto her back and clutched Lea's bag safely in her hand, with her packed lunch inside. The duo quickly left the house, locking the door behind them, and Selena took a hold of the youngster's hands before walking her to school.
Lea attends a school only five minutes away from their family home but unfortunately it's situated on the opposite block to the high school so Selena still had a fifteen minute walk after she had eventually gotten Lea into school.
It was around 8:45 when she started walking so she was around ten minutes late by the time she arrived at her own school. Selena could be heard faintly cursing and fretting about how the teacher was going to react, considering she had no reasonable explanation as to why she wasn't on time. The school girl had chosen to keep her past secret from even the staff at school in fear that she'd be treated differently.
She sprinted to her homeroom, which Ryan had informed her was room 50, and it was 9:15 by the time she got there.
"You're late." The teacher stated, the second that she'd opened the door.
However, Selena was no longer bothered about her tardiness, but rather the fact that she recognised that voice very distinctively. She felt the colour drain from her face as the teacher before her turned around and she was face to face with Demi.