Chapter 2

I woke up the next day with Mr. Fluff in my arms. I breathed in his scent of the woods, and smiled. Thinking about how I wanted so badly to be that happy little girl again, with her adoring mother and father. I heard a bang and it made me jump out of my bed, "Shit!" It was my mom. I looked at the clock it was 5:26 pm. I slept through the whole day. I moved my dresser and opened my door. She had fallen down the stairs. My first instinct was to just leave her there. But she was my mom, and no matter what she did to me, I still loved her. I rushed to her side, "What happened?"

"I-I Don't know, I just was-" She looked up and saw it was me and not Lilly, "Oh, so where the hell have you been all day?" She grabbed my wrist and squeezed hard.

"Ow, mom. Stop! That hurts!" She held on tighter, "Good," She smirked, "Maybe you won't forget about me anymore, you will come and say good morning, and eat breakfast with me. Not even you're father does that." She let go and pushed me to the side of the railing, "Got it?"

I looked away from her, "Yes. You want me to be here, you don't want me to be like him."

She grabbed my wrist again, "Like who Hayden? He is still your father!"

"Like dad!" I screamed at her. She let go and I ran into Lilly's room. She was sitting on her bed with her head phones on.

She threw them off of her head and rushed over to me with arms wide open, "Shh, shh, shh, It's okay. I'm here." She cooed to me. I sat in her arms, she rocked me back and forth. I wish that I was 18. I wish that I was old enough to pack my things, and leave. But even when I am 18, I would be too scared to leave. To leave Lilly fending for herself. For all I know when I am gone, she will turn on Lilly. And Lilly won't have anyone to run to, anyone to hold her and say it will all be okay even though she knows it won't be. That night I stayed in her room. My mom was fired up and she knows better than to do anything to me or herself around Lilly. She thinks that Lilly doesn't know, that Lilly still looks up to her. She lives in a lie. "Lilly?" She looked up from her pillow.

"Hmm?"

"I went to the old tree house today."

"Oh really? Is it even still there?" She sat up all the way curious. "Well, yea. Some of it is." I said smiling, "I found Mr. Fluff, and your old baby, Carly?"

She laughed, "Yea. That is so funny. You should have told me you were going, I would have tagged along."

"Yea, I know, but, it was something, I-I had to do for myself." I looked up to see if she understood.

She nodded, "Yea, yea, I understand."

I looked down at my toes on the cold wood floor, "I just thought, that maybe, I could found out, what went wrong." I looked at her face, she looked worried. There was a long pause and then the question that came out of her mouth, the one that she always asks but I always got around.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" She asked feeling my forehead, "You haven't been eating for like 3 days, and you were throwing up in the bathroom." She looked at me concerned. I got up and went over to her photo book like I didn't know it was there.

I grabbed it and opened to a picture of me and her in the tree house, "Wow!" I said pointing at it, "This is old! Where did you find it?" I looked up and could tell Lilly wasn't having any of it. She got up and walked over to me.

She grabbed the photo book out of my hands and slammed it shut, "Seriously?" She walked away and sat in her computer chair, "Are you sick?" She made sure there was emphasize on the word sick.

I looked at her and answered back the only way I knew how, "Are you kidding me! I am not sick! And I have been eating! Just leave me alone!" I walked out of her room and slammed the door. I put my back on her door and slid down to the floor. I put my hands on my face, and quietly cried into them. I just ruined it. The only one person in this world that I loved and wanted to talk to, probably never wanted to talk to me again. And all because I am stupid, and I do stupid things, and I lie to try and cover them up, when really I shouldn't even be doing it in the first place. I heard the floor boards squeak behind the door. I knew it was Lilly, confused at what just happened. She was debating whether or not to come out and talk to me. I heard the squeak of her bed, she decided not to.

* * *

I gathered myself together and walked into my room, trying to be as quiet as I could. I looked down the stairs, my mom was still there. Passed out, I tried to be extremely quiet. I got into my room, changed my clothes and brushed out my hair. I looked at my self in the mirror and shook my head. Disgusted with myself. I cuddled up next to Mr. Fluff and tried to fall asleep. It didn't work, I couldn't get to sleep. I had to much on my mind. At least I had school tomorrow, I didn't have to think of an explanation for Lilly just yet. I turned on my side and looked out my window. I wanted to sneak out. I couldn't fall asleep, so instead I practice my song for choir in my head. We were singing an old Beatles song. I stayed up for at least another hour and a half, until I eventually dosed off.

* * *

The next morning I was late for school. Lilly was already gone, and my mother was still passed out on the staircase. I threw on a skirt and a green halter top, brushed out my hair and ran to school. With every step that I took, I could still feel the sting of the mark my mother left a couple of nights ago. But I couldn't stop running. I had to get to school. Today was mid terms. I ran to my locker and got a pencil and pen. When I got to the gym the mid terms had already started, I was too late. I couldn't take them. I had to wait another couple of months, and not graduate with my class. I decided to give it a try. I walked into the gym, trying to ignore all of the people starring at me. But there was one face in particular, that I couldn't look away from. It was Jesse. He looked up from his test and looked at me, all out of breath. His beautiful green eyes piercing into me. He shook his head back and forth. I starred at him curious as to what that meant. Was he disappointed that I came, was he making fun of me? I couldn't think of anything. The only thought that came to my head that would make sense, was the one I was trying to ignore. Was he disappointed that I didn't make it on time? That I wouldn't graduate with him?

"Miss Anderson?!" My math teacher Mrs. Larkin was standing in front of me, trying to whisper. She broke our gaze.

I looked up at her, "I know I am late, but please! Could I just please take the test! I have some problems going on at home, and-"

She didn't care, "I am sorry, you were late, you will have to take it in a couple of months." She motioned to the door, "Please make your way out of the gym, you are distracting everyone." I looked around at all of the people starring at me. I looked at Jesse one more time, and it looked like he mouthed the words, I'm sorry. He couldn't have though. I must have been hallucinating. I was tired. I turned my back to Mrs. Larkin and left quietly. I paced back and forth outside of the closed gym door. Should I wait for him? Ask him what his problem is? I sighed. Why would he be so mean into tricking me like that? He knows exactly what he is doing! Finally I heard Mrs. Larkin get on the microphone to tell everyone to put their pencils down. It was too late now to leave, he would see me. So I waited near the door.

He walked out, "Hey! Jessie?!" I called after him. This time he didn't even look. He was with Tiffany, she looked at me and rolled her eyes, disgusted that I would even think of calling him over. She glared at me then she came to a stop. She grabbed Jessie by the back of the neck and pulled him into her. She kissed him, for a long time. After a couple of seconds, Jessie pushed her off.

He looked mad, "Stop it." He said in a firm voice. Tiffany gasped, and stared at him as he walked in front of her. She stood there for a couple of minutes, saying something under her breath. Then she ran up behind him and followed him out the door. Nobody had to attend classes since we had to take the mid-terms. So everybody went home…Except for me. I stayed there. I wasn't too sure about what just had happened. Was Jessie done with Tiffany? Did he know what she was trying to do? Was he trying to avoid contact with her while I was around? Or, did he like me? So many questions were racing through my head. I wanted to know why Jessie pushed her away, and stomped off. And what was Tiffany saying to herself? I sat there for at least another hour, until Mrs. Larkin came out to home. School was closing.

"What are you still doing here?" She asked walking by me. I got up, grabbed my bag and followed her, "You upset about not taking the test?"

"Umm, yea." I said nodding. I didn't want to tell her that, I was shocked that a guy seemed like he liked me.

She stopped, "It's okay. You will still get to graduate and be out of school next year, just… Not as fast." She said stroking my shoulder, trying to comfort me. I nodded. She gave me one more reassuring smile before she turned around and left for the doors, "You better start heading home!" She yelled over her shoulder.

I looked up, "Oh, umm, yea." I looked at my watch, "Shit!" It was already 6 o' clock. My mom was not going to be happy.

* * *

I got to my front porch, and waited, staring at the door. It seemed quiet. I took another step forward. Still quiet. I decided it was safe enough. I opened the door. Making sure not to be loud, in case my mother was already asleep. I walked into the living room. All of the lights were off. I looked around. Still quiet. It was weird how quiet and still, my usually chaotic house was. I walked into the kitchen, expecting her to be there drunk, she wasn't. I opened the fridge and got a drink of milk from the carton. Expecting my mom to be there to yell at me when I closed the fridge. She wasn't. I was scared, scared of the silence. I wanted her to just pop out already and get it over with. The wait was tearing me apart. I walked into the living room one more time, just to make sure she wasn't hiding. She wasn't. I shrugged and walked up the stairs. I made sure to be extremely quiet. I got upstairs, and peeked into Lilly's room. She was there, sleeping. I smiled at how peaceful she was.

Then, I felt a hand on my arm, "Where… were… you." She took a breathe after every word, intimidating me.

"I-I was" I choked on my words.

"What?!" She raised her hand nd punched me in the face. I fell to the ground. When I looked up, she was closing Lilly's door. I knew something bad was going to happen.

She walked up to me and got straight in my face, "Get up, you worthless, piece of shit!" She grabbed my arm and pushed me into the wall. My back cracked against it.

I felt the sting immediately, "Mom, I was at school!"

"Why!? To get away from me!?" She charged at me, I could see her demented eyes. She grabbed my arm one more time, and I stepped to the side. She pushed me. I expected to crash into the wall, but I kept falling. By the time I looked back, I couldn't see anything. It was all a blur.

"Oh my god!" I heard Lilly scream from far away. It was dark. Was I dead? Next thing I heard was a siren.

"Hayden?" A strangers voice was asking. I opened my eyes, it was all blurred, I saw the mans face, but I couldn't tell who it was. It was too blurred. "It is going to be okay, we are going to make it better." I didn't know who this man was. Or why he was telling me everything was going to be okay. I tried to get up, but when I did there was a sharp pain that immediately jolted me back down. Everything went black again. The last thing I heard was than man yelling, "Oxygen!"