Author's Note: Hey there guys...please please please REVIEW...reviews mean the world to me!
Disclamer: I do not own Degrassi or it's characters...all i own is Millie and this story
Chapter 2: Hurting Me Part One
Millie's POV:
When I wake up the first thing I see, rather feel, is my dog—Star—licking my face. She's a small yellow lab only six months old. Mark surprised me with her in January, just before he went to juvie. I push her off of me and get up. I pull out a pair of ripped jeans and an old concert t-shirt my mom gave me two years ago for my birthday. She died three months later making this shirt and everything else she'd given me my prized possessions. The band: Nirvana. I go out of my room and down the stairs.
"Hey there Mil."
I freeze, "I…I thought you went to work."
He comes to my side and turns me so I'm facing him, "And miss out on seeing you in the morning?" His breath reeks of alcohol, but whether it was from last night, or this morning, I don't know.
"I…I need to go to school." I stutter while trying to get out of his grasp. All he does is tighten, and I can feel a bruise forming.
"You'll go to school when I say you can." he hisses.
"Please." I whisper, a few tears forming in my eyes.
"Be reasonable Mil."
"Be reasonable…" but before I can finish his hand slaps my face and I fall to the floor.
"Like I said "Be reasonable"." he kicks my stomach before walking away. I hear the click of a bottle coming off a beer—so he's drunk from this morning.
"Thanks dad." I whisper under my breath.
Out of my siblings; Mark, Joanie, and Cameron my father's taken a special liking to me. If you can even call it a "liking" when all he does is beat me. And, I'm surprised no one has figured it out. To be honest Mark's not only my brother, but my friend. He's closest to my age, I'm a year younger. Then Joanie and Cameron are one of my father's "ex-girlfriend's" twins, they're thirteen. When they're around my dad puts on this façade of being normal. A façade of the "perfect" guy. But, in reality, he is far from perfect. Far from normal. And frankly, I'm sick of it. Sick of being beaten.
I stand up and clutch my stomach, that kick hurt. I walk to the mirror next to the front door and stare at myself. My face is red from the slap, but that will go away, when I lift up my shirt I see a slight red spot on my stomach. I turn around, shirt still lifted, and I see a big bruise from my father's punch two days ago. I look down at my legs and roll up the jeans. On my legs there are various rub burns. On my upper right arm, just high enough that a short sleeve shirt—quite like the one I'm wearing now—is a burn from my father's cigar, when I forgot to buy more beer, and I smart mouthed him about the fact I'm underage hence that I cannot buy beer, which got me the bruise right under it. On the back of my leg is a bruise from a week ago when he flung me down a flight of stairs.
I still have a hard time believing that no one knows. Maybe they're just as scared as I am. I un roll my jeans just when Mark comes down the stairs.
"Hey Mil." he smiles. "Ready to go?"
"Actually. I'm getting a ride from Eli today. Don't worry, I'm walking to Clare's first." I grab my back pack and wince at the adding of weight.
"Are you okay?" Mark asks.
"She's fine." my dad stands in the doorway to the entryway, bottle of beer in his hands.
"Bye." I head for the door.
"Where ya goin'?"
"I'm going to school dad." I say as I walk out to door. Once outside I walk until I see Clare's house. I sit down on her front steps and try to get my mind off this morning, but it's buzzing around in my head. It's become a routine. Something to expect, doesn't mean I don't wish that one morning he'll wake up and forget to beat me. Doesn't mean I don't wish one day he'll take it all back.
The door behind me opens, "Hey Millie. I didn't hear you. Did you ring the bell?"
I don't look up at first instead I wipe the tears from my eyes. Clare notices this and sits down next to me. She drapes an arm around me and I wince at the contact.
"Is everything okay? Are you hurt?"
I want to scream out yes, but instead I chicken out and say "I'm fine. I just fell."
"Oh. Why's your face red?"
"Oh…" I fake a laugh. "I got up this morning and when I opened the fridge door I acidentially hit myself with it."
She stares at me.
"I guess it isn't that funny. I'm just clumsy." I reply.
A hearse pulls up and Eli gets out.
"Morning Eli." Clare gives him a peck on the cheek. I just wave.
"Hey Millie." Eli smirks.
"Eli." I stand up and get ready to go.
"You like Nirvana?" he asks.
I nod, "My mom got me into them and gave me this concert shirt. And I've been into them ever since she told me about them. And two years ago they became really important to me…" I trail off. Two years ago two big things happened; one, my mom was killed in a hit and run accident, and two, my dad started hitting me. I've tried to convince myself that the two aren't connected in any way, but maybe they are.
"What happened two year ago?" Clare asks.
I sigh and avert my gaze, "My mom died."
"I'm so sorry." she says.
"Thanks. Could we get going?" I ask. They nod and we head into his hearse and start going.
When we get to school I go inside and they stay outside to talk with Adam. I go to my locker and out of the corner of my eye I see Mark, or as he's called here, Fitz. He locks eyes with me for a moment and a small smile appears, but then Owen takes him outside.
Clare's POV:
"Hey Adam." I smile and sit down on the grass next to him, Eli on my other side.
"Hey guys. What's up?" he asks.
"Nothing. We just got here." Eli smirks.
"You don't seem like the rush to school type Eli." Adam says.
Eli's smirk widens, "I'm not, but I promised Clare and the new girl, Millie, a ride."
"Something's up with her." I blurt.
Both of them turn to me and silently ask why.
"She's hurt. I don't know how, but she is. Physically though. I can't explain it. This morning her face was bright red when I saw her and when I put my arm around her, in comfort, she winced."
"Clare, that could mean anything." Eli says.
"I don't think so, I think something's up." I reply.
"Well, did she say how she got them?"
"Tripping and hitting herself with the fridge door when it opened."
Adam laughs, "Clumsy much."
"I don't think so. I think she's hiding something from us."
"Clare, she's new and a mid-semester transfer, no offense but I'm pretty sure in two days she won't tell anyone her life story." Eli smirks.
"I guess." I shrug.
But something's up. And I'll find out what it is.
Author's Note: There you go...chapter two...hope you enjoyed...come back soon!
xoxoxo Cat
