AN: Hey:) So here's chapter 9:D Enjoy:D Please review and thankyou for reading:D xoxo

For the next few days, I stayed at home. I didn't really do much; I couldn't. I ached all over, even days after. I tried not to move, it only made the pain worse. My father talked to me about Dan yesterday. He said that he was bad for me, and I agreed with him. He said I was at school to learn, not to fraternize with boys. I was too scared to object, so I nodded at everything he said. I had forgotten about Dan really. My mind was stuck in the frozen state that I left the basement in. For the first time in a week, I checked my phone. There were 9 messages and 10 missed calls. They were all from Dan.

Hey Sofie. Did you leave early? X

Sofie? x

Are you ill? You weren't at school today. X

Sofie, Im so worried, please answer! X

Please, Sofie! X

You're scaring me. X

I just want to know if you're okay x

Its been a week, Sofie. Im starting to really get worried now. X

Sofie! Please, just come back. X

I felt so bad for abandoning him. I had spent atleast 3 days unconscious. The next 4 I just sat in my bed, unaware of the world outside. I could a bit walk now, and the bruises on my face had lightened. I could easily cover them with some foundation. As for my arms and legs, I would just wear my uniform. This time, I would replace my socks with tights. I was going back to school tomorrow, since it was Sunday today. I hadn't eaten in 4 days; I wasn't particularly hungry anyway. It was pitch black outside, and I decided to go to bed. I was so afraid to close my eyes. The nightmares; they were always there. I just laid there for hours on end, wishing I could escape this place.

It was a horrible day. The sky was grey and black clouds surrounded the street. It was only late September, it was raining and it definitely felt like December. I tiredly got out of bed. I had no energy because I hardly slept. I slipped into my school uniform, adding a longsleeve top under my shirt just to be on the safe side. I looked into the mirror. Ugly; All I could see was ugly. I scowled. I limped into the bathroom and pulled my best fake smile. There, that looked better. I started to apply my makeup, starting with my foundation. It covered my bruises so well. As for the cuts, there wasn't any way of covering them. Once I had finished, I actually looked okay. My face was no longer pale and sunken; it was brighter and had much more prominence to it. I collected my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I winced. The light weight of my bag caused so much pain on my broken shoulder. Fucking hell. This was much harder than I thought it was going to be. My father hugged me as I entered the kitchen. This caused even more pain.

'Have a lovely day, sweetheart' He said. I smiled and turned to face the door. I rolled my eyes. When was he going to give this up? I opened the door and walked straight out. I checked the time. It was only 7:30. I was so early. The urge to go and see Dan was unbearable. I couldn't, I wasn't aloud; Not after last time. I decided to walk straight to school, walking slowly so it didn't cause me too much pain. Dan would probably catch me up and I would have to explain to him, but it didn't worry me. My mind wandered off in a daydream and I completely missed my turn for the school. I turned around and had to walk back up to the school again. I was just turning into the school gates when I saw the familiar brown-haired boy that I knew I really missed. We were facing each other now, and it took a few seconds for him to start sprinting towards me. He scooped me up into a massive, tight hug and rested his chin on my head. I winced. He kept hold of me. This is the longest hug we'd ever had.

'Sofie..' He whispered. 'I was so worried.' I felt so guilty.

'I missed you.' I whispered back. He pulled back from the hug.

'Where were you?' He said.

'Ill.' I lied. Yeah, Sofie. You were ill. Great one.

'No you weren't.' He said.

'Yeah, food poisoning.' I lied again.

'Stop lying.' He said, in a harsher tone.

'Im not Dan, I swear please!' I was going against everything just for this one boy.

'I came to your house.' There was a long silence. I gulped.

'You… you came?' I stuttered.

'Yes. And your dad said you were too busy for me anymore.' His eyes looked hurt.

'Dan-'I started.

'Save it. I know you're lying.' He walked off and joined his friends in the centre of the field. I could feel burning tears welling up in my eyes. I started to follow Dan and his friends into school; I still didn't know my way around. I found the nearest toilet and locked myself in the cubicle. I sat on the closed toilet lit and brought my achy legs up to my chest. As the first tears came trickling down my cheek, I let go and started to sob properly for the first time in ages. I was so used to being strong; to not show any emotion but happiness to anyone else. The one person I cared about I was pushing away and drowning him in my own lies. I heard the faint noise of the bell over my loud sobs. I didn't care if anybody heard; nobody could force me out of here.

A few hours had gone by and I was still in the exact same place as I was before the bell went. I was completely motionless. I had stopped crying now, but my tearstained cheeks still remained. So many thoughts were whizzing through my mind. I had thought about telling Dan a few times, but I didn't know how to say it. I couldn't let him share the burden of what has been happening to me for the last 10 years. I decided after a good 3 hours of staring at a blank wall, that I should get out and go and eat. I hadn't eaten in a couple of days, and I was actually hungry now. I was so used to being deprived of my food that I was scared to eat anything when the time came. I was scared that when I didn't have food, I would suffer, just like when I was 8. But now, since I'm used to it, it doesn't happen anymore. I do have dinner, so I'm not exactly skinny-skinny, but I guess you could say I was smaller than most girls here. As I approached the mirror, I saw that I had cried off most of my foundation. Great. I was now going to have to go into class with a black and purple face.