Chapter 7

Bella's POV

The End of Our Lives!

One month later

"Jesus, B!" amber scolded pulling out her stolen compact of cover-up. "What brought this on?" she asked quietly as the school bus bumped along the world.

I whimpered quietly as she wiped the dark blood from underneath my bangs. "Renee shoved me into the bathroom to use the bath and wash my face, arms, and legs." I gently ran my hand through my already greasy and matted hair from the lack of shampoo and conditioner. "It took me about five minutes to do that before getting dressed. Phil was pissed cause I was late and slammed my head into the corner of the banister, then threw me down the stairs." I explained rubbing the back of my neck were his rough hands were at.

She nodded silently saying she understood. She shifted to the left and started gasping for air. "Shit! B-Bella...in-inhaler!" she gasped in-between gulps of breath.

Quickly, I shoved the device in her mouth and pumped twice, then once more. "Better?" I asked a little freaked about the sudden episode.

Shakily, Amber answered. "Ye-yeah, Stephen and Eric had another round with me last night." I shuddered at the mental images. "Then had a little fun playing 'Throw the Weak, Broken, fucking girl around' again," she finished her story and my cover up, just as we pulled up in the school yard.

Looking out the bus windows, I saw Tina, Ethan, Ray, Robin, Adam, and Emma, all staring back at my bus. "Shit," I murmured under my breath following Amber's movements; hood up, eyes glazed over and unfocused.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" tina's voice rang through the parking lot, raising heads to stare at the group and I. "We need to talk! NOW!" She shouted again, linking her arms with Ethan and Ray. They followed suit; Ray linking an arm with Robin, Robin linked his with Emma, and Emma hooked hers with Adams.

I continued walking with Amber ignoring my life long friends. Tears built up in the corners in my eyes as they continuously called my name. Before Amber and I split ways for first place, she looked at me with sorrowful eyes. "It's for the best, B. I'm sorry."

Lunch

They wouldn't stop. If they had a class with me, they'd continue talking to me, trying to get me to talk to them about what the hell was going on with me. Its for the best, B. Amber's words ran threw my head every time I thought I was going to turn and just cry it all out to them.

Tina was the worst;cornering me in the halls, trying to drag me into the girls bathroom, constantly pelting notes at me, trying to get my attention. She wouldn't give up. Whenever she did get my attention all she did was what the others did, ask question after question and demand an answer.

This period would probably be the hardest, lunch. I pushed the doors open, spotted Amber at her, our table, in the very back of the cafeteria and started my way to her,

just as I was about to sit down, someones hand wrapped around my wrist and started yanking me in a different direction. I yelped in surprise.

Amber heard me and swung her head and her lifeless eyes met mine. They trailed from my wrist to the persons faces that was holding. She stood from her chair, the hand tightened as she made her way toward the unknown person. "Tina,"

TINA!? I thought frantically.

"Let her go!" Amber's voice was calm for this situation.

"NO! You can't continue brainwashing her like you're doing, Ray!" Tina and Raychel yelled at once.

"Let go of her, Peterson," Amber said once again in a calm voice, inching ever so slowly towards my throbbing wrist. The fingers squeezed harder, successfully cutting off my circulation.

"NO! All I want is answers from, Bella!" Tina chocked out. "I will not stop till I get my answers, Ray!"

I whimpered quietly, signaling I was in pain. "T-Tina...please. J-just let g-go...ple-please." Tears ran down my cheeks as I read the double meaning in the words; let go of my wrist-God please let go of my wrist!-and let go of me. Let go of the friendship that we shared throughout our lives together.

"Peterson, let her go! You're hurting her!" amber's composed voice went into panic watching my face contort in pain and sadness. "Tina...if you really care about Bella, then you let go of her wrist and let go of your friendship with her." Amber tried to reason, Tina's fingers unclasped my arm.

I gasped as the blood poured back into my hand, giving it a color. I didn't turn to meet their faces, knowing it would just hurt us. Just was Amber and I started towards the exit doors, Tina came up from behind us, we stopped. "Bella...will you ever tell us what is happening to you?" she asked her voice low and defeated.

I nodded though Amber spoke for me, looking back at her. "Someday, when all of this is over, we'll tell you. I don't owe you an explanation, but it might help you guys understand what Bella is going through I and why she chose me to help her deal with it."

Two days later

"Good morning students," Raychel's soft voice sounded over the intercom, "It's the tenth of February! Four more days till that beautiful morning of love! Make sure you can make it to the SweetHeart Dance with your very own sweetheart! Tickets will be sold during lunch and after school for five dollars. You can't get in without one and you cannot purchase them at the door, people. So hurry up and bring the cash! Now a few words from our very own, Ethan Hugh."

I then tuned out, knowing it was just what was going on in sports. She sounds happy, I noted scribbling some unknown thing on my paper. "Good...she deserves to be happy," I muttered quietly. I was sorta excited about the seventeenth, though. I was turning sixteen. I only had four more years till I was eighteen. Old enough to get out of Phil and Renee's life. Old enough to leave, for good. Amber turned sixteen four days after me. I'd suffer four more days with Phil and his restless beatings and Renee's nagging about my behavior, for Amber.

Twenty minutes or so later, the intercom clicked on once again. "You stupid bitch!..." the voice was eerie and creepy...and so familiar. "I want you in my car in three seconds. If your not there in three seconds I am going to beat the shit out of you!"

what the hell is he doing? I asked myself recognizing Phil's voice. I got up slowly, grabbing my bag and walked up to the teacher's front desk. "I need to go to the front office..." I whispered.

"I said three seconds you incompetent bitch!" Phil screamed over the entire school again.

"Please..." I begged shifting slightly. "Dude I gotta go!" I yelled before turning and slamming the door open and running out. Only to almost collide with Ethan. "Move..." I whispered softly, "please?" He moved with no question seeing the distress in my eyes. "Thanks." then ran towards the nearest exit.

"Beep the horn twice when you get into the car. Bitch you are in such deep shit now!" I lost whatever he had said as soon as I hit asphalt.

Thirty seconds later, I found the car and I knew I was dead meat cause it took me so long. The small Sudan reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. I was surprised to see Renee in the passenger's seat, asleep.

Quietly, I bumped the horn twice. Renee's eyes popped open just as I was pulling back into the backseat.

Smack!

"You ungrateful little, bitch!" she sneered watching the bright red welt show up on my pale skin. "I ask for fifteen minutes of quiet and you can't even give me that. You go on ahead and beep that horn even though I was in a deep sleep. Ungrateful! That's what you are!" She shouted slamming my head into the side window.

"Oomph!" I sighed wiping the blood from my nose, off the tinted window. "Sorry Renee..." I muttered quietly knowing there was no use in apologizing to her or him.

A couple minutes later, Phil opened the driver door and glared at me from the rear view mirror. He pulled into drive and sped out the school parking lot. "You stupid whore! What were you doing those minutes while I was instructing you to do something?" he asked sending a chill down my back with his eerie calm voice.

Renee cackled, "She was probably with that boy, Alex, in the janitors closet," she sneered not knowing the girl she raised.

They both began laughing at the crude comment. It didn't faze me any longer. They weren't the parents I thought they were. We pulled on to the freeway. Where in the hell are we going? I asked myself knowing better than to ask aloud, so I kept quiet and watched out the window.

Three hours went by, civilization turned into woods and woods become flat land, then flat land became civilization again. I was confused. Where in the hell are they taking me? I asked myself. Suddenly the building began to spin, really fast, my body was slammed forward. Renee was screaming and started waving her hands every which wat. Phil was screaming at her to stop screaming and to hold on. I smacked my head on the side window and my world suddenly went black.