Broken

Written by: Angela Giebisch v1

Introduction
Over the years, I have heard countless stories about the ever growing stressors today's generation faces. Pressure to get good grades, low self esteem, and divorce in families are just a few of the problems kids face in todays world. In Broken, I decided to take it a step deeper into the lives of adolescents, and speak out to teens in need of help and guidance. When I was in middle school, there were days when I would be on my way to class, and pass by student sobbing in the hallway. On several occasions, the kids I love and care about came to me for help because they were having suicidal thoughts. Every day, teens and children all over the world are pressured into drugs, alcohol, sex, and other bad habits. Hearing about these actions is what inspired me to write this story, and reach a hang out to those in need of help. This story is about a young woman named Emily making the journey through her teenage years. Emily goes through many of the problems today's teens face, and goes through a lot of drama along the way.

Table of contents
Chapter 1................................................................................page 4 Chapter 2..............................................................................page 11 Chapter 3..............................................................................page 16 Chapter 4..............................................................................page 21 Chapter 5..............................................................................page 31 Chapter 6..............................................................................page 47

Chapter 1
"Why are you wearing makeup today? I told you not to wear any," Josh screamed at me down the crowded school hallway. "I've never seen anyone look so terrible," He stared at me with disgust filled eyes. "I" His harsh words boomed like thunder throughout my body, making my every nerve go on end. My body shivered as chills ran down my spine. I turn away to hide the hurt on my face. Josh grabbed my slumped shoulder and spun me around so that we were face to face .I already knew what he was going to tell me to do, so I nodded my head and walked off through the crowd to the women's bathroom, with tears streaming down my face. Everyone was giving me awkward glances as I trotted past them. I walked hurriedly towards the bathroom sink and splashed the cold water on my face. A few seconds later, after scrubbing my face a bit with the coarse paper towel, I was beginning to see the pinkish red outline of a hand on my face. Now, everyone would see it. I sighed. I walked across the bathroom, reaching for a paper towel from the stone age dispenser. I dried my face with a paper towel, and stumbled over the sink, trying to calm down. If Josh saw that I was crying, he would most likely hurt me. He didn't want people getting any ideas. After a minute of deep breathing, I walked at a slow pace back down the hallway, trying to keep my head as low as possible without being too obvious. But that didn't stop my old group of friends from staring at me, blank faced. "Emily..?" My best friend Maddy whispered to me as I walked past. "Is everything okay?" Concern was written all over her flawless face. I nodded very slowly, trying to make it so only
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she would notice Josh doesn't want me to talk to any of my friends because he is afraid that I will tell them about the abuse... But despite the many times he threatened me, they got it out of me one way or another. When Josh is doing things with his family and doesn't force me to come with him, or if he isn't following me making sure I stay out of trouble, I'm able to call Maddy up. She's the one that has helped me through everything. Maddy and I have been best friends since kindergarten, which is almost ten years now. She has the most beautiful long blonde hair, and a bright smile that lights up the room when she comes walking in. Boys stare at her with awe when she breezes past. Besides Maddy and a few of her close friends, nobody really talks to me. I think the problem is that I don't talk to them. Before I met Josh, I used to be popular, pretty, and outgoing, like Maddy. Now, I am one of the most shy, unpopular girls in school. All because of Josh. I walk down the hallway, hurriedly making my way to my next class. Thankfully, Josh was in a different class during this period, so I could relax a bit. I clutch my things in my chest and make my way into the classroom. I pull out the chair, sit down, and get ready for the day's lesson. "Good morning, class" My science teacher, Mr. Edward begins. "Today we have a new student joining us," We all look down at our desks, not paying attention. "Hello, I will be joining your class for the rest of the semester," I look up as soon as I heard the familiar voice.
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It was Josh. ***** I was lucky to survive until the end of the day. Josh picked the seat right across from me, so I couldn't even make eye contact with anyone without being glared at. Thankfully, now I'm home, without Josh. I have no idea how I made it through the rest of the day. Every day after school, Josh usually walks home with me after school, to make sure I stay out of trouble. But today, he and his family made plans, so I'm able to relax. I walk into the door of my house and throw my book bags down on my bedroom floor. I immediately pick up my cell phone, and dial Maddy's number. "Hello?" She picks up the phone after a few rings. "Is this Emily?" "Yeah.. Whats up?" "I gotta go" She starts. "Its important, I'm sorry," She hangs up. What was that all about? I lay down on my bed, and close my eyes.. That's when I hear a knock on the door. I get up cautiously from my bed, and quickly glance out down by the patio out of the window, checking to see if it was Josh, or one of my parents But It was Maddy. I immediately sprint down the staircase, full of joy, with a huge grin on my face. I run down to the doorstep, unlock the dead bolt, and open up the door. "Hey, you wanna come over for a while?" She asked. I nodded, and walked out the door. After we started walking for a few minutes, we had not said a single word to each other. Usually Maddy is all jumpy, and happy. But today, something seemed different. A few blocks down, we finally reached her four
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story house. Maddy's family has a lot of money, and her parents aren't usually home because they are working all the time. We walked through the nicely decorated hallways, and stopped in the kitchen, near the end of the long hallway. She pulled out a chair from the oak table, and sat down. I just stood there, staring blankly around the room. The kitchen had several oak cabinets, and a polished blue marble counter, with a beautiful crystal chandelier in the middle of the room. "I have something to tell you," She began, staring at the tabletop. She took a deep breath in. "Im moving" "Oh," I started getting a bad feeling in my gut. "Where to?" She took a deep breath. "To Montana," I must have looked like an idiot, because all I could do was stand there and cry. I had no idea what to say. "My father is switching to a job that's even more paying than his current one He's working for an investment group or something I had no say in it. I'm really sorry" I was about to leave because I was about to have a break down, but then an idea hit me. It as perfect. "Maddy," I was thinking" I gulped. "Why don't you move in with me?" "What?" "Come on, Its perfect! I mean, your parents are never really home anyways," "I guess" "Please? I begged in an angelic voice. She stared off into space, thinking. "Why not?" She smiled. I let out a huge sigh of relief, jumped up, and hugged her as tight as I could.
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Maddy hugged me back for a moment, then suddenly squirmed out of my hold. "What are you going to do about Josh?" I crashed down into the chair, almost tipping it over. All of my joy was suddenly crushed. I was so happy, I actually forgot about Josh. How could I have been so dumb? "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. It will be okay, Maddy tried to convince me. I looked up and stared at her, starting to tear up. "How?" "Because we always do," She grinned. "Always, no matter how hard it is. Don't be so down all the time," "Don't go all 'life lesson' on me now, Madeline," I frowned. "Jeez, you know me too well," We both laughed, despite the worry that was hiding beneath our faces. Some days, Maddy is the only person that can get me to laugh. She is always so selfless all the time I'm glad she's there for me. I don't have anyone else that I can talk to. Nobody. I think half the problem is that I'm so shy. I never really talk to anyone at school I feel stupid not being able to say anything when someone talks to me. When they do talk to me, I try my best to keep quiet. Another contributing problem is my family. My parents never got married, and my mom stays home all day sleeping. When she's not asleep, she's either drinking or smoking. That all started when my father left her, when I was two. I don't even remember him. The only times I have heard about him are when my mom stays up late talking to herself from being so hungover. Usually her words are slurred, so I can't make out much. My aunt Lauren was the one who took care of me in my childhood. But she left when I was twelve,
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because she just got so sick of my mom drinking and smoking so much. Aunt Lauren tried to talk to her about her addiction, but she would always deny it, and get angry. I don't know what happened to her She just packed her things and left one night. It tore me apart. "Hey, Emily? Snap out of it," She waves her hand in front of my face. I blink my eyes. "Oh, right, sorry," "Let's go upstairs. I've got to pack my stuff, and I'm gonna need your help," She grabs a bag of chips and swiftly throws them at me. I throw them back at her. "No thanks," I say. I grab her arm and drag her up the long, white marble stairway before she has time to say anything. After about 10 exhausting seconds of sprinting up the stairs, we finally reach the top floor, the floor Maddy's room is on. "Well then," She pants after reaching the doorway to her bedroom. It really does take a lot of work getting up those stairs, and running through halls as long as a school hallway. We stood there staring at the door for an awkward moment after Maddy finished primping. I was really excited to see her room. I hadn't been in it for weeks, and something always changes every time I see it. She opens the door and runs in, eager to start packing up her things. I stand there in the doorway, looking around the room with amazement, my eyes open wide. Maddy's room was painted black with bright neon polka dots. The carpet was a deep black, and felt as soft as fur. On the ceiling were several round lights, coloured red, blue, purple, and green. Her bed spread matched the same colour as the walls. On the wall in front of her bed, there was a big flat screen
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T.V., with some medium sized been bag chairs sitting around it. There was a giant, neon rainbow light on the wall in the shape of her name. I guess Maddy's room theme is neon, this time. The last time she re-did her room, the theme was peace signs. Of course, that was only about six months ago. Personally, I like this one better. "So, do you like it?" She asks me. I nod my head, and then walk over to her, halfway across the room. The carpet tickled my feet as I walked over it. I sat down next to her, my legs crossed. "You know," She says as she takes some clothes out of her dresser and folds them into neat piles onto the ground. "I wonder what my parents are going to say about this. That is, if they ever notice I'm gone" I slowly nod my head, understanding where she was coming from. I really wish her parents would give her more attention. Really, the only time she hears from them is when they come home late at night, leaving a pile of bills on the kitchen countertop along with a note, saying something along the lines of "Hi honey, hopefully this will be enough to last you for a while, see you soon!". Usually they leave a few hundred dollars. I think they are trying to make up for their absence, or just hoping Maddy doesn't leave them. I get up and start helping to get her clothes folded into neat piles. "They do love you, you know," I say, continuing on with what I was doing. She looked up at me, waiting for me to continue. "Your parents may not be home a lot But if they didn't love you, they wouldn't give you money so you could take care of yourself. They are at work all the time so they can provide for you," I say, hoping she doesn't get upset. She ignores me, going back to folding a pile of t-shirts, knowing we had plenty more to fold. I could
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see tears gleaming in her eyes, and her face starting to get red. I get up from the floor, stepping through giant mounds of clothes, and switch on the radio sitting on the dresser. I tuned it to her favourite radio station. "Thanks," Maddy manages to smile at me. Music always makes her feel better. "Thank you for everything," Tears start streaming down her cheeks, and she shoves her face into a pile of clothes, attempting to hide how hurt she was. I could hear her muffled sobs as she cried. I wish everyone could just be happy.

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Chapter 2
After hours of packing up all of Maddy's clothes and belongings, all that was left unpacked was the large furniture in her bedroom. We would have to move them out tomorrow, because by the time we were done, it was past midnight. Maddy didn't want me walking home in the middle of the night because of the dark, so she let me borrow her blue corvette, with comfy black leather seats. It was much smoother, compared to my old and rusty truck. I got home, unlock the front door, and walk into the front door of my house. My mom was sitting in the living room, in front of the mini T.V., watching nothing but static. I slip the flip flops off my aching feet and lay them on the welcome matt next to the door. Then, I walk over a few paces to the small, creaky stairway up to my room. Halfway up, I gazed down at my mother. Her red hair was so messy it looked like she had just gotten out of bed. Her dark blue eyes were bloodshot, and her skin pale as a ghost. I walk slowly back down the stairs, trying not to make a sound. But once I took two steps, the stairs creaked. She quickly looked up in the direction of the sound, and met my eyes, her hands shaking. I walk over to the tattered love seat she was sitting in, and sat down next to her, with her eyes still watching me. "E-emily," She stutters. "Where have you been?" I try not to look at her weird, but I couldn't help myself. "I have been so worried about you," I stare at her, dumbfounded. I could feel my stomach getting tighter by each word she said.
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She reaches in her pocket, pulls out a cigarette, lights it, and sticks it in her mouth. "Josh called earlier," She puffs smoke into my face. "He wanted to know where you were," "Oh," Wonderful. "I just told him you were sleeping. He is really a nice kid, you know," She chuckles. "Very funny," "If you think so," She laughs again, taking a deep breath in of her cigarette. "So, I invited him over for dinner tomorrow night," I stopped right there. I think I may have even stopped breathing. Tomorrow night, I was supposed to help Maddy move in. "He really likes you, Emily." I felt like I was going to be sick. "I'm going to bed. I don't feel very well," I get up from the love seat and start walking up the stairs before she has time to say anything. I think my mom really is going crazy. Either that, or Josh is using his mind tricks. The ones that he used on me when I first met him. About a year ago, when I first met Josh, he was very nice. He'd take me out to lunch and out to movies, help me with my homework And I was starting to fall in love with him. But a few months later, after we started going out, he started to change. Not in a good way, either. It wasn't that bad at first. But gradually, it started getting worse. He started laughing at me when I dropped my things, and he started telling me who to hang out with, what to wear, how to act, and so on. Sometimes there was an occasional slap when I would disobey him, but up until about a month ago, he started hurting me really badly. The first night the abuse started getting really bad, we were at his house on Saturday night, hanging out in his basement playing a game of pool.
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"What did you do today, Emily?" He said, breaking the pool balls. "Well," I began to say, walking over to get a pool stick. "Nothing really. Got up, ate breakfast, took a nap, made lunch, then made my way over here.. Nothing new," Josh struck the pool balls, making them fly across the table. Several striped balls flew into the sockets "I'm stripes," He stopped for a moment, distracted by the game, then went back to what I said. "Did you get into any trouble?" He asked, with a suspicious look on his face. I walked over to the pool table a few paces away, and polished my pool stick. Then, I backed up, leaned over the table, and struck the white ball, attempting to hit the blue solid ball, a few inches away. Josh sighed when it made its way to a stop after being struck, not even going close to the socket. "You don't have very good aim, you need to be better," He walked over to me so close, I could feel his breath on my forehead. "Practice," He demanded, pointing to the pool table. "Josh I'm.. I'm just not good at pool," I stuttered. "Practice makes perfect. You at least need to try," I reached over the table to strike again, knowing that I would lose the argument. I stretch my arm over the table, put the stick between my fingers, aim, and strike. Once hit, the solid yellow ball moved at a gradually decreasing pace across the table, first hitting one end, then hitting the side. It rolled over to the corner of the table, slowing to a halt a few inches away from the socket. "No. I won't have this. The guys will expect you to be better than this," I remembered that his friends were coming over later that night, and we were all going to have a
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pool tournament. "Keep practicing," He said. An hour later, when Josh's friends arrived, I had only shot six balls in the sockets. For the rest of the night, Josh just made me sit out, and keep score of the tournament. Before the grand finale, between Josh and his friend Eric, I stood up to go get some nachos upstairs on the kitchen table. I grab a chip, and dip it in the creamy cheese. "Hey," A voice says behind me. I turn around, alarmed. It was Eric. "So your Josh's girlfriend," I hesitate for a minute. "I'm sorry if i startled you," He walks over to the table and grabs some nachos. "These are good," He said between bites. "I guess so," He chuckles. "So why didn't you want to play in the game?" "I did, but Josh" What I was doing? "Yeah?" "Josh said I couldn't," I wanted to stop myself, but I had already said too much. "You know," He begins, shoving more chips into his mouth. "You don't always have to listen to everything he says. He's not your father," "You have a point. I'm just scared that he'll... Why would he- Out of the corner of my eye, I see Josh making his way over to us. He stomps over next to me, slamming his fist against the wall, creating a small dent. "Go," Josh demands Eric. Eric immediately starts walking back to the staircase. He looks behind his shoulder, and mouths "Sorry,". "What were you thinking!" He yells. "He might start thinking things Like I'm hurting you," "Like the truth?" "Shut up!" He yells in my face, and hits me in
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my thigh, hard. I squint, and bend over in pain. "Stand up, now," "I can't," I manage to say. "GET UP!" He lifts up his foot and kicks me in the stomach, and I fall on my side, groaning in pain, while tears well up in my eyes. Footsteps were coming up the stairs. When Josh heard, he went over to the sink to get a glass of water, still in rage. "I heard yelling," Started Eric. "Whats going on?" "She is just choking on a chip," He makes up an excuse. Josh sets down the glass of water next to me on the floor, walks over to Eric, grabs him on the shoulder, and takes him down stairs. Josh doesn't even look back at me. The next morning, I woke up with blue black bruises on my right thigh and stomach. Josh told me to wear jeans the next few weeks to cover up the bruises on my thigh, so I did. "Your thinking too much, Emily," I say to myself, shaking my head. I crawl into my bed, pulling the soft blankets up until they reached my neck. Maybe tonight, I'll get a good nights sleep.

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Chapter 3
I wake up just as the sun was starting to rise, alarmed by the sound of quiet voices. I slowly sit up on my bed, and rub the sleep out of my eyes. I stand up, still dizzy, and walk over to the window, almost falling over on my way. I see Josh and his friend Eric walking on the sidewalk next to my front lawn. They are talking quietly, so I can't make out the words. As they walk up to my house, they turn and go up the walkway. By now, they are silent. I quickly slip off my fuzzy blue pajama pants and put on some shorts, a t shirt, and some flip flops. A minute later, I hear a loud knock the door. I check in the mirror to make sure I don't look to badly for a Saturday morning, then make my way down the stairs. "Emily," Josh says, with a stern look on his face as I crack open the door. He grabs me with a tight grip, slips me out the doorway, and shuts it quietly behind me. He pushes me out in front of him. "Do you have your keys? No questions," Without having to think, I move my hand around in my short pockets, and find my key. "Yes," "Good. Let's go," Josh grabs my keys from my hand, grabs my shoulder, and tells me to get in Maddy's car, which I had drove home in last night. I did as I was told. After Josh gets in the driver seat, and Eric in the passenger seat, we back out of the driveway. At this point, I have no idea whats going on. It's not every day that Josh does this He never has. We sped around the corner, Josh squealing the tires of Maddy's car doing so. I wanted to yell at him for doing it. I clenched my teeth in anger in order for
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me to keep my mouth shut. A few blocks later, after complete silence the whole ride, we pulled into the driveway to Maddy's house. Josh slams the door and gets out of the car, storming into the front door of Maddy's house. Eric and I follow behind. Josh enters the living room, the room closest to the doorway of the house, and finds Maddy sitting on the couch, eating breakfast while watching television. "What are you guys doing here? It's only six o'clock in the morning," Maddy says, staring at us with sleep in her eyes. Josh walks toward her, stopping right in front of her. He looks her straight in the eye, with anger in on his face, his cheeks getting red. "Why was your car over at Emily's last night?" He asks, his voice making me tremble. I looked at Maddy, looking at her with plead in my eyes, begging her not to say anything stupid. After all, she had just woken up. Maddy's eyes got big. Having no idea what to say, she kept her mouth shut. "Answer me," Josh said, clenching his fists. Maddy looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. But she could still feel his burning gaze on her. "She was helping me," "With?" "Packing my room. My parents.. They are moving away, and Emily offered to let me live with her for a while. I asked her to come over and hang out before I had to move away. I just wanted to spend some time with her," Maddy sighed. "Well then, we will be seeing each other quite a bit. Thank you, Maddy," Josh smiles at her. Josh stomps over to me behind the couch, grabs my wrist, and walks me down the long hallway towards the kitchen. As soon as we are out of hearing distance from
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Maddy and Eric, Josh starts whispering at me. "Why did you do that, Emily?" His grip on my wrist got tighter. "I.. Just wanted to help her," I tried to say, still being dragged down the hallway. "Your not supposed to be hanging out with any of your friends anymore, and you know that," I pull back on my arm, trying to pull loose of his grip. "Your not my father, Josh," I try to say calmly, still trying to pull back from him. "Why don't you just listen to me, Emily? Why do you have to be so difficult?" He ignores my tugs, still storming forward. We reach the kitchen a moment later, and he pushes me down onto the chair. "SIt," I stay standing. "Why are you always such a jerk to me?" I ask him. "Why do you always have to be so difficult?" "Your the one who's difficult, Emily. If you really loved me, you wouldn't always give me such a hard time." He says, without taking his eyes off me. "You need to grow up," "Me, me? I think your the one who needs to grow up. You don't always have to boss me around, and you definitely don't have to hurt me whenever you feel like it. If you loved me, you would care about my feelings, and you would care about how much pain your putting me through!" By this point, I was yelling, and my eyes were starting to swell up with tears. My whole body was shaking from fear Josh slaps me straight across the face, on the same place he did the other night. I clench my fists, doing nothing else, trying not to appear weak. My cheek started to have a stinging sensation. I slowly reached up my hand to touch it. It burned as I put my fingers to it. I glared at Josh, and returned my hand next to my side. I stand up from the chair, and glare him right in the eye. "Don't do that,"
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"Who are you to tell me what to do?" He reaches his hands out and pushes me. I slide on the ground a few inches, and hit my back against the furnished wall. My head cracks against the wall, and I begin to feel dizzy. Josh walks over to me again, and kicks me right in the gut. I fall over onto my side, holding my stomach in pain. "Stop," I try to scream, but I didn't have enough strength. "You deserve this," He kicks me again, this time in the arm. My vision started to get blurry. "What's going on?" I hear footsteps running quickly across the hard wood flooring. The figure stops right in front of me, feet sitting right in front of my face. "What are you doing to her?!" Josh backs away. Eric, who was almost six feet tall, was a few inches taller than Josh, and was much more built. Josh knew that Eric could easily beat him in a fight. "Leave, or I'm going to call the police!" Eric screams at Josh, his voice booming throughout the house. Josh looked at Eric, gave him a quick glare, and sprinted out of the house. Eric takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. "Emily," He turns around and crouches down in front of me. "Do you need me to call the hospital?" He asks in a quiet voice. Sweat was trickling down past his eyebrows. "I'll be fine," I utter. "I'm not convinced," Eric stands up and looks around the kitchen, searching in the cupboards. He moves down, reaches in one of the cupboards, and pulls out a glass. He then goes over to the sink, and pours some water into it. He quickly walks over to me and puts the water to my lips. "Drink," I reach to grab the cool glass from his trembling hands, and take the cold water in. It burned my dry
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throat, but Eric encouraged me to keep drinking. When I finished the glass of water, Eric took it from my hands and put it down by my side. Still by my side, he reaches his hand and puts it to my forehead. "Your hot." He walks over to the sink again to get a wet washcloth, then returns and lays it down across my burning forehead. "Lay down on your back," I did as he said, grunting as the pain in my stomach got worse as I moved. Eric got up and grabbed a cushion from one of the chairs and layer it underneath my head. "Thank you," I said to him. "You really don't need to do this for me. I'll be fine" "Emily, I may not know you that well, but I'm not going to let you sit here in pain. What I should really do is call the police. I can't stand to see anyone get hurt like that. Do you have any idea how upset I am at Josh?" The tone in his voice changed from soft to tough. "I" "I don't even think I can go near him again without hurting him. I never thought my best friend would ever abuse girl like this. I know he wasn't really the nicest to you, but up until now, I had no idea he was physically hurting you," He sighed. "I want to call the police on him. Nobody deserves to be hurt this badly" "I'm fine, I really am," I look him in the eyes. "Where is Maddy?" "She fell asleep on the couch," "Good. Thank you for everything, I think I'm going to be okay I just need to get some sleep," I slowly start to stand up, putting my arms out to catch myself if I fell. I started to get dizzy as I stood up, and my eyes started to get blurry. The room around me became a blur, and next thing I knew, I collapsed onto the floor,
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knocking my head against the wall. I could see nothing but black void.

Chapter 4
I woke up with a start, sitting in my own bedroom under the covers in my bed. I had a sharp pain in the back of my head, and I was sure I had dark bruises on my stomach. I looked outside and saw nothing but darkness. How long had I been asleep? I pull the covers off of me, and sit up on my bed. The icepack laying on my head fell off and landed on the floor. The pain in my head got sharper, but I still found the strength to stand up and walk down the stairs. The brightness from the lights burned my eyes as I slowly made my way down the stairway, almost falling over as I went. I reached the bottom of the stairs, and walked over to the couch to lay down and watch some T.V. I was surprised to find Maddy, Eric, and my mother sitting in the living room, talking. "I'm sorry, Nadia, I had no idea it was going on until today," Eric says. I knew something was wrong by the way he acted towards Emily, but I never thought he would abuse her. I never thought Josh would abuse anyone like that, Eric said softly, trying to convince my mom that I would be okay. I slowly sat down on the stairs watching the three of them, their backs to me. Honestly, I don't think I am all right. And Maddy, how could you not have noticed? Your her best friend! Why don't you guys pay more attention to her? During a long pause between them, I stand up slowly in my pajamas, make my way down the rest of the stairs, and walk over to the couch where they were sitting. I reach up my hand and lay it on my moms shoulder. Startled, she jumped up.
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Her first instinct was to slap me, and she did. I didn't pull back my hand, but instead left it sitting on her shoulder. Who do you think you are?! She screamed as she turned around. Noticing it was me, she said, Emily! Are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Her face was filled with worry. Its not- I struggled to say. their fault, I breathed heavy, trying to take in enough oxygen. Its mine, Moms eyes started to get watery. No, it's Josh's fault, For one of the first times in my life, it actually seemed like she cared. Emily, are you okay? Maddy asked, noticing that I was staring off into space. I glanced over to Eric, who was sitting on the couch, looking at me with a concerned look in his eyes. He got up and walked over to me, taking my hand and leading me to a spot on the couch, so I could sit. His hands felt soft and warm to the touch. After I stumble over to the couch with Eric's help, I take a seat on the couch in Eric's spot between my mom and Maddy., releasing the weight from my feet. Do you need anything? My mom asked. Just some water would be nice. I said. Maybe some medicine... Where do you hurt? Maddy interrupted. My head, my stomach, everywhere, I glanced over at Maddy, who looked very upset, and just as worried as mom and Eric. She couldn't sit still. Maddy jumps up and walks off into the dark hallway around the corner, digging into a small closet, then goes off into the kitchen. She returns with a glass of water, and some ibuprofen. Take these, She hands them to me gently, her voice soft. I take the ibuprofen out of her hand, my eyes
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still a little blurry. I put it in my mouth and grabbed the glass of water from her hand, drinking it. Then, mom gets up and walks away, probably going to get a glass of wine. After she was out of hearing range, Maddy cries, I'm so sorry Emily! I'm so so sorry, I won't let it happen again! Now, she collapsed onto the ground, sobbing in her arms. I felt terrible. Now that everyone knows about the abuse, Josh is going to be really upset, and will hurt me even worse.. And everyone is so upset about it. I should have told a long time ago... Or not cried in pain when Josh was hurting me, so no one would have found out.. Why did I have to hurt everyone like this? Eric, now sitting next to me on the couch, was now crying too. I just cant believe he would do that to someone... I feel so betrayed. We've been best friends since we were little kids... Why would he do that? Cuz' I made him.. Upset, I said, trying to hold back tears. What did you do? He looked at me with anger. I looked at him. I messed up, He stared at me, waiting for me to continue. I wore make up when he told me not to, talked to Maddy when I wasn't supposed to, I didn't help him when he needed it.. I disobeyed him, I sighed. Emily, I know I've told you this before, but he isn't your father, He looked around the room. Where is your dad, anyways? I took in a deep breath, my lungs stinging as I inhale. I haven't seen him since I was a little girl, Oh.. I'm sorry for asking. I didn't know. Eric looked around the room once more, examining the blank walls. You don't have any pictures of him? Maddy looks up at us, her eyes red from crying, cueing in on the conversation. She has never heard
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me talk much about my dad. I've never seen one, but I wish I have, My gut begins to feel tight again, and I put my hand on my stomach. Can we please change the subject? Maddy stands up and grabs the mini bean bag chair and pulls it up in front of me, then sits in it. I never get to hear about your dad, and I'm your best friend, Another day, I really don't feel good, I try to convince her. And theres nothing much to say, anyways, Maddy opens her mouth to argue, but Eric glares at her. Promise you'll tell me when you feel better? Sure, My stomach felt like it was on fire because it hurt so much. I took another drink of the water, and it relieved the pain a little. I must look terrible right now, I smiled, laughing, trying to smooth down my hair. I was wearing a white tank top, blue slippers, and pajama shorts that were black, decorated with blue polka dots, the same shade as the slippers. A moment later, coming out of the kitchen, my mom returned into the room with her cigarettes and a glass of red wine. She made her way into the living room, wobbling over to the couch, sitting next to Eric. When she sat down, the couch bounced, and I heard a crack. Some of the wine in her glass spilled onto the floor. She just ignored it. Since she became an alcoholic, my mom has transformed. She used to be the most beautiful, skinny, fair toned red haired woman. Now, she put on at least a hundred pounds from over eating, her hair is always frizzy, and her eyes bloodshot. Some of her hair is starting to go grey, though she is only thirty four. Usually, she has dark lines under her eyes. Wait a minute, She says after sitting down. Who are you again? She points at Eric with a shaky
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hand. Eric stares at her awkwardly, with one eyebrow raised. His name is Eric, I cut in. He's one of my friends from school, I smile at him. He nods. I see, She takes a sip of her blood red wine. Eric nods again, and his broad shoulders start to tense up. After three minutes of awkward silence, Maddy asks, Can we go hang out in your room, Emily? If you wanna help me up the stairs to make sure I don't fall over, then sure, I smile. Maddy then gets up, and has me lean on her shoulder as we go up the stairway. Eric follows behind us, grabbing a wet washcloth for my fore head and the glass of water I was drinking out of on his way up. We walked slowly up the stairway, the few steps that it had, Eric following close behind. We reached the top of the short hallway, which only had two rooms. My bedroom, and a bathroom. Neither were very big. Turning into my bedroom, I collapsed onto the single bed in the corner of the room. The air was knocked out of me when I hit it because of the springs. I grunted. Maddy walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Eric, who had been following us, walked over to me and handed me the wash cloth and water. I laid the damp cloth on my head, and took a sip of water. It felt much better. Eric leaned on the wall next to my bed, looking around the room. This is nice, He commented. You haven't done much with it since last time I came over, a few weeks ago, Maddy said. The room, which I guessed could fit no more than six people touching with their arms stretched out side by side across, was blank. There was only a few pieces of furniture in it. A large dresser in the
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corner of the room sat near an old window. On the other end of the room sat my bed, a bedside table, and on top of that a table lamp. A small table sat in the middle of the room with pillows on the edges so people could sit. The walls were blank, except for a picture of me and my mother when I was a few months old, with a golden heart locket hung across it. The golden locket contained nothing inside but it was given to me by my father when I was a baby to be saved until I was older. My mother gave it to me right after he left, and I've kept it since. She wanted to get rid of everything that reminded her of him. The first time I wore the locket, she started crying when she saw me wearing it. I haven't worn it since. Noticing myself staring at the locket, I reach up and grab it, sitting back on my knees., careful not to knock down the picture. I close my eyes, rubbing the smooth gold between my fingers, feeling no flaws. The locket itself was about the size of a quarter, and about as thick as my thumb. I wonder, if mom had worn this as a gift from dad when they were dating. Eric, curious as to what was in my hand, says, What's that? I put the locket into my pocket after I noticed he was looking at it. I didn't want to explain where it was from. Nothing, I lie. I just don't really wanna talk about it right now. I'm still feeling kinda sick, Eric smiled. Okay, Eric had the kind of smile that would make any girl happy. Emily, Maddy spoke, crossing her legs on the bed. How do you suppose we're going to fit all my stuff in this room? My eyes wen wide. I had totally forgotten she was moving in! I think for a moment. When would you like to
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move in? I ask. Whenever. As soon as possible, I guess, Do you remember that room we used to play in the basement when we were kids? Yep, Well, I thought. I was thinking about moving everything in there, and we could share that room, and give this room to my mom, so she doesn't have to sleep on the couch every night . Nothing is in there at the moment, and it's a pretty big room. We could paint it, if you want, I offer. Maddy smiles wide. Yeah, I would love that! I thought we would have to share this room together... I don't think I would have fit, She laughs, then stops, her expression serious again. Is your mom okay with me moving in? She doesn't care. Your like family, anyways, I glance over at Eric, who was leaning against the wall, listening in to our conversation. He meets my gaze, and looks away, pretending to look out the window, trying to hide the colour on his cheeks. After complete silence for what seemed like an eternity, Maddy speaks up. So umm... Eric, I've never seen you around school, Because I'm always with Josh. Well, I was always with Josh, He points out, gritting his teeth. Oh, Maddy says. She was always trying to avoid Josh, because she didn't want me to get in trouble. How did you meet him? He looks over at us from the window, our legs hanging over the edge of the bed. We were neighbours when we were toddlers. Until we were fourteen, before he moved, we would talk every day, He only moved a few blocks down, so we still talked after he moved, but not as much. He still comes over almost every day, though. Josh has... Family problems, so he doesn't like being at home, Family problems? I asked out of curiosity.
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Well, Eric thought. When he was little, he got abused, like the way he abused you, except worse. He would come over some nights with black eyes, and on a few occasions a broken bone. They broke his nose once. He would always make up lame excuses, like he tripped, or got hurt playing football with the other neighbour boys. I only found out the truth when he moved away, and I couldn't do anything about it then, He sighed. I see... Do you think thats the reason why he abused me? I don't know, Emily. But I'm sorry he did. If he did it for that reason, then why didn't he try to hurt me? I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. I wish I could have done something, Eric walks over to the table and sits down on one of the pillows. He puts his hands in his face and rubs his temples. I'm really sorry. But I think the thing we have to talk about right now is wether or not we should call the police on him, Not realizing it, I bite my lip harder, starting to taste warm blood in my mouth. I didn't want it to go this far. Do you think we should? I asked. Honestly, I don't know. Really, I think its all up to you, But it's such a hard decision. Thinking of all the things that could change... Could he go to jail? When he gets out, will he hurt me again? What will everyone at school think when they realize Josh is missing? I was beginning to bawl. Will they blame me? And do you guys think my mom will be able to handle all that stress from the police? I'm not eighteen yet, so she has to help take care of it... I don't think it would be good for her, Maddy, leaning on the bed with her back against the wall, looked surprised. I hadn't thought about that... Maybe we should take her to a mental
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hospital or something? I think thats the first step, Eric agrees. I frown. But who's gonna take her? I think, Maddy begins. We should all take her, once you start feelings better, you know, She suggests. I hate seeing her the way she is. And I hate seeing you like this, Emily. Yeah. It needs to be done, Eric puts in. I nod. Once I get better, we'll all go. And I think, next time Josh hurts me is when we should call the police, Maddy and Eric look at me, with concern in their eyes. Don't get yourself hurt too badly, Maddy says, after thinking. Eric nods his head in agreement. I'll try not to, I say, smiling. Maddy smiles back, but Eric still sat there with a serious face. We sit there for a few minutes, talking about school, and homework. Eric kept quiet most of the time, however. Hey, what time is it? Maddy asks me. She pulls the cell phone out of her pocket, checking the time. Oh my gosh! It's almost midnight... I have to get home, I'm sorry! I have to finish my homework, She apologizes for having to leave, then walks through the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door. I had forgotten that I missed school today. They both probably had work to do... And so did I. I rub my eyes, and yawn. It was getting late, and I needed sleep, especially because of my injuries. Tired, much? Eric said teasingly as I laid back in my bed. I jumped, and sat back up, forgetting that he was still there. He laughed. Yes, actually, I said, embarrassed. He smirks. Sorry, should I get going? I take in a deep breath, the chilly air stinging my lungs as I inhale. My room didn't have very good
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insulation, and it was nearly winter. If you want to stay, go ahead. My teeth chattered. It would be nice to talk to someone though, Eric got up from the floor with sleep in his eyes, and walked over to the bed. I'm sorry, I'm not usually up this late, He says apologetically. I nod my head. Neither am I. Don't you have homework to do, too? Homework? I have better things to do, I chuckle. Boys and homework aren't a very good match, are they? I guess not, The silence rang in our ears, filling the air, while my eyes were repeatedly closing. I was starting to get dizzy because of being over tired. I realized Eric's eyes were closing off and on every few seconds as well. I lay down on the bed, and close my eyes. Blankets are slowly pulled up over me, stopping the shivering. I cuddle myself under the soft blankets, and quickly fall into a deep sleep.

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Chapter 5
Emily? I heard a quiet knock on my bedroom door. I called you in to school today, so you can stay home. I hope you feel better. If you need anything just wake me up, Footsteps echo through the hallway as my mom walks down the stairs. I groan, just waking up from a long nights sleep. I don't even remember dreaming because I slept so hard. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stretch my legs and arms out and exhale deeply. I don't know how I'll be able to manage getting out of bed this morning. I roll onto my side, looking at the electric clock sitting on my bedside table. It was 9:03 AM, and still too early for me. On school days I didn't have a lot of energy, and I'm sure I'll be completely drained today, even if I'm not going to school. Right as I was closing my eyes attempting to fall back asleep again, I hear the door open. A sleepy eyed Eric walks into the room. Alarmed, I instantly sit up on my bed, and wipe my mouth, checking for drool, and attempt to smooth down my long blonde hair, which was probably a mess. What are you doing here? Yeah, I look away, trying to hide my embarrassment. What are you doing here so early in the morning? How long
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have you been here? Why aren't you in school? I said, bombarding him with questions. I don't feel like going today. I frown at him, disappointed. And why are you here? I spent the night. Your mom wanted me to look after you incase you needed anything while she was out. She just got back, My face flushed with embarrassment. If he saw me drooling in the middle of the night, or heard me mumbling in my sleep... Wait, she asked you to stay? I asked. Thats what I said, I frowned. Mom couldn't even take responsibility of watching over me for one night. I'm sorry she made you do that, He looked over at me. She didn't make me stay, Emily. I knew she wasn't going to take care of you, so... I stayed. Although it kind of creeped me out by the fact that he was watching me all night, I realized what he meant. This made me even angrier at my mom. Honestly, I still think we should take you to the hospital, He continues. No, I don't need to go. I'll be perfectly fine, I say, trying to convince him. Your very protective, Cuz' you have no one to take care of you, He walks over and sits down on the bed, combing his soft fingers through my hair. I can take care of myself, I push his hand away, stand up, and back away from him. Emily, if you could take care of yourself, you would have never gotten in this situation, His words stung my heart after I realized that what he was saying was true. And I cant let that happen again, ever. He takes in a deep breath, and looks down at his hands, which were sitting on his lap. I just can't,
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I know you care and all, I try to say. But I'll be okay.. He looks up at me, and I realized his eyes were getting shiny, and pink. I feel so betrayed, I could tell he was trying to hold back tears. You feel betrayed? My eyes grew wide with annoyance. Believe it or not, once, I actually loved Josh. Then, he started treating me like I was worthless, and I was dumb enough to listen to him, doing what ever he asked. You think that you feel betrayed? I feel betrayed, Eric, He looked up at me with hurt on his face. His cheeks flush with emotion. I have to go, He gets up, folding the blankets on the floor he slept on last night, and putting them in the corner of the room. I watched him with complete silence. I didn't mean it like that... I begin to walk towards him as he walks out of the room, wanting to apologize. Turning around, he stops to a halt, causing me to walk straight into him. I jump back, startled, and feel my cheeks warm up again. Sorry, I mumble, staring at my feet. I mean... He reaches out his tan arms and embraces me, holding me tightly in his arms. Chills shot down my spine, that made my hair stand on end. Its okay, I smile, wrapping my arms around him. The chills disappeared. I have to go to school, I'm already late. Take care of yourself, He holds me back with his hands on my shoulders, looking in my eyes. I will, I promised him, my heart melting as his soft green eyes met mine. He stands there, wanting to make the moment last, then continues on his way out the door. Watching him walk away as my heart still
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pounds against my chest, I ask myself one question. Do I have feelings for my abusive boyfriends best friend? ***** I spent the rest of my afternoon watching t.v. and napping on the couch. My stomach was beginning to feel better, but it hurt whenever I would move. I hadn't been able to eat because it hurt so bad. The day had went by so slowly. I had no one to talk to, and nothing to do except sit around all day. My mother had been out since she knocked on my bedroom door this morning, probably at the bar, drinking. I hope she wasn't drinking because she was stressed out about me. I think Eric was right about the fact that she needs help... And soon. She's slowly killing herself. I've already lost one parent, and I don't need to lose another. It was around 3:30, right after the high school got out, when Maddy texts me. I search around my pocket, grab my phone out of my pocket, and read the text. Josh wasn't at skool 2day, The text reads. I reply back, asking, And? I didn't want to hear any more about Josh. His friends askd me where he is. They have no idea. They havent heard frm him. No1 has. And? I ask again, annoyed. Just keep ur eye out for him. I dnt mean 2 scare u but he could be rite around the corner. Just want u 2 be aware. Suddenly alarmed, I realized what she meant. Josh was probably on the run. Btw, She texts. I'm on my way over.
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Plz hurry, I ask, wanting someone to talk to after being alone all day, especially after what I just heard about Josh. I sat there for the next few minutes lying on the couch, waiting for Maddy to get to the house. Hopefully I don't look too bad... I haven't showered in two days, or bothered to even brush my hair. Then again, she's is my best friend... I hear the door of a car slam outside. There is a soft knocking on the door, barely echoing throughout the small house. A moment later, without my permission, the door opens. Emily! Maddy yells, panting. Where are you? She looks around, spotting me lying on the couch on my stomach, in my cozy pajamas, half asleep. WAKE UP! She runs over to the couch and shakes my shoulders. My first reaction is to roll over onto my side and slap her hands off of me, and stuff my face back into the couch. She pulls back her hair, and continues to shake me. Whaaat? I groan, with a half frown on my face. Maddy takes her hands and puts them on her skinny hips. Get up, we have stuff to do, She smiles. I sit up and face her, rubbing my head, which was still throbbing. What kind of stuff, I say, annoyed. You really need to get out of this house, She examines me with her bright blue eyes. You look like a ghost... Yeah, well that's probably because I'm sick, I say, getting upset. One of the things I hate most is for people to wake me up when I'm trying to relax.
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Maybe, but I'm taking you to the mall anyway. Go get some decent clothes on. You need some time out, She gives me a crooked smile. I give out a grunt in response. She then grabs my hand with her thin fingers, and without much effort, lifts me to my feet. I glare at her, and walk off angrily into my room to change, leaving her standing in the middle of the living room with her book bags. A few minutes later, after I pick out a half decent outfit and brush my hair, Maddy yells for me down the stairway. C'mon, She says, eager to get going. I was beginning to get irritated. I don't think she cares much about how bad I'm feeling. The stress from the situation with Josh is killing me inside. I have no idea where he is, what he's doing, nothing. I shiver, the hair standing up on my arms, and chills running through my body. Even the thought of Josh is enough to make my nerves go on end. I grab my jean wallet and shove it in my pocket while sprinting down the stairs, a few strands of my long blonde hair falling out of my pony tail as I went, flying in front of my face. Maddy was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairway, two water bottles in her hand for the trip. When she sees me, she shoves them in her blue purse, and pulls the car keys out of her shorts. I reach the bottom of the stair way, and Maddy dangles the keys in front of my face. Lets go, She takes off towards the doorway, trotting off to her corvette, her flip flops slapping her heels as she went. I roll my eyes, watching her start the car and blast the radio, filling my ears with music, the bass causing the car to shake. I finally decide to get in after she honks the car
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horn at me, impatiently waiting. Finally decide to join me? She smirks as I sit in the crimson leather passenger seat next to her. I could hardly hear her over the booming music. When the smell of the new car scent filled my nose, I was reminded of the incident with Josh two days ago. My stomach began to churn with anxiety, making me feel nauseous. I reach behind me and grab the seat belt, clicking the buckle into place. Maddy does the same, then puts wraps her fingers around the round steering wheel. She steps on the pedal, slowly backing out of the thin driveway. It was quiet until we began to drive on the highway, and the Empire Mall came into appearance, and I noticed Maddy's hands grip tighter on the steering wheel, and her face begin to grow stern. Almost there. Do you wanna go to Dairy Queen or?... She asked me, knowing it was my favourite restaurant. I'm going to take you shopping afterwards.. To Deb, if you want? If you really want to take me, then go ahead. Its your money, so you decide where to take me, She nods her head in response, pulling into the parking lot. To Deb, I think Maddy just doesn't know what to do with her money anymore. She's already almost done putting money in her college fund, and she's only sixteen. Either that, or she feels bad about the situation I'm in. Is something wrong? I ask her, noticing her face was still blank with emotion. She sits up straight, her round shoulders tensing. She didn't respond until we found a parking space. Later, Promise? I ask.
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Yeah. Now let's go, She says, grabbing her purse, and pulling the keys out of the ignition. I follow her steps, and slam the car door shut. We must have looked like an odd couple, with Maddy's hair and makeup done perfectly, and wearing perfect outfit. My hair was still messed up, I wasn't wearing any makeup, and I was wearing an unappealing outfit.. Just jeans, and a grey hooded sweater. It wasn't near a half decent outfit, especially compared to Maddy's. I watch Maddy's long, blonde, wavy hair blow in the wind, suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of jealousy. She seemed to be completely flawless at first appearance, but I knew she was hiding behind a wall of lies. Maddy looked back at me, noticing I was straggling behind. She stops in the middle of the parking lot, waiting for me to catch up. I run a few paces up to her, and continue walking towards the doors, when a group of guys walks up to us. There were four guys making their way over to us, walking with swag. They were all dressed in jerseys, and shorts. Jocks, I was assuming. When they got close enough, only a few steps away, Maddy tried to change course, but was stopped when one of them stepped in her way. I pushed his hand away, and he glared at me with anger in his eyes. You must be Emily, I recognized his voice, remembering him from the many days Josh would force me to hang out with him and his group of friends. I looked around at their faces, who looked very much similar to Josh's; tan, muscular, and careless. The group standing in front of us were more members of Josh's posy. Maddy and I stopped walking, standing our ground against the boys.
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What do you want? Maddy says, looking at the leader of the group, who I recognized as Zach. The leader of the group, which I had recognized as Zach, steps back from Maddy, and looks at me straight in the face. Where is Josh? He asks, his gaze changing from Maddy to me. His eyes were filled with anger, and his voice was cold as ice. I stand there, trying to avoid his gaze. Maddy, and Zach's friends all had their eyes on me. Under the pressure, I wasn't able to spit out a word. I was frozen, unable to move a muscle. Spit it out, He demands, his face like stone. Zach starts walking up to me, getting up in my face, clenching his fists. You'd better tell me, Emily, He says my name mockingly. I wince and step back as he lifts up his thick finger, shoving it in my face. Maddy then jumps in front of me and grabs his fist in her hand. Zach loosens her grip, and pulls back, looking at her with disapproval. We don't know. Why don't you go look for him yourself, since he's so important to you, Maddy speaks up for me, being the more outgoing one. We have been looking, smart one. Now tell us where Josh is, or we're going to hurt you... Both of you, He half grins. His words make me flinch, and I take another step back, towards where Maddy was standing. Maddy glares at Zach and the rest of the group as I move toward her, looking at them all straight in their dark eyes. Get the hell away from us, Maddy says, trying to keep her voice down to avoid a crowd. People were beginning to make curious glances towards our way as they walked by. Zach, noticing that I was Maddy's weak spot, charged towards me, lifting up his thick fist to punch
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me. Maddy lunges toward me, grabbing my hand, and we take off sprinting towards her car, without looking back. His fist nearly misses my chin, only a few inches away. Our legs carry us as fast as we can down the parking lot towards Maddy's corvette. We open the door, and get in. Without buckling, Maddy shoves the key in the ignition, and within seconds, we are off. As we drive out of the parking lot, I look in the rear view mirror, watching Zach and his friends stand there, watching us with anger as we drove away. Panting with exhaustion, my chest heaves up and down as I struggle for breath, still shocked from what just happened. I don't think we should go back there, Maddy pants, her hands gripped tight on the polished steering wheel. I nod my head in agreement, too tired to reply. Next time, I don't think we should park half way across the parking lot. It was silent for the rest of the ride back to my house. We didn't have a clue what to say to each other, too panic stricken to say a word. During the ride back to the house, I had several things on my mind. How Zach found us, and recognized us. The thought that most disturbed me is how Eric was actually friends with them. It actually made me wonder if he was like that on the inside, too. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as I realized that Eric could just be using me to get information out of me, or trying to build a relationship between us so he could plot revenge against me. If Maddy was told Eric where she was taking me while they were at school earlier this morning that could be the reason his friends knew where we were. How else would they have known?
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Thinking about this didn't make matters any better, and definitely didn't make me feel more comfortable with the situation. I guess you can't trust anyone these days. ***** We pull into the driveway up to my pale blue coloured house, after ear stinging silence the whole ride. Maddy turns off the car engine, and waves me inside the house. I'll be there in a few minutes. I need some time to think, She said, without emotion. Are you sure? I asked, concerned. Yes, Maddy insisted, with no emotion on her face. I scanned Maddy over. Her large round eyes were tired, and the tone of her face was pale white, compared to her usual tan skin. I get up out of the car, carefully shutting the car door behind me, not wanting to scare Maddy. As I was walking up the pathway to the front door, I looked back at Maddy, and saw her leaning over with her head on the wheel, her long hair covering her face, and her shoulders shaking. I could hear her muffles sobs coming from the vehicle as I reached the door. I walked inside the doorway, leaving the metallic screen door unlatched behind me so Maddy would be able to get in. When I walked in, I gasped in shock. The house was completely a mess, with glass from broken lightbulbs spilled all over the carpet, which was now stained in several areas. What happened here? I say under my breath, still in shock. I walked through the rest of the house, looking over every inch of it. Thankfully, so far, the only room
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like that was the living room. I made my way into the downstairs bathroom, closest to my moms room, which was the only room I couldn't go into. Walking in, I push open the door, immediately recognizing the pungent smell. It was alcohol. Maddy! I yell, hoping she would hear me. Maddy! I search through the cupboards built into the poorly made bathroom counter, and find small bottles of liquor stashed away behind the cosmetic supplies. Turning around, I dig my way through the dark closet in the corner of the bathroom, finding yet even more alcohol, some open and spilled onto the floor. As I make my way towards the end of the closet, I notice an unfamiliar smell. Moving bottles of beer and wine out of my way, I am soon holding several small plastic bags. Without thinking about it, I yell for Maddy again, even louder this time. I hear foot steps running through the hallway, halting to a sudden stop right behind me. What, She sniffs, her eyes still blurry from crying. Her nose crinkles from the nauseating fragrance as she walks in the room. I slowly stand up, holding in my hands what I had discovered. Whats that, She wipes her eyes with her long sleeves. Is that what I think it is? Maddy gasps, realizing what I was holding. I slowly nod, still looking at the bags. I think so. If theres this many hidden in the bathroom closet, then I wonder how many bags she's hiding in her room... Maddy sniffles, then reaches out her skinny arm to help me up.
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I grab her hand, and leaving the bags behind us, we slowly walk across the pitch black hallway, walking blindly. Luckily, my moms bedroom was right across from the bathroom. The strong stench grows stronger as we slowly open the door. We breathe through our mouths, trying to avoid the smell, but it was so strong that we could taste it. We cover our mouths with our sleeves, attempting to rid the smell. As we walked in, we spotted a large figure lying in the middle of the room, next to the wooden canopy bed in the far right corner. The figure lying on the floor, appearing half dead, was my mother. The room around us was mostly dark, except for a dim lamp sitting on the floor next to her, so we couldn't see much. Her chubby face was ghost white with dark purple lines under her eyes. The deep wrinkles on her face were finely carved in to her cheeks. Maddy and I were completely silent as we looked around the mysterious room, looking for more evidence of drugs or alcohol. Neither of us were ever in there before, so the room was unfamiliar to us. Is she dead? Maddy says quietly, sitting down next to the limp body. My gut began to clench as her words filled my head. She can't be dead, right? I tried to avoid the sick feeling in my stomach by continuing to look around the dirty room, pretending to ignore her. Emily? I hear Maddys almost silent voice from behind me. I spin around, face to face with Maddy. She looks away from my gaze, and points to a shiny object lying in my mom's plump fingers. She was tightly grasping a small, but sharp, pocket knife.
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My eyes began to swell with tears as I walked over to her, noticing dried blood streaks trickling down the arms of her white sleeves. I rub my eyes with my trembling hands as I lean over her body, taking the smooth weapon from her hand. Observing her blood coated arms, I look down at her hands, realizing that her fingers were a pale blue. I sit back, with the knife still in hand. Should we call the police? Maddy whispers, hoping she wouldn't wake up. What if she's dead? She's not dead, I say, noticing that my moms chest was heaving up and down. Maddy leans over her body, lifting up the sleeve on her body to see where the source of the blood was located. I flinch as the deep cuts on her arm were revealed. Call the police, I decide without thinking. Maddy whips out her phone, steps out of the room, and immediately calls 911. Her voice is shaky as she speaks to a grumpy sounding officer. As she is on the phone, I examine the rest of the middle aged woman's body. It's hard to believe that this woman is actually my mother. Despite all that was happening, all that I had my mind on was trying to figure out who is telling Josh about what's been going on. But deeper down, I had a thought made my stomach churn even more. Could I really trust Maddy to keep what just happened a secret from Eric and Josh?

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Chapter 6
A few long heart wrenching minutes after Maddy got off the phone with the officer, I could hear the ringing sound of ambulance sirens in the distance, and police sirens following shortly after. I run through the hallway into the living room to see an ambulance and several police cars in front of the house. Maddy and I clear out of the way as the sturdy looking paramedics cary a stretcher into the room. The police, stepping over the broken glass still lying on the living room floor, march after the EMT's to observe the scene. Where is the patient? A stumpy old police man with blonde greasy hair asked me. His voice was identical to the man Maddy talked to on the phone. Maddy steps up. Hello, officer, They shake hands. My name is Maddy Adelaide. I spoke to you on the phone a few moments ago. How are you doing today, sir? She says formally. Hello, Maddy. I would like to introduce myself,
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however, we don't have a lot of time. My name is officer Archard. I would you both to provide a statement on the events that occurred here today, He hands us both a light yellow lined piece of paper. I also would like some personal information on the patient, He looks at me with his dark beady eyes. And you are? I shiver. My name is Emily Brendolyn. The patient, I glance in the direction of the hallway, where the paramedics were entering. Is my mother, I was ashamed to tell him that we were related. Officer Archard nods his head slowly in response. Thank you. I would like you both to provide your statement now, He hands us both a gel pen, and nods for us to start writing. Maddy and I sit on the couch in the living room, with my heart pounding as we walked. I could feel the officers heated gaze on my back. Maddy seemed to be much more relaxed as I was, as she got to work on the paper right away. Her shoulders were relaxed, and she wasn't shaking as nervously, either. While I was finishing my statement, I watched the paramedics push my mom's unconscious body out of the front door on a stretcher. After they loaded her unmoving body into the back of the ambulance, they sped off to the hospital, their bright red and blue lights flashing around the whole neighbourhood, reflecting off the faces of curious children staring out the windows. At that moment, as I was watching the ambulance disappear in the distance, I was startled to feel my cell phone vibrate in my back pocket as I stared. I watch Maddy look up from her paper, and I realized her phone had went off as well. The officer glared at us. I hope you two realize that as of right now, this case is confidential, and it would be appreciated that this incident is kept private
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for now, Yes, sir, Maddy apologizes. I nod my head cautiously. A few odd moments after that, our phones go off again, each at the same time. Ignoring our phones, we both get back to work, feeling the officers cold gaze drill holes through the back of our heads as he paced around the room, observing the environment. After providing all the information I could think of about the events, my hand had begun to hurt from writing so much. Twice, I had to go up to Officer Archard and ask for another piece of paper. Maddy had to go up three times. The officer nods in approval, scanning over the stack of papers. Thank you, girls. I wish you both a good evening. I suggest you two clean up the floor, He points around to all the shattered glass still lying on the ground, walks out the front door, and slams it shut behind him with a loud bang. The instant the officer walked out the door, I slickly whip my small aqua coloured cell phone out of my jean pocket. Maddy does the same. I opened the phone up so the brightness of the screen spread across my face. I had several missed calls, all from Josh. Along with that, I had a dozen text messages, and two voice messages. Maddy looks up from her phone, her eyes first getting big, then a frown starting to appear in place of her fake smile. Josh? She asks. Yep, I sigh, shaking my head. Maddy nods, her frown becoming more noticeable. Same here, What does he want? I ask, too nervous to read the messages he sent me myself. He says, She pauses, biting her lip. Wait. I think you should read them yourself, Emily.
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I gulp in air and hold my breath, hoping he didn't send me a threat, or something worse. Maddy makes her way over to me, wanting to see what Josh had sent me. She leans over the phone so her long blonde hair is dangling over the screen. Her flowery scent fills my nose. I push her hair out of the way with my right hand so I could see the screen, and open up my inbox messages. My heart halts to a stop and I feel like the air is caught in my throat as I read what he sent me. I gulp, trying to catch my breath, and rehearse the message. I try to ignore the spelling errors as I read. It says, 'Emily, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you as badly as I did', Maddy rolls her eyes. I hope you forgive me. I love you, Emily. Please answer me'. I continued, puffing out a huge gust of breath, pouring out my anxiety into the air. I hear a sudden knock on the door. Startled, I jumped out of my seat. I walk cautiously over to the door, Maddy following closely behind me, on guard. Just as I turn the small bronze knob, I hear the loud squealing of a car. I open the door, and see Josh's red car speed out of sight. Shocked, I stand there, looking out the screen door, watching the vehicle disappear into the musky fall air. My mind was racing as I walked back over to the couch. I was too nervous to stand. Emily? Maddy walks over to me after I hear the door slam, the vibrations shaking the house. I think you should see this... She walks over to me with her hands behind her back, while I sit blank faced on the couch, staring off into space.
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Maddy stops in front of me in a halt. I notice her trembling body. I found this on the porch, She says, pulling out a single fresh rose from behind her back. The dark red petals glowed with beauty, small droplets of water glistening from the reflection of light. As I moved my eyes over the rose, I noticed a yellow piece of paper tied around the middle of the green stem. I reached out my hand, and grasped the rose in my fingers, the pointy thorns scratching my palm. I took the piece of paper between my fingers, and held it up to my face so I could read it. The handwriting, barely eligible, was an apology letter from Josh. The words were almost identical to the text he sent a few minutes earlier. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as I read the last sentence. Please take me back, It read. Love, Josh. What am I going to do now?

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Chapter 7

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