I wake up with an annoying beeping ringing through my ears. I groan and sit up, slamming my hand down on the off button of my alarm clock. It doesn't work. "Shut up you stupid alarm clock!" I yell, most likely gaining attention to anyone who might be awake. I pick it up and flip it over to take the batteries out and remember that the patch needs unscrewed. "Dangit!" I say before getting up and throwing my door open resulting in the doorknob hitting the wall creating a new dent on the wall. I run down the stairs and throw open the kitchen drawer and grab the screwdriver before running back up the stairs to get into my room to fix my alarm clock's idiotic mind of its own.
Instead, I find my dad now standing next to my now silent alarm clock. I take a mental note to next time use my phone instead. "Morning, Ruby." He says and I smile. He's the best.
"Morning Dad." I say back and walk over to him to give him a morning hug but he holds out his hand to stop me.
"Not too fast. What happened to you?" He asks.
I think about telling him that 'Elana' did it but decide against it. "Oh, I just fell in the hallway at school. I'm fine." I lie. I instantly feel bad but I still can't tell him Elana did it. I'm never calling her mom again unless it's in front of my dad. He cannot know.
My dad already comforted me when I came home the night of Eli's death. Before I knew about the mirror. "Ok, uh, whatever you say then. Let's go get breakfast, I'll make you pancakes."
My smile grows wider as I start to get up. I turn around and give him a hug. "You're the best, thank you dad." I finally turn around and walk through the door and go downstairs. Time for pancakes!
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Ruby's Dad's P.O.V
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She walks out of her room smiling. I sit on her bed and frown, looking down at my feet. I stand up and pull up my shirt so that I can see the bruises on my back and stomach. I'm too afraid to divorce that evil witch. Who knows what she'll do to me. And Ruby. I could go to the police but she always find a way back. No matter what. I can't believe she started beating Ruby too. I will end this sometime.
I hear Ruby call up the steps, "Hey, dad, you coming?"
I quickly put my shirt back down and plaster my 'all knowing' fake smile before saying "Yes, darling, hold on."
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Ruby's Point of View
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Now today is my first day back to school after Eli died. I really don't want to go back to school just for all the sympathetic teachers like really? Can I just have a day without a single sympathetic look headed my way? I'm a human, sure, but I'm not a small child that just lost their teddy bear. Please. I've been a big girl since at least middle school.
I sit in my dad's car watching everything pass by in the darkness as I head to school. No I don't have my driver's license yet. But I hope to get it soon.
We arrive at 7:10. Wonderful. I've still got 10 minutes to prepare for a day of nothingness. Just like any other. I really need to get a social life.
I say bye to my dad and wave before walking in the deathtrap we should be calling prison. Just put the bars instead of doors, take the teachers away, add security guards, and add kids who didn't do anything illegal. Boom.
I get into homeroom at 7:15. My teacher and everyone else in the room just follows me with their eyes as I walk to my desk and tiredly slump into it.
I look at all of them with annoyance and say to them, "What?!" And they all alarmingly look at me one last time before looking away. How I get my way.
I wait for the bell to ring and finally 5 minutes later it does. Time for gym class. Oh great.
I've always hated gym no matter what we do because it involves physical activity and the only thing I enjoy that is anything close to that is nuzzling my head into Eli's shoulder or walking through that beautiful mirror holding one of my only two reasons for living. Eli.
I look up just in time to see one of the football jocks walking towards me rather quickly. I try squeezing to the side but he reaches me and pushes me straight against the lockers and says, "Bet you've been crying every crying minute of those past few days. Pun intended."
I shake my head no but he doesn't believe me. He slaps me across the face and I turn back to him and glare. "The only thing I've been doing was thinking about how miserable you make everyone around you. Sure, you win football games and whatever, but I don't see any 'friends' around here. Where are they, huh? I don't see them anywhere." I say. He gives me an 'I will kill you' look and I say, "I'm not afraid of you."
All I remember is a swing of a fist to a head and then everything becomes black.
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I wake up with a pounding headache as I try figuring out where I am. I try sitting up and wince before laying back down again. Everything hurts.
"Hello?" I call out. I see curtains moving to the side before the school nurse comes over to me. "Um, what happened to me?" I ask her. She looks at how I'm doing an shakes her head disapprovingly.
"One of the other students, I think Kylie Welsh found you in the hallway next to the lockers and went to the nearest teacher. Can you tell me what happened?"
She asks. I nod before telling her the entire story ending with "And then I saw a fist come barreling straight towards my head and then I was out." I say.
She nods before saying, "I'll be right back." She walks out of the small space I'm in and I hear her mumbling into a phone where I can just barely make it out. "Yes. Yes. Yes, I think. Lemme check. Okay I will tell you after. Bye." She hangs up the phone and comes back to where I am. "Okay, how are you feeling?" She asks in a very polite voice.
"Everything hurts." I say. "Including head, arms, legs, torso, everything." She grabs a clipboard from a table to the side and scribbles down what I'm guessing is what I just said.
"Okay, well you have a split lip, a cut near your temple, and many bruises. Do you want any of them bandaged?" She asks. I like how she gives me some freedom of choice.
"Um, can I have something over the cut on my head and wrap up the bruise on my right arm?" I say. I then realize I have no clue what time it is or how long I was out. "Wait, what time is it?" I ask her, unsure how much I missed.
"Well, let's see," she glances at the watch on her wrist and looks back up at me before saying, "1:26 PM."
My eyes go wide. I missed that much! Oh geez. "Can I get my dad to pick me up?" I ask her. That idiot of a jock is on my bus on a daily basis. I am not dealing with him again.
"Absolutely, let me write you a note." She says and walks off. I sit up an grab my surprisingly not broken phone out of my pocket. I then dial my dad's number, and hear two rings before he picks up.
"Hey dad." I say to him, still thinking about how to say this all to him.
"Hey, hun, what's up?" He asks.
I clear my throat before saying, "I need you to pick me up from school." I say, still nervous of his answers.
"What for?" He asks.
"I will explain it all to you when you get here I just need you to pick me up. Please, daddy." I sound so much like a child don't I.
"Okay, I'll be there in 5." He says.
I smile. "Thanks dad, you're the best." My first smile today wow.
I wait in the front office for my dad. The school nurse already gave me the note and I just need to wait until he gets here.
He arrives just 30 seconds later. I stand up and come over to him and give him my weak bear hug. "Hi Daddy." I say childishly.
He glances at my face and his eyes widen. He pulls back. "And what happened to you?" He asks.
I smile weakly as it hurts my face and say, "I'll explain on the ride home. C'mon, let's go." I say and he lays his arm around my shoulder and we walk out the front door to the car.
In the car, I look over to him getting ready to say what happened. "So, this jock on the football team thought it would be nice to throw a girl who just lost her boyfriend into some lockers and throw a couple slaps and punches. Not that big of a deal." I say.
"Well, we are gonna go get some ice cream and then we are gonna go home and discuss this. Are you sure that's all that happened?" He asks.
I roll my eyes before saying, "Yes, dad," and I mumble to myself, "If you count what mom did, then no that's not all." I hoped he didn't hear that. Unfortunately, he did.
He whispers, "She does it to me too."
"Huh?" I ask. I don't think I heard him right.
"Honey, your mom, I know she is abusive. She's been doing it to me for years. My back is covered in bruises. I couldn't leave her because she threatened me. Oh, what do we do?" He says to himself. He keeps staring straight ahead paying attention to the road. He turns into the driveway. Thank goodness.
I get out of the car and then run over to his door and open it. I then pull him out by the hand and hug him while making sure that it isn't hurting his back. "I'm sorry, dad. I wish we could do something about this."
"I wish we could too." He says.