To Love Again

I pulled my black shirt over my head carefully, trying my best to make sure I did not move too quickly, it didn't help. I winced as the pain of the fresh bruises around my ribs shot through my body. How was I going to walk through the school with him like nothing ever happened? But I suppose I walked through the school with him the last three times he did it. I slipped into my black sweat pants and tried my best to walk normal as I felt each pulse of pain when my hips moved. He always seemed to do it in places no one ever saw, apart from him. Nobody would have expected it, he was great and a gentleman to everyone outside of our relationship. I gripped on to the banister as I maneuvered myself down the stairs, breathing deeply to relief myself of the tightness in my stomach. My phone buzzed in my pocket when I finally reached the end.

"Hello." I answered, my voice drenched in pain.

"Hey babe,-" He replied. Someone has a very short memory span, I thought bitterly. "I am outside, you ready?" He asked. He sounded cheerful. I had to bite down on my lip to stop the tears from falling before I spoke.

"Yes, I will be right there." I simply said.

I opened the door to his smiling face sitting in his red car. I think he justifies what he does to me by picking me up and not having to inflict more pain on myself my driving. It was chilly outside, I folded my arms. Damn it, the hot pain shot through me like a knife, I kept forgetting the bruises. He hopped out and opened the passenger door helping me position my body into the seat. "I am fine." I stated coldly without looking at him. I really needed to get out of this relationship but last time I tried he dragged my friends into the hell hole I was living and it just was not worth risking their safety too so the only option I had was to move cities. I couldn't move, not with my mother in such a state. We had always had a nice house and a fairly up to date car. We were comfortable but that did not matter. When my father died two years ago my mother depended heavily on alcohol to get her through her sorrow but when she was over that she just found new grief so that she could continue her drinking. She would not let me help her. I drove her to meetings and to doctors but she doesn't want to stop. Feeling helpless towards someone you love is the most horrible feeling you could ever have. Walking in from school everyday to see you mother asleep at the kitchen table isn't the easiest thing to witness. She still worked hard, she has been doing it so long she has found a way to hide it when she was at work. The fact that she works for herself probably helps too.

We pulled into the parking lot of the school. We both had been silent the whole way there. He hummed happily along to some song on the radio, I hadn't even noticed. How could he just go on like he did nothing? I hoped the guilt was crushing him inside but if it was he did not let it show. I got myself out of the chair this time, it would have looked too weird if he helped me out with everyone watching. My friend Melissa ran over to me and crushed me under her hug. "Oh my God, did you see the new people?" She whispered in my ear so low I was the only one that could hear. "If I have ever seen perfection it was today, the guys are hot." She said excitingly. I just smiled plainly, I really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Cool." I replied. We walked over to our group of friends. "Hey guys." I greeted them.

"Hey Eleni. Hey Joe." They waved.

"Where did you guys run off to last night?" Paul asked, eying us suspiciously. He was Joe's best friend but they were total opposites. "Did you bring her home and show her a good time?" He laughed and the group laughed along with them.

"Your sick." Melissa hissed as she slapped his arm.

"You could say that." Joe answered, a grin on his face. I could swear he was proud of the marks he gave me. He wrapped his hand tightly around my waist and pulled me towards him. I had to bite my jaw to stop myself from screaming. I felt tears sting my eye's but I wouldn't let them fall.

"You ok, sweetie?" Jodie asked. Her small frame was standing in the corner.

"Of course." I muttered through gritted teeth. She wasn't convinced, I could tell by the look in her eye's. She never liked Joe, but she tolerated him for the sake of it.

The school bell rang in my ears. He walked with me to my class his grip still placed firmly around my waist. As we approached the door I stopped abruptly, tears of pain lingering in my eye's. I could see my class group standing outside the door of the class room, they were probably waiting for the teacher to come open it. "Could you leave me go, please?" I pleaded. "You are hurting me." I felt the tears stream down my face.

"Oh sorry, I never realized." She said as if he genuinely did not know he was hurting me. "See you at lunch." He told me as he kissed my lips gently and walked away to his own class. I wiped away the tears before I turned to join my class standing outside the classroom. I inhaled deeply and turned around only to stop dead in my tracks. The face of perfection stared at me worryingly as if he wanted to take away all of my pain and as if he knew exactly what happened me.