Determination

Hailey had been so grateful to Chase’s ignoring her today. It wasn’t a good day for her, and she didn’t need the perky girl’s questions. In all honesty, she hadn’t even wanted to get out of bed this morning. But she knew that staying in bed would only worsen everything, so she had allowed herself to go through school on autopilot.

This day was her least favorite, and she had left her house almost as soon as she got there after school. It was too empty, desolate, and she couldn’t deal with it right now. The date had fallen on a Friday this year, which meant she didn’t have to worry about dealing with people. The half full water bottle hanging from her fingers made a slight sloshing noise as she walked, the liquid inside the metal container unable to be still as she swung her arm slightly.

She made her way almost a mile and a half, partially in the woods, until she got to the lake. There was a group of rocks right along the shoreline of the lake, and that’s where she sat. It didn’t take long for her to remove her shoes and toss them on the ground so they could dangle into the chilly water. Once comfortable, Hailey took a large gulp of the liquid in her bottle, and ignored the burn as it went down.

“Hey Hailey!” a voice said, cutting through the silence that was engulfing the blonde like she was used to. Startled, she looked up to see Chase and bit back a groan. She did not want to deal with her.

But it hit her then what exactly was in her bottle and how much she had of it already. This was not good. The clear liquid had yet to take affect, but soon enough it would.

“Chase,” Hailey said softly, looking at the still water. Chase sat down on a rock next to her’s, and started to ramble on despite the fact that the blonde was not paying the slightest attention. “Will you shut up?”

Stopping mid-sentence, Chase was shocked. “Oh…am I bothering you? If so, I’m really sorry.” Her apology was genuine, and Hailey felt slightly guilty for snapping. Really, she was just trying to be nice. She didn’t know any better.

With a sigh, Hailey looked at her classmate. “It’s really just not a good day. I just want to be alone right now.” Chase nodded, understanding that the other girl didn’t want company right now.

“Okay. Well, I should probably be getting home, anyway. I’ll see you Monday, right?” Receiving a nod from Hailey, Chase left, her pace slow as she disappeared from the blonde’s line of vision.

Hailey took another sip from her bottle, once again feeling the familiar burn as the fluid ran down her throat. The bottle was empty within an hour, but she didn’t move from her spot on the rock until long past the time dark had fallen around her. And when she finally did, it was to curl up by the trees, not wanting to go back to that place she lived.

Not tonight.

***

The next morning she woke to the light from the sun trickling through the almost bare branches of the trees she had fallen asleep under the night before. She stood up, turning her torso to crack her back because it was stiff from her sleeping on the ground. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was just past eleven in the morning.

Her sleep had been a peaceful one, most likely due to the fact her water bottle was now empty. But still she had a wave of exhaustion overcome her, like it did when she used that particular method of coping. Running her fingers through her hair to remove as many twigs and leaves as she could, she made her way through the trees unaware of the eyes that were on her.