Invisible

“Ryan is having a party tonight, you want to go babe?” Jeremy asks.

Jeremy Noel is my wonderful boyfriend of two years. He’s the quarterback for the mighty Shady High Bears. We’re both seniors and graduation is coming in three days tops, the school is going crazy planning parties for the week. Jeremy has been to every single one while I have been home like a good little girl.

“Yeah come on Lindsey! We got three more days in this hell whole; we need to do something nuts so everyone can remember us!” Maggie laughed.

Carol giggled, “Oh Mags, she won’t come. She’s too afraid.”

Maggie and Carol are my best friends ever. We’ve known each other since first grade when Maggie through a pencil in my face for not answering her question fast enough. Carol was the shy one; I talked to her because she was always nice to me. But once we hit junior high, she got wild and hit every party that happened in Texas.

I giggled, “Oh I’m not afraid. My step-dad has been a total Mcasshole lately. He won’t let me out of the house.”

My mother divorced my dad when I was five years old. A year later she met the biggest asshole on earth, Richard fucking Silverstein. I hate him with all my heart. He always keeps me from spending time with my friends, and when I want to hang out with my boyfriend….lets just says I end up punching the wall after he shuts me in my room for the night. But the only good thing he gave me was my little brother Aaron. He’s only seven years old; he hates it when Richard and I fight. So at night when I’m crying myself to sleep, he cuddles next to me and holds my hand.

Jeremy sighs, “Sneak out. Come on, three days left before we all go our separate ways babe.”

I cringe at the thought of that. Maggie is leaving to New York, and Carol is going to Florida, while Jeremy is going with me to Phoenix.

I nod, “Ok. Meet me at the park around ten ok?”

Maggie, Carol and Jeremy yell, “YES!”

I laugh. I twine my fingers with Jeremy’s as a we walk to his car. Maggie jumps in the back with Carol and Jeremy flies away to our usual hang out spot after school….the mall.

I was in the bathroom straightening my hair when I heard a knock on the door.

“Lindsey, I need your help with dinner.” My mother says.

“Ok!” I pull the clip from the top of my head and let my light brown hair fall around my face. I pull the plug and left the iron to cool off.

After I set my clothes on the bed and put on light makeup, I run down the stairs to find Aaron playing on the Wii.

“Lindsey, come play with me.” He says without taking his eyes off the screen. The little shit was a master at the tennis game.

I laugh, “Maybe after dinner squirt.” I ruffle his hair as I pass him.

“What do you need mamma?” I smile.

She grins, “I need you to make the macaroni ok?”

I nod, “Sure thing.”

I knew when Richard was home, because I heard the keys slam on the table near the door and heard him yelling at Aaron to get off so he could sit his fat ass on the couch and watch T.V.

“Hi honey.” My mother smiles as she lays the bowl of fried chicken on the table.

He just nods towards her and opens his can of beer he walked in with. I swear if I threw that can off a cliff he would jump after it.

“Lindsey bring me my plate. I’m too tired to walk over to the table.”

“This is a family dinner Richard. Please sit with us.” My mother says. I hate that sound of her voice, she sounds so disappointed.

Richard turns his gaze from the television to stare at her with such hate in his eyes, “Does it look like I give a fuck?”

I grab a plate from the shelf above me and load it with food for the shithole. I hear my mother sniffing behind me which just made me angrier. I stand in front of him with his plate and stare down at him.

“What is your problem?” he asks.

I shake my head and let the plate slip from my hands. All the food fall onto his lap. I stumble back when he rises quickly.

“You fucking bitch!” he yells.

“You asshole! Treating my mother like that! She just wants a nice dinner with her family and you’re too fucking selfish. What? Did you have a hard day at work? I’m sure you did because sitting on your fat ass all day takes up a lot of energy.”

Richard lifts his head to stare at me, he moves towards me with his finger in my face. “Go up to your room. I don’t want to hear shit from you. Do you understand me?”

I roll my eyes and walk past him. Aaron was sitting at the top of the stairs crying; I carry him to his room and calm him down.

“I hate it when you and daddy fight.”

I nod, “I know. I’m sorry.”

I lay his head on my shoulder and rub his hair.

“Lindsey?”

“Yeah?”

“When you leave for school….will you come back?”

I felt my heart cringe when he said that. I wanted to tell him yes I would, but with Richard here, I didn’t know what was going to happen.

I was about to answer when my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pull it out to find Maggie’s name flashing.

“What?”

“Hello to you too honey.”

I laugh, “Sorry, what’s up?”

“What are you wearing?”

“Hold on ok?”

I pick Aaron off my lap and sat him on his bed, “I love you ok?”

He nods, “I love you too sister.”
I kiss his head as I head into my room. I shut the door lightly so It wouldn’t hear me.

“I’m wearing my black tank top with all the different colored peace signs, um….blue skinny jeans and my white elephants. What are you wearing?”

She giggles, “Basically the same, except my shirt is my ‘Sevendust’”.

“We always end up on the same brain wave you know?”

She laughs, “That’s because I’m cool and you want to be just like me.”

When it was five minutes till ten, I snuck out my window. I closed it gently and climbed down the ladder Richard built for my mom’s roses to grow around. I run until my house is out of sight.

I look behind me to make sure the coast is clear, and stop running at the end of my neighborhood. I always hated walking in this part of my neighborhood at night, no lights are on and it’s completely dark. I hold out my phone to have some light, right when I was about to hit the gas station down the street someone whispered my name.

“Lindsey?”

I turn around to find my science teacher, Mr. Robin standing across from me shielding his eyes from my cell phone light. He lives only a few houses from me.

“Oh, Mr. Robin.”

He laughs, “Did I frighten you?”

I shake my head, “No you didn’t. I was just off to meet Jeremy.”

He nods, “Where are you going?”

I swallow hard, “Um just out.”

The adrenaline that was pulsing through me, made me feel like something horrible was about to happen. My heart was beating furiously against my chest as he took a step closer to me.

“Come with me Lindsey.” He whispers.

I shake my head slightly, “I have to go Mr. Robin. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I take a step back and he follows me.

“You’re not going anywhere Lindsey.”

I didn’t ask why or what he was talking about, I just broke out into a sprint. The gas station was only inches away from me, but he grabs my hair and pulls me back. I was screaming against his hand that was covered with a leather glove. He pulls me into the trees that surrounded our neighborhood…..and I blacked out.