Live For the Sake Of Living

Things had started to get back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get in my house. I was slowly beginning to heal completely, but still needed the aid of my crutches to get around. School was actually a breeze but that might've been because I had already gone through most of the eleventh grade already.

It was actually really disappointing on my part to see all of my former classmates that had gone on to become seniors while I was undergoing my recovery from the drugs. They were going to graduate at the end of the school year. But not me. I would have yet another year to go through and would get to watch them all graduate and get out into the real world. But I had no one to blame for it all but myself. I should have never started hanging out with the crowd I got tangled with. And now I just had to deal with the consequences. And I was okay with that.

"Alright, class. That's it for today," my English teacher said as the bell rang and everyone started to jump out of their seats. "Please read chapters three and four for tomorrow!" she called out, trying to let the people who'd already left hear the assignment, but it was no use.

Rhiannon went and grabbed my crutches from against the wall next to her chair as I slowly stood up, using the desk for support. She handed them over and then helped me put me back pack on before walking slowly with me out of the classroom.

We headed down the hall together toward our next classes. I had math, but Rhiannon had history, so she wouldn't be able to escort me all the way to class.

"Oh, shit," I said quietly to myself as I stopped moving on my crutches.

"What is it?" Rhiannon asked, almost worried something had happened to me when she turned around.

"Nothing, I just forgot my notebook. I never put it in my bag this morning," I answered.

"Oh, well I can go back with you and help you get it."

"Nah, it's fine. You go on to class. I can do this," I assured her.

"...Are you sure?"

"Positive," I replied with a little grin, and Rhiannon nodded, turning away and going back down the hall.

I slowly hobbled my way through students toward the end of the hall where my locker was. People had finally stopped staring once the rumors that had been made about me circulated the school two or three times, so it was nice to walk through the school without hearing people whispering or feeling their eyes on me as I went past.

I made it to my locker a minute or so later and by then most everyone had one into their respective classrooms. I groaned when I opened my locker and realized that my math notebook was lying right ton the bottom, on top of a few books. It took a lot of effort for me to reach down and grab it, and by then I was breathing so hard from the strain that I didn't even hear anyone come up behind me. I didn't even know I wasn't alone until I felt a cool hand grab the back of my neck, another grabbing one of my wrists.

My cheek was slammed into the locker next to mine, my arm jerked behind my back by my wrist. I hissed out in pain when the person kicked my broken leg into the wall, and tears sprung to my eyes from the pain.

"So, little Miss Perfect things she's too good for us now, huh?" I heard a slippery female voice ask into my ear.

"Let me go," I whimpered, feeling her claws digging into my neck. I knew who this was. Demetra. And it almost wasn't a surprise.

She laughed in her throat and I could just see he twisted smile on her face. "Not so fast," she whispered into my ear, and I felt her let my arm go for a second, pulling it from my back before gripping my upper arm. Slowly she slid her nails down the inside of my arm before she reached my ditch, and she squeezed. That little gesture brought back a lot of memories I didn't want to see.

"You know, Aryn and I? We really miss you, and we would love it if you'd come join us for a little... after school fun sometime," her greasy voice said.

"No," I growled through gritted teeth.

"No?" she asked back, a tone of anger filling her voice. "NO?!" she screamed at me, jerking my body back quickly only to slam it back into the metal of the locker. "You listen to me-"

"Hey! Get off her!" I heard a male voice shout, cutting Demetra off. I was able to see down the hall in the direction of the voice to see another student, around my age or younger, and he was quickly making his way down the hall to us.

I felt Demetra's grip loosen on me before she leaned into my ear again. "This isn't over," she threatened before she let me go, shoving me hard. I lost my balance completely and fell to my side on the floor as Demetra made her getaway and the boy came closer.

He crouched down next to me quickly. "Are you alright?" he asked, and I looked up, meeting the must sparkling blue-green eyes I had ever seen. The fact that was staring down at me was very kind and attractive looking. His hair was a dark shade of brown and he had a handful of freckles splayed across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, no doubt from the sun.

"Uh, yah. I think so," I answered sheepishly, attempting to sit up.

"Oh, here," the boy said, quickly standing and reaching a hand out to me. I gripped it firmly in my own and he helped pull me back to my feet. He picked up my fallen crutches and handed them to me as well.

"Thanks," I said quietly.

"It was no problem. What... Uh, what was that all about?" he asked cautiously, not knowing if he would upset me or not.

"Nothing. Just someone who doesn't like me very much," I answered, hesitating a bit.

"Oh... Well, I'm Jesse," the boy said, sticking his hand out to me once more.

"Charlie... Erm... Charlotte," I replied, shaking his hand. Without another word, Jesse leaned down and picked up my backpack and my red math notebook.

"Do you want some help getting to your next class? I have a free period and don't really have anything to do," Jesse asked, putting my notebook into my bag.

"Sure," I replied, sending him a grin as a small gesture of appreciation. Jesse smiled back, keeping ahold of my bag while we moved slowly down the hall.

"So... What happened to you?" he asked. "The crutches, I mean."

"Oh... Well -- didn't you hear the rumors and the stories already?" I asked, knowing that he probably had. Everyone had heard their own little version of my ordeal.

"Well, yeah. I know who you are... I've heard all the stories. But, I wanna hear it from you what happened."

"Oh... Well, I got in a car accident. It was raining and the brakes filled with air and I hit a tractor trailer," I explained. "Or, actually, the tractor trailer hit me," I said, allowing a little chuckle to escape.

"So how's recovery going?" Jesse asked as we got in the elevator to go up to the second floor.

"It was tough at first due to.... other circumstances, but it's getting much better now."

We spoke back and forth a little more, mainly about me and clearing some of the rumors that were going around. I didn't answer all of them, but it was really nice to meet someone that wanted the real story, who didn't want to just listen and believe what everyone else had to say. It wasn't long before we were outside my math class.

"So, I guess I'll see you around?" Jesse queried with a kind smile. I nodded and smiled back.

"Yeah. And thanks, for helping me out back there."

"It was no problem," he shrugged off, handing my bag back to me and opening the door.

"So how was school today?" Brian asked over dinner as he, Michelle, Jack, and I all sat together.

I froze for a moment, thinking back to the incident with Demetra and whether or not I should say something. I had promised I'd tell him the next time something like that happened, but I didn't want him to freak out or get the police involved. Or worse; I didn't want him to get involved.

"It was fine," I answered, taking a bite of my food. "I uh, met someone new today."

"Oooooh, is it a boy?" Michelle asked, smiling deviously at me. I laughed.

"How do you always know if anything has to do with a guy?"

"Charlie... Sweetie... I've been there. It's a girl thing. I can just... tell," she laughed.

"Well yeah, it's a guy. He helped me get to class and... we talked about me and... stuff. He's one of the first people I've met that didn't want to hear what anyone else had to say about what happened."

"You should bring him by sometime then," Brian suggested.

"Dad, we're not dating," I chuckled, pointing out.

"Didn't say you were. You could always bring him by as a friend," he offered.

"Babe, things don't always work that way with teens," Michelle butted in, giving him a look of pity for his cluelessness. "Think back to when you were in high school."

"Okay, so you're right. But still..." he said. "Jackie boy, a little help here? They're ganging up on me, bud!" Brian joked, and Jack laughed.

"I'm serious though. If you want to bring him by you can. I'd like to meet him."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay Dad, whatever you say."