Save Me

RaeLynn pulled into the school’s parking lot and double checked her cover up. A sigh escaped her lips as she saw the faint outline of purple bags forming under her eyes despite her desperate attempt at covering the evidence of the truth. The last thing she needed was for her friends to be questioning her about the cuts and bruises. After she was confident that she would be somewhat clear of all obnoxious questions from her overprotective friends, RaeLynn proceeded to gather her things and walk into the school. She was immediately tackled by hyper group of friends as soon as she stepped foot into the hallway. A sharp breath passed through her lips as a gasp when pain shot through her spine from her lower back. She bit her lip and waited until her friends released her from the death grip they called hugs.

“What are you guys doing out here? Class started 15 minutes ago.” RaeLynn questioned her friends they all walked to her locker. RaeLynn put in her combination, grabbed her art supplies and placed her messenger bag in her locker. She turned to her friends who scoffed at the question that sounded absurd to their ears.

“Please, honey. Did you really think that we were gonna sit through a boring lecture on World History given by Monotone Monroe? I don’t think so.” RaeLynn’s closest friend, Camille Washington, scoffed while she retrieved some lip gloss out of her purse. RaeLynn rolled her eyes and they all walked out to the school courtyard. What’s the point of going to a class if you’ve already missed half an hour anyway?

“So, how are you and Mr. Matthews? Last time I heard, things are kind of rocky in paradise.” Josh Bradley, the girls’ “consultant”, asked RaeLynn, who was busy putting the finishing touches on her poster for her Advanced Art Class. She nearly dropped her colored pencil when Josh’s question sounded in her ears. She quickly regained her composure without raising any suspicions from the two private investigators sitting in front of her and turned her attention back to her poster. Camille and Josh, both noticing this slight change in behavior, looked at each other, but brushed the situation off as RaeLynn being somewhat excited when asked about her boyfriend.

“What are you talking about? Everything is fine. We’re fine.” RaeLynn responded without so much as breaking her concentration on the poster. At that moment, RaeLynn’s heart once again spoke its mind.

“Goodness gracious. You’re lying through your teeth! Are you seriously gonna sit here and feed false truths to the people who have known you since diaper days? You know what goes on behind closed doors and if you tell them then they can help you. They’re your best friends, RaeLynn. You’re suffering and you need to escape. Let them help you.”

RaeLynn flinched at the truthfulness of her conscience and placed everything back in her messenger bag. Her mental stability was starting to fail and she didn’t know what to do. She was close to shouting out the truth about her relationship between herself and Chris, but she knew there would be hell to pay if anyone ever found out. She started rubbing her temples when she felt the threats of a migraine approaching.

“Rae? RaeLynn? Are you okay? You look like you’re in pain.” Camille questioned with concern evident in her voice. RaeLynn looked up at the two people sitting in front of her and saw the looks of worry etched on their faces. She hated when her friends worried about her and the looks on their faces alone was almost enough to break her. Almost.

“What? Umm…yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just feeling a minor headache coming on. Nothing a little aspirin can’t fix. I’ll be fine.” RaeLynn countered. Josh shook his head in disapproval. He knew something was up with RaeLynn and he was determined to get down to the bottom of it. He gave Camille a knowing glance and she simple nodded. This entire situation seemed off to them.

“Okay, RaeLynn. What the hell is going on with you? First, you show up to school late for the first time in months and now you look like your head is gonna split from a ‘minor headache’. Come on, sweetie. Please talk to us. We’re getting worried and we hate seeing you in pain. Please.” Josh pleaded with RaeLynn, who started shaking her head halfway through Josh’s short speech.

“Look, you guys. Nothing is wrong, okay? Chris and I are perfectly fine. My headache will go away after I take some medicine. I am fine.” RaeLynn snapped and her friends simply rolled their eyes.

“Whatever, Rae. You can’t fool your friends. We know when something is wrong and we just want to help you. But, it seems as though you’re hell bent on dealing with this problem on your own. Forgive us for just wanting to make sure you’re okay.” Camille argued which resulted in a sigh from RaeLynn.

“They’re right you know. They’re just looking out for you, RaeLynn and you can’t punish them for caring. You’re pushing yourself to the limit, honey. You’ve been dealing with this for the past year and a half. It’s time for you to stop running and let your friends catch you when you fall.”

RaeLynn gritted her teeth and nearly pulled her hair out to refrain from lashing out. She was no longer emotionally, let alone mentally, strong enough to deal with the internal battle going on within her. She knew she needed help. She knew she needed to get away. She knew the truth.

But, RaeLynn also knew the devastating consequences if anyone were to find out what really happens in her relationship with Chris. The pain. The helpless screams. The feeble pleads for mercy. The possibility of lying on a hospital bed for weeks or even months. Not only herself, but her friends and family as well. RaeLynn knew that Chris would stop at nothing to silence the ones who threatened to come in between his “love” for her. She could see it now. The people she cared about…lying on the floor…cold, bloodied and broken. RaeLynn quickly shook her head to rid herself of the images. She couldn’t tell them. She could never tell them. She couldn’t tell anyone. She could never tell anyone.

RaeLynn let out a sigh of frustration and ran her hands through her hair. She looked her friends in the eyes and scolded herself when she saw the amount of love and care set in the dark brown orbs of Camille and jade green emeralds of Josh. To think that would’ve been enough to break her.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you guys like that. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately. I’ll be okay. Really. I’ll be fine. I just need some time to compose myself.” With that said, RaeLynn grabbed her things and walked off in order to somehow get herself together. But, she knew on the inside, she was just starting to break down…and she was terrified of hard she would fall.