Have Faith in Me

We were in Hot Topic trying on some glasses when I felt like I was being watched. I shook off the feeling and followed Koryn and Lilly. Destery had went to the bathroom. Lia insisted she buy me a new wardrobe, even though I tried telling her no. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping but I hate people spending their money on me. It makes me feel like a mooch. She had already bags filled with clothing. It was more than enough but she wasn't even close to done. Koryn had been helping her pick out tops for me and was the judge on how they looked on me. She sent him out to the car to put the bags in the trunk. She sent me to the shoe department while she looked at purses. I once again felt like I was being watched. I had goosebumps on my arm and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Once again I shook off the feeling. I looked at the shoes and they were pretty cute. I admite I could've used a new pair considering mine were falling apart. But they were still a good pair. I picked out a pair of converse. They were lime green with an orange tongue and a pink tongue that folded over. I picked them up and turned around crashing into a cold figure. I looked up into a pair of brown eyes. I forze.
"You look familiar, do I know you?" He asked.
"N-no. You must have me mistaken with someone else. Sorry." I started walking away but he grabbed my arm.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive." He never knew me. He only thought he did. But I knew him. I knew all about him and his games. I would never again be a victim to his lies. I made my way over to Lilly who had five purses in her hands. She told me to choose. I shook my head. None of them were me. They were nice but I didn't love any of them. She frowned but then smiled. She picked up another and my eyes lit up. It was Jack Skellington from the Nightmare Before Christmas, which happened to be in my top 5 favorite animated movies. I nodded in approval. She looked at the shoes I'd chosen and seemed to like them. She texted Des and Koryn that we'd be in Debs. We purchased the items and went to Debs. She dragged me over to the dresses. We picked out 3 formal ones and then a casual one. Next were heels which Koryn showed up in time for followed by Destery. Koryn went crazy with the shoes and we bought about 10 pairs. We looked at accessories and I fell in love with an owl necklace. We picked out a ton of jewelry and finally we took a break heading to the food court. Just watching strangers eat food made my stomach churn. Lilly put her arm on my shoulder as she sat me down at a table with Des. Her and Koryn went to get chinease.
"So..." He began. "You like everything you got today?"
"Yeah, it's really nice. I feel bad though for Lilly spending so much on me."
"Psh, don't worry about that. Lilly's a cosmetologist making a ton of money and Alex is in the music business."
"Oh what's he do?"
"He directs music videos. He's pretty good too."
"That sounds like fun."
"So how old are you, Lia?"
"I'm sixteen and you?"
"I'm seventeen turning eighteen in two months. When do you turn seventeen?"
"10 months." He nodded without another word. There was a long silence after that. Finally Lilly and Koryn came back with the food and drinks. She passed out the food and beverages handing me a coke and a few pieces of sesame chicken. I ate slowly and drank consistantly after every bite. I hadn't had a sugared drink in years and I had forgotten how much I loved soda. Surprisingly I kept the five pieces of chicken down and everyone smiled at me. (It's going to go straight to your thighs) I thought to myself. After lunch we drove home. On the way Lilly handed me a brand new cell phone telling me it was mine.
"I'm sure there are friends you miss or will miss. And if there's ever an emergency my number along with Alex, Koryn, and Destery's is in there." I thanked her not telling them I didn't have friends. I closed myself off from people at school. Old friends became strangers, some even hated me now. And who could blame them? I was a waste of space.

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Alex was still at work by the time we'd returned home. Destery and Koryn helped me carry my bags of unncessessaries to my room. There was only a small dresser in the room with about 3 drawers. We put the jeans into the middle one, the undergarments in the top, and pajamas in the bottom. We hung up my new shirts in the closet. The shoes were placed nicely on the floor in the closet. The jewelry we placed on the dresser until I got a jewelry box. Lilly told the boys to go play video games or something while she talked to me. We sat on my bed and she thought for a minute. "Do you like it here?" It was my turn to think. It was different from home. Home had loud noises, fear, slurred words. Here it was quiet, nice. Simple. I could cry and instead of being hit I was hugged. I wasn't told I was worthless or ugly. Or fat. I nodded. "Do you want to stay?" The question everyone seemed to be dying to know. I sighed.
"I want a fresh start. Far away. I want to support myself. I want to stay until I'm capable of taking care of myself." She looked sad with my words. But I wanted to be honest. Someone once told me "in order to get to where you want to be, you have to make it happen. People can help you here and there along the way, but you have to be the one in the end. So get your education, get a job, make something of yourself, don't focus on love until after all of that." She was a wise woman.
"What happened?"
"A lot. My father drinks. He changed years ago but so did I. I began using drugs. I'm done with them now though." I confessed.
"What does he do to you?"
This was it. The first person I'd tell here. But I wouldn't tell her the whole truth. "He beats me. He verbally and physically abuses me. But it's okay. I won. I survived it." And in reality, I had won. I was still here. I always would be.