I Knew You'd Be Trouble...

Joel woke up the next morning, a frown on her face and yet more aches in her bones and skin.
“Jolene… Sweetie it’s time to get up.” Her mom said as she shook her side lightly. “Are you feeling alright darling?” Sarah pushed lightly smoothed her hand over her daughter’s forehead, feeling the heat radiating from the porcelain skin.
“McKenna threw up on me.” Joel croaked, burying her face into the pillow. Sarah frowned and pulled the duvet around her shoulders.
“Alright, I’ll call school and tell them you’re not in, are you going to be okay by yourself? Me and your Dad are going to be at the hospital until around 11.” She asked, stroking the lump of covers covering Joel, who simply grunted in response. “See you later then, sweetie.”

Joel -
I was hung-over. I was sore. I didn’t even want to wake up. I knew who was sending the texts but there really was nothing I could do, any money if I blocked the number she’d get another to send them from. I don’t even understand what I’ve done to deserve this. If anything she should be on the receiving end of the torment for what she and Brian did… I sat up and shrugged the covers from around myself, wincing at the pain that shot through my muscles. Did I really want to get out of bed?
Normally it would be no but today I feel like I have to. My rolling with the punches strategy at life wasn’t working well so far.
- Raped.
- In a house fire.
- Cheated on by my ex-boyfriend.
- Beat up by said ex-boyfriends bird.
Boy I’m being dealt a shitty hand at this game.
*buzz buzz*
Really? It still works? At least one thing's consistent in my life…
Unknown - Good morning fatty, have you had breakfast yet? Don’t, because you don’t need it!
Unknown- Just because you’re not in school doesn’t mean you can escape.
Unknown- We’re not going to stop. Not now, not ever.
I chucked the phone on my bed and trudged into my bathroom with a sigh, turning the taps on in the bath and emptying half the bottle of bubble bath into the thing. 7:45 am I already cannot be bothered with this day. Now I have to battle with these sodding clothes! Who would’ve thought that cotton is such a painful fabric to get out of when you’ve been beaten to a pulp? I sure as hell didn’t. It’s at these times I wish I had superpowers, the main one to disappear but laser vision as well because that shit’s fucking rad. When I’d finally managed to get out of the cotton prison that were my pyjamas, I made sure my Dialysis tube was plugged up and slowly sank into the hot waters and bubbles. I tell you man, it was a weight off, I could literally see my stress float away with the steam.
I closed my eyes and let myself float for a while, until the bubbles disappeared, I sighed and picked up my razor, dipping it in the water and slathering my legs in body wash and swiping the bladed plastic down my skin. I must of gone too fast because a little stream of scarlet flooded down my leg. It felt oddly appealing, and once I got over the sharp pain… Actually quite nice. Really nice actually.
I snapped the razor head and grabbed one of the 3 medium razors hidden inside. The metal had a very appealing glimmer to it, it looked so smooth and to be honest, it looked beautiful. I studied the way the light shined and bounced off of the blade before pressing it down into the skin of my upper arms. The sharp pain I felt after the slice was nothing compared to how much lighter I felt, so I kept on going, varying with different directions, pressures and a bit of light sawing. Before I knew it, my bath water was a pale pink colour and the scarlet blood was beading from my arm. Wow I have gone to town… I laughed as I rubbed away the stream and kept the pressure on. I didn’t realize until I looked into the mirror that I had been crying. I sighed and wrapped a towel around my body and pulled the first aid kit out of the medicine cabinet. I got the steri-wipes and cleaned the 50 or so cuts still bleeding on my arm, and then I stitched up the bigger ones (with a couple of glugs of whiskey)
I slid the bandage around my arm tightly, making sure the pad was firmly down on them.
“And that’s that!” I giggled, mopping up the blood on the floor and glugging down another bit of whiskey. And that is all I remember from that day, apart from Dad checking on me when they got home, but I was too out of it to care.
-
My alarm squealed at me at half 6. I groaned and started to beat my pillow. I took in a sharp breath when I felt my arm burn with something; I rubbed my eyes and slowly walked to the shower. I took off my pyjamas and took a quick one, taking time to make sure my cuts were clean. I did the whole bandage cleaning spiel and got changed. I grabbed my bag and flask, downing half a bottle for a liquid breakfast and walked out the door. It was only a mile or two to school, a bit of walking might do me some good.

Brian’s POV
“But Babe!” Tabby groaned as we pulled onto the main road, she hadn’t stopped complaining about not meeting my parents. There’s no way. I didn’t mean to get with her in the first place; she was just there when Joel couldn’t do anything…
“But, nothing Tabby. Get out I’m need to park.” I sighed, leaning over her and opening the door. She sent me a glare and got out, she tried to dress the way she knew I liked girls to dress but it didn’t work on her. She tried the casual shoes, loose jumpers and bed head but it just didn’t look right, it looked to fake and not natural. Like this girl here on the side walk, light blue jeans, sweater or cardigan, obviously bad hair day disguised with a beanie and some comfy shoes… Wait… Joel? I rolled to a stop and parked my car, I was still a mile from school but I’d walk it easily with her.
“Joel, wait up!” I shouted, she span around at the mention of her name and frowned as soon as her eyes landed on me.
“P-p-piss off Assbutt.” She stuttered walking a bit faster. She was limping. I frowned and walked a bit faster, walking in front of her and stopping.
“Stop calling me assbutt.” I laughed as she tried to get around me.
“No… I-I-I like it!” she giggled, squinting her eyes. “It’s fucking bright today.”
Wait… is she drunk? Oh well. I grabbed her hand and linked our fingers together, I could feel the heat radiating from the big grey cardigan she had obviously thrown on in a rush.
“What are you doing Briiaaannn?” she giggled, squeezing my hand and leaning into my shoulder.
“Looking after my number one girl of course!” Joel just smiled like she used to do and walked with me in a comfortable silence until we reached the school. We strolled to the spot and got a couple of looks from the guys, especially when she curled up in my lap like she used to. I grinned and rubbed my nose against her long neck. She giggled and leant into me. I rubbed up her arms and she winced, fuck.
“Are you okay baby?” I whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She nodded and kissed my cheek lightly.
“Can I bum a smoke?” she said lightly, giving me a pout. I quickly fished the pack from my pocket and handed her one with the lighter. She lit up quickly, moving off of my lap and curling up into a ball.

Narrator POV
“Brian... What the fuck was that thing sat on your lap for?” Tabby squeaked, hand on her cocked hip as she glared at the terrified Joel who looked up from the grass to hear his response.
“She saw a bug and just hopped on...” he said, averting his eyes from the group and the girl by his side.
“What the hell is she even doing here anyway?” Tabby sneered, walking over with her two vulture, barbie clones at her side. “Shoo.” Rebecca hissed, flicking her wrist dismissively. Joel nodded quickly, scrambling to her feet and grabbing her bag before running into the school, through each corridor before she got to her hiding spot, the janitor’s closet she told Brian about her Dad having Cancer. As soon as the door was shut and locked she sank down, tears rolling down her face as her body burned and her head filled with dark thoughts.
“Why me?” she whispered to herself, tucking her legs under her chin as she cried. Her chest heaved up and down with a burning sensation from the short bursts of Oxygen. “Why? ...Why?” The bell sounded loudly, making the small girl jump in surprise and rub the salty tears from underneath her eyes without smudging the carefully applied make up that covered up the bigger bruises on her face. She cast her eyes down to the brown leather satchel at her feet, eyeing up the shimmering metal, twinkling like a diamond in the flourescent lighting of the closet. Her pale, shaking hands fishing out the flask and taking a large swig from the Liquor filled tin. She stumbled to her feet and shouldered her bag, letting the rest of the amber nectar flow down her throat like a stream. A warm buzz passed over her like a wave and staye with her until the end of the day. The last lesson of the day was gym. Jolene couldn’t do it as it was a health and safety hazzard for her to do it incae her dialysis tubing came out. Everyone was getting changed from their kits back into their regular clothes and leaving. Joel was waiting for Val so they could walk home together. She looked around as the locker room emptied quickly, people waving her goodbye for the night.
“Well, Williams, how are you?” Joel’s muscles tensed and soberd up almost instantly as she heard that voice snarl, those words always used before a beating came. She remained silent and kept her head down, knowing any response would get a malicious name calling and an extra barrage of punches. “Come to the bathroom with me?” Tabby said, gripping her wrist tightly and pulling her up with a fierce tug. Joel complied and slowly trudged towards the innevitable pain coming.
“You’re going to regret ever taking me on for my man.” The blonde haired girl growled, grabbing a fistful of her messy dark hair and tugging her down to the ground. Naturally, Joel curled up in a ball shielding her face and stomach, but this time it was different. Becca and Payton grabbed her long limbs and stretched them out. “This one is for taking him away from me in the first place.” Tabby snarled with a bone crushing stomp to her fingers. Joel whimpered, trying to flex her fingers under her combat booted foot. “This one is for looking at him in English yesterday.” she said, swinging her foot into Joel’s ribcage, eliciting a whimpered cry of pain.
“Aren’t you gonna scream like last time? That’s the best part.” Payton laughed, viciously yanking her up to her feet. “I think it’s time for her to get a good look at her disgusting little face in the mirror.” Her long tallon like finger nails dug into the brunettes shoulder as she pushed her out of the locker room and to the bathroom.
“Stand back girls, it’s my turn with the piggy.” Tabby smirked, placing a hand on her minions shoulders.
“Now listen here you home wrecking tramp. You stay away from my boyfriend and his friends. You’re a disgusting piece of shit, I bet your dad is gonna die dissapointed in having a fat, pathetic daughter like you... I mean, drinking booze at school? Even that guitar guy that Brian likes wouldn’t do that, you’re a waste of space, you should have died in that fire. Everybody would be better off. You can’t read, you can only just write... What are you going to contribute to society but then I forget, you’re a retarded little fuck who’ll just suck money from the working people because your mom was too stupid to abort you as soon as she found out she was pregnant!” Tabby smiled evily, never taking her eyes from Joel’s in the mirror. The tears streaked down Joel’s face as the vile words spurted from the blonde’s mouth like lava from a volcano. “Look at all that fat around your cheeks, your nose is huge and I don’t get why you think anybody would find you attractive. Brian tells me everytime we fuck that I’m beatiful. When you were home sick that day, us and the guys all talked about how fat and worthless you are, they only talk to you from pitty and because you gave Kenna a kidney, oh by the way, she hates you, she told me.” Joel looked down to the sink, the tears still falling from her eyes tapping like raindrops agaisnt the porcelaine sink.
“Did I say you could look down?!” Tabby screamed, roughly tugging Joel’s head back by the root of her chocolate tendrils.
“I’m sorry, please... don’t hurt me, I promise I’ll stop hanging around you guys...” Joel whimpered, clutching just underneath Tabby hand to release the pressure.
“I know you will, even if Jimmy talks to you, you ignore him and walk in the opposite direction. Do you understand Piggy?” Tabby said with yet another smirk, the other girls laughed loudy as Joel nodded. Without a second thought Tabby drew Jolene’s head back and smashed it against the shimmering glass, it shattering into a million different pieces, some covered in scarlett rain drops and the rest refflecting purple bruises already appearing on Joel’s face. With another quick kick to the ribs and making sure she was directly in the middles of the pools of glass shards the trio clicked away, cackling as they ran.
Joel’s head swam, she could feel the warm bloody dripping down her face and the cuts on her abdomen making her grey tshirt stick to her body and her light blue jeans staining a rusty brown. She sat up and laughed, ignoring the sharp pain raging like a powerful wave over her body and the needle like spikes impaling into her skin as she hauled herself up and collected her things. The metal flask became glued to her hand as she walked down the already dark streets. She shaked from the intense burn in her muscles as she moved, starting to loose the fight against unconciousness...
“JOLENE!”
Joel fell to floor and curled up into the fetal position, screaming, “Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me.” A pool of blood ws already staining the sidewalk, as were the tears still leaking from her eyes and the booze leaking from the flask.
“Mummy please, help me mum!” she cried, sobs making her body convulse violently as the full force of the pain hick her like a truck. Red and blue lights flashed through the sky, signalling that help was on its way. Before the blackness took her she saw one thing.
...Brown eyes.