The Hurt You Sold

.:.11 years ago.:.

No one wanted to go back to school today. They were hoping a blizzard would just hit already and close school down for at least a week. Christmas had come and gone and it was the start of 2006. Lyla wore her disgust for going back to school today. Dressing in sweats and a messy bun on top of her head she was as ready as anyone who hated school could be. She was the last one to meet up with the guys at their usual stop sign.

Gerard tried to mock her expression as soon as she reached the group. "Well hello to you too."

"I am just so over today. I couldn't get any sleep last night and I just don't even want to go into that place." Lyla rolled her eyes.

"Well neither do I so lets go." Mikey huffed nudging her with his book bag.

"You look beautiful." Frank complimented kissing her hand as he hooked it with his.

"Thank you." She half smiled.

They walked to school as if they were off to battle. Their faces were sunken with no emotion at all, people stared at them as they passed by like they were dead. Lyla walked up ahead to go to her locker, wide eyed as she came into view of her vandalized locker. "Bitch" "Cunt" and "Whore" were angrily scribbled in red all over her locker.

"Tony." Mikey sighed reading the foul words strewn across the locker.

"Seriously!?" Lyla shouted punching her locker and scanning the hallway looking for anyone to come forward.

Tony and his friends along with some barbie dolls were down the hall aways laughing at Lyla's reaction to her locker.

"Lyla don't." Frank said to late in grabbing her arm as she made her way over to Tony.

"You son of a bitch!" Lyla screamed punching Tony as hard as she could in the face. He took a few steps back before his eyes filled with rage glaring at her. "Leave me the fuck alone! I don't fucking want you! You're nothing! Nothing! Grow the fuck up!" Lyla continued screaming, throwing fists at his chest.

"Lyla stop!" Frank ordered, rushing over and pulling her away from him.

"Keep your bitch on a leash, Iero." Tony laughed walking away.

"Lyla, ignore them. This is what he wants. He wanted to see you overreact and get upset. That's how he knows he's getting to you." Frank tried calming her down.

"Frank I can't get him out of my head! Every time I close my eyes, he's there laughing or just there to terrorize me. I just know he's going to do something to me! And no one can help me."

"Lyla, we're not going to let him do anything to you." Gerard added giving her a reassuring smile.

"You guys can't be with me all the time. I just want to die." She sighed before walking off to her first class.

Lyla was right, there wasn't anything the boys could do. Tony was like the town prodigy supposedly getting into a really great school on an academic scholarship. Which that's what he was telling everyone but nothing was announced yet. Tony could get away with murder just as long as he was able to get out of this town and represent this place as a celebrity.

In today's art class they were supposed to draw self portraits of how they see themselves as a person. Lyla never spoke she went right for her black oil pastel crayon and began slashing away at the canvas. So much emotion and energy went into this drawing. Mrs. McGinnis noticed Lyla's vigorous drawing and quietly made her way over since no one else noticed her uneasiness.

"Lyla." She whispered placing a hand on her shoulder. Lyla jumped back into reality at her light touch. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"Lyla, don't get me wrong this is a very good drawing but I'm concerned."

"Why?"

"Because the assignment was to draw how you see yourself...and this." She trailed off noticing some wandering eyes. "Come with me." She requested grabbing her canvas and Lyla's hand leading her out of the classroom.

"Where are we going?"

"To Mrs. Sawyer."

"Great." Lyla sighed. Mrs. Sawyer was the high school guidance counselor.

"Teresa." Mrs. Sawyer smiled as they entered her office.

"Fran, this is Lyla. Look at what she drew." Mrs. McGinnis requested showing her the canvas.

Mrs. Sawyer glanced over it a few moments, periodically looking back at Lyla. "What was the assignment?" She asked growing concerned.

"Self portrait of how you see yourself."

"Thank you Teresa. I'll take over from here." She smiled waiting for Mrs. McGinnis to leave. "We've never had the pleasure of meeting. Is there anything you want to discuss? Anything that you feel like is weighing down on you that you just want to vent about?"

"Not necessarily." Lyla looked away as she answered and pulled her messenger bag closer to her.

"Your body language indicates you're hiding something. And judging by this picture you drew...well, it appears either something has happened to you or you're terrified of something happening to you."

"It's just a picture." She still avoided eye contact.

"Lyla. Anything you say in here stays in here. I'm not writing anything down, there's no recordings and no cameras in here. Just think of me as a diary that you're talking out loud to."

"Tony." Was all that could escape her lips before tears began to stream down her face.

"Tony, the quarterback?"

"Yes."

"Ok, let's start with that."

"Whats the point? Everyone thinks he's so great. The police won't even help me."

"Lyla, I am an unbiased professional. There is no favoritism in this office. I may not be able to do anything like the law enforcement can, but I can be a lending ear and help you."

"Ok then, well....He has made it very clear to me that he is going to hurt me. There have been a few occasions where he has groped me, forcibly kissed me, and shouted obscenities to me. Today he wrote nasty names on my locker. Although I didn't see him do it but he's the only one in this school I'm having problems with."

"So he's sexually harassing you. This explains the picture." She stated lowly glancing at her painting again. It was a picture of Lyla drawn all in black. She had a masculine hand slapped across her mouth, tears running from her eyes and dark shadows around her body. "Has he threatened to rape you?"

"He may as well have! He's tried attacking me in a closet, he attacked my boyfriend and tried to force me in his truck over Christmas break. I just don't know what to do. My father has been to the police station and they won't do anything until something happens to me. His uncle is the sheriff so go figure." She explained still avoiding eye contact.

"Oh dear."

"Please, I don't want you saying anything to anyone. I don't want you to talk to him and I don't want none of the faculty knowing. I just want to avoid him until he graduates. I can deal with this my own way for 4 more months."

"I would still like for you to talk to me. Come visit me whenever you feel like you need to get more off of your chest."

"Alright, I better get going. I don't want to miss my friends. Thank you."

Lyla gripped her messenger bag closer to her as she hurried down the hallway. The sound of the end of day bell rang through the halls. The once empty hallway she was scurrying down was now filled with loud voices about after school plans. She rolled her eyes as she passed by her vulgar locker.

"Lyla!" Gerard's voice echoed through the crowd. Lyla quickly spun around to find that familiar face, panic set in not being able to find him right away. "Hey." That familiar voice sounded as he grabbed her arm.

"Gerard." She gasped embracing him.

"What's wrong?" He asked rubbing her back, scanning the crowd.

"Nothing, just want to get out of here."

"Alright, come on lets go see if Frank and Mikey made their way outside yet." He insisted grabbing her hand and leading her through the mosh of teens.

"Hey!" Frank greeted as soon as the doors closed behind them. "Are you alright? Where'd you go?" He asked with concerned eyes.

"She took me to the guidance counselor. I guess my picture made her think I was going to kill myself or something." She laughed off.

"Well it was a pretty detailed picture." He added.

"What'd you draw?" Mikey asked.

"Never mind. Let's just go home." Lyla changed the subject before leading the pack down their normal route home.

_________________

Lyla loathed coming to school. It was to the point where she just didn't want to show up anymore. If it wasn't for Frank coming to her window every morning to get her up, she wouldn't. She didn't enlighten her father on what was going on inside of her head. He was having a tough time at his job and didn't want to cause anymore stress over something he couldn't get help for. She just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that at the beginning of the school year everything was great and now it just didn't mean anything to her at all.

But Tony had seemed to back off for a while. Especially since a new girl transferred in from Brooklyn and he sucked his teeth into her. But that didn't ease Lyla's anxiety, she still felt his eyes on her whenever they had to cross paths. She just didn't feel safe anymore. But nonetheless the Valentine's day dance was tonight, and she was actually looking forward to it. Of course she doesn't dance but dances to the four of them mean sitting on the bleachers and making fun of everyone and taking goofy pictures.

"Lyla?" Her father spoke, knocking at her door frame.

"Yes?" She responded spinning around in her chair.

"Hey, I wanted to give you some money so you could get a dress for your dance tonight."

"Dad, you didn't have to do that. Ive got tons of things in the closet I could choose from."

"I know but come on, there aren't to many more occasions left for me to get you dresses. Besides you need to get out of this room. Go call Frank and the rest of your Scooby gang and get a nice dress."

"Ok dad, well I better get going then. Thank you." She smiled embracing her father.

"Just no close touchy feely dancing."

"Dad."

"I'm just saying!" He laughed walking out before he had to think of anything else.

She went to get ready after she sent Frank a text requesting a ride to the mall. She was running out of the house as Frank was getting into his mother's car.

"Please tell me you''re not coming out with hair rollers in your hair." Frank said trying to hold in a laugh.

"What? I need a dress, plus I need my hair curled for tonight so." She responded like it was an obvious thing to have seen.

"Well alrighty then." He chuckled pulling out of the driveway.

She quickly led Frank into Macy's. She hurried over to the juniors department and started slamming dresses back and forth on the racks. She was trying to hurry up and find something, because she did feel ridiculous going out with her head full of curlers.

"What about this?" Frank suggested pushing a vintage styled dress her way. It was all black, it had a razorback detailing with a jewel in the center.

"Hey I like that. Uh that's not my size I need a 7/8." She huffed tossing it back to him searching for her size.

"How about looking at the rack I got this from?" Frank laughed picking up her size.

"Oh hush." She huffed grabbing it from him and rushing to the fitting room.

"Well does it fit?" He called from the entrance way.

"Yes! I'm gonna get it."

"Let me see."

"No, you have to wait until I have it on tonight fool!"

So upon Lyla's request, Frank rushed back home so she could get ready. She went inside and grabbed her make up and went over to Frank's to get help from Linda on getting ready. She got into her dress and Linda right away released her hair from the rollers and teased it a bit. She parted the hair in the front and pinned a poof with bobby pins. She twisted the curls with her fingers to tighten them as she sprayed them with non sticky hair spray. Linda went ahead and did her makeup as she saw fit to go with her dress. Some sparkly pink eyeshadow to bring some color to the all black ensemble she had. Mascara, eyeliner, and some lip gloss and he was ready to go.

"Wow." Frank grinned looking at his love. He himself had on an all black suit with a black and white striped tie.

"She looks beautiful." Linda gushed over how much she looked like her mother.

"Thank you." Lyla blushed walking over to kiss Frank.

"Oh that must be the brothers." Linda smiled at the ring of her doorbell.

"You really look amazing. I'm having a hard time controlling myself right now." Frank whispered in her ear sending goosebumps all down her body.

"Hey guys!" Frank greeted giving a love tap to Lyla's booty.

"Hey! Gosh Frank, can Lyla be my date tonight?" Gerard begged twirling her around to see her whole dress.

"Nope." Frank stuck his tongue out swatting his hand away from his woman.

"Alright children, I need pictures of all of you!" Linda squealed getting her Kodak ready.

"Goodness, we're gonna be blinded after the second picture." Frank huffed.

"Hush." Linda snapped her fingers at him.

They all posed for pictures together and a few of them were just of Frank and Lyla together. They really were the best match for each other. They complimented each other so well and they were just in sync with everything they did together. Linda just could not get over the fact that they had each other. She loved that they were so smitten with each other. Linda drove them all over to the school to drop them off.

"Ok, I'll be back at 11." She waved before leaving.

"Lets ditch and go get pizza." Mikey suggested.

"No indeed! Come on lets get in there and start laughing at people." Lyla objected pulling Frank towards the front door.

"Lets dance." Frank smiled noticing Lyla's smile began to fade looking at the other couples slow dancing. She nodded with a full smile again as they walked to the dance floor. She placed her hand around his neck and laid her head on his chest as they swayed to the music.

"I love you." She exhaled enjoying this very moment. Being close to Frank and taking in his scent, being held in his arms it just all felt so right.

"I love you too." He smiled, loving those words being spoken to him.

After a few dances they did as usual and sat on the bleachers and made fun of everyone trying to dance with no type of rhythm what so ever. They couldn't dance themselves but at least they weren't making a severe fool of themselves. This was the first time in a long time that she actually enjoyed hanging outside of her house. The first time she genuinely laughed from the bottom of her soul at everything funny she saw. She deserved a night like this. Although this happy moment wouldn't last but a few more days.