Atlas Grove, once a dancer with dreams of dancing under the stars, now lives petrified in the shadows of abuse. To escape her living nightmare she must keep her head down and work hard, being her senior year this is her last chance to get out. Altho...
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"Atlas! Atlas! Atlas!!" Carrie and Vixxie shout at me as I walk into school on Monday morning. Having had the weekend from hell their energetics startle me, to say the least.
I did a double shift on Saturday to make up for the rent I'd had to pay my adoptive parents and then on Sunday I'd forgotten to do the washing up so... I'd upset my dad. With my mom being completely spaced out by midday my dad had more ability to do whatever he wanted, harder hits, harsher kicks.
He tends to be tamer around my mom, she doesn't like it when he's violent though she doesn't stop it.
My body aches with every step, feeling the bruising and lashes scaring over.
"What's up?" I sigh, obviously less enthusiastic than them.
"The lists up! The lists up!" They chant jumping on my arms, I giggle purely for the fact that Carrie already knows whos made the team since it was her decision but she still acts like she's none the wiser.
"Have you looked yet?" I ask Vixxie, she shakes her head, pulling me down the hallway to where the extracurricular board is.
It's surrounded by other girls either bursting with pride of faces full of disappointment. I wait for the crowd to disperse slightly before I move closer to the pinned-up sheet of paper.
I skim the names on the list, my eyes falling down until about halfway... my names up there.
I'm back on a cheer team.
The feeling warms me inside, a smile sneaking onto my lips.
Besides me, I hear Vixxie squealing and I see her name also on the list, right under mine. She wraps her arms around me in a hug and continues shrieking in my ear. It takes me by surprise but I reciprocate the hug.
When she draws back she's still smiling bright, "Thanks Atlas, I wouldn't have had the nerve to try-out without you, I would have been laughed out of there. I know I come off as this edgy, freaky 'I don't give a fuck' kind of person but I do give a fuck and I've always wanted to be considered one of these girls, someone that's part of something." She smiles sincerely.
"Well I should be thanking you, I get to cheer again." And it's brought part of me back to life.
"Well done Grove." A husky voice startles me whilst I'm gazing at the board. I turn to find Blaze stood beside me, clad in his letterman jacket.
"You scared me," I say admiring his still slightly damp hair.
"I tend to have that effect on people." He smiles smugly.
"Yeah. You scare the shit out of me most days." Brady laughs from beside us, "Well done guys, It'll make the games more interesting seeing you three in skimpy little skirts." He winks. I know its completely innocent but I guess Ethan doesn't when he shoves him in the chest making us all chuckle.
