Safe And Sound ~Tate Langdon (DISCONTINUED)

0.4

I’d managed to survive a week at school. Luckily for me, mum knew Tate and I were becoming close so, much to dad’s protest, she let him and I hang out with the door closed. She knew I got temperamental when I had to leave the door open. I valued privacy and if it was breached I got violent. 

“This one I did when my dad first left. I was ten I think. This one a year later. New school. Got beat up,” Tate explained as he showed me his scars. 

I rolled up and showed his my most recent cuts, “Monday. Started at a new school. I hate it there. On my first day this girl tried to make me eat my cigarette butt. It was horrible,” I said as he ran the pads of this tub over them. 

“Westfield?” he inquired. 

“Yep,” I said then sighed. 

“The worst. I got thrown out of there,” he explained. 

“It’s killing me, living here. Everyone is so fake, knock off designer bullshit. They’re just trying to impress everyone else who is just as fake. It irks me,” I huffed. “At least we had weather back in Boston,” I said then withdrew my arm, pulling my sleeve back down. 

“I love it when the leaves change,” Tate admitted. 

“Me too,” I said with a small smile. 

“Why did you move here?” he asked after a while. 

“Dad wanted more work, or that’s what he says. I think it’s mainly because he thinks mum was hooking up with some young, hot teacher from my last school,” I shrugged. 

“That’s horrible. If you love someone you should never cheat on them, or leave them. Never,” he said, passion and persistence in his voice. 

“Right? I know. I guess it was just because my dad was always working and stuff so she felt neglected. She did have a miscarriage before she had Alana and she hasn’t been the same since, even after Lana was born,” I said then shrugged again. 

“I’m sorry,” he said then took my hand in his. 

The song from my Cd had stopped playing, “you wanna listen to Arctic Monkeys? Their older stuff is alright but their new album is amazing,” I smiled. 

“I’ve never heard of them,” Tate admitted. 

“I think you’ll love them, “ I said then got up to put the CD on. 

I turned around to see Tate had left the room. I sighed to myself and sat on my bed. 

~~

I walked around the school, cigarette between my lips. I was suddenly pushed from behind. I stumbled and dropped my cigarette. 

“I told you not to smoke out here,” Leah fumed. 

I stood tall, not scared of her, “what is your problem, bitch?” 

“She just call me a bitch?” she asked Abby. 

“Sounded like bitch,” Abby told her. 

“Seriously. Mommy drink too much? Daddy love your brother more? Your uncle play with your titties when you were a kid? I’m not scared of you,” I said, getting in her face. 

“You should be,” she told me, trying to be tough. 

I studied her face and smirked with it twitched slightly. She was scared. I may not be scared but Leah is. I charged at her and tackled her linebacker style. Due to my tackle, she was driven into the concrete. The other students had gathered around us chanting “fight, fight, fight!” as we took swings at each other. I got two punches in before Abby and Becca attacked. Three on one -- not very good odds for me. I tried my hardest but I had the shit beaten out of me.