Drowning

2 - Heather

Warning! Physical abuse! Reader discretion is advised!

"Who is that guy on your Snapchat?!" My body jolts up as my bedroom door slams open busting yet another hole in the plaster. My vision is blurry as I blink away the grogginess. Greg, my mom's slum of a boyfriend, is yelling at her over the phone.

"Aspen! Who is the douche your mom is fucking on the side? I'm the only man in her life!" He shouts at me as his fist flies through the wall right next to the hole the door handle created seconds earlier. That makes hole number twenty-nine in my room thus far. Yes, I keep count.

"Sounds like that's your problem, Greg. Get out of my room. I'm trying to sleep!" I pull the blanket over my head waiting for him to leave my room but he jerks the comforter off of my bed and throws it onto the floor. Before I realize, my feet hits the floor and I'm standing face to - well uh - chest with this man considering his height. My blood is boiling and I swear I can feel steam coming out of my ears.

"I dare you to hit me." Greg hangs up the phone and throws it on the ground. I can tell he's high by the crazy look in his eyes. My eyes shoot over to my fist that I didn't realize I was holding up. I lower my hand to my side and grab the duffel bag next to my dresser, the only other object in this room besides my so-called bed which was just a cot with holes in it due to mice chewing the fabric.

"Where the fuck do you think you are going, Aspen." His teeth grit so hard I feel like they're going to crack out of his head like in the cartoons. I quickly shove my converse, journal with my photos and what little memories I have, a hoodie and a pair of jeans into the bag. I try to rush past him but he grabs my throat and throws me on the floor. I gasp for air.

"I'm - I'm leaving," I manage to choke out. Before I can get up and out of the floor, Greg grabs my waist and throws me against the door frame, cracking the wood beneath me. At least I hope it's the wood cracking. My fingers fumble to keep hold of the duffel as his hand balls into a fist and punches me in the eye. The metallic smell of blood fills my nostrils as tears stream down my face. At this rate, I hope he kills me. I close my eyes waiting for the final blow but it doesn't come. His footsteps sound further and further away as I gather the courage to open my eyes. In his intoxicated stupor, perhaps he thought I was dead? I'm unsure. I just know I have to get the hell out of here. I throw the bag around my shoulder and sprint out the front door, luckily not making contact with Greg again.

My legs are burning and shaking when I finally arrive to a dollar general store not too far from my house. Everything around me seems so fuzzy and my body aches. Before Mrs. Potts died, she gave me some emergency money. Fifty dollars. It's not much but it's what she could afford to give me based on her substitute teacher income, as she was no longer teaching - just filling in occasionally - and from her husbands disability. She still managed to give me more than my mother ever could. My face is wet with droplets of blood from the cut above my eye. I wipe it away with the back of my hand and walk inside, trying to feel more presentable than I actually look.

"Hello, ma'am. May I borrow the phone?" My eyes wide, pleading with the cashier. Her face is contorted and full of shock as she hands me the phone.

"Honey, are you okay?" I nod in a lie as I raise my sleeve and try to make out the smudged numbers on my arm from the girl yesterday. It's a long shot and maybe I'm stupid for trying to call a complete stranger but I don't know what else to do. I dial three different combinations of numbers. I can't tell if this five is supposed to be a two and if the seven is supposed to be a one. God. Please help me.

"Aspen?" A familiar voice sounds behind me. Mr. Potts is dressed in his usual khakis and plaid button up. His eyes are bewildered as he makes eye contact with me. His items fall to the ground. I lay the phone on the counter. "What happened? Who did this?" Mr. Potts says in a stern tone. I can only feel tears coming out of my left eye as my right eye is numb and throbbing from the pain.