EMBRACE winrina

CHAPTER FIVE

Pushing myself up from the floor that morning, I stared at my reflection in the mirror on my wall and grimaced at my appearance. I didn't get any sleep last night, not that I usually did, but it was particularly awful this time. I stayed awake with my head pressed against the door and my arms wrapped around my knees, just listening. I didn't scare easily, mainly because of what I'd been experiencing since my parents and my little sister passed away, but I was genuinely scared. I was terrified that Leo was going to come storming into my room, regardless of the lock on my door, and produce more bruises on my body than the ones that were already there. He never did, but that didn't stop him from picking a fight with Emma.

I couldn't hear what they were yelling about, because they were arguing with relatively low voices, but I hated every second of it. I didn't know if she was being hit or if the fight was just verbal, but it bothered me just to think about in the next room over. Finally their voices died down and Leo stormed out of the house, and I was left in absolute silence, my insomnia briefly taking over. I could go to sleep most nights, but there had been a few months in my past where I was running on maybe six hours a week, and I was both physically and mentally draining my body of strength.

I took a shower to try and wake myself up, but the lack of sleep I'd been getting for the past week was just now catching up to me. I let my hair fall around me, because I would most likely need it to cover my sleep-deprived face. I threw on jean shorts and a flannel to cover my bruised upper arm and wrists, and I tried to make myself look a little bit more presentable, but as I headed out the door, I knew I still looked like I'd been run over by a train.

I missed the bus and neither of my 'parents' were home, though I wouldn't even consider getting into a car with Leo again if I didn't have to, and so I started walking. For some reason, the sun felt hotter today and I felt overdressed in my long-sleeve, but I knew I couldn't have worn anything else unless I wanted to be seriously questioned.

There was a dark bruise on my left upper arm in the shape of a hand, as well as my left wrist, and I knew that if anyone saw it, it really would not go over well.

I finally made it to the school after twenty-minutes or so, but I still somehow found that I was early. I started toward the front doors, but noticed a familiar woman on the taller side getting out of her car not far from me, her torso framed by a light grey blouse and a black blazer, her bottom half covered by a tight patterned-miniskirt and of course, her black heels. I tried to scurry away but she turned around and her fierce black eyes met mine, nearly causing my to freeze.

"Winter!" she shouted, because she could tell I was dead set on running into the school. I didn't want to talk to her after what she'd seen last night, and I was hoping that she would be naive enough that I could lie my way out of this one too.

Still, I darted toward the school doors, admittedly not such a wise decision on my part because it only made things appear worse, but her long legs caught up to me in no time. She reached forward and grabbed my bruised wrist, which was covered by my flannel, and I tried not to wince as she reeled me back toward her.

"You and I need to talk."

I shook my head, finding it difficult to breathe because there was a really big possibility that she would bring what she saw yesterday to the attention of the principal, and I could not have her doing that. "I have to get to first period, I'm going to be late-"

"I'll write you a god damn pass, Winter, that's not going to get you out of talking to me about last night."

"There's nothing to talk about, I got picked up-"

"You got picked up? Is that what that was? Because Winter, that is definitely not what I saw."
I tightened my grasp on the edges of my long-sleeve, running my hand through my hair and standing back to lean against the car beside me. "I don't know what you think you saw but--"