No Matter What: A Dan Howell Love Story

Chapter 1: Beneath the Scars

I lifted my head up and looked at the sky. The bright blue was gone and was replaced with dark, grey clouds. It was going to be raining soon. And I needed to be home. I picked my backpack off the ground, hid my skateboard in a narrow corner of the building behind some crates, and walked out of the skate park towards my street. I looked down at my wrist where my old, dingy watch sat. It was 6:oo. Oh no. Tim is going to be so mad. I started to run and finally the rain came down, soaking me from head to toe. As I reached the door, I reached into my backpack and grabbed my key out. As I was placing it into the lock, the door burst open and there stood Tim, my stepdad. 

“Why the fuck are you so late?”

I looked down, searching for the words in my head that might protect me from what he had in store for me. “I…umm I was….”

Anger sparked in his eyes. “You were at that damn skatepark again, weren’t you?”

My eyes widen. “No. No, I..”

He pulls back his hand and slaps me as hard as he could. A sharp pain spreads across my jawbone, leaving tears in my eyes and blood on my bottom lip. 

“I told you not to be going to that goddamn place! What are you trying to be? A thug?!”

I shake my head quickly.

He glares at me, coldness shooting from his eyes. “If I ever find out you were there again, so help me, you will be more than just a slap across the face. Do you hear me?”

I nod.

“I SAID DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU SPEAK WHEN I TALK TO YOU!”

“Yes sir!” I breathe out.

He nods and says, “Now go to your room. I’m already sick of seeing your goddamn face.”

I run upstairs and quickly shut and lock my door behind me. I know all too well what happens when I dont lock it at night. 

I sit down on my bed and grab my ladybug pillow pet.

“Someday, I will escape from this place, Mabel. Someday I will be free.”

Chapter 2: Mom

BEEP, BEEP!

I reach over to my nightstand and fumble around for my alarm clock. I find the button and I click it off. I sigh. Its Monday morning and I have school. You would think that considering my home life, school would be better.

You’re wrong.

If anything, it’s just as bad. Getting slammed into lockers and having food thrown at me in the cafeteria is NOT my idea of fun. And the worst part is, the teachers see it. But they dont care. They say its because we are all different people. That we handle things differently. But when the day comes that they get cornered in the girls bathroom and get kicked around, im just going to treat them the way they treated me. Im just going to watch.

No one ever suspects the bruises on my body anyways. They all think its from where bullies shove me around at school. And they all still think Im a virgin.

Little did they know that was stolen from me a long time ago.

I’m 17 years old. You might be wondering where my mom is since I never talk about her.

She died. It was only about a year ago.

I was coming home from school one day, and I noticed that there werent any fresh baked cookies on the table like there always was. I knew something was wrong.