LITERAL LEGEND 🕷 HEARTREAK HIGH

one, twirty two: screaming from dreaming

harper and amerie went in first. leaving the four boys and mara outside. she sat between ant and spider. ant's hand rested on her knee in an attempt to calm her yet it merely reminded her of how chook touches her knee when talking in that threatening tone. dusty was staring lanky at her. what had he done to her? he sat on the stairs. the spot she wanted. jojo appeared from her office as harper and amerie wandered away.

"miss, i'm not really sure why i am here?" dusty quickly integrated, he hadn't done anything wrong. minus he had. the sexual assault of malakai mitchell.

"yeah, i'm not sixteen, dusty. you've all got detention for the next week." and they started to get up, she was the fastest. wanting to get out and ditch the rest of the day.

"not you mara, i want to talk to you."

"you got this." spider whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple before following dusty to the library. leaving mara stood alone in the corridor with ms obah who was motioning her to come in the room.

"i know you don't want to talk, but i'm getting the suspicion this  is something more serious than it seems." the room seemed to get smaller, the air seemed to get thicker with every word she spoke. don't. and mara shook her head, not daring to speak in case it all came out. she was a glass bottle, the cracks would soon collapse and the truth would come spilling out. but not now, not here. not to one of her favourite teachers.

"marianne?" the women spoke, mara had a distant look about her. she had for some time, like she was floating outside her body watching down.and nobody knew how to help.

"i was pregnant. it could have been spencers, it could have been someone else's. i don't know."

"mara, i want to ask one question.is that okay?"

"that your question?" jojo smiled slightly, so the mara she knew was there.

"were you assaulted?"

"try it, and i'll leave a nasty little cut and that pretty face of yours." he laughed, skimming the blade along her cheek. she was shaking, the blade was cold against her now burning skin. he dipped it down her jaw, hard enough to leave a red scratch but not hard enough to cut her. she had tried to forget this, she tried to forget who she cried. how she begged. how he didn't listen. how he cut her thigh. a scar which still remained. her finger danced over where the cut lay, the painted memory of the cold blade scared in her mind.

jojo never got her verbal answer, but she had been examining mara for a while. it all made sense, the change of personality. the cold cut off. the lack of interest in things she once enjoyed. the flinches. she already had her answer. and mara escaped. her breath hitched in her throat once more as she dashed for an exit. feeling her heartbeat rise in her chest. her iced blood was still cold as she went.

her mum was still out when she got home from school, early then supposed to be. she didn't know how long she laid wallowing in self pity before she fell asleep. until her mum called asking if she could make her tea for when she got in. finally pulling herself from the sheets. her jeans were twistand raise slightly. her top was bunched just below her boobs and her socks were long gone. how fucking long had she been asleep. her skin was clammy as she sprawled on the sheet, clawing her way to the end.

two new messages from darren

dicked down darren:
oi bitch, why didn't you tell me cash
had a fucking duck
a fucking duck

virgin mara:
oh you met darude,
awesome right

dicked down darren:
a fucking bird!

mara couldn't help but laugh a little as she put some bread in the toaster. she was making some kind of toast with chilli oil and pasta. comfort meal. her mum walked in not long after she drained the pasta. commenting on how good it smelt as she pulled a bottle of lemonade from her bag. she had been to the shops. mara didn't say a word, she knew her mother was confused. but she decided not to question. she already knew the answer. something happened at school. hartley high was no man's land for good days at the current moment for the map kids. and her daughter was no exception. so she sat and ate the meal she hoped would make her feel better. but it didn't. she washed and dried the pots before heading for the stairs.

"do you want to watch neighbours with me?" cindy asked her daughter as she dropped onto the black sofa. tv remote in hand, a cup of steam in the other. her slippers where on as was the dressing gown.

"i'm going to head to bed early." mara said before taking the path to the stairs when her mother called out once more.

"are you okay cloud?" the childhood nickname was a bow to the stomach, where had that little girl gone. cloud. the girl with her head in the clouds, the one who was dragged down too quickly.

"i'm okay mum, love you." she quickly replied, practically running up the stairs on all fours. she just wanted to lay in bed. maybe rot away there and die. joking. but she did want a sleepless night. when it first happened she was awoken in cold sweats every night, the ghostly touches of chook lingered. she'd wake up screaming from dreaming. so came the substance abuse. she opened her mother's pill cupboard. the joys of having a diabetic mother, endless amounts of tablets. so she went to bed, head empty. no lingering touches. no disappointed looks. calm.