Beyond Forbidden- Michael Clifford

1. Amara

Amara pov 

I was sitting at the kitchen table with my brother, Ashton. He was finishing up his breakfast while I was scribbling some nonsense on my math homework-- math was never my strong suit. One thing about Ashton is that he would always make sure that I was taken care of while our mum was working. 

Our mum works a lot. She's a single mother, with two teenagers to support, she is doing the absolute best she can, so Ashton steps up as much as he can, and I appreciate him so much for that. 

"okay," Ashton said as the dishes started to collapse in the sink. A tower had started to form in the sink, so I'd have to help Ashton out with the dishes after school. "you ready?" he asked, swinging his backpack over his left shoulder, followed up but a small 'thud' as it his his back. I nodded, beginning to stand up and scrambling to pack up my unfinished homework. I shoved my notebook in my backpack, crinkling some of the papers that had been sticking out, it would have to do. 

Soon enough, we were out the door and were making our way to the car. "We're picking up the guys on the way, by the way" 

'The guys' were our friends, Michael, Luke, and Calum. Ashton and I shared the same friends but sometimes I felt a little bit left out. We'd all been friends since we were little kids, but I've always been a grade below them, since I had a late birthday. I was among the oldest in my grade and missed the cut off just by a few days. Even though this was the case, I always felt as though the babied me. Ashton says they are just protective of me, but it doesn't always feel that way. 

We arrived at Calum's house first, since he'd lived the closest to us. In fact, he lived on the same street as us. "Why don't you get in the back?" Ashton said to me as Calum was approaching the car. I rolled my eyes but I got out and moved anyway. I sat in the middle seat because I knew Michael and Luke would have a fit about it. 

"Hey kid" Calum said to me, looking back at me from what was once my seat. 

"Hey," I said, beginning to put one of my earbuds in. 

Next we picked up Luke and Michael, this wasn't difficult at all due to the fact that they were next door neighbors. However, this was a rare occurrence, as Michael usually drives him and Luke to school.  

"Hey man, thanks for coming to get us, my car wouldn't start this morning." Michael said. He drove a 1984 Camaro so this wasn't uncommon. Ashton nodded in acknowledgment, focusing on the road. 

As we approached the school my stomach began feeling ill. This happened every single morning. Every morning when I wake up I feel fine and everything but when reality hits me, my anxiety gets the best of me. Sometimes it's so bad that the first thing I do when we enter the building is run to the bathroom and throw up. 

My anxiety never used to be quite this bad until my ex boyfriend started going to school here. I always made it a point to never date anybody that I went to school with, so that I could keep my school life and my dating life separate. It's just what worked for me. But after me and this guy, Ethan broke up, he decided to move schools. How convenient. Since then he has made it a goal to make my life a living hell. And somehow, of course, he just so happened to end up in every single one of my classes, has made it a point to pick the desk right next to mine in said classes, he leaves notes in my locker, creepy ones at that, and so many more things that I can't even get into. 

"you okay?" I heard come from Ashton. I looked up to see him looking at me through the rear view mirror as we turning into the school parking lot. I nodded, trying not to make eye contact for any longer than I had to. "I know you always tell me it's not that big of a deal, but you need to tell me if Ethan tries anything today because we've seen what he can do and god only knows if he can do worse." he said. Ashton is very worried for me because of some of the things that Ethan had done while we were dating. I can't lie, this is always a concern of mine too, but I do my best to not think about it.