Clairemont High is Full of Lies

Chapter 7

*Trigger Warning*

Vic's POV

Fake. Her smile was she fake and she and I both knew it. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. Her hair was matted with the blood they didn't clean off and her makeup was smeared. Her wrists were wrapped with gauze and her skin was covered in bruises, scratches, and cuts. I walked over to her and opened my arms for a huge. She grabbed me, pulling me towards her, as she started sobbing into my shirt. I wrapped my arms around her repeatedly telling her it was okay. Eventually she pulled away and wiped the remaining tears away.

"This needs to stop," I said motioning to her arms.

"Only if you stop," she replied. My eyes grew wide. How did she know?

"H-how did you know?"

"I can see it in your eyes, some days they just look vacant, like no one is home. Even when it's incredibly hot you wear long sleeves or a sweatshirt." I was speechless.

"Every cut you make, I make. You stop, I stop and vice versa," she said, sticking out her pinky finger. I wrapped mine around her's and sealed the deal.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"You can tell me anything Leo," I said, moving next to her.

"It was my mom's boyfriend," she said. Her mom's boyfriend...

"He's the one that hit you?"

"y- yes." Someone knocked on the door and a nurse came in.

"Visiting hours are ending," she said with a small smile. I nodded my head and turned back to Leo. I gave her a big hug and kissed her forehead.

"It'll be okay," I whispered, before walking out of her room.

Once I got back home the guys asked me a few questions which I easily dodged. We played video games before we all decided to crash.

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The guys keep asking me about last night so I decided I should tell them.

"Was Leo even home?" Jaime asked.

"I'm going to tell you what happened last night, but I need you to let me tell the whole story, okay?" They all nodded their heads.

"Last night I went over to Leo's, It didn't look like anyone was home, but the front door was unlocked. All the lights were off and the house was silent. I was looking for her when I heard music coming from one of the rooms. I opened the door and... Leo... Leo had slit her wrists. She barely had a pulse so I called 911. They took her to the hospital and were able to save her life. That's where she is." The guys had shocked looks on their faces. Tony was the first to move. He quickly jumped up and started putting his shoes on.

"Are you coming or not?" He asked before slipping his jacket on. Everyone quickly got ready and we made our way to the hospital. I showed them to her room and we all stopped outside. It seemed as though we took one last simultaneous breath before Mike opened the door. Her head snapped up and her eyes filled with dread and fear. She quickly looked away as we all stepped into the small, plain, hospital room. For a few moments no one did anything. Tony, being the first to move again, walked to her bed and engulfed her in a hug. She held him close as her tears quickly stained his shirt. Everyone saw them, but no one said anything. The small, angry, red lines. She knew we had seen them and she made no move to cover them. For a moment no one said anything before her quiet, small voice broke through the silence.

"I'm sorry," her voice barely above a whisper.

"Leo, you shouldn't be sorry, but you know you can talk to us if you need," Jaime said, sitting next to her. Mike and I pulled chairs closer to her bed.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Tony asked, his voice barely above a whisper. She nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"Wherever you want," I said.

"I guess it would make sense if I go back nine years, I was nine. I had spent the day at my friend's house for her birthday. It was really late on a Friday night, I remember it was storming really bad. My dad and sister never made it to the house. They were hit by a drunk driver and neither of them survived. After that night my mom always blamed me for their death. She started drinking to numb the pain and I started to blame myself as well.

"Fast forward a few years to my 8th grade year. My mom had moved on and had started dating again, I however never really moved on. I pulled away from people and kept to myself. I started my freshman year okay, but people quickly decided they didn't like me and I became a target. By the end of the year I was practically flunking out. Mom had met a guy, Josh, and they started dating. Over the Summer, Josh practically moved in. At first he would only hit me when my mom wasn't around, but eventually he stopped caring if she saw. My Sophomore year I stopped caring, I minded my own business and just took the abuse." I trailed off, staring at my hands. "Then I met you guys, and after a long time in my life, I found people who were like me, who were into the same stuff. For eight hours a day I was able to go school and feel happy, if only for those eight hours. I couldn't stop the pain I was feeling, but I could put it on pause, and that was enough. Last night was the breaking point. My mom, my own mother, turned on me. She hit me..." I couldn't think of anything to say.

Music:
The Student by: Shane Koyczan