My Superman | Eminem Fanfic

Chapter 7

Feeling disorientated and foggy, I jogged down to the front of the building and after looking behind me to make sure Dan wasn't following, I tried to realize where I was. I was panicked and unfamiliar with the street names and now wishing I hadn't been staring down on the drive up here. I closed my eyes tight, feeling flustered as more tears started brimming at my eyes. I took a lucky guess and decided to jog to the right.

After running for a while I became tired so I slowed down and caught my breath, confident that he was far gone now. The punch he striked me with left pain shooting through my eye with an aching feeling all over my head.

I considered calling the police but I had one to many bad experiences with police so I couldn't bring myself to doing so. If mom were to find out I rat out her boyfriend... I cringed, imagining how furious she would be.

I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling colder than any winter I've ever experienced.

-

Laying down facing my window, I stared at the tree which stood peacefully, it's vibrant coloured leaves slightly shuddering as the wind blew. I felt exhausted but my mind was rushing a hundred miles per hour so I couldn't drift off. My phone was in its usual place; on my bedside table and I so badly wanted to pick it up and ring Marshall. I craved his voice.

I heard footsteps reaching my room. Dan thankfully never ended up coming over so I felt relieved knowing it was just my mom.

"Peyton?"

I turned to my other side, my mom was leaning on the wall, her arms hugging herself loosely.

"Hi mom," I said in a voice raspier than expected.

She came up to my bed and sat on the edge. Her face slackened and her brows pulled down.

"What happened to your eye?"

I felt myself tensing up. I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to spill my emotions until I ran empty. I wanted to expose Dan and curse his name. I wanted to tell her how I was doing in school and about Marshall. I wanted to tell her how beautiful the fall leaves were and how it reminded me of when I was younger and she would rake a big pile for me to jump in. But I couldn't do any of that. Because if I did, this content and comforting moment would disappear. So since I couldn't say what I wanted to say, my eyes did the talking and I erupted into tears.

My mom's eyes darted around in confusion. "What's going on?"

I shook my head and swallowed my tears. "Nothing," I croaked then clearing my throat. "I just-baseball in gym today. The ball hit my eye."

She didn't look very convinced. "Why are you crying then?"

"I'm just emotional because I'm tired. You know how I get," I told her, pressing my lips together. "And it, ya know...hurts," I said through teary laughs.

She nodded sympathetically and reached a hand out to my head, stroking my hair.

"I just wanted to say...I'm sorry for the way I act sometimes," she said as tears welled up in her eyes. She took her hand back and used her sleeve to wipe her nose. "I have to get help," she says, clutching her chest and shaking her head, looking immensely disappointed in herself. "I gotta get clean and get a better place and get a regular job-" My mom swung her arms around in a hug and she sobbed into my shoulder.

I was never good with situations like this so I stared blankly to the wall, of course hugging her back.

"It's gonna be okay," I whispered.

She quickly ungrasped me and looked at me shaking her head repetitively. "No, it's not, Peyton. You don't understand."

I winced, feeling at a loss of words.