Open Wounds

1

The cold breeze coming from the lake over the railing was making my legs form goosebumps. The sounds of music blaring as I pass by restaurants and bars was making my head hurt. My feet were killing me. My skin tight dress smelled like alcohol. I wanted to rip it off my body.
My mom forced me to wear a dress so we could go out and eat like a "normal family" because that's what we aren't. Normal. It's been like that since my father left the house 10 years and my mother married my step-dad. He got her addicted to alcohol.

     Walking down the dark sidewalk of the city this late at night was dangerous for a girl my age. Especially walking passed the bars on main street.
In a dress.
     I kept my eyes on the ground, watching each crack pass me. I stepped on every single one of them. As I kept my head low, a waft of alcohol stung my nose and it wasn't coming from my dress. A pair of shoes entered my eyesight. I stopped, trailing my chocolate eyes up, following the shoe to the persona face. I stared at them. It was a man who looked middle aged. He was obviously drunk, I could smell it on his breath because he was breathing through his mouth.
     "What?" I barked at him. He flinched a little, surprised I said something.
     "Don't raise your voice at me." He bickered at me, his disgusting breath stinging my eyes. He grabbed me by my hair, clenching it at my scalp. I grabbed his hand with both of mine. I kicked him in his nether region.
     The man clenched onto my hair harder, falling to his knees. He brought me down with him. I fell to my knees, feeling the pebbles digging into my thin skin. Now kicked in my fight or flight. I was going to do both. My instant reaction was to scream and punch.
     I screamed as loud as I could, punching at the guys face as hard as I could until he let me go. I crawled away from him, lifting myself to the ground. My knees were bleeding, but not enough to be worried about.
     "You little slut!" He man yelled with a hint of pain in his voice. That tone paired with that phrase was all too familiar to me.
     "You're dressed like you wanted it!" He continued. I looked down at my dress. The maroon red dress was tight to my body, forming around my curves perfectly. I looked back at the man.
     "And you never asked for my age. I'm 14." I lied to the man. I'm actually 17, but I could pass off as 14 because i'm relatively on the short side.
    I quickly walked passed the man and continued to my original destination.
    "Where am I going?" "What are my plans?" "What am I doing out so late?" These thoughts kept going through my head. My brain was throbbing against my skull. My feet were killing me. I needed to sit down.
     I stopped walking, looking around for a bench to sit down on. I spotted a convenience store with outside seating ahead of me. I quickly made my way towards it. That was probably the safest place to be at right now.
     I took a seat at a table. My feet instantly started throbbing. I sat my cellphone on the table, turning it on to see what the time was. 11pm on a Friday night. I noticed my mother had been spamming me with texts and calls. I opened my phone, went to my call logs and blocked her number.
     "Are you alright?" A voice startled me. I instantly looked up, seeing that it was the convenience store worker. He has bleached blonde hair that contrasted with his dark eyes. I noticed his round, baby-like face, was a very prominent feature. This was paired with a button nose and thick lips. I noticed he had a small mole on his chin. My gaze went immediately towards his hands, making sure he didn't have a weapon. As I stared, I noticed how strong he was. His arms were nearly popping out of his uniform.
     I started stuttering on my words, trying to figure out what to say. "Uh- y-yeah. I'm heading to a friends house." I spoke bluntly. The worker stared at me, looking me up and down, analyzing me.
     "Do you want something to drink? A hot chocolate?" He asked me. I didn't know what to say. It was very cold out here.
     I nodded. He gave me a smile, quickly going back into thr store to get me a hot chocolate. I looked down at my phone, realizing I got a text from a friend. It read, "Are you ok? Your mom is texting me. She's freaking out. Come over please." I stared at the message, debating responding.
     "Here you go." I heard the boys voice again. I looked up. He was holding out the cup of hot chocolate to me. I smiled, taking the cup from him.
      "How much do-" I started to speak as I stood up.
     "-it's fine. You don't need to pay. It looks like you've been through a lot tonight." He assured me. I grinned, thanking him.
     "Please be safe, it's too late to be out. Especially on a Friday night." He told me. I nodded, "I will. Thank you again!" I spoke as I headed off down the sidewalk. I sipped on the hot chocolate, deciding to go to my friends house. He didn't live that far, after all.