Then You Look At Me |COMPLETED|

Barricade

~Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk. Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt. Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me. Because of you, I am afraid~ Kelly Clarkson.

Chapter Theme Song: 'Because of You' by Kelly Clarkson.

°°

Rainey

"I know you've figured out by now that I am dealing with some shady stuff," Alaric begins. "It's funny how we share the same enemy; it is truly a small world. Our father used to be friends with Ron and some crazy shit went down and it just got chaotic. Don't worry about him though, we've got your back, okay?"

I smile, nodding my head.

The party has ended and Ansel and his brothers, along with Riley and I are sitting in the living room. I managed to share with them the story of Kendra and it resulted in gazes of fascination and words of admiration from the boys. Their attitude toward the incident was significantly different than that of my mother's. While her whole demeanor blatantly showed her disappointment and disapproval, the brothers look quite thrilled as if I were telling them about an action movie.

When my mom got the call that I split a girl's head open, the words she sent via text on my phone was painful. Far more painful than the punch that man at the club gave me during his attempted assault.

Her words were sharp: like a knife. Piercing through my arteries and leaving me with a wound that may last a lifetime.

Rainey Slate, you are such a disgrace. You make me sick, giving birth to you wasted so much of my time! I could have used those labor minutes to make my life a lot better! You better not come home tonight. I am on my way to the school right now and I hope for the sake of that poor girl you almost killed that you get expelled!

Leonardo da Vinci once said that there are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, and those who do not see. My mother fits into the latter because no matter how much she sees or how much you try to show her, whether directly or indirectly, she will always remain blind to the obvious truth. She will always take the side of the culprit and she will always think the worst of you. The worst of me.

"But I won't lie though, what you did to that girl was pretty solid," Arden says and Aiden nods in agreement.

"Definitely badass, Rain. Damn."

I stare at my fingers. "It's not something to praise guys."

"Are you kidding me? That was straight-up hot." Alex frowns. "It's great that you can defend yourself. Plus, that Kendra girl deserved it; what she did was pretty messed up."

Ansel nods in agreement and Riley shrugs. "I try to tell her."

I sigh. "It doesn't change the fact that people think of me as a monster though."

"You're not." Ansel quickly chimes in, reaching for my hand. "It doesn't matter what other people say about you. Those who matter will not judge you and those who judge you do not matter. I think you have the most beautiful soul. It only matters what we think, right?"

I smile and nod my head.

"He's right. I like you, Rain." Alaric inputs. "You are smart and cool. Far more down-to-earth and loyal than Lea."