broken home - j.f✔️

fiftyseven.

"Your nerves are making me nervous, El." Justin groaned, opening the car door for her as she stepped out. Justin drove them both to school, holding her hand whenever possible. His hand was tightly clutching hers, as they walked to her locker.

"Are you ready for the bio exam?" Justin asked. She was arranging the books in her locker, trying to distract herself from the biggest exam of her life. It would determine her future. How fucking crazy is that? A test you take at 17 can determine your whole life.

"Not in the slightest," she huffed, slamming her locker. "But I don't have a choice." Justin took her hand once more and led her down the hall. Every senior had the day off for studying before the exam in the afternoon.

"Angel, relax." He whispered, his hands on her cheeks. She looked up at him in exhaustion. "Remember, you're so fucking smart and you've got this." Justin pressed a kiss to her forehead, smoothing his hands down hair hair and to her shoulders. "We have all day, until lunch has ended, to study." She nodded and smiled back at him. He always had a way to calm her down.

She entered the library with him, sitting at the table alongside Zach, Alex, Charlie, Monty, and Justin. Everyone was busy studying, earphones in, the occasional mumble of words to test each other. Nobody spoke louder than a whisper. At least she'd be able to study quietly.

And just like that, the day went rather fast, faster than Elizabeth wanted it to. It was now lunchtime, you could spot the seniors at their tables furiously flipping flash cards, or highlighting parts of their biology books. Elizabeth could barely eat her lunch, her leg was bouncing, waiting anxiously for the bell. Justin would occasionally kiss her cheek, reminding her there was no reason to stress herself out. The grip of his hands on hers was a stress reliever, if only she could have that during the test.

The bell finally rang, Elizabeth rising to her feet to dispose of the food on her tray. Justin's hand still in hers as the seniors gathered around the hall doors to be taken to their exam.

"You'll be okay, I promise you." Justin whispered. A faculty member had arrived, silently taking them to their desks. She noticed Justin had been seated a few rows ahead of her, she fiddling with the rings on her fingers. The two booklets ahead of her were intimidating. She could hear the invigilators explaining the rules, but she couldn't focus of that or anything. Her nerves were getting the best of her.

They were told to begin, Elizabeth flipping the booklets open and reading the question. And over again, faintly underlining key words to focus on. Her eyes continuously darting to the answer sheet. She'd followed every question the same way, underlining key words and reading it over and over again. Every time she had answered a question easily, she doubted herself. It should be this easy, right? These are finals. But she looked over at Justin, who was rotating his ring and smiling. Seeing that gave her a sense of peace, Justin was equally as nervous.

Ever since Justin began living with Elizabeth, he had a new sense of purpose and worth. He wanted to do well, he wanted to be a good person. It was so easy to fall into bad habits at his old house. Surrounded by bad people makes him a bad person, but Elizabeth was an angel. She'd be studying constantly, caring for others, she'd put everyone else's needs before her own. And she did it so effortlessly, she didn't even need to think how it affected her. Seeing her altruism had affected his life, positively. He found himself actually paying attention to the class work, he'd spend any free time studying. He had a different outlook on life. Everyone who had an Elizabeth in their life should be lucky, and he definitely was.

After the exam, everyone had quietly left the hall and murmurs about how people coped with the test were exchanged. He waited by the doors for her, as he was dismissed earlier than her. And he caught sight of her, tears falling from her eyes as she practically ran from the hall. "El, wait!"

But it was no use. She had left school, not even bothering to go to her locker. As Justin was her ride, he assumed she'd be waiting by the car. So he had collected her things from her locker, as he knew the code from the frequent amount of times she'd struggle to open it, and approached his car. But she wasn't there. He pulled his phone out to call her, it ringing once before going to voicemail.