The Loner and the Prep (bxb)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Watson P.O.V

Getting away from my father and his abusive nature was going to be a difficult challenge, but nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Why would that be any different? Instead of preparing for a get-away moment like I should have been for years now, I have nothing. I've never once thought that I would be able to get away from my father before I was eighteen. But luckily for me, obtaining evidence of my father's abusiveness wouldn't be that difficult. With how often my father explodes in fits of rage, getting a single moment for proof would take no time. Still, up to now, I've never even thought about actually trying to stop my father's abusiveness.

Even with the new determination to finally take control of the abusive, the old fears still lurked deep down. When the moment comes, I can only hope that I don't just tense up and allow this vicious cycle to continue. Years of abuse have made me a fearful person, and I would probably feel the abuse's effects for the rest of my life. I would probably always be the type of person to flinch when people scream or tense at raised palms. Years of abuse weighs on you over time.

I would definitely be thanking Evelyn the next time I see her. Not only did she stand up for me when no one else would, but she might be the reason I work up the nerve to finally stand up against my father and end his abusiveness once and for all. Since Evelyn's appearance in my life, things have only seemed to change for the better. More than she would ever know.

After we got home, I immediately went to my room; the reminder of what my father had said was fresh on my mind. Nothing good would come from me angering my father more. I spent most of the time in my room planning. But everything that came to mind seemed to end badly.

It didn't help that new problems started to arise the next day after I woke up. I wasn't sure how serious my father was with the whole 'don't leave your room' thing. He couldn't possibly mean that I wasn't allowed to leave even for school. A week ago, I might have been okay with staying home, but now my bully was gone. The reason I had been avoiding school isn't there anymore. School is starting to look a bit safer than home.

If it came to it, sneaking out of the house wouldn't be a problem. After having to sneak past my drunken father multiple times, I've learned to master the art. What I haven't mastered is the sneaking back in part, but I could worry about that later.

I snuck out of the house minutes before dad would have usually woken up. I didn't want him to hear my leave, as it would only end badly for me. It was weird leaving the house this early, the sun was barely up, and the morning dew still covered the grass.

The chilly walk gave me time to think. My father has been getting away with child-abuse for entirely too long. I used to tell myself that I could wait until I was eighteen, but the longer that the abuse went on, the more that seemed impossible. What I had to figure out was how I was going to get rid of him. For a moment, I thought about asking Evelyn what she thought I should do, but I could only see that going wrong. I didn't want to involve her in the mess of my home situation. She's already helped me enough by getting rid of my bully.

But I definitely needed some kind of help. Who do you even go to report this kind of stuff? Are you supposed to go straight to the police, or is there somewhere else? I don't know, but I would definitely be finding out.

I didn't want to involve Evelyn, but there was another Andrews that I could go to with my questions.

I usually wouldn't have approached Elijah during school, not only because he was apart of the popular crowd but because there was once a time when Elijah didn't even know I existed. But I had always known he existed. An unrequited crush that would never be explored had once made me feel like we were on entirely different social levels. For the longest time, I believed that a guy like Elijah wouldn't ever want to date a guy, especially a guy like me. Although, that mentality hasn't really changed. I pushed those feelings away; having them would only hurt me. I would never confess my feelings anyway, so, in a way, they didn't matter. What was likely going to happen is we graduate and never see each other again, and I would never think about him ever again. It's kind of a sad thought, but it would probably become the reality of my high school crush.

It took me forever to find Elijah. I had been hoping he'd arrive before class so we could talk privately. I didn't need the whole school overhearing about my abusive-father. It was bad enough that the entire school knew I had been bullied and allowed it to happen; I didn't want to know how they'd react to my abuse.

That's why, at the last second, I contemplated whether telling Elijah was a good idea or not. I didn't want to doubt that he'd be able to keep it to himself, but I did. There are so many people he could tell. I shouldn't be thinking of him like that, but it was hard not too when this was my greatest kept secret. The one thing no one else knew, and I was on the brink of not only telling someone but moving to stop the abuse altogether. The thought of it was kind of overwhelming.

But it was more overwhelming to think that if I decided to do nothing, the abuse would only continue and worsen, and people would start to notice. I didn't want people to know; I just wanted it to go away.

I didn't get a moment alone with Elijah until after school. I had to hunt him down to catch up to him in the thinning halls. Luckily none of his buddies were hanging around him to witness me attempting to get Elijah's attention.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" I hated how soft my voice was when I asked. Elijah stopped mid-step turning to look at me before glancing back towards the door.

"Is it important? Because my ride is kind of waiting for me," I was taken aback. He was the only person I considered relying on with this, and he didn't seem that interested to even stop and hear me out. Wasn't that a telling sign that he wouldn't care? A sudden flare of anger filled me.

"Well, I just wanted to ask you something, but if you're too busy, that's fine," I was about to walk away, let my submissiveness kick in, when Elijah stopped me.

"No, I'll listen," Maybe he saw he saw the dejected look that had popped onto my face when he basically said he was too busy. If he couldn't help me, then who else could I go to? There would be no one because I was not bringing Evelyn into this.

"Okay, um," I glanced around the hallway, glad that no one else was around. Everyone else had already left the school. "Do you know who you go to report abuse?"