It was my first day back. All eyes were on me. I mean all eyes. I had been gone for
about three weeks, and they had all noticed. I walked to homeroom with my head
down, not wanting to be seen. I knew I had marks on my face, and they all just HAD
to know.
"Kersey? Hey! Welcome back!" said the cheery, Pippy-Longstocking voice
of Eliza, a girl I used to be friends with.
"Yes, Eliza, I'm back." I said sarcastically, really wishing she would leave me
alone for once. I looked up at her. She was so beautiful. A small petite frame of
about 105 pounds, she was so pretty. My 125-pound body looked like one huge ball
of fat.
"Wanna walk to class with me, Kersey?" Eliza asked, again in the Pippy
Longstocking voice.
"Sure." I said. I was famous for my one-word answers.
"Where were you, Kersey? We were all worried about you. Were you in the
hospital?" she asked, touching my shoulder. I shook her arm off me.
"Yeah." I lied. She didn't need to know, she would only make it worse.
It seemed like forever, but we finally reached my homeroom and Eliza went
further down the hall. Mrs. Finnigan, my homeroom teacher, pulled me outside the
classroom once class started.
"Kersey, I was just wondering how you are feeling, we got word that you were
in the hospital.” she said, reaching for my shoulder. What was it with people and
trying to make me feel better by touching me?
I again backed off. "I'm fine. Okay? I don't want to talk about it." I said walking
back inside.
"What did Fin want?" Olivia asked as I sat back down.
"She was being a pest. Wanted to know what happened. Please promise
me you won't tell." I said looking at her. Again, she was one of the people I admired.
She was a slim 95 pounds, and she looked gorgeous. I knew how she got that
small. She was anorexic. She didn't admit it, but I knew it. She still wasn't happy with
her body, and was still trying to lose weight. I still thought she was beautiful.
"I won't speak a word, Kerns. You can trust me." She said, smiling her
beautiful smile. For the first time in three weeks, I smiled back.
Homeroom ended, and Olivia and I walked to Chemistry. By the time we got
there, class had almost started. Olivia grabbed a seat next to me and class started. I
wasn't in the mood for paying attention so I glanced at everyone around the room.
There was Jeremy, a friend of mine. He sent me a wink, while trying not to be
caught. I winked back, to let him know I saw him.
Then I saw Alexis, another skinny friend of mine. She was a mere 100
pounds, and so pretty. She smiled to me, and I waved a tiny wave back. Next to her
was James, her boyfriend she's had for two years. Two years is a long time.
Compared to Chad and I, two weeks was too long.
It was a long story. Chad and I thought we were the perfect couple; no one
could tear us apart. He was serious in this relationship; I wasn't serious enough,
apparently. He was pressuring me to do things I didn't want to do. He even told me
he would kill me once because I refused for almost the 10th time to go to all the way.
The threats just escalated. He hit me a few times, and gave me a black eye. I
told my parents I got in a fight at school. I hated them anyway, I didn't want them
prying into my business.
Chad and I went to a party and he ended putting a date rape drug into my
soda. I never drank, so I knew it tasted funny before the effects came along. That
was the night he raped me.
I went to school the following day, not talking to anyone except Olivia. I was
kind of fuzzy on what happened, but I knew whatever he did wasn't good. At the end
of the day, I walked to Olivia's house with her. I sat in the kitchen and told her what
happened. By the end I had cried a few times, and I made her swear not to tell. She
did force me to go to a doctor though. The doctor then recommended me to a
rehabilitation center for girls who have been raped. I was forced to go, whether I
liked it or not.
I went and I hated it. I couldn't stand all the preppy girls that were there. I
began to cut myself, on my arms, my legs, my stomach, anywhere where it could
easily be covered. They soon found out, as they always do, and they moved me to a
secure facility, with cameras in every room, and about every 20 feet down the
hallway. That's where I met April, a girl the same age, who had the exact same
problems. She was the one who made me decide to stop cutting. April and I quit
together and got released together. She went back to school out in California and I
got stuck back here in Washington. I never got a hold of her again.
Now, Chad got charged, but he got released from prison. Having sexual
assault on his record means nothing to him. He still won't leave me alone.
I came home that day and noticed no one was home. I snuck into my mom's
desk and stole her scissors. I grabbed my backpack and went up to my room. I
tossed my bag on the bed and looked at the scissors and smiled. I sat at my desk
and rolled up my sleeve. I looked at the untouched scars that ran across my arm. I
rubbed my fingers against them, making them sting a little with pain.
I opened the scissors and held them close to my wrists. I heard a car door. I
dropped the scissors and hid them underneath my bed. If my parents knew I had the
scissors in my room they would send me back to the stupid mental hospital.
I shoved them farther underneath my bed and took out my homework. I had to
make it look like nothing had happened. My mom came upstairs.
"Kersey? Have you seen my scissors? I had them in my desk this morning..."
She said, her voice trailing off as she glanced around the room.
"I think Adam took them. Go ask him." I said, casually going back to doing
my homework. She looked at me carefully and went over to Adam's room. I took a
deep breath. I closed my book and listened until I heard my mom's footsteps down
the stairs.
I pulled out the scissors and touched the cold metal to my skin. I remembered
the sensation of the first time I cut. It was so painful, but it was like heaven. I was
anxious. I carefully slid the blade across my skin and watched the red appear from
nowhere. It slowly trailed a path down my wrist and onto the desk. I was unaware of
the pool of blood until I started feeling dizzy. I looked down and tried to find
something to wipe it up with. I quick grabbed some Kleenex I had lying around. I
threw them in the trash quickly making up the excuse that I had a bloody nose if
anyone asked.
I walked downstairs, trying to get the dizziness to wear off. It was dinnertime,
and my mom came up to me, telling me she was just going to call me down. I sat
down in my spot and looked at the food. Spaghetti. The red sauce made me really
queasy.
"Mom? I need to use the bathroom." I said as I got up. I rested my hands on
the cold porcelain of the sink in the bathroom and closed my eyes. It had been so
long since the last time I cut and it was really making me feel sick. I splashed some
cold water on my face and dried my face off on a towel.
I slowly walked back to the kitchen and sat back down. I didn't eat any of my
spaghetti, I just told my mom I didn't feel good, and I went back upstairs. I sat on my
bed and tried doing my homework. I had a really bad headache so I tossed my
books on the floor and took a nap.
I woke up again and it was almost 9:30. I looked at the sleeve of my hoodie.
There was a small bloodstain but luckily it had stopped bleeding. I looked at the
blood-covered scissors. They were practically walking towards me. I grabbed them
again and reopened my wound, feeling the pain surging through my body again. I
enjoyed this pain. I really did. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, there were
tears on my cheeks.
The next morning I came to school happier than ever. I had regained my
cutting addiction and it made me feel better about myself. I had again this morning,
and I could still feel a small twinge of pain every time I moved my wrist. Olivia
noticed my sudden increase in joyfulness. I also noticed she looked pale and about
ready to pass out.
"Olivia, meet me outside during lunch okay? Under the elm tree." I said,
hurrying to class.
Lunch seemed to come really slowly, but when it did come, I raced
downstairs to the lunchroom. Olivia was waiting for me, pretending to be eating a
hot pretzel. I pulled her by her arm and brought her closer to me.
"Olivia, talk to me. Now." I said angrily. Now I was more than angry. Her
anorexia needed to stop now.
"What?? What's going on?" she asked, putting the uneaten pretzel back on
her tray.
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