The Angel's Embrace

6:50AM. The red digits seemed to catch my eye like fire. No way! Why didn't my alarm go off? There is no way in hell I can eat breakfast, get dressed and get ready to leave for the bus in time, in less than ten minutes. F**k.

I wake up my mom in the next room. I would just walk, but it's freezing, and then I'd be late for school. The first words out of her mouth are, "Are you f*****g kidding me?" Great, I should have just walked and had her b***h at me for being late when I got back. Or faked being sick. Anything is better than dealing with my parents.

I walk into my room and get dressed as fast as I can. And then, as if on cue, my mom walks in, eyes blazing. "Well? You woke me up, are you f*****g ready or not?" I look at her incredulously.

"Um... I woke you up because I knew if I walked I'd be late, and there was no way in hell I would have gotten ready in time for the bus, and you bust in here two minutes later asking if I'm ready? I haven't even gotten to eat anything, I woke up a minute before I woke you up. I wanted to give you time to have a coffee or something... so no, I'm not ready yet."

"That's not my problem. Because you're too stupid to set an alarm by yourself, I have to drive your lazy a*s to school. Couldn't you have walked?"

"It's freezing! And last I checked, you didn't like last minute stuff, so again, I woke you up to make this as painless as possible but apparently you don't see it that way. We're wasting even more time fighting..."

As if getting more angry at me for having a solid point, she steps closer to me, gets in my face, and yells, "Then hurry the f**k up! I knew you were slow, but Jesus Christ, Cassie, how hard is it to set an alarm clock?"

"What the hell! I thought I did, okay? Why don't you ever give me a break? I've been really stressed out lately, I didn't know I didn't do it..."

"Yeah, your life is so hard. You can't even pass your classes. Look around. You're spoiled. You have a computer, a stereo, a TV... I don't have to get you any of this stuff ya know! By law, all I have to do is feed you and put a roof over your head. You're a spoiled b***h."

Something explodes inside of me and I burst out saying, "F**k you! You're a terrible mother if you get me stuff just to use it against me later! I didn't ask for any of this stuff! You can't treat me like crap and expect me to appreciate you just because of what I have, that isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair. I wish I never f*****g had kids. Hurry up and get the f**k out of here." She walks out of my room and slams the door, and I'm left feeling angry, depressed, and ashamed of myself. I look in the mirror and I despise the face staring back at me. Pale, glasses, short, fucked-up hair because I lost a lot of it last year due to stress...along with acne, a chubby stomach and now, a tear-stained face.

My stomach grumbles. F**k you, you can go without today. I hate you. Now go to school so you can fall asleep in class because you can't sleep at night, and get bullied by almost everyone there. Even if I decided to eat something, they'd yell at me for eating their food. So f**k it.

I walk into the kitchen to see that my dad is giving me a ride instead. Well, this is going to be awkward. I put my coat and shoes on and get into the car. Tension coats the air. "Do you hate me, too?" I ask him.

"Don't bring me into this, Cassie. You didn't set your alarm last night even though we told you to. You're lucky you're getting a ride at all. Unless you'd rather walk." Well, two for two. This makes me cry more, but as soon as he pulls up to the front of my school, a sudden surge of anger courses through me. Do they think dropping me off here is a favor? They're acting like I killed a guy, and all I needed was a ride to school. A place where I'm even more miserable than at home, which says something.

I don't say goodbye, I just take my backpack, walk out, and slam the door shut. I walk in the school to of course find the entire hallway packed with students. Claustrophobic, I go to prepare myself just as a d****e with a backwards hat and pants sagging bumps into me and laughs about it. "Oops," he says.

I push him into a locker behind him. "F*****g watch where you're going if you know what's good for you, asshat, I'm not kidding." I feel eyes on me as I go to turn away. While bowling through students, I hear, "B***h" and "What's her problem?" I smile. On the outside, I must look vicious. I can tell by the way I'm being looked at. They look like they wanna run and hide into the closest safe room.

I see a blur of one of my friends. "Hey, are-"

"Not now," I growl at them. I'll apologize later. It's for the best, really. I head upstairs and around the corner and Adam Beggs is standing right outside my classroom with two friends standing next to him. He's a Senior. I'm a Freshman. He motions for me to come over. I step up to him and look up. I'm so short next to him. I know for a fact he's at least a foot taller than me.

"You look like you need a hug." He opens his arms to me and I let him hold me for a few seconds. What I love about Adam is he is very smart. Everyone else saw that I was angry. He saw that too, but it seems that he also saw the depression hiding underneath, like a crack in a mirror. He didn't ask what was wrong, either, which is good. I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me, especially him.

"Thank you, I actually needed that. I need to get by though, this is my class." He smiles at me. "No problem. Try to have a better day, okay? Whatever it is, it'll pass." He's always so confident about that. I admire that. He's so tall, and so warm. It's like all the anger and depression evaporated when I let him calm me down. There is a white aura around him, and I felt safe in his arms. I walk into my classroom and sit down, feeling dazed. No one's ever had that effect on me before. He must be an angel.

Author's Note

The picture I posted with this chapter is a picture of my friend Adam. He died a year after this happened.

Reviews

[Malister Mikey]

Life is hard when, you feel like there is no were you can be. My mom has been strict but never said she never wanted kids thats just cruel a person could do that to their child. Though I'm sure those difficult time in your life are what make you so strong today. Also as a future mother yourself you will know how to help your child if they feel out of place, because you have experienced that pain. Sorry about your friend he sounds like an amazing person.

[Cassie]

He really was, you probably would have liked him. My mom regrets saying those things and has more than made up for it, luckily. 'Cause if she didn't, she wouldn't be in my life at all. I can't believe this was 8 years ago.

[Malister Mikey]

I know right when I think back to some things that happened I'm like, I'm old lol