Chapter 1

{Chapter One} A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.~Edward de Bono

Heather woke with a gasp, her whole body trembling. Her hair was plastered to her head with sticky sweat. “It’s just a dream.” She whispered to herself. “Just a dream.” But it wasn’t, not really. It wasn’t a dream, it was a memory. A horrid, painful, awful memory that Heather would rather forget. The feeling of her whole world falling to pieces, being torn apart still tormented her now. “Pull it together.” Heather told herself. “It happened over a year ago.” But when your world comes tumbling down, is ‘pulling it together’ even possible? Heather felt something warm and soft rub against her clammy hand and she smile slightly. “Hey Coco.” she whispered. The cat mewed in response and climbed onto Heather’s chest. Her soft weight comforted Heather and the girl’s racing heartbeat slowed down. Coco always seemed to know when Heather needed her; it was like the cat’s sixth sense. As she stroked the ragdoll cat softly, Heather stared up at the cracked ceiling, trying to clear her mind. She glanced over at the clock. It read “5:14 AM”. “Well, there was no point in trying to go to sleep now.” Heather thought to herself. “I have to be up at 6:00 AM for school anyways.” Heather sighed but didn’t get up. She lay in bed, absorbing the cat’s comforting warmth. She must have drifted off because it seemed like the next second her alarm was beeping loudly in her ear. Heather groaned and rolled out of bed, leaving a disgruntled Coco where she had lain. She stumbled into the bathroom, her eyes still bleary with sleep.

Heather mechanically went through the motions of preparing for the day, putting on her mascara in a dazed state and tugging a brush through her straight brown hair.

“Heather, breakfast is ready.” Audrey called up the stairs.

“Coming.” Heather shouted back, grabbing a hair band off her dresser and the notebook of poems she always carried around. As Heather entered the kitchen, her step-mom turned away from the skillet on the stove to greet her.

"Hi Heather. " As Heather sat down, her step-mom put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her.

"Umm...Audrey." Heather said, trying not to be rude. "I'm vegetarian."

"Oh, right." Audrey replied. "I forgot."

Heather sighed. "Give Dad my breakfast; I have to go to school anyways." She got up from the table without touching the food and slung her book bag over her shoulder. "Tell Dad I said bye and thanks for trying to make breakfast." As she walked down the street, Heather’s stomach grumbled. "Well, it isn't the first time I've skipped breakfast." Heather thought to herself. "And if course I can't count on Audrey to remember that I'm vegetarian, even if she has been married to Dad for three years." Since Heather was alone now, the forced smile fell from her face. There was no reason to pretend she was happy if no one was around.Her cheeks ached from the effort it took to look happy. ”No one must know, no one can ever know.” Heather thought to herself. Her hand unconsciously moved to trace the thin, raised scars concealed under the grey material of her shirt. Some of them were recent and the pink, irritated skin was sore to the touch. Wincing slightly, Heather removed her hand. A small frown permanent creased Heather's face now that the mask of a smile had been taken off. She let her hair fall over her shoulders, hiding her face from the view of anyone who happened to pass. Heather's shoulders slumped in a defeated slouch as she slowly made her way to school. It was weird sometimes, the desperate need to be alone and once she was by herself, the need to be with other people, just to feel that she wasn't alone. She hated being alone, the quiet pressing down on her, smothering her, suffocating her. She also hated being with other people, their loud, happy attitudes, the way it was always about them. It was almost to much to bear.

As Heather approached her school, she heard a voice cry out "Heather!"

Heather instinctively straightened up and braced herself, once again pulling the mask of a smile over her face, hiding her expression. "Sam!" she replied,trying to make her tone sound equally as enthusiastic. "I've missed you."

"It was only a week silly." Sam laughed. "I didn't move to Arkansas or anything."

Heather grinned, falling into the familiar rhythm. She asked Sam about her trip, the places she had gone, the people she had met, trying to seem interested. If Sam noticed Heather wasn't paying attention, she didn't show it. The girl chattered on, filling the air with noise. It was so loud, Heather felt like covering her ears with her hands just to block out the sound, to make the world go quiet again. But that would be rude and if there was one thing Heather almost never was, it was rude. She was known by her group of friends as the quiet girl, the one they could dump all of their problems on ad she would listen without interrupting. Heather would nod and make sympathetic noises at the right times and the girls would go away feeling like they had gained something.

"Um, Heather?" Sam's voice called Heather back to the present.

"hmmm?" Heather asked.

"You spaced out." Sam explained.

"Sorry, Monday morning syndrome." Heather said her excuse with forced laugh, hoping that Sam couldn't tell the sound wasn't real.

Sam giggled, a smile lighting up her almost always happy face. "Heather, what am I going to do with you?" she managed through her laughter.
Instead of answering Sam, Heather just grinned, her skin stretched tightly over her teeth. Her cheeks ached from the effort of holding the smile in place but she was used to it. Sam glanced down at her watch then swore under her breath.

"I'll be late to first period if I don't run. See you at lunch!"

Heather watched until her friend's departing figure was out of sight before continuing into the building. She had Physics first, her least favorite class. She hated it for two reasons, the fist one being her utter lack of aptitude for math and the second one being that he was in it. She yanked a couple books out of her locker and shut the door, hurriedly stuffing them in her bag. Heather slid into her desk at the back of the classroom just before the bell rang, sighing in relief. She hated calling attention to herself and walking in late was a sure way to do just that. As usual, he sauntered in a few seconds after the bell and Heather sunk lower in her seat, trying to avoid his gaze. In the light of day, it was hard to imagine that the same boy who came into class late wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his hair a mess and an apologetic smile on his face was the same guy who used his fists so freely when they were alone.

"Sorry I'm late Mrs. Galloway." The boy apologized, running his fingers through his already tousled hair. "I had to help my little sister."

"Sure you did." Heather thought to herself. "Everyone knows Tessa just adores you." More likely he had been stealing the kid's lunch money, if he was near her at all. "That's fine." The woman standing at the front of the classroom replied.

"You can take a seat next to Heather."

Author's Note

So, what do you think? Anything to fix?

Reviews

[Melody]

Whenever you start a new person's dialogue in a conversation always start a new paragraph. If you don't it confuses the reader.