My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

a slow smile spreading across his face, before moving on to sit with the other three. A few minutes later Drake made an appearance. It looked like Asher had called him.

Anyone from Ailith’s past was subject to question, seeing as how her past wasn’t exactly a fairy tale. At least not a good one. When Drake took a seat at our table, several of Asher’s friends left. It looked like they didn’t feel needed, or even welcome for that matter. They weren’t close to Ailith, several of them hadn’t even spoken to her. So they left her safety in our hands.

When it came to closing time none of us moved, and Rob told us we could stick around if we wanted. He had come to recognize her adopted family and friends. By Ailith’s request the other three stayed as well. But as soon as the last customer left and the doors locked, she dropped what she was doing and made her way around us.

She didn’t even make it to their table before the two young men met her in the middle. She hugged the oldest again, then turned and hugged the other. The older man approached and she gasped. She obviously hadn’t noticed that he had joined the other three. But she hugged him none the less. Then she looked around.

“Where’s…?” then the girl stood and made her way closer.

She had a scowl on her face and her arms folded over her chest. It was the first good look I had gotten of her. She was wearing some ridiculously tight jeans, and a white crop top that ended just a few inches below her small chest.

“Sarah?” Ailith asked, as though she wasn’t entirely sure who she was looking at.

“Yeah,” the girl snapped. Ailith blinked at her for a moment, before the middle child spoke, obviously trying to defuse the tension between the two females.

“Ally, where have you been, we’ve been looking for you for…forever.” She grimaced, but met his concerned look with one of regret.

“I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t have a way to get a hold of any of you.” The girl scoffed, and the look of regret turned to a scowl.

“What happened? You told us you were moving and then you just disappeared,” the oldest asked.

“I…uh…I was adopted,” she answered with a nervous laugh.

“By who?” the older man asked. She gestured towards Drake, who smiled politely and gave a nod as way of greeting.

“So you can work here, but you couldn’t pick up a phone?” Sarah asked, her attitude was obviously starting to grate on Ailith.

“No, he and his family are actually the second time I was adopted,” Ailith answered, obviously working hard at keeping her patience with the girl.

“Whatever,” she muttered, and all three males took a long step back, giving Ailith a clear shot at her. Their eyes roaming everywhere but at the two glaring teenage girls. Ailith took a step closer to her, her eyes narrowing.

“What is going on? What is all of this?” she asked, sweeping a hand at the girls’ attire. “Better yet, what is wrong with you!?” she snapped, her voice rising minutely on the last statement. Instead of yelling back the younger girl raised a hand, supposedly to smack her.

But her hand froze on it’s decent, her wrist held tightly in Ailith’s hand. Her eyes widened as Ailith’s expression turned from a scowl to cold anger. Ailith jerked her forward until they were about six inches apart. Forcing the shorter girl to look her in the eye.

“You are not too big to put over my knee.” Sarah tried to jerk her arm back, but Ailith held tight.

The glare that the girl wore turned to a fleeting glance of fear, before she settled on a pale imitation of Ailith’s emotionless mask. Until Ailith’s expression shifted from anger to disappointment. Then the girl looked away, her eyes dropping and filling with tears.

Ailith released her, deciding instead to pull off her over shirt. She wore a black tank top underneath, the over shirt had been loose and made to hang off one shoulder. She handed it to the smaller girl. Well, she shoved it into her chest where the girl grabbed it reflexively.

“Put it on, and go sit down,” she snapped, pointing to a booth across the room. The girl glared at her again and her eyes narrowed. “Sit.” Sarah huffed, but made her way over to the booth, pulling the shirt over her head as she went. It was a size too big and went down far enough to cover her hips. But her midriff was no longer exposed.

The older man looked at her like she was most beautiful sunset he had ever seen.

“I’ve missed you,” he gushed and she grinned at him before allowing him to give her another hug.

“How long has she been like this?” Ailith asked, after he released her.

“Since you left,” the oldest replied. She shook her head miserably.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she muttered.

“We know that, but to her, you just disappeared with no word as to where you were going or if you’d ever come back,” the youngest male answered.

“Why didn’t you call us when you finally could?” the male, I think the other one called him Cory earlier, asked. Ailith wouldn’t look him in the eyes while she answered.

“So much time had gone by, almost two years, I thought you were all better off without me dragging up the past.” She looked so down I almost gave her a hug myself. The male that looked to be about her age put a casual hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a raised brow. He smirked down at her while he replied.

“See what happens when you take other people’s feelings into account? That’s why I never do, it’s always better for everyone else.” Ailith snorted.

“Yeah, sure Zeke, that’s why.” She rolled her eyes, before they made their way back to the pouting girl in the booth, she sighed. “I’ll go talk to her,” she muttered before leaning across the table.

She fished my pack of cigarettes out of my shirt pocket, taking one out and dropping the pack on the table. It was such a normal thing for her that I didn’t think twice about it. She was digging her lighter out of her pocket when we heard the sharp intake of breath. She froze, swore silently, then finished what she was doing.

Her scars were such a normal part of everyday life that it was easy for all of us to forget that she had them. Though she usually made sure to hide them under her clothes, her tank top showed her shoulder blades, exposing several if not the worst of them.

“Ally,” Cory said, his whisper sounded pained. Over her shoulder I watched him reach out a hand, as though he would trace them. Zeke and the older male just stared, horrified. She turned her head, just enough to address them.

“It’s over, it’s not as bad as it seems.” The first part was true, but the second was a total and complete lie. It had been horrifying, but she obviously didn’t want them to know that. Regardless, Cory let his hand drop. She lit her cigarette, and walked directly over to the booth.

We all watched as she slid in, putting her back against the wall and stretching her legs out in front of her. Sarah continued to stare at the table top. Her pout still in place. Drake offered the empty seats to the strangers and the oldest male took it, introducing himself as Dave. The other two sat on either side of him, putting Cory next to me, and Zeke next to Asher. After that we all sat silently, watching the two girls with fascination. Well, the humans watched, the rest of us eavesdropped.

“You abandoned me,” Sarah muttered, Ailith sat up straight.

“Never.” The two girls looked directly into each other’s eyes.

“You left.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“You could have found a way.”

“I tried.”

“Not very hard.” It was interesting how they seemed to communicate exactly what they meant in so very little words.

“You should have known that if I had a way I would have used it. I would never abandon you, Sarah.” The girl finally broke down.

Tears, sliding down her cheeks. She finally gave up the stoic demeanor and moved around the table, sliding in next to Ailith and putting her head on her chest. Ailith welcomed her with open arms, running her fingers through the girls light brown hair as she cried. I was brought back to my own table by Dave letting out a long breath.

“I don’t how she does it,” he whispered, Drake looked over at him.

“Does what?” Dave gestured to the huddled girls, Ailith was whispering something in Sarah’s ear, whatever it was Sarah was nodding.

“Always knows how to say the right thing. I can barely get her to talk to me anymore.”

“She’s a teenage girl. My girls don’t talk to me anymore,” Drake answered. I don’t know what possessed me, but I answered him.

“They talk to Ailith.” I don’t know if I was trying to point something out or rub something in, either way I got a curious look from Drake. But Dave answered.

My attention was brought back to the girls. Sarah had finally sat up straight, facing Ailith, it looked like her tears had dried.

“Really, Sarah, I know I taught you better than this,” Ailith was saying gesturing to the girl’s clothes. “It’s great to show off your best aspects, but you still have to leave something to the imagination.” The girl laughed.

“I know, I guess I just got carried away.”

“Alright, well you remember what I always said right?” Sarah nodded.

“If it’s tight make sure it covers everything, if it’s loose it’s okay to show a little skin, but only a little.” Was her answer. It really wasn’t a bad philosophy. After that they made their way back over to us, both of them smiling, though Sarah didn’t let go of her hand.

“So how did you all meet?” Bastion asked, and got simultaneous reactions. The girls laughed, the guys groaned and blushed. Ailith answered though.

“I was fourteen, Sarah was twelve, we were both in junior high. I walked into the bathroom after school to see her crying in one of the stalls. So I called my parents and said that I had to stay after school.”

“I had started my period for the first time,” Sarah supplied and Ailith continued.

“And she thought she was dying. No one had ever explained it to her, she must have just slipped through the cracks. So I took her shopping for the necessary products, and walked her back to her house.”

“I got home from work,” Cory picked up a smile playing on his lips. “and this girl walks out of Sarah’s room. And just reams me up one side and down the other for not explaining the necessary facts about puberty. Saying we could have scarred her for life.”

“I walked in at the tail end of it and she turned on me,” Zeke followed. “Saying that with so many older siblings someone should have known to talk to her. She was so small it was hilarious, and when I started laughing she kicked me in the shins!”

“Well, none of you had explained anything!” Ailith supplied laughing.

“So that didn’t mean you had to kick me!” he answered, but she rolled her eyes, her smile still in place.

“Oh, you deserved it. He forgot to mention that he called me a midget.” That got laughs out of several of us, including Drake.

“Anyway,” Dave picked up the story, “I got home that night, and I was about to go into Sarah’s room to tell her good night, and the boys stopped me. Saying that they wouldn’t go in there if they were me. She may have been small, but they steered clear of her at the time.”

“She was scary,” Cory added.

“A few minutes later she walked out, and smiled at me, the most polite young lady I had