Am I Falling Apart? by Hayley Smith (primary phonics txt) 📕

and pulled me to my room, far away from the boy's rooms.

"Nice statement," Todd said quietly in my ear, bending down slightly since he was taller
than me. "There's a bed, dresser, bathroom, and light, your stuff will be here soon." I nodded and he turned away, leaving and closing the door behind him.

I sat down on the bed and found it was quite soft, despite it's looks. I laid down and drifted off.
***
2 Hours Later
***
I woke up when I felt someone touching me and saw Greg brushing his fingers along my thigh, I yelped and shoved him away from me, my back pressed against the wall, still laying down on my bed.

"You seemed so sensitive about sluts, I assume you would love to be mine," Greg murmured, moving closer and I screamed.

"GET AWAY!" I yelled, suddenly the door burst open and I squeezed my eyes shut and the weight from the bed was yanked away and I heard a thump as something or someone hit the floor.

"You stay away from her!" I heard Brad yell, I was shaking like crazy. He walked over to me and gathered me in his arms, rocking me back and forth like a baby. I buried my head in his chest as tears pricked my eyes, dribbling out onto his still bare chest.

"He was going to rape me," I whispered in a small voice and he kissed the top of my head, holding me close to him.

"It's okay, we won't let him hurt you," I heard someone say and looked up, seeing Todd and I saw I was in Brad's arms and pulled away from him, moving onto Todd's lap and he chuckled saying "Someone sure doesn't like you," and rocked me back and forth as Brad had. I heard brad grumble something but I couldn't make the words out.

"Hey, Lana," Todd said softly after I heard Brad leave and close the door "Your stuff is here, and don't worry, we won't sell it without your permission, so go decorate Lana," I nodded and he stood, setting me down on the bed and walking out, dragging a uncontentious Greg with him and closing the door behind him. I stood and locked it, opening the crates and began decorating everywhere, changing the nasty sheets and pillow cases and the disgusting comforter. Then, I began decorating the walls with my paintings. A New Start

I woke up the next day on my new bed, under my old comforter, on my old sheets and my head rested snugly on my old pillowcases. I opened my eyes and looked around the room, I had tidied it up a lot and now the only difference it had from my old room was the size, wall color, and floor.
Carefully, I stood, I was still in the sundress and I pulled open a drawer from the dresser, grabbing shorts and a t-shirt and stripping then putting them on along with clean undergarments.
I placed my clothes in a hamper and walked out of the room after unlocking it and down the stairs, my long hair cascading down my shoulders, messed up from sleep, the boys looked up, smirking at me and one whistled, earning a glare from me as I sat in a chair next to Todd and he handed me a bowl of oatmeal, extra soupy, I took a spoon that he offered me and ate- no I drank it more. Once I was finished I stood and walked to the sink, scrubbing the bowl in water before putting it away along with the spoon once cleaned.

"Hey Todd," I said quietly to gain his attention from ashing the dishes "What am I supposed to do?"

Todd smiled at me and said "They want yous out there sellin' papes but yous are gonna clean 'round here, wes need a good cleaner 'cause o these slobs," I nodded and turned away, walking back up the stairs and to my room. I locked the door behind me and went to the bathroom, stripping and taking a bath before coming out and putting my clothes back on, my hair dripping on my shirt and making it slightly see through so my bra was slightly visible.

I sighed, pulling my long, wet hair into a high, messy bun and walking back down the stairs and grabbing a dust pan and broom and began sweeping, then finished the dishes.
The boys all left a couple minutes later to sell papers, leaving me alone.
I finished cleaning the main rooms and made my way to the boy's rooms. Occasionally, while I cleaned I came upon a bra or panties and I instantly threw them in the trash, they were disgusting.
I plopped down on the old couch, thoroughly exhausted, then I remembered I had to cook them dinner. Standing up, I shuffled my feet to the fridge, pulling out fish then oil from a cupboard and then a pan from a different cupboard and poured the oil on the pan, placing it on the oven and turning it on, adding the already skinned fish to it and flipping the many pieces with a fork after a little while. As the first guy came back, I already had placed the fish on enough plates for everyone but me, I was unsure what to do. I heard everyone getting back and finished washing the dishes I had used to cook quickly then ran up the stairs, closing my door behind me and forgetting to lock it.
I sat down on the bed, facing the wall and pulled my knees to my chest as hunger stabbed at me, I hadn't ate lunch since I hadn't wanted to eat there food, all I had ate was the watery oatmeal for four days now.

I heard a knock on the door and someone came in, not bothering to ask if I was decent. "You need to eat," They said and I looked up and turned my head seeing Brad behind me, holding a plate of fish with a fork "You haven't eaten in a while, don't bother fighting, you have to eat now," I shook my head and he sighed "If you don't eat, I'll kiss you multiple times," my eyes widened and I grabbed my pillow, hiding my reddish face in it for many reasons.

"NO!" I yelled through the pillow, my voice muffled and he chuckled which aggravated me, making me bury my head deeper in the thick pillow until someone yanked it away from my unsuspecting hands and Brad placed the food on the bed a foot away and he kissed me, holding me tight as his lips moved against my stone still ones, he lip my bottom lip and I tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me until he pulled back for air, seeing my trembling form and wide eyes.

"I will do it again," Brad said quietly, but I was still in shock "Speak, Lana!" he demanded, poking my side.

"You took my first kiss," I managed to mumble before yanking myself away and running to my bathroom, locking the door behind me as I dropped to my knees and cried, I had wanted to save it for someone special, certainly not him, I would have preferred it even be the jerk from my first year of high school.

"Open the damn door," Brad said, pounding on the door and making it shake and tremble, but it held strong.

"Go away, please," I mumbled, my voice shaky and my voice cracked at the end, making me cry hard. I heard the other door slam closed after being opened and then it opened again a little while later, but quieter.

"Lana, he told me what happened, he feels terrib-," Todd said but he was cut off by Brad who yelled from outside my room.

"No I don't! I's feel perf'ctly fine!" Brad yelled and I stood, unlocking the door and slinging myself into Todd's waiting arms as I cried, soaking his shirt. He sat both of us down on the bed and turned my head and he carefully fed me the fish, bit by bit until it was all gone and left me lying there, opening, locking, then closing the door after him and I fell asleep.

Stay Away

I screamed, my legs running as fast as they could, but the fire spread quickly, I was shaking, the leaping flames tickled my shoulders and I screamed louder.

"Come on," The flames hissed at me and I backed away, turning around and around, seeing I had no way out of the hell I had fell into.

"No!No!" I repeated loudly, backing up until I was in the middle of the circle of flames, they jumped and twisted, doing there little dance of death as they closed in. "NO!!" I screamed, my vision flashes in and out of blackness as the flames leaped on me, the shaking grew quicker.

"Wake up, Lana, please," I heard someone say and suddenly the heat vanished and I fluttered open my eyes to see Brad above me, gently shaking my shoulder and stroking my hair, "It's just a dream, goily," he gathered me in his arms carefully and used a hand to wipe away my tears that I hadn't know I had had.

"What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night," I managed to mumble and he smiled at me slightly, a genuine one that made my heart flutter and I hated myself for that.

"You woke me up, yous was screaming in yous sleep, those boys woulda had a fit if yous woke em up, lucky it was me," Brad said softly, one hand still stroking my long, silky hair and he added "Go back to sleep, I ain't goin nowhere." and he laid me down, my face against his chest and he laid next to me, wrapping his arms around me.
I burrowed my face in his chest and sleep swept over me, not even realizing I was with my worst enemy as sleep grabbed me back into it's depths.
***
I fluttered my eyes open when I felt my bed shift in the morning. I saw Brad and he was getting up and my breathing froze, it wasn't a dream,