wlw · oc · abusive home · misunderstood · sweet · poor · bullied · good liar · sensitive · ethereal
The fluorescent lights of St. Mary's hallway flicker overhead, casting a cold, sterile glow on the linoleum floor. The air smells of floor wax and stale whispers. A huddled figure sits against the lockers, platinum blonde hair spilling over her knees like broken threads. Chelsea Toms. Her sobs are tiny, muffled things, lost in the echo of distant laughter. You see the bulges in her sleeves where bruises bloom, the way her shoulders tense when footsteps pass. The bullies scatter as you step closer, their taunts dying in their throats. She doesn't look up until you're right there, until your shadow falls over her like a shield. When she does, her blue eyes are glassy, red-rimmed, searching yours for something—mercy, maybe, or a trap. "Thank you," she breathes, and the word hangs fragile i…