♕Harley Anderson♕

I stir in my sleep, feeling like someone is banging a pot against my head. Along with that, my body aches and itches which causes me to groan. When I manage to peel my eyes open, I am greeted with the sight of my bright room which causes me to put a pillow over my head from the sunlight that burns my eyes.

Why do I feel like shit?

And then it hits me. Not the reason but rather the nausea that causes me to spring up from my bed and rush to the bathroom before I empty out the contents of my stomach. When I'm done, I lean against my bathtub and rest my head in my hands as the memories of last night come rushing back.

I don't know why on Earth I decided to drown myself in liquor last night. Sure, I was exhausted but alcohol was never my go to escape. If anything I stayed away from it, fully aware of what it can make people do, or say, in their state of mind. That leads me to my next worry- did I say anything that I'm going to regret? I don't know what I'm like when I'm drunk, but I surely hope that I don't spill my heart out to people when I am.

"I thought I heard you." A voice suddenly says and I look up in fright before frowning at him.

"Cameron? What're you doing here?"

He shrugs, his hair styled so messily that I can't help but admire his attractiveness. "I waited for Audrey to come home last night but she didn't so I stayed over to make sure you were okay."

A small smile graces my lips at the thought of him caring enough to stay home with me and make sure I'm okay. "Here." He says, handing me a glass of water and an aspirin.

"Thanks." I respond, my fingers brushing his for a second. I pop the aspirin into my mouth and drink the glass of water to quench my thirst. I press a hand to my head. "Ugh. Remind me to never drink that much again." I mutter.

"Hangovers are the worst." He comments and I scoff.

"No joke."

He leans against the doorframe and I stare back at him, slightly uncomfortable that he's seeing me in this disgusting mess. I lick my lips and let out a breath.

"Should I be worried about something I said last night?" I ask softly and his eyebrows scrunch together as he stares at me in an almost calculating way.

"No. No you shouldn't be."

I let out a relieved sigh before pushing myself to a standing position. "Are you going to teach me today?" I ask and Cameron shakes his head.

"No. You stay home and rest."

I chew on my lip in thought. "Okay."

He nods. "I'm making waffles so you can come have some once you've finished."

I nod with a small smile. "Thank you."

Cameron nods before walking out of the room and I lean against the sink, running a hand through my tangled hair before I head to my cupboard and pull a pair of leggings and a baggy shirt out. I'm in and out the shower in record time and leave my wet hair down to dry before I pad my way to the kitchen that's filled with a heavenly smell. The sight of Cameron cooking makes me smile and I pull out a bar stool behind the island before taking a seat. He glances at me over his shoulder.

"Do you have any idea where Audrey is?" I ask and he nods.

"Caleb texted me that they were by him."

"Mmh." I smirk. "I'm sure they had fun."

He lets out a small chuckle. "I don't think they're that far in their relationship yet."

"As long as I never have to hear it, I don't care." I joke and he nods before placing a stack of waffles in front of us and handing me a plate. He takes the seat opposite from me and I place a waffle on my plate before cutting into the goodness. The only sound resonating throughout the room is the bangs and clangs of our cutlery and I try to ignore the stiff atmosphere. So he isn't only good at racing but he's also good at cooking? Cameron really is full of surprises.

"I never got the chance to congratulate you on your win the other night." I say, attempting to break the silence.

"Thank you." He says and I smile softly.

"Do fights like that break out often?" I ask and he shrugs before taking a sip of his tea.

"Every now and then."

I purse my lips. "You handled it well."

He nods. "Violence isn't really my forté." He comments and I smile sadly.

"I wish it wasn't anybody's."

He narrows his eyes at me and he scrapes his chair back as he stands up and heads to the sink. "I'm heading out. I'll see you tomorrow." He says, picking up his jacket, and I nod with a small smile.

"Alright. Thank you for everything."

He nods in acknowledgment before walking out of my apartment, leaving me alone with my thoughts. My shoulders slump and I rest my head in my hands as I think about how that monster has screwed up my whole life. Now I'm drinking to try and forget about him. What the fuck is wrong with me?

I blink back the tears that spring to my eyes, refusing to cry over this again. I've done it enough times. I pick myself up off of the chair and head to my room, throwing myself onto my bed to get some more rest.

****

I'm in the middle of writing when my phone rings. I look at the caller ID which causes a smile to grace my lips before I press it to my ear.

"Hey mom."

"Harley! How are you?" Her soft and gentle voice asks me, bringing me a sense of comfort.

"Well and you?"

"Oh, I'm fine! Are classes over yet?"

I nod with a smile, leaning back on my bed. "Yep. I'll come visit sometime this week."

"You make it sound like we live far." She laughs. "We only live forty-five minutes away."

I chuckle too, imagining her brown eyes crinkling when she laughs while her black hair is up in a tight and neat bun like it usually is.

"How's Mia?" I ask, missing the energetic little eight year old.

"She's good, honey. Just misses you a lot."

I smile to myself. "I miss her, too. Tell her I'll buy her loads of skittles when I get back." I chuckle and my mom laughs.

"That ought to make her love you even more."

"How's work?" I inquire and my mom begins to go into a long explanation about how her fifth grade class is refusing to sing in the choir performance.

Thirty minutes later and a bunch of airtime lost, I'm putting down the call just as I hear a door open and close.

"I'm home!" I hear Audrey shout before she throws her keys on the kitchen island.

"Hey." I greet as she peeps her head into my room. She makes her way inside before plopping herself beside me on my bed. I take note of her neat hair and her change of clothes which causes me to raise an eyebrow. "How do you look good while battling a hangover?" I ask incredulously "Because I look like shit."

She laughs, "I'm an expert at hangovers which is why I'm good at handling them." She smiles smugly before letting out a laugh. I roll my eyes. "Plus, I didn't drink nearly as much as I usually do last night."

I nod at her, "Well I obviously made up for you."

She laughs at me before sitting up and leaning on her elbow. "What're you doing?"

"I was just writing." I say before closing my notebook and putting it on my bedside table.

"Mmh. Well, I'm going to go shower and then I'm hitting the mall. Want to come?"

I purse my lips.

"It's good therapy for hangovers." She adds hopefully and I let out a sigh before rolling my eyes.

"Sure, I'll come. But I'm not going to be there for ten hours, alright? I know how much you love shopping."

She laughs before getting off of my bed. "Alright."

Once she's out of my room and in the shower, I go back to my cupboard in hopes of finding something more attractive and appropriate. I settle with a simple dress and throw my hair up into a bun before slipping my converse on and grabbing my bag. We're by the mall in no time, with Audrey seemingly unaffected by her night of drinking while she looks at numerous clothing items.

"So how was your night with Caleb?" I ask curiously and she glances at me before looking back at the rack of shirts in front of us.

"If you're suggesting that we slept together, we did not."

I let out an unattractive snort. "I actually didn't mean it like that but thanks for the heads up anyway."

She rolls her eyes at me. "How was your night with Cameron?" She smirks and now it's my turn to roll my eyes.

"I was out cold."

"Doesn't mean you couldn't have had drunken sex."

"Audrey!" I gasp and she lets out a loud hoot.

"I'm kidding! You nor Cameron are like that."

I frown as I pick up a skirt and gaze at it. "Like what?"

She shrugs. "Like the kind to just fuck around. You both seem to like stable and permanent relationships."

I cock my head to the side as I look at her and am about to comment on her statement when she let's out a gasp.

"Oh my gosh! You have to try this on Harley!" She exclaims, pushing a lace black shirt into my hands after observing it. I make a move to argue with her but am instead dragged to the changing rooms where she pushes me into a stall.

"It will look amazing on you! Try it on!" I hear her demand on the other side of the curtain. I sigh and lift the shirt up before peeling my dress off halfway and putting the shirt on. The minute I see my reflection in the mirror, I gawk at myself. The shirt is off the shoulder, fitting my small breasts snugly while the long sleeves flair at the end. I can immediately say I'm in love with it before I realise that the back of the shirt is quite open, exposing the skin on my back. My shoulders slump in disappointment as I sigh.

I turn around and all that greets me are the scars that line my back; the scars that tell a story I wish I didn't have. The shirt does little to hide the white lines and I kiss my teeth in exasperation. I close my eyes tightly and I am transported back to another time.

"Where were you, Harley?" He yells in rage and I shrink myself against the wall.

"I-I was at the library." I stammer out. He snorts unattractively, looking at me in disgust.

"Don't lie to me you little whore. You were with a boy weren't you? You're just like your fucking mother!"

"I wasn't." I mutter, looking down at my worn out shoes while my body trembles in fear.

"What?" He shouts, his voice making me flinch as I blink back tears. "Use your voice and speak louder!"

"I said I wasn't. I wasn't with a boy."

He stares at me, the silence making my ears ring. His blue eyes that once never made my body rack with sobs or freeze my body in fear, swarm with rage. Like how the bull looks at the man who holds the red flag up to torment it.

He's in front of my face in three long strides, gripping my hair in a vice like grip that sends pain shooting through my scalp. I whimper, looking at him through my tears. He smells of liquor, weed and sweat from sitting on his lazy ass the whole day.

"Don't you fucking lie to me!" He shouts, his spit spraying onto my face. "Don't ever fucking lie to me!"

He throws me against the wall and I'm sent crashing into the mirror, the glass shattering into tiny pieces and lodging itself into my skin. I cry out in pain, crumpling on the floor while my back and hands sting and throb. The monster stares down at me, his boots crunching the glass under his feet.

"Don't ever lie to me Harley." He hisses lowly, warning me, before he walks up the stairs while I try and sit up. My shirt sticks to my back from where my blood oozes out of my open cuts.

I wish I could say that is what hurts the most. But it isn't. It's the thought that my father doesn't even care what he has done.

"Harley?" A voice snaps me back into reality. I swallow thickly, running a hand over my face.

"Uh, y-yeah?" I stammer out.

"How does the shirt look?" Audrey asks and I look down at it before taking it off and throwing it to the side. It's a beautiful shirt but I would never wear it; my back has a story written on it which I'm not yet ready to share. If I ever will be.

"It doesn't fit." I lie.

"Are you sure?" She asks.

"Yeah. It's a little too big."

"Argh. And that's the smallest size." She groans and I pull back the curtains, giving her a smile.

"It's okay."

We leave the changing rooms and she links her arm through mine. "You need to put a little more meat on those bones."

I let a strained laugh, the memory of that night still clouding my thoughts. I glance back at the changing rooms and wish, wish with all my heart, that it was as easy as that to walk away from my past.

•••

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Hello guys! How are you?

How did you find the chapter? What did you think of Cameron staying behind to look after her or the memory she experiences in the changing room? Let me know!

Also, my final exams start on Thursday so updates will probably be slower for the month of November. I'm truly sorry about that :(

Anyway, have an awesome week y'all!
Love you

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