THIS IS MY ORIGINAL WORK AND SHOULD NOT BE COPIED OR TRANSLATED.

Walking toward my front door, his car lights beamed behind me, illuminating the secret that I had always tried to hide. Each step was humiliating, and I felt like I was standing in the middle of Times Square, buck naked. I didn't dare look back so he could see the humiliation on my face.

I wanted him to just drop me off and leave, but luck was not on my side that night. To my dismay, he was a gentleman and made sure I got inside safely. That was what I was telling myself at least, the truth was he was just sitting there in shock, taking in the horror that surrounded him.

There was a reason that I would let no one but Jenny near my home. One look around and the only proper response would have been sheer disgust. As you turned toward my house, a strange mailbox greeted you. Made of PVC pipe, it extended over the ditch, covered in mold and mildew. Lining the driveway was plumbing parts and old metal junk. Once you reached the cleared area just in front of the house, they consumed every available space.

The house itself was nothing more than a run-down shack with a rusty metal roof and a wooden porch that stood in shambles. The exterior was an unconventional shade of blue that my father concocted from old paint cans containing every color of the rainbow. There weren't even curtains on the windows, giving anyone who cared to look a full view into our distorted world.

As I inched closer to the door, I saw it swing open, and I just froze in place. Aware that he was still watching, I prepared myself for whatever was about to happen. There, before me, stood my mother. She was wearing an orange moo-moo with hideous flowers on it and house shoes. Her hair and general appearance were that of an unkempt mad woman. She stepped out on the porch as I stepped onto it. Without warning, she grabbed me by my arm and snatched me forward. The force she used propelled me inside the house and I was dying inside. Please mom, not now!

Glancing behind me, it relieved me to see he was backing out of the driveway. There was no doubt he saw what had just happened, but at least he wouldn't see it all. When the door closed behind us, I knew that she was just getting started.

She always amazed me. She was an average-sized woman, but when she was angry, she had the strength of ten grown men. It only took a moment for her full fury to reveal itself and the screaming to begin.

"What were you doing, whoring around?" she questioned.

Looking down and trying to avoid eye contact I replied, "No mom, he just gave me a ride."

With her, I always tried to stay under the radar. It didn't help me at that time, though. She grabbed me forcefully, propelling me backward, sending my body crashing into the floor. "Don't lie to me, you little bitch," she shouted at me.

My back took the brunt of the impact, sending reverberations throughout my body. Before I even realized what was happening, she was straddling me. Her fists were flying, seeking any target they could find. It paralyzed me with fear, my mind desperately wanted to fight back, but my body betrayed me once again. The only defense I managed was to throw my arms in front of my face for protection. If I could protect my face, at least I could hide the other bruises.

Tears streamed down my face as she hurled verbal and physical assaults at me. My eyes were closed tightly, praying she would stop. The attack felt like it went on for an eternity. In reality, it was probably only a few minutes, but when you are getting the crap beat out of you, time seems to standstill.

Finally, when I felt like I could not take another second, she tired herself out and got off of me. She did not apologize or even have a look of remorse, she just headed off to her bedroom. I sat there stunned. After a few minutes, I pulled myself together and get up off of the floor. I was so rattled that I was literally shaking.

It was so frustrating. After all of those years, she still held the power to shake me to my core. I constantly questioned myself. Why couldn't I toughen up and stop being so scared? I never found an answer to that question.

When I heard her bedroom door shut, I knew round two was about to begin, but this time my dad would be on the receiving end. She had spent hours, days even screaming at him, but he never said a word. He just sat there and took it. I guess we had that in common.

Knowing that I was safe for a while, I headed to my room, still trying to stop the tears from flowing. Her words replayed in my mind like an old familiar record.

"You are useless!"

"Why were you even born?"

"You will never amount to anything."

"You will always be a loser."

"You deserve this!"

They were my constant companions, flooding my mind relentlessly and reminding me of what I was and always would be, NOTHING!

Once I was safely in my room, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. Letting out a long sigh, I desperately tried to regain my composure.

My room was my haven, my protection from the insanity of our home. When I was in that space, I felt like I was in my own little world. She never bothered me in my room, and when I turned up my radio, I could temporarily drown out the voices in my head.

It was a clear departure from the rest of the house, feeling almost out of place. It was always clean, the only clean room in the entire house. The walls were a calming peach, painted by yours truly, and I did a fine job if I say so myself. Bare windows were a theme that continued throughout the house. I covered mine with an old sheet and pretended that it had the magic ability to keep bad things out.

My bed was so cozy, sporting an old, thick quilt that I would often hide under to escape reality. In that room, within those walls, was the only place that I ever really felt safe, with no one to hit me and no one to judge me.

I drifted off to sleep that night wishing I could just disappear and woke to the sun beaming through the sheet on my window. Stretching, I felt the soreness throughout my body, no doubt the result of the body slam I received the night before. It had become a familiar feeling, far too familiar for comfort.

I headed to the bathroom for a hot shower, hoping it would ease my aching muscles. As I stood there, letting the water run down my back, the reality of the day sank in. I would have to pass Jake in the hallway. The ride he gave me was surely out of pity, I mean what guy would leave a girl stranded in front of a building late at night?

I know that he saw my mom snatch me in the house, not to mention a bird's-eye view he got of where I lived. He was one of the "beautiful people" as I liked to call them. They all ran in a pack and looked physically flawless. Each of them living on the other side of town in their brick mansions with pools. Would he tell them what he saw? I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of it.

What if he just shoots me a look of pity and walks by like I don't exist? I thought to myself. That thought made me cringe. My self-esteem was already about as low as it could get, but something like that would abolish it completely.

The thoughts continued to race through my mind as I hopped out of the shower and hurried to get ready for school. Jenny arrived right on time, as usual, getting us to school a few minutes early.

We walked down the long hall, heading for our lockers. I clasped my books in front of me as tightly as possible. Somehow they felt like my own personal armor. Being invisible had always had its benefits, one of which being no one bothered you or even noticed you. That day, however, I was uncertain if my shield of invisibility would stay in tack.

When we finally reached our lockers, I fumbled with mine to get it open. Retrieving my books for the day, I shut the door and turned to walk away. As I turned, my gaze met his, and I just froze in place. I couldn't read his expression. Was it pity, disgust, confusion, concern? Being that he was practically a stranger to me, I had no point of reference and not knowing was driving me crazy.

I fidgeted with my books, trying to not be obvious although he had just caught me looking directly at him. Why do you have to be such a loser, Sky?

He was casually leaning against the lockers across the hall, looking like complete perfection with his usual group of cohorts surrounding him. Jimmy, Toby, and Tag were all football players and Jake was the quarterback. It was painfully obvious because the others followed him around like he was some King.

Every girl in the school would have killed for a chance to be with any of those guys. It was really too bad that they ran through girls like they were disposable. They left a trail of heartache wherever they went.

Bringing my mind back to reality and off of the wonderful specimen before me, I finally stopped fiddling with my books and walked away. I could not resist one last glance. He glanced back too, shooting me that crooked little smile that he was so famous for.

I hated to admit it, but it melted me just like it did the hundreds of other girls that were dying to get a piece of him. Somehow, mustered up a quick smile back. I walked, ran away as soon as that smile left my face.

He probably thought I was some insane stalker or something. He gave me one ride and there I was staring at him from across the hall. Could I possibly have made myself look like any more of an idiot? Way to go, Sky!

Walking to my class, my head was swimming with thoughts of embarrassment and humiliation. History class was literally painful, I could not focus on anything Mr. Roberts was saying. That was unfortunate because I needed to pass that class if I had any chance of getting out of the hell that I called home.

Why couldn't I get this boy out of my mind? It was like he had somehow highjacked my thoughts. After class, I had to attend a mandatory meeting for the Yearbook Staff and then headed outside to wait for my mother. Jenny had to go straight to a dentist's appointment, so I had to resort to relying on my mom for a ride.

Mom hated the rare occasion that she had to pick me up. When she did, I knew I would never hear the end. If I had not needed the extra activities for my college application, I wouldn't have even bothered. There were few things worth setting her off. I knew that she would probably be late, she always was. It was her way of punishing me for interrupting her day.

I found a place on the sidewalk where the sun could warm me while I waited, deciding to pull out my books and try to catch up on the chapter I missed in history. A few pages in, I glanced up from another mind-numbingly boring paragraph and couldn't believe my eyes.

Jake and Tag were heading straight for me, or at least in my direction. They had obviously just finished football practice. Grass and dirt covered their uniforms. It must have been an especially hard practice because they looked rugged.

I looked straight down at my book, pretending that I didn't see them and hoping that they would not notice me. It was a silly thing to hope for considering I was sitting directly in their path. I held my breath as they approached and to my relief; they passed right by. They were engaged in a heated discussion about football. Since I was sitting just outside the entrance to the gym, I assumed they were on their way to the locker room.

About fifteen minutes later, I heard footsteps coming up behind me. I froze in place, assuming it was Jake. To my surprise, they walked by hurriedly and belonged to Tag only. He was on his way to his car in the nearly empty parking lot.

Mr. McCarthy's blue bug was the only other vehicle besides Tag's and Jake's. That meant that Jake would come out alone. Before I could even get the thought out, I heard his voice.

"Hey Sky, you need another ride? Meeting like this is becoming a habit. If I didn't know better, I would think you just wanted to spend time with me."

I took in a deep breath, attempting an answer that did not make me seem like an absolute moron.

"No, Jake, I am fine. You shouldn't be spending time with girls like me, anyway."

He shot me a perplexed look.

"Oh yeah, and why is that?"

Without missing a beat I replied, "Wouldn't want to tarnish that perfectly polished rep of yours."

I don't think he knew exactly what to say, but he couldn't help but smile. Walking to his car, he turned to offer his help one last time.

"Are you sure you're ok? I hate leaving you here alone, I really don't mind."

This was the same line he fed me last night, and I know it came from a place of pity.

I refused to be a charity case so I half-jokingly replied, "Yes, I am sure, now run along to your fancy car and cool friends before someone spots you out here with me."

He knew I was just kidding and gave me the most adorable wink, the kind that makes your heart stop for a brief second.

As he walked away, he insisted that I give him my phone number so he could make sure I made it home safely. I shouted out my number, knowing he was just being polite and would never remember it. He glanced back at me one last time before getting in his car and pulling away.

I almost regretted my decision immediately. The parking lot felt so empty as soon as he left. I distracted myself by trying to process what the heck had just happened. The most popular boy in school just had a full-on conversation with me and offered me a ride for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. It was mind-boggling to me.

As I mulled it over, mom finally showed up an hour later, with no apology. After what happened the night before, I really didn't have much to say to her either, so we just rode in silence. When we finally got home, I headed straight for my room.

I had to finish getting caught up in history and call Jenny. Cracking open my history book, my third attempt of the day, I heard my phone buzz. I didn't recognize the number but answered, anyway. A look of shock filled my face when I heard his voice.

"Sky, it's Jake, I just wanted to make sure you made it home safe."

I fell backward onto my bed, trying to contain my excitement, not knowing how to respond.

There was far too long of silence until I heard him speak again, "Sky, you there?"

Realizing that I had to say something, I mustered up a response."Jake, it's so sweet of you to call."

"I felt awful leaving you there in an empty parking lot and couldn't relax until I knew you were ok," he replied.

Again, I was silent, not knowing what to say. He must have read my nervousness and again took the lead.

"Our paths just keep crossing. I am not sure what is going on, maybe it's fate." That sounded so absurd to me that my response came without a filter.

"I don't think fate brought the star quarterback and a virtual nobody together for some cosmic reason Jake."

"Way harsh, I get we run in different social circles and all but you are NOT a nobody, most definitely a somebody."

That was both sweet and shocking, so the Jock had a heart.

"Well, I am at the bottom of the food chain and you are at the top, is that a nicer way of saying it?" I questioned.

His next response was just as sweet as the last.

"Sky, we may be different but don't sell yourself short, you have that innocent girl next door thing going for you that most guys would kill for."

That amused me. Had he bumped his head and gotten a concussion or something? In what world did he believe that statement was true?

"Well, Jake, I hate to break it to you but there are zero guys lined up at my door."

"That's because they are all idiots and can't see what a sweetheart you are," he charmingly responded.

Something about that conversation just felt so wrong, quarterbacks don't call up invisible girls out of the blue. I couldn't help myself and finally blurted out exactly what was on my mind.

"What is this dork outreach day?"

This made him laugh hysterically, and when he finally regained his composure, he responded.

"No mam, its check on the damsel in distress day."

*****

A/N

Thank you for taking the time to read part one of my story. I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.