Facing my friends at school was tough for me, but I managed. Enough of the bruising on my neck had been covered with makeup, but some of the marks on my face had been too dark for the coverage to take care of at all. The bruise that was near my ribs didn't hurt as much today because I iced it the majority of yesterday, but it still hurt like a bitch. My friends didn't believe I had fallen into something, but I told them not to worry about me. I think the worst part of my appearance was that there were several teachers who pulled me aside to ask if everything at home was okay. Not only was it kind of embarrassing, but it made me feel awkward. All I told them was that everything was fine and that my home life was going well. They weren't supposed to turn the other way from the situation so easily, but a lot of them did, already knowing I lived on East Side. They probably figured that I was just part of a bad group of kids, so they didn't want to deal with me or my family, more than likely.

"You seriously can trust me. I'm not going to go to the police," Denice was saying as we walked to our next class. "I just don't get it, V. You have been acting completely different lately and I'm worried about you."

A part of me wanted to be offended by the words that left her mouth, but she was completely right. After all, I had been acting different since my father kicked me out of the house a few weeks ago. Ever since then, I had to hold myself higher. I had to act like I had everything under control when that wasn't the case at all. Since I was living at the Red Rum Inn, I had become a little more guarded. Sure, the curly-haired guy and Marla were two of the people that I had spoken with, but it wasn't like I had told them my full life story. Marla knew about the issue with my father, and where I went to school, whereas Curly didn't really know anything about me and I planned to keep it that way. Rolling my eyes at the thought, I looked to Denice.

"We should go to Evander's after school," Denice started. "It can just be the two of us if you want, V. I miss my best friend."

"I don't know, maybe"

"Please?" she asked.

I didn't have work after school. It wasn't like I had an excuse not to go. Plus, I did want to go I just felt worried about hanging out with her. I didn't really want to talk about anything with her, but she looked like she really wanted me to go so I agreed. She seemed excited when I told her, hugging me goodbye before going into her class. My side was pounding now, but I didn't let on, tucking my hair behind my ear. Honestly, I was a little worried about going to Evander's later. What if Denice threw a bunch of questions at me, and asked why I was being completely different? It was hard to not answer Denice's questions because she was so kind, but at the same time, I wanted these secrets to be mine. I didn't need my friends worrying about me, especially when I knew exactly how they would react to me living at some Inn, and the fact that my father was beating me.

« « «

By the time we had gotten to Evander's, it was a little past two-thirty. Denice had to stay behind to help plan something with Student Government for the teachers, but we made it out of the parking lot pretty quickly. Getting out of the car, I grabbed my wallet and phone, walking up to the restaurant with her. I smiled at one of the waitresses, the woman giving me one back. Sitting down across from Denice in a booth, she frowned, shaking her head.

"I hate that someone hurt you so much, V. It makes me so upset."

"Why don't you believe that I fell?" I asked.

She glared at me as if I was being ridiculous. It was very annoying, but I knew she was right. My statement was ridiculous, with all things considered. Sighing, I ordered a strawberry milkshake with extra whipped cream, no cherry, and fries when the waitress came over, Denice getting the same, but a vanilla milkshake. She smiled at the waitress, the woman leaving before we made eye contact again.

"V, I just want you to be happy. I want you to be, I don't know, you. You act as if you have to fend for yourself now."

Oh, how right she was. I was paying for everything on my own, and while I had managed to spend about a hundred dollars a week, my sixteen hour work weeks at nine dollars an hour were truly helping me out. But I didn't like the fact that I couldn't spend as much time with my friends, or time studying.

"Tell me what's wrong. Please. I want to help you, V, really."

Sighing, I looked at my friend. "Denice, you know I would come to you if something was wrong."

"Well, something is wrong and you haven't come to me. So no, I don't know that."

She was getting agitated, and that's how I knew she really cared about me. All Denice wanted was for me to be safe, and happy, but I was neither of those things, really. Even if the Red Rum Inn wasn't all that horrible, it certainly wasn't five stars. Yes, I had Marla, who was awesome, but it didn't make up for everything else I was losing after my father had kicked me out.

"If I tell you who hit me, will you be happy?"

"No, I won't be happy. I'll be content, yes. But happy? Absolutely not."

The waitress set our food and milkshakes down. I dipped some fries in my milkshake, eating them briefly before looking at my friend. She had touched neither her milkshake nor her fries, her arms crossed over her chest, and a sour look stuck on her face. Sighing quietly, I shifted my things away, looking down at my hands before glancing at her.

"You won't call the police, will you? I'm telling you, if you call the police, I won't ever see you again. You have to believe me."

Denice didn't look like she liked the deal, but she nodded, leaning onto the table now. I sat up, glancing at her, before looking back down at my hands. It sucked that I was in the position I was currently, but I brushed it off.

"My dad hit me twice within the past couple of weeks. But I'm fine, Denice, honest."

I could see in her face she ran through several emotions. First, it was shocking, second was distaste and thirdly was sadness. It was clear that my friend felt bad for me and while it was nice, I wasn't sure how I felt knowing that she knew that information. Of course, she didn't know everything, but Denice knew more than I had originally wished. Sighing to myself, I watched as she shook her head, getting up and sitting in the booth beside me.

"My poor V," she frowned. Denice took my hands, holding them in her lap as she looked me in the eyes. "If you want to come and stay with me ever, just let me know. I'll tell my mom it's an emergency, and she'll let you stay. I swear it."

Nodding, I thanked her. Denice gave me another hug, and I was thankful that she didn't squeeze around my ribs, my friend pulling away, and moving to the other side. She started eating her food, asking me about other things that had no relation to my father. A lot of it included whether or not I liked certain boys at our school, or what I wanted to do over Christmas break. At this point, I wasn't sure, especially with the current situation, but Denice was already making plans to travel.

It was always nice to hear her speak, especially since she had so many great things going for her, but she would always try to switch the conversation to me. It wasn't like she was caught up in herself, I simply didn't want to talk about my life because there was nothing interesting in my life to talk about. Or, maybe my life was a little interesting now. I simply didn't want to talk to her about what was going on in it currently.