Authors note - really weirdly short chapter, but I don't think it needs anymore input, once your finished I think you'll agree...

12

Blake's POV

I woke up, the sunlight was pounding on my eyes making them go pink and veiny. I opened my eyes and sat up, trying to remember where I was. I lifted someone's arm of my chest, my eyesight was blurry and my head was aching to the skull, I moaned and stood up, all my limbs felt stiff. I had been lying on the floor of the common room, the guy next to me was turned away and what I could see I didn't recognize.

'Skye?' I asked, in my confused state. I looked around but I couldn't see that perfect dark hair anywhere. I staggered forward 'Skye?' I leant against the wall trying to remember how and when I got so hammered last night.

Blake your sixteen, Skye isn't your boyfriend.

'Dino' I called instead, my bleary eyes searching everyone but none of them were Dino. Shit, how had I ended up here?

Oh, now I remembered. I had planned to take Dino somewhere romantic to show him that he didn't need Nerina, but it had gone horribly wrong. I moaned and put a hand to my pounding forehead, I could feel sick forcing its way up my throat and I knelt over the nearest bin, feeling it surge up my throat and sting my eyes. Once my stomach was emptied I lay down on the floor, staring at the ceiling and trying to focus my spinning world.

'Dino' I called again. Where had he gone? Had we slept together? Had he slept with Nerina? I pulled myself up and leant against the wall, pulling my knees up against my chest and resting my head on my grass stained jeans, slightly wet jeans. There was sick in my hair, I could see it and smell it and it was making me want to vomit again but I forced down the feeling and wiped away a tear that fell down my cheek. I wished I hadn't been sick, it always brought back memories of that shitty day.

And fucking nice-guy Paul, who was the worst person in the world.

I forced back some stinging tears and picked myself up again on shaky legs. I staggered through the strangely silent corridors and into the nearest toilet. I stared at my reflection in the huge mirror. My eyes were streaming black, and my hair was a tangled mess and the sick... I closed my eyes as the tears fell out.

Six years ago, nearly seven now. A sweet little, completely normal ten year old Blake with dirty blonde hair with her family. It was just me and mum then, and Paul of course but Gina and Harrison had yet to come, we were playing a board game. It was something stupid, like ludo, maybe even monopoly. Yeah, probably monopoly. Everyone argues in monopoly right? All normal families, but they have fun when they're doing it. Anyway I must have played the game wrong, or something that he didn't like because he started to get really annoyed with me and I was only ten, I didn't know what I'd even done. Me and mum never played it just by ourselves.

Anyway mum told him to stop getting so stressed about the tiny stuff, and that I didn't know what I was doing. Then he said that he shouldn't have to deal with this shit or something, then suddenly they were yelling and I didn't understand what it was about so I ran out of the room and covered my ears so I didn't have to hear them arguing. I sat on the kitchen floor, on the cold tiles and counted to ten again and again until they stopped yelling. They did, eventually, but only when I heard the sickening sound of a hard slap, and my mum screaming then sobbing and I heard Paul saying he was never coming back. Then the door slammed and the house was silent, all I could hear was the occasional sob coming from the lounge. I balled my hands into fists and ran upstairs, ran the taps then stuck a toothbrush down my throat until I threw up, again and again and again until I couldn't feel again, until all the tears were all gone. Then I stared at myself in the mirror, with sick tangled in my hair and I told myself that I was pretty, I was so pretty.

Of course Paul came back again, crawling on his knees with flowers begging for forgiveness. And my black-eyed mum took him in again and it was all happy again, it was all good. Except it wasn't, it was just waiting for him to erupt like he did time and time again.

'Fuck you Paul' I hissed at the mirror, and combed the sick out of my hair and washed it out under the cold tap. I ran up the stairs and into the room. Natalie's bed was empty, but lying on top of the covers next to Nerina was Dino, they were facing each other, asleep. I watched them for a moment, watching to scream and pull them away from each other but like usual I didn't do anything. I just closed the door behind me and sat down at the bottom of my bed, leaning my head back on the wood and watching the sunrise across the school grounds.