A small vibration against my sheets made me spring into a sitting position. I rubbed my eyes and quickly turned the buzzing off of the iPod, definitely not ready to start my day. I woke up at the same time every morning, school or not. It gave me enough time to have peace before Jack gets out of bed, especially if I had a particularly rough night beforehand.

I sighed as I blinked the dreariness away. It was my first day of school in this new place. To say I was dreading it was an understatement; new people equaled the same old stares and questions. But at least school was my haven away from him for seven hours.

Kicking the quilt off and sliding out of bed, I ambled my way across the room with several groans before scanning my closet for something decent to wear. Even though it was the end of September, Fall hadn't quite shown itself yet, but I forced myself to wear long sleeves and pants anyway. If I didn't, everyone could see how damaged I was. Sure, maybe Child Protective Services would get called, but in a tiny town like this, the chances of them actually doing anything were slim. Besides, I was so close to eighteen it barely mattered at this point. Not that turning eighteen would abruptly change my life around or anything. . .unfortunately.

Reaching to the closet shelves, I snatched out an old hoodie and the pair of overused jeans. For shoes, I decided on black boots that were on their way to falling apart. Still, they were easily the nicest pair of shoes I had.

I grabbed my bathroom supplies from my suitcase before opening my bedroom door slowly. Effectively making no sound, I darted like a ninja across the hall to the bathroom.

As I gazed into the mirror, I ran a brush through my waist-length hair. It was tangled and somewhat scraggly; an emphasis on my pitiful health. After I managed to wrestle the tangles out to where the brush ran smooth, I pinned half of the strands back with a plain, simple clip.

Then I got started on makeup. I noticed a black circle around my left eye as well as a fading red mark on my cheek and got to work covering it all up. When I was satisfied, I put on mascara to tie it together.

While Jack is the reason I need to cover up on the first place, he is also the reason I own the supplies necessary, buying me the bare minimum I would need. At first he refused, but when he realized makeup would be the only way to hide me without suspicions, he got me cheap concealer, blush, one color of eye shadow, and a few brushes.

Back when I was confident and stood up a little to Jack — even if it was just in writing — I convinced him to get me mascara as well by claiming I couldn't wear all this other makeup without mascara. I was surprised that even worked, but I would take what I could get at this point! My entire makeup supply was in heavy need to be replaced, but I doubt I could get that to happen any time soon.

Pulling myself back to my task, I checked myself over in the mirror. Content with how my face looked, I headed to the kitchen and pulled out a frying pan, two eggs, and two pieces of toast.

When I finished making the double egg sandwich, I placed it neatly on a plate and filled a glass up with orange juice. I set them on the wooden table along with a fork just as I heard Jack's bedroom door open. Dashing to the front door, ready to leave, I remembered I'd left my backpack in my room. Crap!

I pressed myself up against the wall as his footsteps got closer. I held my breath and watched as he walked right past me and sat down at the table. Relieved, I released the breath quietly before darting to my room and scooping my bag up and over my shoulder.

Creeping back out, I waited until Jack looked down to his meal before making a break for the front door, successfully getting out unnoticed. I relaxed and walked along the side of the road, ignoring the strange looks from the people that drove past me.

I didn't know what time the bus came, if a bus even came to this street. It was 6:30, but every school was different and it depended on bus routes. I wasn't even going to bother with any of it. I would rather walk where I can have time completely to myself.

I got about a few hundred feet down the road when I saw a lady probably around Jack's age walk out of the little yellow house next to ours. Her dog, hooked to her wrist by a lead, barked and wagged its tail as it spotted me. She followed the dog's line of sight and lifted her hand in a polite wave. Maybe she could tell me the way to the school.

Knowing I couldn't talk to her, I arranged my features on my face to look really confused. I even turned in a small circle, looking around as if I lost the way. I heard her approach me and stopped.

"Are you lost, dear?" She asked while the dog sniffed me. I shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to be too desperate. The lady glanced at my backpack and said, "oh! Are you looking for the school?" I nodded and she smiled, raising her hand to point down the road. "Just follow the road that way and eventually you'll see a sign with arrows telling you where each school is. You can't miss it." I gave her a smile, hoping she understood my gratefulness. She returned it along with another wave and tugged her dog away.

I pulled my backpack off and unzipped it, taking out my iPod and earbuds. I opened it to my favorite playlist and grinned as the first song came on, relaxing me as it streamed through the ear pieces and the beat made its way to my step. Placing the device in my pocket, I slung my bag back over my shoulder, following the direction the lady pointed me in.

It took me fifteen minutes of walking before I saw the sign she told me about. An arrow pointing forward said Elementary School, the arrow pointing left said High School and the arrow pointing right said Middle School. I turned left and walked for another five minutes before I arrived at the school. In big letters over the double-door entrance, the sign spelled out "Forrest Hills High School." I pulled the front door open and was surprised to find the halls mostly empty. A few students wandered around, talking to their friends, but other than that, it was quiet.

I followed the very obvious directions to the Office and walked in. A short lady with curly white hair looked up at me with shining green eyes, greeting me with a kind, toothy smile. I returned the gesture with a small smile of my own and walked over to her.

"You must be Eirenae Leigh, am I right?" I gave her a nod — not bothering to correct her pronunciation — and she reached into her desk drawer. She pulled out a file with my name on it. "I heard you would be coming today. Here's your schedule with your locker number and combination on it as well as a map of the school. Have a wonderful first day!" I nodded once and gave a small wave as I left.

I opened the file and saw my locker number was 213. I figured that meant second floor, so I turned to the map and searched for the stairs.

I set off down the hallway, keeping my head low and trying not to draw attention to myself. I could feel stares on my back as I passed the whispering students. I guessed a small town meant everyone knew everyone, and I would be the obvious new transfer. Great. Ignoring them, I headed to the second floor, scanning the lockers for my number.

After what seemed like hours of no luck, I closed my eyes and leaned against a random locker, feeling hopeless. I'd been walking up and down the halls, looking for 213, and I just couldn't find it!

"Need help?" A voice asked.

I started and turned my head around to see a blue polo shirt. I dragged my eyes up to see a guy with fairly tanned skin and grey eyes. His brown hair was styled in a way that it was swept to the side while at the same time, it stuck up. He gazed down at me with a smile.

I sighed and nodded. I knew if Jack found out, he would probably kill me, but I didn't care if he did. Okay that was a lie. I did care if Jack found out because I would get a beating for it, but that wasn't what mattered right now. All I cared about was finding my locker at this point.

"Can I see?" The guy asked.

I gave him a small nod and handed him the paper with my locker number on it. He examined my paper for a second.

"All the one-hundreds and two-hundreds are on the first floor, not the second. I'll show you where that's at."

I gave him a weak smile. He smiled back, "Even better! You have Mrs. Holland for homeroom! One of my friends is in that class. I'll make sure to tell her to look for you!"

I gave him a nod, not sure what else to do. He gestured for me to follow and I went bounding after him as he went down the same direction I came from. I had the feeling that if Jack knew about the guy I met and the people I might meet, I would be in so much trouble. But I couldn't think about that right now. I just needed to have a good first day, if that could be possible for me.