An:// even if only 5 people ever read this book i will feel satisfied. Thank you so much for your support. Also me and my family are on the beach and its windy but I'm going to just write until we go home. Hiding with the baby in the pop up tent. //

I spent last night messaging Valerie about everything under the sun. We agreed to meet up before classes started. It felt nice to have someone who wasn't afraid to be my friend.

I stared into my closet door thoughtfully; I had no idea what to wear today. Ember ruined my favorite hoodie when she poured crap all over it. Not to mention my poor headphones needed replacement. A phone without music was useless; I needed my music to keep myself calm.

While looking in the closet I found a bunch of clothes that I could potentially wear. However, none of the shirts I usually wore were clean. I cursed myself for not doing the laundry recently. I forced myself to settle for a purple shirt with ruffles at the hem. Aunt Tabby bought the shirt many moons ago but it was too girly to wear. Thankfully I had a black cardigan sweater to throw over it. I put on a pair of black jeans to match and deemed myself dressed for school. All I had to do was put my hair up. I bunched up my hair but noticed it left too much skin showing.

I deliberated for a few minutes before deciding to wear my hair down today. I let it fall in tangled curls down my back. I went downstairs to start my morning off. My phone beeped; it was a reminder that I had an appointment with Ann later. I always looked forward to our appointments but today I had too much only my mind. I planned on sharing the details of the past week with her later.

I went to grab a quick bite to eat for breakfast. I passed by the mirror in the hallway and stopped in my tracks. To say I looked uncomfortable with my reflection was the understatement of the year. I didn't look ugly; I just looked different. It was an outfit that would make me stand out in the crowd. I tried to avoid drawing attention to myself because of my scar.

I tried to straighten the hem of my shirt but saw someone staring into the mirror behind me. I felt like I was prey to his grotesque and hungry gaze. I willed myself to ignore Samuel's presence behind me but he crept closer. His hand reached up to touch my hair.

"You should always wear your hair down", Samuel said. His hand grasped a curl between his two fingers. He twirled the curl in his hand lightly. I tried to move but his grip tightened on my hair.

"What are you doing", A voice asked quizzically from the side. Aunt Tabby stared at Samuel who froze for a brief moment. Instead of panicking he took the curl and moved that piece of my hair over. The tension in the room was palpable as she watched the situation cautiously.

"I was just moving a piece of hair that was caught in her sweater", Samuel said calmly. "Right Rowen", he said with an eerie smile. "All done", he stated. He moved his hands back to his sides inconspicuously.

"Yeah", I muttered in response. I didn't want to disturb my Aunt Tabby by telling her about what just happened. Also there was a possibility that she might not believe anything I had to say.

"Oh OK", Aunt Tabby stated. "Well we have to go Samuel. We are running late to our meeting with the wedding planner", she stated. Ughh, she should not be marrying this vile creep.

"Enjoy your day Rowen", he stated with his grimy smile. 'My day would be much better if he were not here' I thought to myself. I did not look forward to the day my Aunt Tabby married him. Then he would be here everyday permanently. I tried to avoid him as much as possible but it wasn't easy. He was everywhere; I swear the man lurked in corners waiting for me to emerge from my bedroom

"Bye Aunt Tabby. Ill be home late tonight. I'm meeting Ann tonight for our appointment", I said. Aunt Tabby waved goodbye as I rushed to get my backpack ready.

Every step I made away from that house released the burden from my heavy heart I also felt a pep in my step that I never experienced before. I arrived at the bus stop fifteen minutes early with a racing heart rate. I thought to myself 'what if she doesn't show up'.

A few minutes went by and a feeling of dread crept over me. I tried to make myself busy by counting the cracks in the pavement. I mean what was I doing, thinking I could finally make a friend. I was deformed both on the inside and the outside. I also came with a ton baggage and bullies.

The sound of a car horn beeping loudly interrupted my bout of self pity I looked up to see a big black SUv swerve around through corner the vehicle swerved around the corner at an alarming speed. I wouldn't be caught dead driving with someone who drove like that.

The car drove crazily towards me at an alarning rate. Suddenly, it screeched to a stop in front of me. I jumped back in fear; the slamming of the breaks made my heart clench. The owner of the vehicle opened the door much to my surprise.

"I'm here to pick someone up named Rowen ", an unrecognizable deep voice stated. I looked at the older boy like he lost his mind. There was no way in hell this older boy was here to pick me.

"Rowen" a soft female voice said from the back. I recognized that voice from a mile away. It was Valerie, but what in the world was she doing with this guy in her car. "Don't mind Ian He is shy but he means well. Ian, this is Rowen. rowen this is my brother In", Valerie stated.

Valerie and Ian did not have any similarities to each other. Ian was tall, with dirty brown hair, black eyes and wide shoulder. Likewise, Valerie was short, with black hair, blue eyes and a thin frame.

"Nice to meet you Ian", I stated kindly. I had never seen Ian before but I didn't place judgement on others. Then again I never had any friends before to judge.

"Yeah, jump in", Ian stated casually. He gestured for the passenger seat next to him. I hopped up on the seat by grabbing the handle.

The car ride to school was different. I didn't have siblings but I had a feeling that Ian treated Valerie extra special. Valerie harassed Ian the whole time; she asked him about school, she reached up to change the radio stations and harassed him for information on his school life. He didn't say a single word but just held the wheel tight and focused on the road ahead.

It felt nice to have this moment with other people. I didn't feel alone anymore. Perhaps things could change.