IT: Return Of Pennywise

“I can’t believe this…..A prisoner in my own house!” I muttered angrily to myself, watching Anna depart until her car was gone, heading towards town to start her new job as Derry’s new psychologist.

From my vantage point, this town needs more than counseling. Ever since we moved into this neighbourhood, it has been strangely quiet and I’m usually the quiet one wherever I go.

But that was the least of my concerns. Now I have 8 hours until Anna returns. I have to find a way to enjoy my last day of summer before being forced to start my first day at Derry High School. I read it’s history on bullying from 1989 to the present - it only got worse each year with bullies that are racists who body shame, and employ physical or mental abuse to hurt others for looking different. Some bullies do it out of spite. because there are some people in this world that are worse than Ryan and myself. I don’t need to be psychic to know where my first day of school will lead me tomorrow. So already I’m hating my new lifestyle in Derry, knowing that my first day is going be hell all over again, being surrounded by different groups of student that I don’t know and probably never will. In order to avoid more drama and abuse as long as possible, I’ll do what I always do; keep my distance from other people until graduation.

I closed my black curtains to block out the daylight before changing into my casual and comfortable goth clothes; black leggings, a black tank top with a black and white stripe oversized ripped sweater and black combat boots. I brushed my tangled hair until it was neat and straight again. I placed on my black lipstick, black eyeliner, black eyeshadow, and black mascara, placing my makeup on my black makeup table, covered with my makeup protects from different gothic makeup brands like Urban Decay and Kat Von D.

As I stared into my makeup mirror, I felt a strange feeling deep in my stomach, like a butterfly feeling. A good type of butterfly feeling that you get when you fall in love, but that’s overrated to me. I’m taking about a butterfly feeling that I would sometimes get when I know that I’ve done something wrong, but won’t openly admit it. That same feeling of guilt because of my selfish behavior when Anna decided to put Ryan in charge of the house and I wouldn’t accept it, just like I still wouldn’t accept the fact that I was in the wrong for what I said about Ryan last night. But my denial is keeping me from admitting the truth of my behaviour, and I continued to believe that the whole world is against me because they either don’t accept me for who I am or I don’t get my way.

“No….It’s not me…..It’s Ryan…..He forced me to act this way! And now my mom’s taking his side! No! I’m not about to be treated like a baby while Mom’s gone!” Screamed my denial from within my mind. My conscious was trying to scream for me to come to my senses, but I still refused to listen.

“You have NO control over me!” I hissed, picking up the voodoo doll of Ryan in my hands, squeezing it so tight as the stuffing within it’s head was ready to pop like a ballon, its two buttoned eyes bulging forward..

But eventually, I sighed deeply to regain my self control anD tossed the voodoo doll across my bedroom as it landed onto my bed.

“Someday…..But not today…..” I sighed, figuring that I’ll make Ryan pay later as I picked my iPhone and my laptop, securing them into my black messenger bag and walking out of my bedroom. I stomped back downstairs into the living room, noticing that Ryan had took over the TV while I was upstairs. He was watching the 1979 classic sci-fi horror movie, Alien.

“Let’s get something’s straight!” I snapped, blocking the TV just so Ryan can only focus on me as I acted like I was the one who was in charge.

“I’m my own boss! So stay out of my way and there will be no problem while Mom’s gone!” I warned, “And by the way, that was a really nasty trick that you pulled last night!”

What are you talking about?” Ryan asked, confused by what I meant because I thought that it was Ryan that set up a fake dead body on the front yard outside our home to make it look like my dead father last night.

“So that’s how is going to be, huh?” I snarled, thinking that Ryan was playing dumb with me, “Well, one of these days, I’ll get you back!” I vowed, walking towards the front door to go for a walk around Derry and find a local coffee shop to catch up on my social media.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ryan asked, knowing that he has to keep me inside the house until Mom returns home from work.

“What do you care? I can take care of myself!” I talked back, opening the door, “I’m going where I can get better Wifi service! Hopefully there’s a coffee shop in this dump!”

I was about to make my leave…..

“Then give me the KEYS!” I yelled back at Ryan from behind the couch, demanding for him to give me the keys so I can leave this prison and give Ryan some peace for a few hours until my mom returns home from work.

But for some reason, Ryan refused the offer. He rose up from the couch again, switching off the TV while clutching his head with one hand before turning around to face me, still angry with me.

“No. You’re not leaving this house and that’s final.” Ryan snapped back at me, heading for the relative peace and quiet of his bedroom “I’m going back to bed. Don’t bother me or even think about trying to leave while I’m resting. Got it?”

Ryan waited for me to respond, but I just folded my arms and turned my head away from his ignorant face. I couldn’t stand looking at someone who thinks they are better than me or think that they have full control of me.

“Whatever! Maybe if you’re weren’t so pissed off all the time, you wouldn’t have such a bad headache! I’m surprised that your head hasn’t exploded from all your anger issues yet! Here’s a thought - you should leave to go to anger management classes!” I suggested in a very rude tone of my voice, trying to trigger Ryan.

“So you can leave the house behind my back? You must think I was born yesterday. Try to leave and I’ll strangle you with your own tongue.” Ryan warned me, walking up the stairs, his headache getting worse. He closed the door behind him, deciding to rest off the pain for a while until he felt better.

“What a d**k.” I muttered to myself, deciding to investigate where Ryan had hid the front door keys.

11:00 AM

After 2 hours of searching through the entire house downstairs, I just remembered the last place where I would a least expect to find the keys…..Ryan’s room.

“Sh**!” I cursed, realizing that he will throttle me to death if I dare to try and intrude in his room for the keys.

I decided to give up for a while and sat back down on the couch, trying to reconnect to the WiFi through our cable box connected to the TV so I can try to get some service into my iPhone for social media to check the latest updates on Twitter.

“Come on…..” I muttered in frustration, the screen of my iPhone still displaying the download icon. After a minute of impatience, it responded with an error saying - Connection to the server failed.

“D*** it!” I cursed again, placing my iPhone on the couch before double checking the cable box to reboot it. The problem was that the green light next to the WiFi server on the cable box was turned on, meaning that we had proper connection, but for some strange reason, it wasn’t responding to my iPhone.

“I don’t get it!” I growled in frustration again, confused by the strange service.

Ryan had no problem with his connection in his bedroom, continuing to watch Alien on his own TV.

Back downstairs, I flipped through TV channel after TV channel, trying to find a decent show to watch to past the time. I found a show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians”. I watched the sight of the fake family in sheer and utter disgust. “I feel sorry for the people that worship those b***hes.” I snarled, switching the channels again with the remote until I saw a Starbucks coffee shop commercial that was located somewhere in Derry.

“Need to get out for a fresh start of a new day? Than come to Derry’s new Starbucks coffee shop! Where we have friendly service, fresh coffee and free WiFi connection! Come on down for a free sample of our new fresh vanilla cappuccino! Only today so don’t delay!”[/i] Announced the commercial.

“What I would give to be there right now…..” I sighed. continued to switch through random channels, imagining myself escaping from the house and exploring our new and small dumpster of a town called Derry.

Suddenly, I thought I heard something coming from the front porch outside the house. This forced me to turn off the TV and listen, but the sound stopped.

“Huh?” I asked, the doorhandle on the front door continuing to turn on its own, as if someone or something was trying to break in. This caused me to gasp and flinch back in horror, my heart pounding.

“Someone’s trying to break in!” I gasped, reaching for a baseball bat hidden in a nearby closet, ready to strike the intruder……

But as the front door creaked open, it revealed no soul in sight.

“What?” I asked, the baseball bat still in my hands as I cautiously tiptoed towards the opened door, despite the fact that Ryan had locked it earlier.

But as I stepped onto the front porch, I gazed at my surroundings and found nobody was around the house.

“I wonder who unlocked the door?” I asked myself, scratching my head, confused as to why someone would just unlock the door and leave?

I was facing a dilemma of leaving the house while Ryan was resting. Whatever it was that unlocked the door wanted me to have as much freedom as I can before the first day of school tomorrow.

“Now’s my chance!” I smirked, decided to not acknowledge who unlocked the front door, grabbing my black messenger bag with my iPhone and my laptop inside it. I silently tiptoed towards the front door again, sneakily closing the door behind me, taking advantage of the opportunity to escape from this prison.

“I’ll be back before they even know I was gone.” I thought to myself, believing that I will make it back home before Mom returns home from work and before Ryan wakes up. I began my journey through Derry, walking through the streets on my own towards their new coffee shop.

Meanwhile, I managed to make it to downtown Derry after walking across the bridge, passing the river below me which lead to the Barrens on the other side of town.

But I kept walking, the time now 11:05am

It took me nearly an hour to get to town just by foot, since I no longer have any method of transport. I owned a moped back in New York, but it got destroyed in the school parking lot by jocks and cheerleaders from my old junior high school before they cruelly passed me an old used broomstick that they stole from the school janitor as a cruel joke, insisting that I should fly back home like thewitch I am. I couldn’t even go on a public school bus without being cruelly bullied and mistreated, even coming home.

Besides, I love walking alone, it gives me a moment of peace and quiet to myself without ever having to worry about socialising with those who would either disrespect or bully me. Who needs friends when I have social media and my witchcraft leanings to keep me sane from the outside world.

Walking through Derry, I came across the town’s main hall, a public library, and the Derry Police Department.

Across the quiet streets of Derry, I passed the market area, its local Keene’s drug store. an old fashioned diner restaurant called Bailley’s Lunch with a classic Coca Cola logo painted on its sign and a local liquor store next to an small local bar with a classic Pepsi Cola logo sign on the right side of the building. On the left side of the street. small local ice cream shop with a ice cream cone sign on top of the building, lay open. I noticed that there was barely any cars driving through these empty streets and that there were less than 20 cars parked next to a nearby grocery store.

This place felt like a ghost town to me already.

There was also an small movie theater that was showing recently released movies, including the 2016 reboot of the Blair Witch movie. The moment I saw the title, I growled and shook my head, “Seriously?” It seems that no matter where I go, I will always find strange signs that refer to anything that was witch related.

Finally, I spotted the Starbucks coffee shop just across the street from a small office building that Anna said she was going to be starting working in for now on. Th Derry Psychological Service Center.

“Oh no! I can’t let Mom know that I’m here!” I gasped, knowing that I can’t let her know that I was in town, spotting her car in the parking lot ..

So to avoid being spotted. I secretly performed another witchcraft spell and snapped my fingers to briefly turn myself invisible for only 30 seconds. The moment I was literally invisible to the world, I took that chance by running across the road and finally managing to make it to the back of Starbucks, where nobody could see me before my spell faded and I was visible again.

“That was too close.” I sighed in relief. walked back to the front entrance of the coffee shop.

“Finally….This is more like it.” I declared, entering and sitting down at the nearest available coffee table to began my social life with a better WiFi connection for the next 4 hours while enjoying a nice fresh cup of Starbuck’s vanilla ice coffee frappuccino to finally start my day.

In Starbucks, I walked towards the front counter of the shop to order myself a large vanilla ice coffee frappuccino with whipped cream on top. A 16 year old young man with short and messy black hair, wearing his Starbucks uniform t-shirt, black jeans and black converse sneakers, was present. The name tag read the employee’s name, Jack.

“Can I help you?” He asked me.

“Large vanilla ice coffee frappuccino.” I ordered, paying for it with my birthday money from last year.

I finally sat down at a nearby round coffee table beside the outlet wall where I could plug in the charger of my MacBook Pro without ever having to worry about running out of battery. I made sure that I was seated in the shaded area of the coffee shop away from the windows where the afternoon sun was shining brightly.

The weather outside was partly sunny, with several grey clouds across the blue sky. It was the last day of summer.

As soon as I plugged in my charger, I activated my MacBook Pro and began to catch up on my social media between Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Despite the fact that I only had Emily and my mother as my only two friends following me through social media, I shrugged and watched several YouTube videos.

4:00 PM

Within 4 hours of peace of mind and free WiFi connection, I continued to type away on the keyboard of my laptop. Most customers would either stay for an hour and leave, or order a take out through the drive thru outside the shop. I was the only customer who remained seated for more than 4 hours, but it was all worth it, away from the stress and my hotheaded stepbrother. who had won my mother’s trust over me. Which was totally unfair. Just like life.

As I was listening to Small Town Boy by Paradise Lost through my iPhone earphones, I failed to noticed that the same Starbucks employee - Jack - sitting down across from my table as it slightly wobbled, startling me. He had a cup of coffee and a muffin.

“Sorry about that.” He apologized.

“It’s fine. You just scared me.” I sighed. “I thought you were working.”

“I’m on a break. I thought you could use some company.” He suggested, “Besides, every other table’s full in here.”

“Sure.” I sighed, slightly annoyed that a total stranger was sitting at the same table as me. Most of them were taken by other costumers.

“You just moved here?” He asked.

“How’d you guess?” I asked.

“You don’t look like you belong in Derry.” He assumed.

“Is it obvious?” I sarcastically said.

“Wait, that’s not what I meant…..” He corrected himself from insulting me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, pulling off my earphones to listen what this stranger had the nerve to say about me. So far, he doesn’t look like the type who would insult me like most kids would do that I first encounter.

“Nevermind. Let’s start over……I’m Jack Payne.” Jack introduced himself.

“Bella Thomas.” I introduced myself. shaking his hands, “I just moved here yesterday.”

“So where were you from?” Jack asked.

“…….New York.” I shyly said.

“No way! I always wanted to got there! I bet it was amazing living in the biggest city in the world!” Jack said.

“It was…..” I sighed.

“You never wanted to leave there, huh?” Jack asked.

“You have no idea. I was forced out of there on my own free will.” I dramatically said, recalling the best moments I had in New York before it was taken away from me.

“I was raised in Derry and it does have it’s up and downs…..But its not so bad once you get use to it.” Jack said, noticing my distress. “What is it? Am I bother you?”

“Actually…..No. It’s just that…..I’m not use to having people approach me.” I openly revealed.

“I don’t have much friends either.” Jack admitted, “Most of the kids are a**holes in Derry.”

“Gee, thanks for the heads up.” I snarled sarcastically, “How did you guess?”

“Because I go there.” Jack revealed, saying that he had been to Derry High School for 3 years now and has one more year until graduation.

“How old are you?” I asked curiously.

“I just turned sixteen last month.” Jack revealed.

“This will be my first year in high school.” I revealed.

“So that would make you……” Jack fussed but I interrupted him, “Fourteen.”

“You’re probably thinking that I sound like a creep right now."Jack embarrassedly said.

“No, it’s fine. I’ve been dealing with worse people in my life. Trust me.” I admitted.

“Like who?” Jack asked.

I secretly recalled that fateful night when my father tried to murder me in my sleep before I accidentally killed him out of self defense.

“Forget it.” I sighed, refusing to not talk about my personal life to a stranger that I’ve just met. I will admit, Jack seems like a nice guy for some one who’s two years older than me. I kinda like this guy, developing strange feelings in me that normal people get when they meet someone that they secretly like.

It’s not everyday, I find a new friend in a new town. But I didn’t have time to chat because I as I checked the time on the screen of my iPhone…..

4:25PM

“Oh, sh**!” I cursed, beginning to pack my laptop back into my black bat winged messenger bag again.

“What?” Jack asked.

“It’s almost five! If I’m not home by than, my mom’s gonna kill me!” I freaked.

“I’m taking a guess that she has no idea that you’re here.” Jack guessed.

“Long story! Listen, it’s great talking to you but I really have to go!” I spoke.

Without saying a proper goodbye to Jack because I was too paranoid of not being able to make it back home in time unless I leave now, I secured my MacBook Pro and my iPhone into my bag and dashed out of the coffee shop back.

Out of downtown Derry, I reached Neibolt Street, the quietest street in town. It felt eerily quiet.

In fact, it was so dead that there was not one soul or car passing by. I continued to run along the empty sidewalk of that street because it was a short cut back home. Or at least I hoped it was.

As I briefly stopped to catch my breath, I checked the GPS on my iPhone. The map reads that I was now 20 minutes away from home and it was now 4: 34PM Which means I had less than 30 minutes to get back home before Ryan and my mom realise that I’ve been gone.

“I should make it up by then.” I sighed with small confidence, deeply fearing for the worst if I’m not home.

Suddenly, something briefly caught my attention as I turned my head and saw an old abandoned house. It looked like one of those haunted houses that I would see in horror movies.

“Woah….Nice place to have a Halloween party.” I muttered to myself, unsettled at the state of this house. Normally, I would love to explore those type of houses, but there was something about this dwellling that’s sending me a very uncomfortable feeling - like a warning that something evil lives in there.

“Bella…….” A ghostly voice called out, low and guttural. I couldn’t make sense of it, but I flinched when the old wooden door of the house swung open on it’s own, “Bella……..Where are you going?”

“What the hell?” I asked, the unknown voice making my spine shiver.

“Keep it together, you had too much coffee. I need to get home or I’m screwed!” I thought to myself, trying remain focused on finding by way back home before my iPhone slipped out of my hands and landed on the ground.

“Sh**!” I cursed, bending down to retrieve it. Thankfully, it wasn’t smashed. But when I did, I felt a gruesome and rotted hand touched my own. My heart rate elevated within my body, my skin turning ghostly pale by the touch of what appeared to be a dead man’s hand I gazed my frightened blue eyes up at the undead zombie figure of my father, Curtis. His dead body was covered in blood and shattered glass, some embedded in his face at obscene angles..

“Bella! Come to Daddy!” My undead father hissed.

I wasn’t dreaming, this was real!

“NO!” I screamed in horror, running for my life from my dead father. I found myself tripping into the ground, my sweater and leggings now covered in dirt, my hair tangled, and my face covered in cold sweat, breathing heavily from running.

“This isn’t happening…..It’s all a bad dream……” I repeated, still on the ground, slapping my face, thinking that I was daydreaming this whole time. As soon I got to my feet again and turn around to see if anyone was still behind me…..

“What in the name of heaven?!” I gasped.

The sight of a different figure, holding 21 red balloons, terrified me. They floated upwards, revealing a clown with short orange hair, red painted nose, white clown face makeup and red eyeliner traced up between it’s lips and across it’s inhuman yellow eyes.

The clown grinned widely and stared it’s sinister gaze right at me that curdled my blood and made my soul shudder, like it could somehow sense my deepest darkest fears. I could only stare back with my frightened blue eyes, unable to move because I was too scared to run, afraid of what this thing might do to me if I try to runaway from IT.

4:59 PM

Anna’s worried expression across her face was enough to make Ryan realise that something was already wrong after she walked into his bedroom while he was still resting.

“I was doing a session with a very devastated mother who recently lost her 8 year old son. He’s been missing since last night without a trace. But during the session, I looked out the window and I thought I saw someone running past the building who looked like Bella. I didn’t want to believe that it was her, so after I advised the mother to go the police and that we’d continue the session if things don’t improve, I decided to take off 20 minutes earlier to make sure that you two were okay……Where is she, Ryan?” Anna asked.

“I thought she was downstairs…..I locked the doors to make sure that she doesn’t sneak out of the house……” Ryan paused, still in pain.

“The front door was unlocked, Ryan.” She interrupted

“What!?” Ryan asked, leaping out of his bed, slightly shocked by this strange theory. “I could’ve sworn I locked it!

“I’m not blaming you, Ryan…..I understand that you’re not feeling well….But she couldn’t of just disappeared! Please help me find her before……” Anna paused, hearing someone breathing heavily coming from outside.

She looked out Ryan’s bedroom window to see me dashing across the street towards the front porch of our home.

“Thank God!” Anna sighed in relief as she placed her hand onto her chest to restrain herself from having a panic attack. Ryan marched out of his bedroom, heading downstairs as Anna followed, both of them eager to ask me why I disobeyed my brother and sneaked out of the house.

“That sneaky little witch needs to be put in her place!” Ryan growled angrily, his migraine still worsening as he clutched his left temple, walking towards the front door.

“Ryan, control your anger. I’ll talk to her. Don’t make it worse.” Anna urged, hoping that he would keep his emotions in check if he wanted to get better.

“I’ll feel better when she gets a taste of real punishment.” Ryan warned, waiting by the front door.

Meanwhile, I dashed towards the front porch of the house, tripping on the front step. I took a moment to catch my breath. breathing heavily from running for 10 minutes straight without looking back. My blue eyes were catatonic with horror, looking for the clown or my undead father. They weren’t following me.

My face was still covered in sweat. My black and white striped sweater, black leggings, and black combat boots were covered in dirt and my hair was messy and tangled from running out of Neibolt Street.

“I made it!” I panted heavily, slowly rising up to my sore feet again, walking up the stairs of the front porch, hoping that Ryan was still heavily sleeping so I could sneak back inside. I failed to notice Anna’s car parked on the driveway of our house. My day was about to get worse…

Before I could open the door, my hand barely grazing the doorhandle, it turned by itself. This caused me to flinch backwards and gasped in horror as Ryan and his usual angry expression across his face appeared. But that was the least of my worries.

“Ryan! Thank God! You have no idea what just happened.” I breathed heavily, pausing when I saw Anna behind behind him with her arms folded and a disappointed expression on her face. A look as if she couldn’t even trust her own daughter anymore. I knew right away that I was in deep s**t.

“Mom, I can explain……” I startled, trying to think of a way to explain how I almost got kidnapped by a deranged clown on my way home from the coffee shop.

Momentarily hesitating, I reached into my bag for my iPhone, the screen now slightly cracked at the top edge from where I dropped it earlier. Strolling through my recent photos, I’ve found the photo of the backyard behind that condemned house on Neibolt Street……

“Here! See? It’s that clown! He tried to kidnap me!” I spoke, startled as I held up my iPhone for Anna to see the through the cracked screen.

“What happened to your phone?” Anna asked.

“I accidentally dropped it, but that’s not the point, Mom! That’s the clown I saw!” I warned again in my jumpy and nervous voice.

Anna got a good glimpse of the photo, briefly taking it from my hands to view it closely. She looked back at me with a puzzled expression across her face, “There’s no clown in this picture, Bella.” She revealed.

“What!?” I replied loudly, aghast. Snatching my iPhone out of Anna’a hands, I stared at the photo of what I thought where the creepy a** clown was standing in the backyard of that crackhead house with 21 red balloons in his hand and that disturbing unsettling grin across it’s face, staring right at me with it’s inhuman yellow eyes……

“No! That’s……Impossible!” I snarled nervously, my heart beginning to sink deeper within my chest.

I didn’t know how it was possible……Somehow the clown had vanished from this photo that I took just seconds before he had disappeared from the scene. My only proof of evidence was gone!

“Bella? What’s gotten into you?” Anna asked, seeing me on the verge of falling into a mental breakdown. I was shaking and shivering nervously, my eyes catatonic with fear.

“He was there! He was standing right there! I swear! Please! You have to believe me!” I freaked, pointing my index finger at the slightly cracked screen.

“The clown told me that if I come with him, I’ll float too! I don’t know what that means, but…….” I paused, realised that there was no point in trying to talk my way out of this situation this time. This wasn’t the first time that I wasn’t over exaggerating to get attention - I know what I saw.

As soon as Ryan made his way up the stairs until Anna and I heard his bedroom door slam shut. I continued to shiver in fear at Ryan’s outburst, despite his headache which now made him feel worse than I imagined.

It was like the whole world has regressed into complete silence that it was almost impossible to speak up after what just happened. Even I was speechless, womdering if my mom felt too disappointed to be anywhere near me and too shamed to call me her daughter at this moment.

“Mom……Before you say anything……I…….” I started, my voice breaking, like I was on the verge of tears, wanting to prove to her that I was telling the truth this time.

But Anna waved her hand towards me to silence me again. “Don’t……You’ve done enough today.” Anna claimed calmly, despite her inner temper. She knew when to keep herself professional.

“You seriously don’t believe me, do you?” I sobbed.

“Bella, Ryan has done nothing but make an effort to be your stepbrother. A stepbrother that you need now more than ever. You’re not the only child anymore. Ryan’s part of this family too. It’s NOT all about you.” Anna reminded me, “Yet you choose to abuse him when you’re in the wrong. Ryan wasn’t feeling well and probably feels worse now. I thought I could trust you, Bella....."

This caused my stomach to sink.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

“We had an agreement and you let me down. I told you to make an afford to communicate with Ryan like normal siblings.” Anna reminded me, referring to last night’s conversation.“But I can see now that you’re too oblivious to accept new changes because you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

“But……But…..I was only trying to defend myself! I’ve been pushed all my life so I had to do something even if it means pushing someone back! You always told me to stand up for myself, remember?” I snapped, small tears beginning to roll from my eyes.

“Yes, you should always stand up for yourself. But you should also learn when to stand up for others as well as your brother. If a stranger decided to take Ryan and let you go free, would you run away or would you save him?” Anna asked, testing me to see if I would risk myself to save Ryan or only look out for myself.

Silence. Not a word followed from my soul.

“I expected better from you, Bella. Sometimes, you need to put others first before yourself.” Anna wisely said. “But until you learn that lesson, I have no choice but to have you meet me in my office after school everyday for hour long family therapy sessions. Starting tonight. And you’re grounded for a week. Which means NO leaving the house unsupervised.”

“WHAT!?” I screamed in shock.

“I am so serious, Bella.” Anna warned me again.

“You’re f***ing crazy! Are you out of your mind!?” I snapped again, letting my mood swings get the best out of me again.

“Watch the language, Bella. Unless you want me to make it two weeks.” Anna warned.

This made me fall silent again. But didn’t quell my mood swings.

“So that’s it? You’re just going keep me caged in here like an animal? Whether you believe me or not, what I saw was real!” I pleaded.

“We’ll discuss this after school tomorrow. Go to your room. Not another word.” Anna ordered calmly.

“How about three than? I HATE YOU!” I sobbed emotionally, running past Anna without looking back at her and rushing up the stairs into my bedroom and slamming the door behind me, feeling completely alone. Nobody, not even my own mother, trusts me anymore.