Reborn Heart of Steel

And just a single photo, turned my life upside down. I stood there, staring at my phone with ultimate disbelief.

The videos and photo revealed when I was in the locker room. But I noticed they had edited the background into making it seem as though I was at a party.

And of me sniffing cocaine and drinking alcohol. I looked high and the video… oh my gosh… I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought it was a dream, and it wasn’t real but it was.

They recorded what Mark did to me while I was unconscious. Tears trickled from why eyes. That was the reason I felt so sore. He had absolutely no mercy on me and they all made it seem as though I was enjoying the entire process.

The news had spread wide and my reputation was ruined.

I gasped, my shoulders trembling as I sobbed.

But what did I do wrong?

What did I do to be bullied this way? To be underestimated? To be taken as nothing?

What did I do, to deserve such an abusive life?

I hiccuped as I read through.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Lucy Abrams, star student by day, party animal by night?” The caption reads like a cheap tabloid headline. I want to scream that it’s not true, that I was just tired and the cup was filled with soda, but who would believe me now?

The likes and comments are piling up on the university’s unofficial social media page.

Each notification feels like a tiny dagger to my heart. How did this happen?

My image mattered to me, I worked so hard to gain a scholarship, I worked so hard to maintain that scholarship but now…

I’m jolted from my thoughts by a sharp knock on my dorm room door. “Lucy! Open up!” It’s my locker mate, Jade. I hesitate for a moment before letting her in.

Jade bursts into the room, her eyes wide with concern. “Have you seen it? The photo? It’s everywhere!”

I nodded, trying to hold back tears. “I’ve seen it too. And I swear to god it’s not what it looks like.”

“And you expect me to believe that you bitch?” She gripped my hair and I yelped at how tight her grip words.

“Mom I swear to you I didn’t… it’s not…”

“I knew right from the start that I shouldn’t have had you as a daughter. You’re so stupid! What name do you want the media to call this family after the video of you sniffing cocaine.”

“Mom…” I sobbed.

“Don’t you dare, call me mom. You’re not my daughter.” She growled. “Let this moment be the last time you ever set a foot into this house.”

My eyes widened.

“Mum, mum you don’t mean that do you?” I blinked tears away.

“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

I knew my mother had always been uncaring and unkind towards me, but this side of her, was different. It was as though she hated the day I was brought into this earth, like I was too much of a burden. Her eyes burned with hatred as she stared at me, and I could feel the slow tears that rolled down my eyes as the reality dawned on me.

Without another word, I turned, triggered and stunned, I walked out of the house into the rain. Not caring that I got wet.

My mother’s words… struck me hard… I was abandoned.

It was cold and the rain wasn’t making it any better.

The memory of this day would never leave my head.

I continued to walk down the street till I couldn’t anymore, shivering in the cold… I looked anywhere for shelter but found none.

I stumbled over to a bench, and sank down, clutching my chest as I cried.

This couldn’t be happening. How did everything end up going wrong within such a short time?

“Lucy?”

I glanced up quickly, blushing and surprised to have Chase standing there, sincere concern reflected in his features.

That had to happen right now out of all the people I was gonna meet out here.

“Hi,” I was barely able to say, hurriedly trying to erase the traces of tears away. “Are you here for?”

He settled beside me but to not touch me, maintaining a measure of space. “I was walking home from band practice. But hey, it’s not about me. What happened? Are you alright?”

I sighed and my voice came out bitter. “Okay?” I echoed stupidly before shaking my head and replying, “No, I am far from okay. ” Chase listened well, and his eyebrows became even more knitted as he listened to every word.

I then paused and to my surprise, he did not utter a word for a few seconds after I stopped talking. Next, he said, “Come on. ”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“Come on,” he said getting up and making a gesture with his hand as if inviting her to take it. “You are coming over to my place. ”

“Chase, I can’t-”

‘Yes, you can,’ He said it loudly. “You can come and stay at our house until we work something else out. ”

I hesitated. It can be said that this was a kind offer, perhaps overly so.

That is why in my plans there is one important limitation I do not want to impose on people’s kindness and generosity. ”

Chase rolled his eyes. “No, Lucy, you are not bothering me at all, you are my friend and you do need my help, now come on it is getting cold here. ”

I got fed up with his stubbornness and just accepted his hand and went with him to his car.

The ride to his house was silent, but not awkwardly so.

Chase was staring at me as if I would vanish away from his sight the moment he would blink his eyes.

His house was much larger than I thought it would be, a two story home in one of the better parts of town.

When we entered I felt awkward or as if I was somehow tainting the clean floors and wall of the reception area by my mere presence.

“Well, make yourself at home,” Chase said before throwing the keys on the side table. “Hey are you hungry? I can fix you something to eat. ”

I shook my head. “No thank you” I’ll still stick to my NO food policy, I don’t think I could eat right now.

He nodded, understanding. “Ok, well then, let me take you to the guest room; you look like you could use some sleep. ”

My old room was not as comfortable as the guest room they provided and they had left it more spacious than a guest room . The words produced a new pang through me like a sharp knife. Chase must have seen the reaction, for he added hastily, “Bathroom is over there, you will find some spare toiletries under the sink. As for the sleeping, here, if you’d like… I can give you some clothes. ”

“I’d love that, thank you,” I replied, forcing a smile on my face.

He went to the back for a moment only to return with a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. “They will be large on you, but they should do for tonight We will find something more suitable for tomorrow”

I took the clothes and our hands touched for a split second. “Chase, I… thank you. Really. ”

He looked at me and seemed a bit shy, then simply shrugged. “Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for, isn’t it not?”

Friends. Right. I suppressed the little sinking feeling inside me each time he spoke to me like that. I was not free to indulge in such thoughts at the moment.

“Rest a little,” Chase stated, walking toward the door. “We’ll talk more tomorrow morning, alright?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but he merely nodded and exited the room shutting the door gently after him.

For a while, I just stood on the spot clutching the borrowed clothes to me tightly.

As per the norm, I moved in a robotic manner and engaged in the activities associated with bed preparations.

My muscle tension eased slightly in the shower, the hot water proving to be quite soothing.

But even the water could not cleanse them of the occurrences of the day, or so it seemed.

As I finally lay in the unfamiliar bed dressed in Chase’s clothing, I felt the reality of my situation come crashing down on me. I was homeless.

My mother had evicted me from the house was so heart wrenching for me.

My reputation was already damaged beyond recognition. I had no idea of how I was going to repair any of it.

Laying my head in the bed again, I cried on to the pillow as if the situation was too much for me to handle.

Finally, the weariness prevailed, and I slept with utmost discomfort and woke up to face another dreadful day.