Uncensored

Preface

I could feel my heart accelerating, thumping wildly against my chest. How had I let it go this far? I heard my mum’s blood-curdling scream, I had to get her out of here. As I approached the front door, my pulse jumped higher. I couldn’t just run and let my mum suffer. I took a deep breath as I walked up to the front door. It seemed the same as it had 6 hours ago when I had left for school. My heart stuttered as I put my shaking hand up to the door. It took me a while to get the key in the keyhole. When I had turned the key, I heard another cry for help and my heart sunk down to my shoes. I finally got the door open and flew up the stairs, straight to my mums’ room. As I got closer, the screaming got louder, and she sounded like she was in immense pain. I got to the outside of her door and put my hand on the handle. I took a deep breath and opened the door. My heart started racing again and I could feel the sweat forming on my face as my eyes slowly tried to depict the scene in front of me, but all I saw was blood, uncensored.

Chapter 1

Amber

I wasn’t exactly stoked about the school year starting up, but then again, I was excited to finally see my friends. That was one of the downsides to being an only child, I didn’t have anyone to talk to that was anywhere near my age. I dragged my body out of bed and threw on whatever I saw first in my closet. I quickly raked through my brown-blond hair and put it in a ponytail and secured it with my favourite baby blue ribbons, it went with my outfit which was good enough for me. I stumbled down the stairs of my parent’s house, wait no, my parent’s mansion. One thing you should know about me is that I didn’t like friends coming over because, from experience, they would act differently when they saw how big my parent’s house was and assumed that I was rich. The thing is, I’m not rich. My parents are. Their money isn’t mine to just take, even though they insisted. I had been going to the same school my whole life, my school went from kindergarten straight to year 12, and then once that was finished, they had a spot ready for university, and my whole life had been planned out from the day I was born.

“Good morning!” my dad greeted me from the dining room.

It was always good to see him when I had the chance, which wasn’t that often, he always seemed to be at work. Especially now since he was working on something special or important, though I wasn’t usually the type to observe things, I had noticed he acted strange around mum, and in return, she acted strange around him. I was probably just imagining it though. I said good morning back, stuffed a muesli bar in my mouth, and washed it down with milk. I looked back at my dad and almost snort out milk because of the disgusted look on his face. I held back a laugh and glanced at my watch, only to realise I was running a little late. I said goodbye to my dad and rushed back upstairs to grab my bag and phone. When I ran back downstairs, I greeted my mother who was, like always, rushing out the door. She, like dad, always seemed to be rushing off to places when there was nothing she could possibly do. I knew she was in a couple of groups or clubs, but she was always out. I knew it was odd, but I kept moving straight out the door after my mum. It was a nice sunny day outside, though the sun glared at my not very stylish outfit. I walked to my car, a blue and white Mini Cooper. It had always been my dream car and when my parents bought me it for my 16th birthday I was thrilled. They obviously didn’t get me it straight away because they were afraid, I would crash it, which isn’t that bad because it was true. I hopped in and started it up. The quiet purr of the engine calmed my nerves.

As I came around the turn to my school, I instantly spotted my best friend’s bright purple Volvo. I smoothly parked next to it and opened my door.

“Hey Amber!” her friendly tone made me relax.

I had been best friends with Bronwyn since year 2 when I had been bullied and she was the only one who stood up for me, not caring about what would happen or even why I was being bullied.

I greeted her back, “Hi. It feels weird to be back, doesn’t it?”

Bronwyn said something in reply, but my attention had split to a girl getting out of her car. She had beautiful brown hair with blond streaks in it, it wasn’t till she turned around that I realised it was Zoey. The girl that had bullied me years 5 through to 9. I had told my parents about it, but they told me to ignore it, her parents had split up and she was just taking out her anger on me. We were once best friends, but that was only from years 1 to 4, when she abruptly told me that she didn’t want to be seen with someone like me.

Bronwyn followed my gaze and as if reading my mind said in a disgusted tone, “Wow, look who had a glow up.”

I really wished that one day people would see me when I ‘glowed up’ but I knew that was never going to happen.

Zoey was wearing designer clothes that looked like she had just come from a photoshoot. I looked down at my own sad-looking clothes and sighed.

“You don’t need those clothes or a glow-up, you are perfect the way you are.” Bronwyn always seemed to know what to say.

“Thanks, I am really glad you are my best friend, not her,” I replied.

We started walking towards the front gate of the school, I felt more self-conscious than, to begin with. Bronwyn, as always, was spectacularly confident, striding straight past everyone. I didn’t really mind not standing out, it made it better when I had bad hair days or something. Bronwyn showers every morning and night; I just shower every night. I checked my schedule to see what room I had to go to, Bronwyn did the same. I had Math in room 574. We have this ritual that we don’t tell each other what classes we have and just go to the rooms we are in. This is because we want it to be a real surprise when we have classes together. I took off in one direction and Bronwyn went the other. I guess we don’t have math together. Maybe it’s a good thing, Bronwyn is not only beautiful and confident, but she is also the smartest person I know. So at least I know I won’t be in a hard class.

I got to room 574 and paused in the doorway. Standing in front of me was my nemesis. I know it seems childish to have a nemesis in high school, but I did, it wasn’t because I wanted to, it was because she hated me. I instantly recognised the fake blond hair extensions and froze. I knew it was her because of the swarm of boys gathered around her. This could not be happening!

“Are you going to keep standing there?” a voice behind me said with a hint of humour.

The voice was deep but somehow smooth, it was weird to hear because all the boys here still had their kid voices. But that wasn’t the whole reason why it startled me; I was so lost in thought that I didn’t realise I was still standing in the doorway.

“S-sorry,” I stuttered, with my head down.

He seemed to laugh, I looked up at him in surprise, only to be struck by his beauty. Strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, strong cheekbones, and his mouth had pulled up into a sly smile. Could someone be so attractive? I blushed like an idiot and turned away embarrassed. I walked into the room and sat down the furthest I could from her.

If you’re wondering who I’m talking about, it was Veronica. She had made it her life’s mission to find every possible way to make my life a living hell. I looked at my phone to see who my teacher was. Suddenly someone sat next to me. It was Henry, he and I have been best friends since 5th grade when the teacher sat us both together. I was so glad I knew someone in this class.

“Hey Amber,” he said cheerfully.

Henry always had a way of making me feel better, more comfortable.

I answered back, “Hi, I’m so glad you’re in this class, or else it would have been lonely.”

He seemed to smile at that. I looked back at my phone and internally groaned. I had the strictest math teacher in the school, Mr. Charlesmith. He always expected us to be on our best behaviour, and never let us go home without homework. I scanned the room for anyone else I knew, my eyes landed on the boy I had a brief conversation with at the doorway. He was sketching something. He suddenly looked up at me, caught my eye, and smiled. I smiled back sheepishly. At that moment, a teacher walked in. It wasn’t Mr. Charlesmith, it was a new teacher, or at least I’ve never seen her. She was very flustered and quickly apologised for being late. I was happy that we didn’t have Mr. Charlesmith or was I happy because of something else? The new teacher quickly announced that her name was Ms. Parker and then got on with the lesson.

Math flew past quickly. I kept finding myself looking at the new boy. Even Henry noticed and for some reason seemed…annoyed?

“Who’s the new guy?” he asked, obviously uninterested.

“I’m not entirely sure but he seems nice,” I replied, realising I hadn’t caught his name.

The bell went and I got up to leave, but Henry suddenly asked, “Do you want to do something tonight?”

I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted to do tonight. Henry and I always did something fun together on our first day of school.

“Of course, I would never break the habit,” I said enthusiastically.

He seemed pleased by that and allowed me to go to my next class. I gathered my stuff and started walking out of the classroom and to my next class when the strawberry blond guy stopped me.

“Hey, I didn’t catch your name,” he said, doing a catch motion.

I snickered and said, “I’m Amber.”

He smiled a heart-stopping smile, “I’m Luke.”

He walked me to my next class, and it turned out that we had most of our classes together. The first half of the morning flew past, and I learned a lot about Luke. He just moved here from New York because his dad got a job here as a doctor, he has an older brother and 2 younger sisters, his last name is Francis, he loves animals, and he has 2 dogs called Abby and Macy. His last name stood out to me though, it was like I had heard it before but that’s crazy because it isn’t a popular last name.

I finally made it to the last lesson before lunch, which was science. It was the only class I didn’t have with Luke. When the bell for lunch rang, I got up, gathered my stuff, and was about to walk out the door when I saw Luke waiting for me by the door. My heart fluttered and I could feel the heat on my cheeks.

I had science with Bronwyn so when she saw him standing there smiling at me, she nudged me and whispered, “He’s cute, you should invite him to sit with us.”

Then she left for the cafeteria, knowing that I wanted to be alone with him.

“Sorry if your friend left because of me,” he apologised.

I shook my head in disagreement, “She left to meet up with my other friends.”

We started walking towards the cafeteria in dead silence through Luke seemed to be thinking.

He seemed confused by something, “Are you dating Henry?”

I was taken aback by that. It really surprised me that he thought I was dating Henry, because (1) Henry is my best friend and (2) Henry isn’t really my type.

“No, why would you think that?” I asked still surprised.

I was more surprised that he thought I was dating anyone. Usually, boys went straight to Bronwyn because she was so pretty and there were about 100 other girls in my year that were prettier than me.

We had made it to the cafeteria, but I hadn’t noticed yet, I was so engrossed in the conversation.

Luke looked relieved and then said, “I don’t know, you just seem to get along with him so well.”

When we walked inside the cafeteria, I started going straight to my friends' table but then I realised he wasn’t walking next to me. I turned back to see him standing in the doorway looking at me.

“Do you want to sit with me and my friends?” I asked, curious as to what his answer would be.

He looked up sheepishly, “Actually I kind of wanted you to come and sit with me.”

I felt my heartbeat unsteadily and felt my cheeks once again turn red. Luke wanted to sit with me? Usually, boys only became friends with me so they could get closer to Bronwyn, this was weird.

I realised I was just staring at him and saw his face turn slightly fall, “It’s okay if you want to sit with your friends.”

I assured him quickly and said, “I’m just going to tell them, so they don’t think I am ditching them.”

I walked over to my friends' table and saw Luke start walking to a table that had two girls and one boy sitting in it.

“Hey guys, would it be fine if I sat with Luke today,” I started, “I promise I am not ditching you for him.”

Bronwyn was the first to speak, “Of course, we know you aren’t going to ditch us.”

I was relieved.

Then she mouthed, “Go get him.”

I flushed again, for the fourth time today.

I smiled thankfully at her and then turned to Henry, “We are still hanging out tonight, right?”

I was really hoping he would say yes, I didn’t want to lose him as a friend. “Yeah, I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll call you after school,” he said happily.

I was satisfied with that answer and started walking towards the table Luke was sitting at. He saw me walking over and smiled warmly at me. I would never get over how breathtaking his smile was. I looked swiftly at the other three people sitting next to him and suddenly was self-conscious. Sitting next to him was two amazingly pretty girls, my heart sank, was one of those his girlfriend? There was a male sitting opposite Luke, he had chocolate brown hair and had the build of a swimmer.

“Hey, I’m glad you came to sit with us. Lilly, Georgia, and Collin, this is Amber. Amber, these are my siblings, Lilly, Collin, and Georgia,” said Luke, he pointed to the three people sitting with him.

I pulled up a chair on the other side of him and greeted Lilly, Georgia, and Collin. Collin for some reason left a lingering stare at me like he knew me or something. I started chatting to Luke and his siblings and before I knew it, lunch was over.

Luke looked like he was about to say something but then Collin stopped him, what was he going to say that he couldn’t? Georgia and Lilly were the first to leave the table and I had sport next, but I wasn’t exactly excited about it, so I sat there for a bit without realising that Luke had left and Collin was the only one sitting next to me.

“It’s Amber, right?” asked, Collin there was another meaning in his tone though.

I looked up at him and smiled, “Yeah, it’s Amber. Do you have to go to class yet?”

He smiled back, “Not yet, I have sport but I’m not that happy about it.”

This surprised me, he looked like the sporty type to me. I looked down at my watch, sport would have just started now. I didn’t exactly want to get in trouble on my first day at school. I swiftly got up and started walking out.

“Wait, um did you have any plans after school?” he asked.

I had made plans with Henry to go to the arcade or something, but I didn’t want to make any enemies just yet.

Collin had a kind tone in his voice that I felt like I couldn’t ignore, it went with his amazing bright blue eyes and brown soft hair. Collin looked like one of those guys who can get with any girl in the whole school. When we were eating lunch before I noticed that nearly all the girls were looking at him in awe. I understood how they felt. Sitting here with him now made butterflies fly in my stomach.

“Yes, I made plans with my friend to go to the arcade,” I said but instantly added, “You can join us if you like,” as soon as I saw his face fall.

Was he sad that I had plans?

He smiled, “I would but I don’t think my brother would let me if I didn’t take him with me.”

I smiled and automatically said, “Yeah, I would love it if he came to join.”

I felt myself smile like I haven’t in a long time, it was time for me to find happiness instead of helping everyone else find it. Of course, I love helping people find happiness, but it did get tiring sometimes. I smiled swiftly at Collin, got up, said bye, and started walking to the hall, all the while feeling his eyes on me.

By the time I got there, my class seemed to be doing some sort of tennis. I felt glad that I waited to come here instead of just going straight here. I stopped at the doors and waited patiently for the teacher to beckon me in, I didn’t have to wait long, as soon as she saw me, she gave me a stern look and told me to come in. She seemed unusually calm about my being late, it made me somewhat suspicious. Was this the calm before the fury? PE was just what I feared, I tripped over nothing and brought down a classmate with me. I managed to trudge through it and when it was finally over, I strolled off to my next class. Next was history which wasn’t much better than PE, I didn’t have the brain capacity to remember all the dates and what happened on certain dates. I swear it was the longest hour I had ever lived through, well I didn’t exactly listen during the whole lesson, I was too caught up in my own thoughts to listen. It didn’t seem like anything important anyway. When history had ended, I stood up and went out. When I got to the car park, I could feel the blazing sun hit my face and I felt calmer. I could feel the warmth spreading around my body as I continued to walk towards my car. I almost had a coronary when I saw a dark figure leaning on my car, but I realised it was Henry. Why had I been jumpy? Who was I expecting to see?

“Hey!” I yelled. Henry seemed unusually silent. He gave me a quick nod and got straight to the point, “Did you invite Luke and his brother?”

He seemed silently angry.

“Yeah, I was just being nice though,” I said.

Was he jealous?

“Did you want a ride home?” I asked, I knew he didn’t have a car yet and he walked to school most days. I was surprised when he said, “No, I got a ride with a friend.”

Then he slumped away and towards Zoey’s car. Wait, Zoey’s car? I felt my blood start to boil as I quickly got in my car and drove away\, fuming the whole way.

When I got into the door, I got a waft of lasagne and instantly all my worries beforehand, seemed to float away. Mum always seemed to know when something bad had happened at school and when I would come home, my favourite meals would be waiting for me on the table. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw my mum putting it into the oven and turning to face me, “How was school?” I wasn’t ready to discuss everything with her just yet, “It was fine.” She seemed to understand the hint and went to set the table. I took that as a sign to go to my room until dinner was ready. I walked slowly up the stairs, down the hall, and into my room. My room looked the same as I had left it yesterday, but something had changed. I went to my desk and decided to get ahead on my homework, I was surprised we had homework on the first day. While I did some work, I thought about what had happened today and the people I met. All the knowing looks that they gave me confused me further and they acted weird around me. Suddenly pain gripped me, they were acting weird because they don’t like me, and they are only being nice because Luke wanted them to be. I felt my heart sink as I realised, I was unwanted there. I decided that tomorrow I would just walk straight past and sit with my friends. I had decided earlier that I wanted to break tradition and not go hang out with Henry, he had, after all, decided to get a ride with Zoey, so I decided it was fair.