Thanks so much for returning for part 4 of my short story about a girl named Ellie. It's been a journey of hoping and wishing to fit in. But she has been taken advantage of and does not know what to do next.
Before continuing make sure you've read the last part:
Ellie's head was pounding. Her body hurt from head to toe and her mind was throbbing terribly. Every part of her body ached and she felt like she had just gotten out of the boxing ring with some world champ UFC fighter and she had lost miserably. She was miserable and the world was still spinning in circles in her mind. Thinking back, she was determined to remember what had happened the night before but everything seemed so out of focus for her. While she pondered the events of last night in her mind, a wave of guilt rushed through her soul. She felt dirty and betrayed by the people she wanted to be closest with. She thought this was what she had wanted but she was wrong.
Would she ever be able to fully recover from what had happened? What if others found out would they look at her the same? Would anyone ever want her? Would she ever find normality in life or would she even be able to look at herself the same after last night? The weight of all these questions was crushing her and preventing her from breathing. She gasped for air hoping the world would stop spinning and everything would come back into focus.
Ellie was back home, somehow she managed to get out of the house and walked by herself across town to her home. She snuck in and went straight to her room where she knew she could hide from the world. She didn't want to wake anyone, she couldn't imagine having to face her family and explain to them what had happened at the party. She just wanted to feel safe and hide from everyone and everything and pretend like nothing had happened. But she would only be able to hide for so long, she wouldn't be able to be there forever. Eventually, the world would find her, its vicious teeth would sink into her and devour her. But she could have a few hours to herself where she didn't have to acknowledge the rest of the world's existence. She was making her best effort to cherish this moment of solitude.
A few days passed, and life seemed to be returning to normal. Nobody talked to her much which was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything in Ellie's life was back to what she would consider normal. She didn't hang out with friends she would go to school get her work done and then return home afterward. That was her life and she was beginning to be okay with that. She was starting to see she didn't need others to validate her existence to be happy. A few weeks of this passed and she was getting excited for summer. It was just around the corner and she wouldn't have to be trapped in this prison people liked to call school anymore.
One day, as Ellie was walking down the hall she noticed people were staring at her as she walked past. She saw people pointing in her direction before they would quickly turn away and start whispering to each other as she was walking away. What was this new attention about? What was this secret everyone else except her seemed to be onto? When she got to class she sat down next to Holly who gave her a look that could mean nothing good. "Have you seen what's been going around yet?" Holly asked Ellie as she sat down. "No, no I haven't. What is going on?" Ellie asked almost in desperation. She felt like the world that didn't care she existed was now staring her down with judgment and it was making her feel very uncomfortable.
Holly dug through her backpack trying to find her phone. She pulled it out and handed it over to Ellie. What Ellie saw, plastered on Holly's phone was jaw-dropping. This couldn't be real. How could this be real? This wasn't her, it couldn't be, could it? Ellie's mind went blank. Nothing, she felt absolutely nothing in this moment. As the realization of what she saw sank into her mind, every emotion possible came rushing in simultaneously. She felt sick to her stomach and needed air.
The rest of the day felt like a blur to Ellie. She couldn't focus in any of her classes. She kept having flashbacks to what she had seen. She knew this was why everyone in the halls was staring at her and seemingly whispering to each other about her. They had all seen her vulnerable and she hated that. They all knew what she had tried to bury in her mind. There was no longer the secret she wanted to escape from. It was out in the open for everyone to see. She knew her life was over and would never be the same. The bell that signified the end of the day finally rattled through her ears and she rushed out of school and ran home. It wasn't a short run but she couldn't bear the thought of getting on the bus with all those people. She needed to be alone.
When she made it home she went straight up to her room and the tears let loose like a rushing river. She could not hold her emotions back anymore. The floodgate was let loose and she was shaking as she lay on her floor. There wasn't anything that she could imagine that would take away the pain she felt. She had been betrayed by everyone she thought she knew and who she thought cared for her. She would have rathered any other pain to be upon her than this feeling of absolute betrayal. She felt like she needed an escape. She wanted out of this life. She wanted an escape from this shame and betrayal she felt. It was her fault it had to be! She must have messed up in some way and this was her punishment.
There was only one choice left in her mind and it was her final escape. She slowly got up and went to the bathroom. This would be the end. She could close her eyes one last time and never have to feel this pain again. She thought maybe she would have talked herself out of it. There had to be something worth living for. Some reason to smile and be happy again. But the overwhelming emotions seemed to be winning the battle. The bottle was open and she found herself swallowing the last of the bottle that was left over from when she had knee surgery a few years back. She wasn't supposed to still have them but she had forgotten to dispose of them. Why hadn't she listened to her mom? She should have thrown the bottle away. She shouldn't have gone to that party. Her mom was wise. Her mom was right, she was always right, even though Ellie had never wanted to admit it. But now it didn't matter. They were gone and the world was fading away from her slowly.
About the Creator
Anthony Terry
Hello, I like using poetry and music to help connect people and find the meaning of life. We all have our own unique stories and I want to share mine to hopefully inspire you to share yours!
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More stories from Anthony Terry and writers in Chapters and other communities.
A Perfect Rose pt. iii
Warning: This chapter contains things that may be sensitive to some readers including alcohol and sexual content. These topics are not being painted in a way that makes them desirable but to show the damage that abusing these things can cause. I hope through this story you can make better decisions in your own life and if you are struggling with any of this please find help! Okay, let's jump back in! If you missed chapter one or two make sure you have read those before continuing!
By Anthony Terry16 days ago in Chapters
Talented Black creators spotlight: Catherine Nyomenda (Chap 3).
Catherine reminds me of an enigma wrapped within a riddle. When she writes, she skips between the poetic and the dramatic. Her highlights of the African lifestyles of herself, of authors whom she admires, and the many nuances of love keeps you wondering and pondering the passage of life.
By Novel Allen4 days ago in Chapters
Lessons learned about dental fillings
I'm going to start where I had my teeth scanned using a panoramic xray in PGH for wisdom tooth extraction. Cost amounted to two hundred pesos, and I only had to wait about thirty minutes for the hard copy result. Looking at the result in front of the light. It showed deep cavities behind my right second molar tooth. This is the time when i realized how important flossing is. I went home after to go to the clinic in another time. Before I could go ahead with the dental filling, I had my wisdom tooth to be extracted first. As it was causing on and off pain for many months. By the way, the total cost for my wisdom tooth extraction was three thousand pesos. Not including the cost of one week antibiotics. The three thousand pricing depends upon the angle of the tooth. Compared to other clinics around my town, it was the one cheapest I could find. I went back to my original dentist to proceed with the extraction. While I was sitting in the dentist chair, my mind was really overthinking if he would be able to pull the tooth without complications. I felt really dizzy after the successful extraction. So for a minute, he let me rest before going home. This where I understood why patients don't want to visit the dentist. Many weeks has passed after the extraction. I had the opportunity to go back to the dentist for the dental filling. While the wound from the extracted wisdom has already healed. Morning has come, I woke up early expecting I would be the first in line, but by the time I arrived the line was already long. Depending upon the complexity of the surgery of other patients, the average waiting time would be around two hours. Not to mention the dentist is experienced and fast. While waiting, I talked to other patients beside me to speed up the time. My turn came up after a few hours has passed. I sat on the chair, opened my mouth, and the procedure started. Whenever the dentist steps away, I try to close my mouth a little so I could rest. It's a relatively fast and short procedure. After the procedure, he recommended to avoid chewing on the side of the mouth where the dental fillling is located, and toothbrushing the treated tooth. He also added the filling will harden later. The type of dental filling he used was color white. After a year has passed, it so happen that I ate a popcorn carelessly on the side of the mouth where the dental filling is located. When I took a look in the mirror, the filling was lost. I think I swallowed it. This time I do not have the budget to replace it, and it was not covered by the one year warranty. I decided to let it pass for months where it started to hurt. Once again, I came back to see the dentist for consultation. Upon consulation, he recommended extraction of the tooth. I had to take a one week course of antibiotics for the pain before undergoing the actual procedure. A week passed, I came back to see the dentist. While the surgery is ongoing, he was pulling the tooth to test if I will feel pain. As there was pain he did not proceed with the extraction. Although I was not really sure if it was pain. Another set of stronger antibiotics was prescribed. He also suggested to see the Panoramic xray of my teeth. This is the moment where I realized I should have showed it to him before buying the stornger antibiotics. Which was quite expensive. After I finished another set of antibiotics, I came back to the dentist with my xray result. When he saw the result, he mentioned he cannot do extraction as the risk is too high. This a huge problem as root canal is pricy and the affected tooth will not last. I decided to look for advice to an another dentist. A dentist in a private clinic mentioned that he will do the extraction for two thousand pesos. Then another dentist in a goverment facility recommended dental filling. After going around town, I went back to my original dentist to tell try the dental filling. He applied a temporary filling to the tooth to test if it will react for 1 week. Three hundred pesos was charged for the temporary filling. After one week, I was relieved there was no pain in the tooth. I came back to the dentist to proceed with the dental filling. What a relief it was, because I would have to pay more for complex tooth extraction if there was pain. Gladly there wasn't any. In the clinic, he recommended a mercurial type of filling costing at five hundred pesos. Which.is cheaper compared to the white filling costing at eight hundred pesos. I think he used that type of filling because of its durability. As my mother's mercurial filling's lasted for decades. On the process of the procedure, he asked to bite if it's okay. I told him it's okay, but this was a mistake as I was sure I felt something. Nevertheless I let it be. Months has passed before a part of the tooth broke off causing the filling to become dislodged. This is not covered by the warranty so I had to pay again. I think the reason why it broke off because the tooth was weakened because of improper placement of the filling. You should not feel anything while your chewing foods. I was skeptical if a filling would work, nevertheless he applied it once again. Months has passed before the filling became dislodged again. Eating a sticky bread would have caused it. By that time, itnwas covered by warranty so I was glad I did not have to pay for anything. From now on I avoided chewing anything on the affected side of the mouth. Also, I avoided eating popcorn and sticky breads.
By Jan Angelo Maghinang4 days ago in Chapters
Comments (2)
How does one get over such things, Kids are so cruel. Hoping for the best outcome.
Great part 4!