Mistreated
Lasagna
September 3rd
Iris’s POV:
I sort of regret telling Harry I’d bring him movies. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s the fact that I’m going to have to lug my laptop and DVDs to and from school. I don’t really mind it, but I know there’s a possibility I’m going to get pushed and wind up dropping my laptop. This thing is my everything. This computer is where I keep my deepest darkest secrets, talk about what’s going on, and mention that I want to die. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane, I suppose.
I’m just happy I’ll be getting to listen to music. My mom won’t even get me a stereo, you know, the one thing I can listen to with my hearing aids in. I bought one once, but she just took it away and gave it to my sister. She even told my sister she bought it for her. Stupid Bitch. That’s the only cruel thing she’s ever really done to me. Other than that, she just yells and lets me do whatever. Now, thanks to Harry, I’ll be happily listening to music. Listen to me, misusing the word ‘happy’. In other words, I’ll have two things to keep me sane now, I’ll still be sad.
Well, I’m ready another day in hell. Walking up to school, I was already received disgusted looks. I just tried my best to pretend everyone around me were blurs and blobs. I made it to my locker without causing any damage to my computer and placed it inside for safe keeping.
Surprisingly, I’m still here after break and my first two classes. Now, it’s lunch, the worst part of the day. Why is it the worst? Maybe because when I walk into the cafeteria it’s a ‘No Iris’ zone. I thought about going to Mrs. Clark’s class, but it turns out she has a substitute today. There’s no running. The cafeteria made me claustrophobic and uncomfortable knowing how many people were in there, but it's the only place to get food. I can do this.
I shrugged off as much nerves as I could before walking into the loud cafeteria. I went to the lunch line and grabbed a tray, slowly walking behind the line. I noticed the once roaring cafeteria was now in complete and udder silence. My heart began racing, feeling like it could explode at any minute. I cautiously turned around to see everyone staring at me. They definitely never expected to see me in here again since I'm always gone by now.
I swallowed hard and turned back around to continue getting my food. I could feel the people in line with me giving me cold stares. I wanted so badly to leave, but I wanted so badly to try and stay here for a full day. You can do this, Iris. You can do this.
Once I got my food, I faced the tables, trying to find an empty one for me. When I finally spotted one, I practically ran to it, but some cheerleaders saw me heading for it and beat me to it. No one wanted me in this cafeteria, even if I was just going to sit there and mind my own business.
I scanned the cafeteria some more, trying not to let tears fall as I observed all the eyes that were on me. Every table was filled with at least two people, and all I wanted to do was run. No running, Iris. Just sit in the corner or something. I made my way to the corner of the cafeteria but I was bumped into, making today’s lasagna splat against my shirt.
“Oops,” Riley chuckled with a smirk on her face. And guess who was holding hands with her? Harry.
Harry’s POV:
“Ry,” I yanked my hand away from her. She definitely did that on purpose. “That was fucking rude.” I faced Iris to see pain written all over her face. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” Her hurt expression suddenly turned to anger as she threw her tray to the floor making people laugh at and mock poor Iris. She shook her head at me, refusing my help, and ran out of the cafeteria. As soon as the doors closed behind her, everyone in the cafeteria resumed their chatter. What just happened?
“Why would you want to help her?” Riley growled.
I clenched my fists at my sides, “Maybe because you weren’t going to do anything about it.”
“Well if you were around more you’d know what she’s done to Scott and Andrew.”
“What did she do that was so bad?” I scoffed. This has got to be good. I crossed my arms impatiently anticipating her answer.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and pouted, “Sweetie…” God, I want to barf at that name. That’s what my mum calls me, so it just sounds gross coming from her. I refuse to tell her that though; a happy girlfriend means a happy Harry. “She’s an attention seeker. She told people she was dating Andrew when in reality he was just using her for sex.” Why are people pissed about that? I can point out three people in this cafeteria that are doing the same thing. “As for Scott, she accused him of raping her.”
Normally, I’d believe that, but those bruises on the back of Iris’s legs tell me otherwise. Did these people not see them? They were quite fucking obvious! It was like she was trying to tell someone what was happening to her and no one cared, no one believed her. I need to see her. I need to find her.
“Bullshit,” I spat at Riley before removing myself out of her embrace. Then, I began running to the tracks. Iris has to be there.
Yeah, that was harsh of me towards Riley, but how dare she feed me lies. How dare she treat someone like this. I care for the girl a lot but sometimes she’s a real pain in the arse. Fucking bullying someone.
“Iris?” I found her laying on the tracks, trying to breathe between her sobs. “Are you okay?” I walked closer, but she didn’t speak. “Iris?” I squatted down and caressed her arm. She let out a sudden scream and crawled away from me. She’s scared and I think I know what triggered it.
“You don’t want to be touched?” She nodded her head, squeezing her eyes shut to allow more tears to fall. “And those bruises…” I paused and pointed to her legs. “Scott did that?” Her breath shuddered as she nodded to me again. “Okay.” I sat down next to her and didn’t speak another word. If she’s anything like me, she just needs someone to sit at her side, so I sat there and let her cry.
“Here,” I handed Iris my iPod after her cries finally died down.
She half smiled and took it from me, “Thank you.”
“Eh, it’s no big deal. I have my iPhone.”
“No Harry, I mean for everything. I’ve never had this,” the palm of her hand circled around in front of us.
I furrowed my brows, “What? A person to sit next to?”
“No, a person who actually seems to give a damn about me,” her tone sounded emotionless as she stared down at her messy shirt.
I propped my knee up and rested my arm on it. “Iris, no one deserves to go through what you’re going through.”
“Are you sure?” Is she serious?
“What makes you think you deserve all this pain?”
She turned her whole body towards me, “More like who? And the answer? Everyone. Everyone makes me feel like I shouldn’t even exist in this world. Everyone makes me feel like I’m doing everything wrong.”
“What about your family?”
My question made her tense up. “What family?” she stared blankly at the trees in the distance. “They don’t care either.”
My heart broke at her words. She literally has nobody. Yeah I get punched every day, but I still have my mum, Riley and all of my friends. I couldn’t imagine being alone in this world. She’s in a far worse situation than me.
“I care,” I admitted. I want to be there for her. I feel horrible for her, knowing what she’s going through. “I’m here if you need me.”
She sniffled, “No one has ever said that to me.”
“Well, we can just be there for each other, right?” She nodded and allowed a few more tears to escape her pretty eyes. I curled my lips and turned away from her, hoping she wouldn’t notice I was on the verge of crying myself. “We’re both really fucked up,” my voice broke as I looked back at her. God I sound like a baby, but I suppose I have every right to.
“Yes, we are." She wiped every last tear from her face. “You're lucky I even brought that,” she pointed to her laptop that sat on the ground near me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for an action movie.”
“Action it is,” I lightly chuckled. “But here…” I dug through my backpack for my apple. “Eat this.”
“Harry-“
I shook my head, “I don’t want you to starve.”
She nodded, “Thanks.”
Iris’s POV:
I want so badly to tell him his girlfriend is the cause of most of my pain, but I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll lose him too. It means the world to me that he’s on my side and that he actually believes me. He understands me so well: he gets that I don’t want to be touched and I’m not exactly looking for a conversation. It felt good to finally tell someone about what’s going on with me, and it felt good knowing he’s still here. I can’t lose that, I refuse to. If that means I have to keep quiet about Riley, then so be it.
“Do you know sign language?” Harry grinned as I closed my laptop.
“Yes I do.”
He ran his fingers through his curls, “Well tomorrow you should teach me some signs.”
“Since I won’t let you take my laptop home, it’s the least I can do.”
He shook his head, “I want to learn it so I can talk to you during class without getting caught.”
“Deal,” I smiled at him.
“Your smile is beautiful, Mercy,” he pointed to my face. “Keep it.”
During the movie I asked him his last name. Random, I know. He was okay with it though and asked for mine in return. He told me he liked my name because it meant he could call me Mercy.
I tucked some hair behind my ears, “I’ll give it a shot. See you tomorrow, Styles.”
For a second, his sparkling eyes met mine, “Bye Mercy.” I smiled to him once more and headed home, noticing something rather unusual: the smile wouldn’t leave my face.
Iris’s POV:
I sort of regret telling Harry I’d bring him movies. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s the fact that I’m going to have to lug my laptop and DVDs to and from school. I don’t really mind it, but I know there’s a possibility I’m going to get pushed and wind up dropping my laptop. This thing is my everything. This computer is where I keep my deepest darkest secrets, talk about what’s going on, and mention that I want to die. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane, I suppose.
I’m just happy I’ll be getting to listen to music. My mom won’t even get me a stereo, you know, the one thing I can listen to with my hearing aids in. I bought one once, but she just took it away and gave it to my sister. She even told my sister she bought it for her. Stupid Bitch. That’s the only cruel thing she’s ever really done to me. Other than that, she just yells and lets me do whatever. Now, thanks to Harry, I’ll be happily listening to music. Listen to me, misusing the word ‘happy’. In other words, I’ll have two things to keep me sane now, I’ll still be sad.
Well, I’m ready another day in hell. Walking up to school, I was already received disgusted looks. I just tried my best to pretend everyone around me were blurs and blobs. I made it to my locker without causing any damage to my computer and placed it inside for safe keeping.
Surprisingly, I’m still here after break and my first two classes. Now, it’s lunch, the worst part of the day. Why is it the worst? Maybe because when I walk into the cafeteria it’s a ‘No Iris’ zone. I thought about going to Mrs. Clark’s class, but it turns out she has a substitute today. There’s no running. The cafeteria made me claustrophobic and uncomfortable knowing how many people were in there, but it's the only place to get food. I can do this.
I shrugged off as much nerves as I could before walking into the loud cafeteria. I went to the lunch line and grabbed a tray, slowly walking behind the line. I noticed the once roaring cafeteria was now in complete and udder silence. My heart began racing, feeling like it could explode at any minute. I cautiously turned around to see everyone staring at me. They definitely never expected to see me in here again since I'm always gone by now.
I swallowed hard and turned back around to continue getting my food. I could feel the people in line with me giving me cold stares. I wanted so badly to leave, but I wanted so badly to try and stay here for a full day. You can do this, Iris. You can do this.
Once I got my food, I faced the tables, trying to find an empty one for me. When I finally spotted one, I practically ran to it, but some cheerleaders saw me heading for it and beat me to it. No one wanted me in this cafeteria, even if I was just going to sit there and mind my own business.
I scanned the cafeteria some more, trying not to let tears fall as I observed all the eyes that were on me. Every table was filled with at least two people, and all I wanted to do was run. No running, Iris. Just sit in the corner or something. I made my way to the corner of the cafeteria but I was bumped into, making today’s lasagna splat against my shirt.
“Oops,” Riley chuckled with a smirk on her face. And guess who was holding hands with her? Harry.
Harry’s POV:
“Ry,” I yanked my hand away from her. She definitely did that on purpose. “That was fucking rude.” I faced Iris to see pain written all over her face. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” Her hurt expression suddenly turned to anger as she threw her tray to the floor making people laugh at and mock poor Iris. She shook her head at me, refusing my help, and ran out of the cafeteria. As soon as the doors closed behind her, everyone in the cafeteria resumed their chatter. What just happened?
“Why would you want to help her?” Riley growled.
I clenched my fists at my sides, “Maybe because you weren’t going to do anything about it.”
“Well if you were around more you’d know what she’s done to Scott and Andrew.”
“What did she do that was so bad?” I scoffed. This has got to be good. I crossed my arms impatiently anticipating her answer.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and pouted, “Sweetie…” God, I want to barf at that name. That’s what my mum calls me, so it just sounds gross coming from her. I refuse to tell her that though; a happy girlfriend means a happy Harry. “She’s an attention seeker. She told people she was dating Andrew when in reality he was just using her for sex.” Why are people pissed about that? I can point out three people in this cafeteria that are doing the same thing. “As for Scott, she accused him of raping her.”
Normally, I’d believe that, but those bruises on the back of Iris’s legs tell me otherwise. Did these people not see them? They were quite fucking obvious! It was like she was trying to tell someone what was happening to her and no one cared, no one believed her. I need to see her. I need to find her.
“Bullshit,” I spat at Riley before removing myself out of her embrace. Then, I began running to the tracks. Iris has to be there.
Yeah, that was harsh of me towards Riley, but how dare she feed me lies. How dare she treat someone like this. I care for the girl a lot but sometimes she’s a real pain in the arse. Fucking bullying someone.
“Iris?” I found her laying on the tracks, trying to breathe between her sobs. “Are you okay?” I walked closer, but she didn’t speak. “Iris?” I squatted down and caressed her arm. She let out a sudden scream and crawled away from me. She’s scared and I think I know what triggered it.
“You don’t want to be touched?” She nodded her head, squeezing her eyes shut to allow more tears to fall. “And those bruises…” I paused and pointed to her legs. “Scott did that?” Her breath shuddered as she nodded to me again. “Okay.” I sat down next to her and didn’t speak another word. If she’s anything like me, she just needs someone to sit at her side, so I sat there and let her cry.
“Here,” I handed Iris my iPod after her cries finally died down.
She half smiled and took it from me, “Thank you.”
“Eh, it’s no big deal. I have my iPhone.”
“No Harry, I mean for everything. I’ve never had this,” the palm of her hand circled around in front of us.
I furrowed my brows, “What? A person to sit next to?”
“No, a person who actually seems to give a damn about me,” her tone sounded emotionless as she stared down at her messy shirt.
I propped my knee up and rested my arm on it. “Iris, no one deserves to go through what you’re going through.”
“Are you sure?” Is she serious?
“What makes you think you deserve all this pain?”
She turned her whole body towards me, “More like who? And the answer? Everyone. Everyone makes me feel like I shouldn’t even exist in this world. Everyone makes me feel like I’m doing everything wrong.”
“What about your family?”
My question made her tense up. “What family?” she stared blankly at the trees in the distance. “They don’t care either.”
My heart broke at her words. She literally has nobody. Yeah I get punched every day, but I still have my mum, Riley and all of my friends. I couldn’t imagine being alone in this world. She’s in a far worse situation than me.
“I care,” I admitted. I want to be there for her. I feel horrible for her, knowing what she’s going through. “I’m here if you need me.”
She sniffled, “No one has ever said that to me.”
“Well, we can just be there for each other, right?” She nodded and allowed a few more tears to escape her pretty eyes. I curled my lips and turned away from her, hoping she wouldn’t notice I was on the verge of crying myself. “We’re both really fucked up,” my voice broke as I looked back at her. God I sound like a baby, but I suppose I have every right to.
“Yes, we are." She wiped every last tear from her face. “You're lucky I even brought that,” she pointed to her laptop that sat on the ground near me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for an action movie.”
“Action it is,” I lightly chuckled. “But here…” I dug through my backpack for my apple. “Eat this.”
“Harry-“
I shook my head, “I don’t want you to starve.”
She nodded, “Thanks.”
Iris’s POV:
I want so badly to tell him his girlfriend is the cause of most of my pain, but I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll lose him too. It means the world to me that he’s on my side and that he actually believes me. He understands me so well: he gets that I don’t want to be touched and I’m not exactly looking for a conversation. It felt good to finally tell someone about what’s going on with me, and it felt good knowing he’s still here. I can’t lose that, I refuse to. If that means I have to keep quiet about Riley, then so be it.
“Do you know sign language?” Harry grinned as I closed my laptop.
“Yes I do.”
He ran his fingers through his curls, “Well tomorrow you should teach me some signs.”
“Since I won’t let you take my laptop home, it’s the least I can do.”
He shook his head, “I want to learn it so I can talk to you during class without getting caught.”
“Deal,” I smiled at him.
“Your smile is beautiful, Mercy,” he pointed to my face. “Keep it.”
During the movie I asked him his last name. Random, I know. He was okay with it though and asked for mine in return. He told me he liked my name because it meant he could call me Mercy.
I tucked some hair behind my ears, “I’ll give it a shot. See you tomorrow, Styles.”
For a second, his sparkling eyes met mine, “Bye Mercy.” I smiled to him once more and headed home, noticing something rather unusual: the smile wouldn’t leave my face.
Notes
Thank you guys for all the subscriptions and votes. I just might do a double update tomorrow, so keep it up. Love you guys <3
Question Time:
Is Iris doing the right thing by not speaking up about Riley?
I love this story so much!!!
11/18/17