"One time, a girl I wanted to be friends with asked if she could borrow my glasses because she thought that they would look good with her outfit. Now, I needed them to see, but I really liked her and didn't want her to hate me. So I gave them to her. I couldn't see the board during class that day, so I couldn't see what we needed to write down for the test the next day. I failed, and my mom took my phone away for a week," I explained to the lady dressed in an elegant outfit with pearls around her neck. "And that is the story of why I will never do anything nice ever again."

She slid the glasses on her face down the bridge of her nose, looking up at me through the gap. She set her pen down, "Ms. Russo, you are aware that your assignment was on The Great Depression, right?"

I nodded, "And when my phone was taken away, I was greatly depressed."

She looked as if she were fighting back an eye roll. After sighing softly, she told me, "I wouldn't be expecting an email from us, but you can check your inbox anyway."

Her words made me smile softly.

She hated me. Good.

I walked out of the college classroom. The sky was dark through the windows, the only light being from the fluorescent ceiling lights.

My parents have been pressuring me to go to the same college that they did, even though I don't want to. They say that I need to follow in my brothers' footsteps, and as much as I love him, it always makes me upset to hear that.

I pressed my palms against the door, swinging it open and stepping into the warm night air. There was a slight breeze that blew my skirt and brown hair around, but it wasn't enough to cool me down.

I love July. I love summer.

Crickets chirped in the grass as I walked down the sidewalk. My arms were crossed as I headed for the bus station, not wanting to bother my older brother by texting him and asking for a ride.

"Excuse me," a voice called from behind me. "Are you from around here?"

A man jogged to catch up with me. He continued, "I'm trying to find the Cherry Bar but keep getting lost."

"It's down that road," I pointed to the road across from us. "And then to your left."

"Thank you, you're a sweetheart," he smiled. "Do you have any money I could borrow?"

I suddenly froze. I watch true crime a lot, so I'm careful with my response. I don't want to seem too kind, but I also don't want to seem too mean and make him angry.

I shook my head, "No, sorry. Only enough to get me home, but have fun tonight!"

I turned around and continued walking, not giving him a chance to reply.

Maybe I should've been nicer. I do need friends.

I crossed my arms while I walked down the sidewalk, wondering why there weren't many people out. It was summer, and it was 10 pm. Boston is usually thriving at a time like this.

White getting a chill down my spine, something in my gut shifted. I glanced over my shoulder, noticing that the man was still following me.

I turned my head back around quickly, hoping that he didn't notice that I looked. My strides picked up, and I was nearly jogging.

I took another look over my shoulder, and my heart stopped beating seeing him directly behind me and reaching for me.

"Get-" my words were cut off by his hand slapping overtop of my mouth.

I tried to scream through the flesh covering my mouth, but it was no use. My shoes dug into the dirt as he started pulling me off of the sidewalk and towards the tiny forest beside the college. I clawed at his wrist, my nails drawing blood, but it wasn't enough to make him release me.

He threw me to the ground, tiny branches snapping beneath me. One of his hands held onto my neck as he threw his fist into my face, making a dull pain form in my eye. He picked me up and pressed me against the thick tree, and I tried my best to get him off of me, but I couldn't.

"Please don't kill me," I pleaded, tears burning my eyes.

His wicked face formed a smirk on it. He shrugged, "Don't worry, I won't."

He threw his knee into my stomach, making me hunch over and grab it out of pain.

He ripped my bag off of my back, delivering one last blow to my face before running back in the direction he had come.

I lay on the ground, staring up at the sky. My face hurts. My stomach hurts. My pride hurts.

Silent tears rolled out of my eyes as I looked up at the stars between the trees.

This is what it feels like to be weak.

And I never want to feel this way again.

I lay like that until I was able to get my tears and breathing under control. I pushed myself up, ignoring the pain coming from my ribs.

I kept my head down as I walked to the bus station, embarrassed whenever anybody would look at me. I brought my knees to my chest after getting on the bus, thankful that I always kept my debit card in my phone case, which didn't get stolen.

I quietly opened my front door after looking through the window to make sure nobody in my family was downstairs. I had gotten off the bus with my head low, and that was the same way I was going to enter my house.

I tiptoed upstairs, grabbing an icepack before going up to my room.

My heart dropped seeing my older brothers' light turn on beneath the crack of his door. I rushed into my room and into my connecting bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

My appearance was horrid. Bits of leaves were stuck in my hair and I had a nice black eye forming.

Plus, I was now down the $500 I had in my bag that he stole. That hurt the most because I was going to go out and get some ice cream tomorrow.

"Elle? What took you so long to get home?" Romeo asked from the other side of the door.

I have two brothers. A 24 year old one, Romeo, and a 17 year old one, Rio. They look so similar that they could be twins, despite being 7 years apart in age. Romeo is a very protective brother - he always makes sure I'm okay, gives me money despite my part-time job, and lets me borrow his car way more often than he probably should.

Rio's story is different. He's only been home for 6 months after being in rehab for his drug addiction. When he was 15, he started hanging out with people in high school that he shouldn't have. The crowd he hung out with were heroin addicts, and Rio quickly fell into that.

He hid it extremely well. The only reason my parents found out was because they found his stash while doing his laundry for him as a surprise since my parents constantly work and are never home.

But Rio is sweet. He's funny. And he overcame his addiction because he's strong.

"Missed the bus so I had to take the second one," I lied, raising the icepack to my eye.

"Oh. Okay. There's some pasta in the fridge if you want any," he said, and I pressed my ear to the door while I listened to his footsteps retreat.

I felt like I could breathe again once I heard him enter the hallway. I continued holding the ice to my eye as I exited the bathroom, shutting my bedroom door.

I didn't even bother changing my clothes as I got into bed. I covered my head with my blanket, my bottom lip trembling. I bit it as warm tears flooded out of my eyes, and my heart hurt in my chest.

Never again.

---------

The first thing that I did in the morning was take a shower. I lathered my hair and body in soap, wincing when I touched my ribs. A purple bruise sat on my left ribcage, acting as a constant reminder of that mans' knee hitting me with his full force.

Once I was changed, I sat on the edge of the bed. I googled a few places before calling the place that had the highest rating on google.

"Hello! How may I assist you today?" a kind girls' voice spoke from the other end.

I stuttered, "H-hi. Um, I understand if you can't since it's pretty short notice, but I was wondering if any of the self-defense teachers had any openings today."

"Let me check," she drawled out, followed by the sound of her clicking her computer mouse. "We do have one with Cross in a half-hour if that works?"

I nodded my head, "Yes, that's perfect. Thank you."

I quickly ended the call and tossed my phone onto my bed, rushing over to my closet. I grabbed black exercise leggings, which I definitely use all the time, and a white tank top.

I changed quickly before slipping my white running shoes on and brushing my hair.

Nearly forgetting about my black eye, I paused in my doorway. I went back into my bathroom, using makeup to cover it.

As I walked down the stairs, I saw Rio and Romeo sitting together at the kitchen table. Romeo was typing on his computer, probably doing something for work, and Rio was shoveling cereal into his face.

"Careful, Rio. You're gonna choke," I smiled at him.

"That's what she said," he said through his mouthful of cereal, making me smack the back of his head slightly.

I turned my attention to Romeo, "Is it okay if I use your car?"

"Sure. Where are you going?"

I nearly said a friends' house, but I bit my tongue realizing that I couldn't say that. I didn't have any friends, and my brothers knew that. They never made me feel bad about it, but it was still something that upset me. I'm just not good at forming bonds with people.

"I'm gonna get coffee," I lied.

He nodded, and Rio spoke up, "Make sure your ass doesn't try to parallel park. I've seen that horror movie too many times."

"You can diss my driving once you pass your test," I said to him while opening the front door.

As I shut it behind me, I heard him yell, "They say eight times the charm!"

I smiled to myself as I walked over to Romeos car.

I typed the address into my phone before pulling out of my driveway. Maybe Cross will become my friend. I wonder if Cross is their first or last name, or maybe just a name they go by.

I listened to the radio while I drove, singing way louder than I probably should've.

I parked out front of the building, and luckily, I didn't need to parallel park.

My hands pressed against the door, my skin being met with the air conditioning that was on inside of the building. It felt refreshing since the bright July sun was shining down while I walked inside, and I began regretting not putting my hair up.

The receptions gave me a small wave as I approached her.

"Excuse me? Do you know where I can find Cross?" I asked her.

She gave me a sweet smile and pointed, "Yes, just through that door."

I gave her a smile back before heading to the black door. I swung it open, my body freezing at what I saw.

Cross had his back turned to me. He wore black pants and boots with a slightly lighter shade of belt, and a white t-shirt that hugged him tightly. His muscles could be seen through the shirt, and it was clear he had been working out for years.

Dark tattoos covered his arms, the same color as his hair. I began to wonder what face matched this body.

"Hey, Cross? I'm here for the self-defense lesson," I spoke up, approaching the man's back.

He turned around, and I could feel my brown eyes widen. My lungs stopped accepting air and my lips parted slightly.

I knew this guy.

I sat on the grass, playing with my favorite toy. The bright sun shined down on me, and my mom made me lather myself in sunscreen before going outside.

A thump from in front of me made me look up, and I saw a soccer ball now in my backyard. A boys' head popped up from the other side of the white fence, his green eyes paired with dark black hair taking glances between me and the ball.

"Can you toss me my ball, please?"

I glared at him, and I was sure my anger was showing on my face. I set my toy down and pushed myself up, crossing my arms as I stared at him. I told him, "No."

"Why not?" his eyebrows lowered as the wind blew his hair around.

"Because you moved into the house my best friend Chrissie lived in. So bring her back, or else you will never get your ball back."

"I can't bring her back," he shrugged. "I don't even know who that is."

I stormed over to the ball, picking it up in my hands. I told him, "Then it looks like this is my ball now."

"Come on," he wined. "Don't be a bitch."

My jaw dropped. Kids aren't supposed to swear.

I yelled at him, "Don't call me a bitch, you fucking piece of bullshit!"

"Motherfucker!" he yelled back before sticking his tongue out at me.

"Don't talk about my mommy!" I shouted, lifting the ball above my head and throwing it at him with as much strength as I could.

The soccer ball hit him in the face, and I hunched over laughing. I laughed harder than I ever had before, and I watched him as he rubbed his forehead, where I had hit him.

He leaned slightly over the fence as he cursed, "You're a shit head!"

"You are a stupid idiot loser!"

I heard my mom gasp from the kitchen, followed by the glass sliding door opening. She rushed over to me and scolded me, "Maribelle! Apologize to the new neighbor now!"

Her calling me by my full name and not Elle made me clench my tiny fists even harder.

"I don't apologize to losers, mommy," I shrugged, making her jaw drop.

She picked me up, shaking her head. She apologized to the boy, "I'm sorry about my daughter, Nico."

"Put me down!" I tried to get out of her grip. "Let him meet my fists!"

She continued to scold me as she carried me inside the house, and I still struggled to get free. Once she stepped foot in the house, I took one last glance at Nico, and my jaw dropped seeing what he was doing.

He was standing in his backyard, holding the middle finger up to me.

I had never seen him again after that. A week later, a 'For sale' sign was in their front yard. My parents never knew why they moved, and an old couple moved in that still lives there to this day.

He had the same dark black hair and vibrant green eyes, but his facial features were sharper now. His jaw was chiseled, and there was a certain darkness behind his eyes that nearly made me shiver. His face was no longer innocent and childlike.

I thought maybe he didn't recognize me until his dark eyebrows lowered.

He took a step forward, his height towering over mine.

His deep and cold voice asked, "Maribelle?"