Love, Hate and Hockey Skates

n the day of my 10th birthday. From that day my father had blamed me for her death, all because I had throw

lost his job and claimed disability to sit at home and drink. He would have flashbacks of my moth

s the world’s greatest actor. Every time someone had come to the door under the suspicion something was happenin

cing, my mother put me in ballet classes at the age of 5 and I fell in love with it, but

y teen years that the drinking and beatings got worse. I was 14 when my father struck me in the face f

at school, and no one wanted to go

f the way I was dressed or the way I acted. He loved to target my heavy make-up and baggy hoodies, taunting me about being fat and ugly

ess they were gay, then they most likely wanted him too. It was infuriating how no one saw the

the one time I did behind his back, he found the money hidden in my mattress and beat me until I confessed to where I had gotten it. I was given a curfew

own of Athens, one that hosted a lot of dance competitions. Since most of the contestants had come from the

here. It was the most exhilarating and liberating feeling I had ever felt when I was handed the keys and walked into that empty apartment. I had

was free and that was all that mattered. Now, I had the opportunity to go to school for dance, it was

hool, I had no experience in dance since I was 12 years old. The only school that was willing to accept me was a priva

a rundown studio at best. That would barely keep me afloat, I might as well continue with the underground competitions.

ould be out in the open. I already had a bunch of ideas for us to form dance groups and post on social me

ed all types of scarring creams and bruising lotions to get them down as much as possible and since

y make-up light and wore my chestnut brown hair down in natural wavy curls, then threw on a simple pair of skinny jeans and an olive green

nd caked-on make-up. I could be free and who I wanted to be, a chant I had been telling myself since the day

com

as flying my way. Thanks to quick dance reflexes, I ducked but managed to c

was none other than

Hu