And then he stopped. Shane leaned his forehead against mine, breathing heavily, our eyes still closed, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Astra," he mumbled against my lips. "Please don't hurt yourself."
And all at once, his body fell l...
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C H A P T E R S I X
A s t r a *.✧
"When did they give it to you?" Brad asked, swinging the paper form around like a fly-swatter.
"Yesterday," I mumbled quietly. "The field trip's tomorrow. They said it's gonna look good on our college applications."
"Central park, eh?" He squinted, silent for a few moments as he read the form. My lungs have forgotten how to function properly and I stay paralysed in an unknown fear, awaiting his response.
"Why didn't you give it to us yesterday?"
Because you were too busy beating my ass for being too loud in the morning.
"Sorry," I whispered, so quietly that I couldn't even hear my own voice.
"What?" He pointed to his ear. "I can't hear you! Speak up!"
I cleared my throat, looking down at the carpeted floor. "Sorry," I said, much louder.
"More like it," he smirked, the end of a cigarette dangling out of a corner of his mouth. His teeth were rotten and yellow, some of them stained black at the edges. "Hey Jo! Do you think we should let her go?"
"Go where?" My mom peeked her head out of the kitchen, buttoning up her green uniform as she got ready to work her shift at the supermarket. Her brown hair was pulled into a lousy bun.
"Central park. Tomorrow. Some day trip. Says it'll look good on her college application, like.... developing research skills or some shit."
She thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't mind. I mean, she deserves it, I guess. That pasta she made today was delish."
Brad nodded, agreeing with her. He frowned as he looked at the sheet and then back up at me, raising an eyebrow. His eyes observed me for a few seconds and all I could hear was the sound of my own heart beating in my ears. Please say yes.
"Gimme a pen."
I internally let out a sigh of relief. I handed him a black biro and watched as he uncapped the lid, scribbling down his details onto the paper.
Brad used to be a nice guy, always buying us chocolates every weekend and once he got married to mom, taking us to different places all the time. But then he lost his job. Money became tight.
And somehow it was all my fault. I wasn't responsible enough. I didn't help enough. I didn't study hard enough.
He snapped his fingers in front of me, waving his hand in front of my face. I looked up, suddenly back to reality. I took the form he pressed into my hand.
"Thank you," I smiled genuinely, hoping he could see it in my eyes.
"You're welcome," he grumbled out as he stood up and stretched. "Steve'll be expecting me at the bar tonight," he said to mom, pecking her on the lips as he walked past. She nodded and grabbed the house keys.
