Teenage Dream

10

            She finally got home, coming in quietly so that her mother wouldn’t hear her.  She was hoping that her mom was asleep and that Brad wasn’t there, but she wasn’t so lucky.  Brad and her mom were sitting on the sofa.  Her pillow and blanket had been thrown carelessly on the floor.  Charlie resisted an eye roll. 

She went over to the coat closet, which has become her clothes closet, and opened her duffel, taking out her dirty clothes tossing them in the bin in the bottom, she picked out a black tank top, with a green vest and went over to her dresser.  She put her laptop on the top with her phone and her purse, pulled out a pair of dark jeans, and underwear and a bra.  She pulled her stuff out of her duffel and threw the empty bag in the corner.  She clutched all the stuff against her chest, and awkwardly made her way to the bathroom, where she dropped it all on the floor, and locked the door.  She put her clothes on the counter, put her toothbrush and other stuff in the drawer where it belongs and then stripped, climbing into the shower. 

She climbed out, getting dressed, and brushing through her hair.  She put on concealer to cover her bruise and she attempted to rub it into the mark on her neck, but there was no disguising it.  She pulled her hair over her shoulders. Picked up her towel and clothes off the floor, and went back into the living room, taking the long way around the sofa, so that she wouldn’t cut in front of the TV, and put her dirty clothes in the bin in the closet.  She pulled on her converses, grabbed her bag and her cell. 

She glanced over her shoulder to see where Brad was looking, when she had determined his focus was no where near her, she hid her laptop, in the bottom drawer, under her jeans.  She picked up her gray leather jacket, but it still wasn’t quite dry.  She took it into the bathroom, to hang on a hook next to her towel, and reached into closet, grabbing a black cotton foodie.  She stuffed it into her purse, put her phone in her back pocket, grabbed her keys off the table by the door, and left. 

Neither her mom or Brad acknowledging her presence at any point.

  She walked to work.  She works at a cute vintage clothes store about 3 blocks away from her apartment.  Rosie, a middle aged, “Young” woman, who wears “hip” clothes, and smokes 6 packs a day, greeted her as she walked in.  Charlie’s only worked here about 6 months, but Rosie’s been nicer to her and more motherly than her real mom has ever been.  “Hey doll baby, I was hoping you’d come in today” she said, giving her a smile, Charlie smiled back.  She works “whenever”  It’s steady business, but it’s never busy.  Rosie lives upstairs, and is there all the time.  If she ever has plans, she can call Charlie up and ask her come in, but otherwise, Charlie chooses her hours, and Rosie pays her under the table.

  Charlie keeps all the money she makes in a hollowed out textbook from an 8th grade math class, and she keeps it hidden in the back corner of her closet, on the top shelf, behind a box of childhood memories.  She’s saving up for her “Great Escape” when she gets accepted to college, any college, anywhere, and gets the hell out of this town.  She applied to every college that took free applications, and a few that she had to pay for.  She’s not being picky, this isn’t about her education. 

            It’s still only September, and she’s still sending out applications every chance she gets.  She wonders, every time she fills one out, where Logan has applied, if it will be close.

She’s also filling out every scholarship application she comes across.  One of them has to work.

  The store was empty.  Charlie booted up the computer, and grabbed a pile of clothes that needed to be rehung.  Rosie went upstairs.  Charlie cranked up ITunes, and sang along as she hung up the clothes, taking them to the proper location.  She came across a black Ramones tee,  Exactly like the one she had borrowed from Logan, but it was a girls shirt, and it was her size.  She smiled, and tossed it on top of her purse under the counter.

  A few people came in to browse through out the lazy Sunday afternoon, but no one purchased anything.  It was about 5, when Kayla called. 

“Hello?”

“Hey girl, I’m so sorry, I was at Avalon’s and totally forgot my phone.  We ended up going to the mall today, and I just got home, and saw all the missed calls, what’s up?”

“Nothing now.” Charlie said, folding a tee shirt. 

“What do you mean?”

“Those were from last night.  But it’s fine, Logan picked me up.”

“Logan? Picked you up? Why didn’t Jackson bring you home?”

“I really don’t’ want to talk about it, especially over the phone.”

“Charlie” she whined. 

“I’m at work Kayla, and it’s complicated.” She sighed.  They talked for about 20 minutes more, before a customer walked in, and Charlie had to hang up. 

Around 9, she started the walk home. 

A/N  The song on the side, Olly Murs- Troublemaker is def my song of the day.  I've listened to it like 20 times. lol.  Am I the only one that thinks Flo Rida's part is pointless? Just me? Oh, ok.

=)