Chapter Two: Stranger Things Did Happen Here...

4.6K 127 32
                                    

Chapter Two

            Nick has been calling me lately. I know it's wrong, but I ignore him. Every single time. I pick up, just to hear the sound of his voice, and put my phone on mute immediately. I can hear him, on the other side of the line, talking to me, pleading for me to talk to him, while I silently cry on my own side. I don't know who gave him my number. Maybe he didn't even ask for it, and someone just gave it to him.

            I'll just add that to the list of things I'm still trying to figure out.

            It's getting worse. My father lashed out at me the other day, calling me names that I wouldn't even dare to think about. He grabbed and pulled my hair, slapping me while he screams every single piece of profanity he knows at the top of his lungs. The doctor's had to subdue him, but the look in his eyes as he slipped from reality once again is what is causing me to have so many nightmares. I don't even know what brought it on. One second, he was talking to me about why my mother and father named me Holly, and where I got my blue eyes from, and the next his hands were on my neck.

             I never did find out why I had blue eyes. He was saying something about my mother, and then... that's just when he snapped. I guess I should have seen it coming. Any sort of subject about his past is touchy, especially one that involves my mother. They haven't been allowed to see each other but this one time about five years ago. But it wasn't the same. I'd watched the tape of them, on my psychiatrists' request, and I could see that even the way they hugged was forced. My mother looked alive again, though. She looked like the superwoman I used to think she was. The one that bandaged up any cut and kissed any bruise. I miss that.

            "Are you okay miss?" this homeless man across from me on the bus asks. I look up, purse my lips and shake my head, which surprised me. I usually wasn't honest. "Well, what's wrong?" he pushed.

            "I'm , uh, about to go see my parents," I answer.

            "And what's so bad about that?" he asks behind crossed arms.

            "They're in a mental institute," I blurt out. Then I feel my neck grow warm and I bite my lip and look down. At least half the bus is looking at me in curiosity now.

            "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about that, sweetie," he says. "But, if it makes you feel any better, I lost both of my parents when I was only a kid."

            The air inside this bus grows too stuffy all too quickly. I grab the passenger brake quickly and pull it with haste, and as my feel the bus slowing I grab my stuff. Then I make my way to the door and exit, but not before I pause and look at the man and whisper, "I wish they would have died. They'd be in a better place than they are now." The guy gives a dumbfounded look and I leave before I do something stupid like cry.

            The bus dropped me off about two blocks from Morewood Hospital for the Mentally Ill, but I grit my teeth and continue my trek in the rain. I should have brought and umbrella, because it would have protected me from this freezing rain that might get me sick soon. I decide that it'd be best if I waited it out, to take care of my health. I see a coffee shop and quickly enter and shiver at it's warm bliss. The line is nonexistent, so I step right up and look at the menu. A tea would sound really good right now...

            "Can I help you?" a low voice asks near me.

            I jump, startled by the proximity of its owner. I come eye-to-eye with a handsome brunette, with  green eyes the color of grass in the springtime. While I'm trying to pinpoint where I've seen him before I realize that his face is about five inches from mine because he's leaning across the counter and I back up, flustered. "I'll have an um... tea."

            He smirks. "What kind of tea, pretty lady?"

            Despite my best efforts, I blush. "Um, I'll have some Passion."

            "Coming right up," he says and grins at me, and I can't help but swoon a little. "What's your name?" he asks, prepared to scribble my name on the cup with sharpie.

            "Um, Holly," I said with a small smile, and he nodded.       

            While he's preparing my drink, I take my time and cool down. I grab napkins and dab my sweaty face, and whenever my server turns around and flashes a smile at me, I try to appear rather bored. When he's finished, he hands me the cup. "That'll be $4.05."

            I reach into my pocket and curse silently when I realized I don't have my wallet, as I didn't think I would need it. "Um..."

            "Forgot your wallet?" the server guesses.

            "Um, no," I say, looking down and scolding myself for not carrying a purse like any other girl in the world.

            "Yes, you did," he says with a chuckle. "The look on your face looked like you just had a heart attack."

            I narrowed my eyes, and then crossed my arms. "I didn't think I'd need it."

            He sobered up and smiled at me. "Tell you what. For making my day with your relative cuteness, I'll let you have this one on the house."

            I knit my brows in confusion. "Won't you get in trouble?"

            He scoffed. "My dad could fire me all he wants. But Richard knows I make the best cappuccinos in town and that we'd be out of business if it wasn't for me."

            I nodded slowly and picked up the cup. "Well, thanks I guess." I look at this name tag. "Patrick. Thanks Patrick."

            His face clouds immediately. "That's not my name."

            "Uh-huh. So what is it then?" I ask sarcastically.

            "It's Colton."

            "How did you get that from Patrick?" I raise my brows.

            "I've always wanted to be called that," he admits.

            "Sure, Mr. Star," I tease.

            "What? I'm not Patrick from Spongebob!" he says with a blush.

            "You sure are pink enough to be him!" I say, sipping on my cup and backing out of the coffee shop.

            "Don't make me regret giving you that tea for free!" he warns with a pointed finger.

            I push the door open. "I won't, Star!" I hear his groan of frustration before the door closes, and I giggle. It had stopped raining, but the cold makes me freeze. I'd never acted like that. Ever. What the hell is wrong with me? Giggling like a fool, smiling... And another to the list.

            Trudging off, I drink my tea and got goose bumps from its heat. I mentally prepare myself to see my mother. Tell myself that it's not her fault she's like that. Because sometimes life happens and we're not prepared for it.

            Once I reach the hospital, I chug down the rest of the tea, and the heat scalds my throat, and it burns, but in a good way. Like those long summer days, playing by the lake and being in the sun for a while. I could almost hear my mother call out my name again. The memory leaves too soon. I stare back at my reflection in the glass entrance and I see a blond girl with curly hair, and blue eyes the color of the sky in the background of Microsoft computers. Then I remember the episode with my father, and I discard the tea.

            Right before the cup slips out of my fingers, I see numbers. I bring it back into my sight, and smile at Patrick's note. Reflexively, I take out my phone and dial in the number, and then I realize I'm acting like a fool again, and put away my phone. But not before pressing the save button.

**A/N** How'd ya'll like the second chapter? :) Comment, rate, appreciate! :)

TomorrowWhere stories live. Discover now