The Gift of Nothing | ✓

Crooked and Real Smiles

Chapter 11 | Crooked and Real Smiles

The last few days of November went by as fast as it came. I spent most days staying in my room, especially when my parents were home, or hanging out with the gang more often now. Still, I felt trapped in my own house, even though I could easily get up and walk out of it. I would sometimes sit on my bed, fiddling with my notebook, tapping my pen, just thinking about my relationship with my parents.

One thing I came across was that I never happily smiled around my parents anymore.

Every person has several types of smiles. There are ones that are warm, that should be given to someone's friends and family when they're happy. The are the polite smiles to strangers. And then there are the sad, forced smiles that sting just like tears. Those smiles are for the people that need it the most, for people who cannot smile for themselves. Those smiles are for wives who lost their husbands, and children who found out their brother was dead. They're the safest kind of smile. And I realized that was the kind of smile I gave to my parents. A sad, forced, cynical one.

I didn't know how I felt about that.

My phone vibrated next to me, startling me for a second. I glanced over at it, seeing that it was a text from Lizzy. I've become more acquainted with the gang over the past couple of weeks, so I wouldn't have been surprised if she wanted to hang out or something.

Have fun ;)

I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion. My phone buzzed once again, those time from Reece. I shook my head in amusement.

Hey, Chance. Wanna hang out? :D

I replied, agreeing to hang out with him. Thankfully, there was no school today because of a teacher conference. Reece then texted me, saying that he would be there in a few minutes. I slipped into my army jacket, wrapped a scarf around my necks, and grabbed my keys and phone. I was almost out the front door when my mom stopped me.

"Where are you going?" She asked, an eyebrow cocked up.

"Out." I didn't want her to know that I was going to hang out with Reece. After all, he was one of the people my mother forbade me to see.

"Out where?"

"Out the door...?" I was probably frustrating her. The way I spoke to her made me sound horrible like she was stupid. But I was a teenager and I spoke out of annoyance, which one day I would regret.

I threw a glance back at her, my hand poised on the doorknob, waiting for her to keep interrogating me. Her lips were curled downwards and her eyes were bunched together. But she didn't bother to ask me any more questions, which she should've done. Things changed over time.

And I didn't know how I felt about that.

"I'll see you when I see you." I mumbled, a little hurt, and left. Though, I was being a hypocrite. I hurt her, so she hurt me back. An eye for an eye, really. Maybe just maybe, if I showed her that I did love her, maybe she would show it back.

I didn't want to get hurt, though. Thinking back to it, I never thought that there was just good and bad people. I believed we were all bad and cruel to someone else, intentionally or unintentionally.

A few minutes later, a sleek motorcycle pulled up in front of my house. I raised an eyebrow at Reece, who took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his milking brown hair. He gave me a smile to which I returned.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hi," And then I thought of something, "Wait, so what's everyone else doing?"