Innocent

Chapter 6

Daniel rat me out to my parents. He told them that I had been sneaking out. I didn’t tell them that I was hanging with James. They would lock me up for good and I would never be allowed to leave the home again.

I had barely made it across the front lawn when I came home around ten o’clock. Mom had been peeking through the curtains. She and Dad opened the door and demanded for me to get indoors. They questioned me, wondering where I had gone to and why I didn’t tell anyone. I sat there on the couch as my parents scolded at me. I refused to tell them where I really was. They grounded me. I wasn’t allowed to leave the house unless. I had to go to work or if I really needed to go somewhere like the shops, or if the entire family was out, I had to be with one of them. Other than that I wasn’t allowed to step foot outside of the house. I was only allowed in the backyard, but couldn’t be on the front lawn. I also had to do the dishes every night. It was lame. I also had to do the dishes every night. It was totally ridiculous. I knew they wanted me to be safe from the world, but I seriously didn’t need to be treated like that.

I walked the stairs to the second floor. I walked past Daniel’s room that was next to the bathroom. He was standing at the door with his arms across his chest and leaning his back against the door frame. He had a smirk on his face, proud of what he had done.

I ignored him as I walked past. I headed to my room and closed the door, locking it. I didn’t want anyone in my family to come in. I grabbed my iPod from my bedside table and switched it on, rock music filling my ears. Lying down on my bed I thought about James and thought of how I was going to be able to hang out with him. It was going to be hard to sneak out of here without anyone knowing where I was going. But I didn’t care. I was still going to see him. Nothing could stop me.

If I was grounded by my parents, I could imagine what James’ dad was going to do to him.

The next morning I didn’t bother to greet my parents good morning. I made my cereal and ate my breakfast in silent. On purpose I snuck out of the house and headed to work on my own without one of my parents driving me. I had my own car, but I don’t get to drive it as much. I knew I was going to get into so much trouble for leaving the house on my own.

I arrived at the café I worked at, checking in and then began serving tables. I have been working here for two years now and I kind of hated it. I get some people coming in and they recognise me from the media. They don’t say anything or if they do, they tell me how sorry they really are. Most of the times I just want to say “Bull crap. You aren’t really sorry for what happened.” But of course, if I said that I would have gotten fired. I just want people to stop saying they feel sorry for me. But mostly I just want them to stop looking at James as a criminal. I will do anything just to get people to respect him.

I approached one table with these two women who looked to be in their thirties who recognised me. One of them asked me how I was coping now that James was out. I ignored her and just placed her cappuccino down in front of her, as well as a latte for the other woman. I walked off without answering her question. She didn’t need to know the answer.

I was about to serve another table when my brother walked in. He grabbed my arm.

“We need to talk,” he said.

I pushed his hand away from me. “No, we don’t. And if you don’t mind, I’m working.”

“This will only take a second.”

“No, I’m working.”

I turned and headed towards another table with a group of teenagers. I greeted them and asked what they wanted. They told me and I wrote their order down on the notepad. I ripped the piece of paper and placed it with the other orders. Daniel came over to me, grabbing my arm. I tried to pull away from him, but each time I tried to pull away from him, he would tighten his grip around my arm. He dragged me over to a corner of the café.”