Tip Toes

Chapter three

Chapter 3

I lay in my bed, with my computer practically burning a hole through my legs. That’s when I heard the sound. A door slammed open, and shut again.

"JAYDEN! MARGARET! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" screamed the drunken Frankie.

I swallowed hard, praying nothing would happen. I hopped out of bed and slowly made my way downstairs.

I suddenly saw Frankie, about to do something I thought was impossible. 

He had a gun.

"Frankie what are you-"

"Shut up hoe," he said fiercely. 

My mother and I sat on the couch, closely squeezing each others hands.

"I love you so much Jayd-" she started so say, but was interrupted by Frankie. 

"Get on your knees bitch." He pointed to my mom, who kneeled with no question.

She always did what he asked, so he wouldn't cause harm to me.

"Let Jayden go please." She croaked through her tears.

He laughed, like this was funny.

"I want her to watch this." he said to her. "This serves you right for talking back to me. You're an animal."

He raised his gun slightly. So it pointed perfectly at my mothers’ head. I started to cry, and scream. I tried to pounce on him but he punched me right across the face. A horrifying sneer spread across his face as if he were a child playing an immature prank. He cocked his head slightly to the left and quickly winked at me, as though he was having fun.

"Please, please!" I screamed at him.

He cackled like a madman, a crazy physcopath who belonged in solitary confinement. My mother looked so fragile, so young and helpless. I could see the grey hairs standing up on the back of her neck, and flatten out again when they fade into a light brown. She didn't cry, she didn't scream, but she looked at me and gave me a look I will never forget. She put her hand over her heart, and looked at me with a love I had never been given before. I placed my hand over my heart as well...

and then the bullet sounded. 

"If anyone finds out about this, you're next" he threatened, tilting the barrel of his gun towards me. I shuddered a little, but soon tensed up as he made his way to the fridge for another beer.

I was frozen, it was like someone stuck me in a freezer for a week straight. My heart felt as though it were torn in two, but my head wasn't in sync with my heart. I didn't know what to think, but i remember that my mother can't think at all. 

She's not dead, she can't be.

The house was silent.

I felt as though I couldn't live, in fact I didn't want to live. I should have taken the gun and shot the bullet right through my skull for it to come out the other end. I couldn't tell anyone about what happened, except Lacey of course. 

As of now, she was the only one keeping me alive.

When I felt as though I could move my limbs again, I sauntered up the stairs barely breathing. My eyes were wide open, it looked as if I had been in a horror movie. In fact, this was worse than a horror movie, because when a mother is shot in a movie, you know it's fake. 

I threw myself onto my bed, scared to death knowing that the man that murdered my mother was downstairs. But I closed my eyes anyway, and fell asleep as quickly as I ever have before.

                                                                *              *                 *

"Lace..." I walked up to her in school.

She smiled and out of nowhere I broke out crying. I just cried and cried and cried. I screamed and hit everything that came my way.

She just stood there and watched me let it all out. She had no idea what happened, and was in no rush to find out. This is why I loved the girl.

Finally I stopped, and she knew for sure something wasn't right.

"What’s wrong Jayden?" She held me close in her arms.

"He shot her Lace. He shot her." And that’s when Lacey started crying with me. Both of us in the middle of the hall just crying in each other’s arms like complete idiots.

"Jayden...you have to tell someone." She cried even harder. Teachers were staring, but they knew better than to just walk up to a sophomore girl and ask them why they were crying. 

"I can’t Lace. He'll shoot me. He promised." I hugged her tighter. "I really love you Lace."

"I love you too Jayden." She smiled at me.

"No Lacey, like I really love you. And I want to be with you."

"You're a lesbian?" She sounded surprised.

"I think..." I was a little embarrassed.

"That’s okay with me." And she pulled me in closer.

God, I love this girl.