Never Alone || Fourtris

Chapter 11

Christina drops me off a block away from my house, mostly because she's afraid of the neighborhood. We say our goodbyes and she leaves. I take a deep breathe and watch as the white vapor flows in the air as it exits my mouth. Its in the middle of November and its freezing. I don't have money to buy a really warm jacket so I just wear a thin sweater. I take out my small walkman and the tape from the Arctic Monkeys is already in. I press play and put my headphones on. 'Do I wanna to know' comes on and I walk to the beat heading towards the house, ignoring all the stares from the neighbors. As I approach the door, I take my headphones off and I can hear the music blasting. The air seems to be getting colder as I fumble for my keys that are lost in my backpack. Finally I pull them out and unlock the door. Everything is silent. No football games coming from the tv and no groaning. I walk in all the way and continue to listen to my music.

The dishes are a mess and I roll my eyes at the thought of washing them. Looks more like a mountain than an actual pile of dishes. I grab the sponge and dish soap and drop the thick liquid on the sponge. The first dish I start cleaning is covered in spaghetti sauce and cheese.

After a few minutes of destroying the pile of dishes, my phone buzzes. I dry my hands and reach in my pocket for it. This piece of plastic and metal and whatever its made out of, is the only thing Paul ever gave me, he said I needed it, not sure why though, you know cause I'm a foster kid and nothing really matters. I open my flip phone and notice the unknown number. It's a text.

The text read, "Hey"

I respond back with, "Who is this?"

They respond back a few seconds later, "Tobias"

How did he get my number?

"Where are you" he texts.

"Home" I respond.

"With who?"

"Why do you want to know?" Did I mean that rudely?

The door slams and my phone slips out of my hands as I jump from being startled. I catch it mid air, my heart beating rapidly fast. I quickly put my phone in my pocket and continue to do the dishes.

"Wheres my food!," He yells.

"In the fridge," I say.

He pulls his leftover food from the fridge into the microwave. I put my headphones back in to avoid listening to the hurtful things he has to say. I sense his movement from behind me as I wash the dishes and my headphones are ripped off my head. I turn around and notice his pissed face. I bite my lower lip and wait.

"Are you deaf or something?," he says.

I shake my head and Im guessing that pissed him off because he drops my headphones and pulls my hair.

"I called your name at least five times and you didn't answer!," he screams in my ear.

I scrunch up so his screaming doesn't do anymore damage to my ear.

"Pipe the fuck down!," someone from outside yells.

He lets go of me and grabs his plate.

"Get out of my sight," he says and walks away.

Thats strange. He would have beaten me? I grab my bag and rush upstairs, looking at every move he makes. I close the door and sit at my desk. There was only math homework to do, but I want to finish To Kill A Mockingbird first. Football games were coming from the downstairs tv. I try ignoring the sound of fans cheering and Buds loud remarks.

I continue reading and reading, the noises don't quiet down so I just put my book down. I grab my phone and look at the time. Already five o'clock.