The Marx Brothers

Chapter Three - 'Guilt'

"What about Oscar, I know he's got a serious thing for you?" Penny continued to talk about boys as we sat in the middle of the food court, chomping on chips and gravy

"What is it with you and hooking me up?" I sighed as I dipped my hot chips into the steaming cup of gravy

"The school dance is coming up and you still haven't made any decisions about it" She nagged me

"That's because I wasn't planning on going"

"You have too, please, everyone is going, you need to do these things, you need to get out of the house, again, you said it yourself"

"I don't care that everyone else is going" I shot back

"I take offence to that"

"Is Jaz going to be there?"

"No, he's going away on Monday for a week"

"How do you know?" I questioned

"Brad told me" She shrugged "Because I asked in advance to make sure, now you have no excuse"

"I'll find another one" I shrugged with a smile causing her to glare at me

"You're going, don't bring a date, wear what you want, you need to come" She tried firmly as she pointed a chip towards me with narrow eyes

"We'll see" I mumbled "Besides, how do you know Oscar likes me?" I mused

"He told me" She proudly answered with a high held chin

I stopped chewing and stared at her "When?"

"About three weeks ago, he's just too shy to tell you himself" She freely admitted "And you kind of come across as uninterested"

My mouth hung open as I stared at her

"That's because I am" I scoffed as I leaned back in my chair

She threw her arms up with a sigh

"I have my reasons" I defended myself

"You need to let go once in a while Eden Skye Milford, you need to start living in the now, not the past" She said, slapping my hand as it sat on the table

"Ah, the now in which I get attacked by a strange boy, and saved by one that is weekly beaten and ends up on my doorstep" I nodded, earning a roll of eyes

Penny looked at me seriously "Technically, that's the past, besides you should go with Oscar" She continued to persuade "He's cute, smart, just like you. You could have a lot in common, you could be around someone that will treat you good" She near begged

"I'll think about" I told her genuinely

She was right. I needed to be with someone normal, someone that would be calm and completely ordinary, like me. Oscar would never cause trouble, get beat up or hurt me. He didn't have that in him, even from a distance I knew that.

"Good, then we can go shopping for dresses together" She smiled as she popped the last chip in her mouth.

-

Once I got home, it was about five in the afternoon. Penny headed home from the mall by bus and I decided to walk. The fresh air did me good and I needed it. But most of all, I needed closure. I needed to go to Jett's house and tell them how grateful I was for what his brother had done for me. With that in mind the whole way home, I decided I was going to do it. I let my mind get the better of me.

Once I reached my street, instead of going straight home like I should have, I walked across the charcoal black coal that separated the houses. My heart was racing and my palms were sweating as I walked up the stone stairs towards the brick home.