✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au

50: Fences

Ari's POV:

There came a point, not too long after my visit with Luke, did I realize that my health was important too. Total neglect of my mental stability as well as my physical body had taken a toll on me and it took the six hour drive back home to Percival Shores to comprehend that.

Six weeks later and moving on was becoming easier and easier each day.

It started with the simple things like social media. I had deactivated all my accounts as Reese and I approached our exit on Highway 1. Then, I took the liberty of taking care of my physical health. Disregarding nutrition had been the norm for so long, that the minute I reached home, I opted for a well-balanced meal instead of a packet of Poptarts. I even started running every morning with Calum. As he continued to train for soccer in order to keep his scholarship, I ran alongside him- well, tried to at least.

I concentrated on other imperative aspects of my life that I placed on the back burner, such as my schoolwork. Staying after class for extra tutoring was improving my grades and I was back to straight-A's. After six weeks, I felt cleaner, smarter, less sluggish, and more importantly, I felt happier. I was smiling more, laughing, and with Michael back home, the boys and I found ourselves sprawled across the couches in his basement again- just like old times.

"What time did you say your mom is coming home from work?" I asked Michael, reaching over to grab a slice of steaming hot pizza.

"Around eight," Michael answered, his eyes glued to the television screen as he and Calum dueled endlessly on whatever game they were playing.

Mrs. Clifford hadn't quite forgiven me yet. Despite the apologies and Michael's graveling, the mother I had known for so long hadn't welcomed me back into her home.

"You still have time," Michael added, and he was right. It was only 6:30 in the evening I had about an hour left till I had to scramble myself out of the Clifford household before mother hen came back.

"And speaking of time," Ashton head nodded over to the ridiculous contraption on my head, "I think it's time for you to wash out that dye."

That was another change I had to make- a change I had been contemplating for the last six weeks. Without letting the thought harbor in my mind another day, I went to the local beauty supply shop and grabbed a few boxes of hair dye, ready to alter my long locks. The deep red, auburn tinted hair I had been sporting for the last two years since my father died, was my signature. I was ignored in a crowd, yet stuck out like a sore thumb because I looked so differently in a sea of fair skin, blonde hair and light eyes.

When I dyed my hair, it was like turning a new page in a book- starting a new chapter in my life without my father. And now, as I sauntered away from the boys and into the furnished basement bathroom, I was preparing to, yet again, begin another new chapter. A chapter where I end my senior year of high school with a bang; a chapter where I possibly could no longer have a mother; a chapter where Luke may never come back; but a chapter where I am stronger, smarter, healthier, and happier.

I had been leaned over in the sink for almost ten minutes as cold water ran through my long hair. As I scrubbed in color-protectant products into it, the water falling through the drain was no longer red as it had been for the last two years. Instead, it was much darker and more natural.

"Everything okay in there?" Calum's voice was soft against the door, accompanied by a gentle knock against the wooden material.

"Yea," I lifted my head out of the sink, wringing out the excess water, "I'm just dry- whoa," I flipped my hair behind my back to look into the mirror and my eyes widened from the reflection staring back at me.