"Alright," Amanda said slowly. I could tell she wasn't 100% convinced by my words, but she left me alone anyway and I appreciated it.
I propped up my elbows on the table and kept my eyes trained on the window as I waited for my car to come into view. I'd told Blue exactly where to find my keys and reluctantly promised her a "get out of jail" free card if she came to pick me up. She wasn't my first choice, but Jeremiah would've given me some bullshit lecture and Livia would've brought Jeremiah with her by default, so my options were limited if I wanted a peaceful ride back.
"Hey kid!"
I glanced across the restaurant and saw one of the younger waiters standing by the window, his index finger smudging the glass as he pointed, "That your ride?"
I stood to my feet and crossed the short distance to get a better look because if it was, Blue had come the complete opposite direction than what I'd instructed. I followed the guy's line of sight and quite literally felt my blood run cold when my eyes landed on the familiar SUV outside.
"Fuck."
\\\
I thought about sneaking out the back through the kitchen and accepting the consequences that would inevitably come later. I thought about jumping out of a moving vehicle and just calling it a day. I thought about doing many, potentially fatal things before I reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat of my mom's SUV. I thought about them all, but I didn't act on any of them.
Why, you may ask?
Well, I lost my phone, I'm out of money, the sun was starting to set, and I have a kid to get back to. And while I'd sobered up surprisingly fast—thanks to that killer burger composed of 50% grease—I have a lethal headache forming somewhere in my frontal lobe that will likely last the remainder of the night.
Time wasn't on my side right now, so I hopped my angry ass into the passenger seat of her car and shut the hell up.
Well, that silence lasted a solid four minutes until I realized we weren't heading the right direction and lost what little composure I had left.
"Where are you taking me?" I demanded. I kept my eyes trained on the windshield, but I could see my mom's eyebrow twitch in response to my question.
Still, she didn't respond. Not verbally, anyway. She released the steering wheel for .5 seconds to turn up the volume on the radio, and some terrible pop song that neither of us knew blasted through the speakers.
I rolled my eyes and turned the dial back to silence.
"Mom."
I was looking at her now, but she kept staring straight ahead.
"Beyoncé," I hissed.
This time she did look at me, and although her eyes were sad, her face remained stoic, and she released a deep breath.
"I'll have you home before it gets too late, I promise," My mom said calmly. She focused back on the road and gave me nothing else to sit with.
"Your home, not mine," I mumbled. I swore I saw her flinch, but I wasn't looking directly at her this time, so I'm not sure that actually happened.
Regardless, I wanted my words to hurt. I mean, she hurt me with zero repercussions, so why wouldn't I want her to feel the same way?
Right?
Whatever.
Thankfully the ride to our mysterious destination only lasted about fifteen more minutes, and just as the sky was turning a deep shade of orange, we arrived at some closed-off area near a large cluster of overgrown trees.
VIII: for bella, forever ago
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