Second Chance At Life

Chapter Four

Ahh! This took ages to upload! I'm sorry. ):

Nicole seemed like she hadn’t showered in a few days. I peeled off her shapeless jumper and shirt, and jumped out of her old sweatpants. Underneath, she had a nice figure, about the same height as me, and very slim. I stepped into the shower and sighed in pleasure as the hot water seeped through my hair, and onto my scalp. As the water made its way down my body, I suddenly felt my wrists stinging in pain. Looking down, I realised the red marks on her wrists were new, a day or two old.

What sort of person would cut herself, I murmured to myself as I frowned.

 I lathered her hair thoroughly, and scrubbed at her body until I felt the dead skin cells rubbing off. Finally, when I stepped out of the shower, dried up and glanced in the mirror again, she looked much better and livelier. Draping the towel around me, I walked back towards the bedroom. The house seemed eerily quiet, and no one appeared to be home. I crinkled my nose in disgust as I rummaged my way through her wardrobe, unable to find a decent piece of clothing. Grabbing a dark blue fleece and some black jeans, I quickly slipped it on.

This girl is seriously deprived. She doesn’t even know where to shop! I scoffed as I rolled up the curtains in her room. Finally managing to take a good look around, I saw that her bed wasn’t made, her books were scattered on the floor and everything was a mess.

I grabbed her sling messenger bag off her small desk, dumped all the things she had in there on the floor, stuffed the phone Sched gave me into a pocket and swung it across her body. I stepped out of the house, and made my way towards the mall. I was half-way there when I realized I had no money.

“Shit,” I mumbled as I slipped my hand into her bag to check. There was nothing. Running a hand through her newly washed hair, I saw a familiar building. I was in my neighbourhood.

An idea struck me as a grin appeared on my face. I ran towards my house, and stopped at the front door. I reached for the key in the secret alcove, and my fingers fumbled around, finding nothing. Cursing, I remembered I had used it after sneaking back from a party the previous week. I crept to the back, hoping my parents were still at the hospital and I let myself in via the back door. The house was cool and everything was neat like usual. I climbed up to my room on the top floor and let myself in. My credit cards were with me when I crashed. I didn’t keep lots of cash with me because I mainly used my credit cards. Sliding a drawer open, I found a small amount of pocket money tucked in. Counting it quickly, it reached $500; just enough for a selection of make-up and maybe a few pieces of clothing.

I was about to leave my room when I heard the familiar click of the front door opening. I froze, with my hand on the door handle. I heard my parents’ muffled voices and a brief silence before there were heels clacking loudly up the stairs.

“I’ll get some of Zo’s clothes and things. Jim, you should fetch some of her favourite cookies for her!” my mother’s voice sounded odd, and it cracked in the middle of her sentence.

“Crap. Crap. Crap,” I muttered as I ran around nervously, trying to find a good spot to hide. I ducked behind the pink couch in the corner of my room, and just in time. The door was pushed open and I smelt the lavender perfume my mother adored. Quiet sobs reached my ears as she moved around, collecting my things. I wanted to leap out and suddenly hug her, and tell her I was still alive in a way, but Sched’s words rang in my ears. I peeked at her, and my heart lurched as I saw Nicole’s bag hanging of a chair. I prayed she wouldn’t notice or touch it. She walked towards the bag, but broke down in tears before she saw it, clutching a photo frame of my friends and I. She had taken a few plushies I kept in my room and some photos too. My heart broke as I saw my father stride in, and gather her into his arms once more, before leading her out of my room. He shut the door behind him with a firm click.