Finding the Light (a thatsojack fanfiction)

Chapter 4

Jaden kicks at a pebble and stares up at my house. His facial expression is the same as always. His eyebrows are pushed together and multiple wrinkles are lined horizontally across his forehead. Sometimes that face gets me so irritated I just want to punch him.

"So, how's that careful living working out for ya?"

I roll my eyes at his constant attitude.

"I can still get drunk, you dipshit. It's the bigger stuff I need to worry about."

"Really? You can still get drunk, where you lose your judgement? What if you stumble into your house and your mom's creepy boyfriend is in there, and he tries to take advantage of you?!" At this point he's screaming. "Stop being so two-faced. You tell me that nothing's going on with Jack then you can't take your eyes off of him the entire time. And now you're putting yourself up for serious danger. If something happens, don't come crying to me like you always end up doing."

Before I can say another word, he jumps onto his board and rides away as quickly as possible. I storm into my house while sighing. I'm glad that he doesn't like me right now, I want to be very distant from him. How could I not see this before? He's a douchebag and he thinks he can control my life. He should think again.

"Welcome home, you dumb slut," my mother sneers as I step inside. I turn to look up at her but my action is interrupted by something cold and hard smashing into the side of my head. The ringing echo from the impact matches with the sharp pain that intensifies in my brain. I must admit, I've suffered a lot of shit with my mother for the past seventeen years of my life, but this is the worst yet. A tingle crawls up my face slowly, prepared to gnaw at my sensitivity and leave behind more pain. I clamp a hand over my mouth hardly to prevent myself from screaming out.

My mother takes another blow to my head and the screams start to pour out of my mouth without my control.

"Yes, scream little girl. Scream just the way that Joe wanted you to when I found him snooping through your panties."

I feel sick to my stomach. It must be a combination of the alcohol and this horrible abuse.

"The world would be so much better if you were just dead..." she whispers. At this point I'm doubled over on all fours and I have lost control. I can't move, I can't breathe, I can't think. The pan strikes my back multiple times. The pain is not as bad as the tingling in my brain.

"Fucking... stop..." I choke on my words and rush up the stairs. My hand wraps tightly around the handrail until my knuckles are white and my knees buckle with every step.

"That's it... run, and never come back," she calls behind me. I've never heard her speak in such a psychotic tone before. Her words scare me and honestly, they leave a mark deeper than the pan. She had no boundaries and she just released all her anger onto me. Her own daughter.

I need to leave. I'll stay at Jaden's and everything will be okay. I start packing and shove everything I own into my old black duffel bag. Once everything from my room had been collected, I stumble to the bathroom and swiftly shove everything off the counter into my bag. Tears are still flowing from my eyes like a waterfall and my breaths are staggered by sharp cries.

I don't bother to say goodbye to my mother or even check on her. She can take care of herself now, as she has so harshly proven to me. I run down the stairs off the porch and nearly fall on my face. I've become severely uncoordinated tonight, and this night is probably the worst night in history to be drunk.

"Jaden!" I scream helplessly as I stumble-run down the street. My sobs are now magnified by low cries and pathetic hiccups. I reach the end of his driveway and stare at his run-down house, just like every other house in this fucking place.