Fragile Bones

Chapter Two

My mom whips her head over to face my dad as I took a bite of my salad, forcing myself to allow the slimy food to slither down my throat and into my stomach. "Well excuse me for caring about her Michael. I never see you asking her how she is! You didn't even pick her up from school today!"

He slammed his fork down into the table and I involuntarily flinched from the noise. "Well I didn't see you around the house to offer her a ride either. Seems to me like you spent an awfully long time grocery shopping though. Are you sure you weren't doing anything else?" My mom's eyes widened and she started yelling back at him and I took this as my cue to leave, silently picking up my plate and scraping the remaining food down the drain without them questioning me at all. The little appetite I had had was now completely gone.

I crept up the stairs and into my room with them still having a shouting match downstairs and closed my bedroom door, sagging against it once it was closed. I can't believe how easy it is for them to make an argument for themselves. The conversation started out with talking about my day for gods sake! I advanced towards my bed and sunk down into the downy comforter, wishing that my parents behaved like normal people, like how they used to be. They didn't always argue and fight like this, there was a time when we were a happy family. But everything's changed since then, not only them but me as well.

I soon fell asleep laying on my bed, not bothering to take my clothes off or shower or anything. I just wanted to sleep.

•••

I groggily woke up in the morning, not being entirely familiar with my surroundings at first. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table to see it flashing 7:10 AM. I blinked a couple times before laying my head back against my pillow, ready to fall asleep again. A thought dawned on me and I immediately shot up from my bed and looked at the clock once again to make sure it wasn't lying to me. It wasn't.

"Shit!" I hollered, nearly tripping over myself to get to my closet. My school started at 7:30. Why so early you ask? I have no idea, I guess they just liked to torture us.

I looked down to see myself in yesterday's clothes and groaned, remembering that I hadn't bothered to take them off. I hadn't even taken a shower! Whatever, it was nothing that a little extra deodorant and perfume couldn't fix. I threw on some black skinny jeans and some kind of graphic tee-shirt and pulled a green hoodie over it. I quickly put my hair in a messy bun and brushed my teeth really quickly. I ran downstairs and found my mom drinking some coffee and holding her car keys in her hand.

"Sheesh Madeline, I thought you weren't ever going to come down here," she joked, seemingly in no rush to get out of the house even though school started in five minutes.

"Mom can you drive me to school?" I yelled, eyes wide.

She furrowed her brow and answered, "well yes, that's why I'm standing here with-" I grabbed her arm and dragged her outside, much to her protesting, and all but shoved her into the drivers seat of her car. She drove the whole way to school with me yelling at her to floor it or I was gonna be late.

I somehow managed to run into my first class exactly when the bell rang, earning me a warning glance from my English teacher Mr. Henderson. I slid into my usual seat in the back and pulled out my binder from my backpack when the door slammed open to reveal the guy who was arguing with Mrs. Briggs in the library yesterday. He was wearing a leather jacket once again and still had a cigarette tucked behind his ear, but was wearing aviators which successfully hid most of his face. I immediately saw some of the girls in my class straighten up, and even pull their shirts down a little. I rolled my eyes at their desperate behavior.