I leaned against the couch and watched the movie, ignoring the warmth behind me. My legs were sprawled out in front of me as I watched it, feeling slightly relaxed. I could tell by the soft snores that most of the group was asleep and knew that I should fall asleep, too.
Sighing, I paused the movie and turned off the tv, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. I knew that some people would leave after they wake up, but most might stay and want to do something else rather than watching Harry Potter.
"I was watching that," a voice whispered, the person moving behind me. The person turned on a flashlight from his phone to show that it was Drew. He narrowed his eyes at me, and I was a little surprised that he liked it enough to skip sleep. "Why did you turn it off?"
I turned around and scowled at him, blinking at the new source of light. Of all people, he was still awake. "It's late. You need to be asleep," I replied. My phone dinged as I got a text, and I couldn't help but scowl when I saw another degrading text. "I need to go," I muttered and got up.
Anger and annoyance filled my body, and all I needed was a smoke. I started to walk towards the basement door, ignoring the heated whispers of Drew. I didn't need to be around humans right now because I knew that if I was, then I was going to snap.
***
"I didn't know you smoked," someone said from behind me as I pulled a cigarette from my mouth. He leaned against the fence next to me, and I was a bit surprised that he didn't pull it away from me. "It's bad for you."
"I don't normally," I replied, the smoke from the cigarette leaving my mouth. "Only when my so called parents make me feel like shit." I took another drag before reaching into my pocket and pulling out my packet and a lighter. "Want one?"
"Gone cold turkey," Drew said. "I quit." He paused and sighed, studying me. His whole body was facing me, and I didn't understand why he was even here. He was a confusing person, but then again, so was I. "How long does a pack last you?"
"Six months was the last one," I replied, stuffing them back into my back pocket. "I got this one six months ago and hadn't needed it."
"Why did you need it now?" he asked.
I pulled my phone out of my other back pocket and got it to the most recent text message. "You can read it out loud," I said, taking another drag from it. I blew out the smoke and glared at the early morning sky. "It's from the man that I call my father." My voice quivered slightly, and I couldn't help but cuss myself out about it.
Drew took the phone from me and looked at the text message. He read it once before cringing. "Damn," he said, causing me to hum in agreement. He cleared his throat and handed me my phone back. "That's brutal."
I hummed, stuffing it back into my pocket. I didn't care that he didn't read it out loud, and I was a bit grateful that he didn't. The text was brutal and degrading that I had no idea what to do about it. "Yep," I replied, taking a drag from the cigarette. I paused and licked my lips. "He's drunk."
"How can you tell?" Drew asked.
"A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts," I replied. "Or for him, that is." I sighed and looked at my cigarette. "I can normally go without smoking when my father says stupid shit, but..." I shrugged grimacing. "I should be used to it by now."
Drew nodded his head, staying silent. "And, I thought I had father issues," he mused, causing me to snort.
"Nothing compared to mine," I said. I killed the cigarette and placed it into a box that I'll dump out in the morning. "But... we all have our problems with our parents."
