I woke up late in the afternoon the next day. Miah must have carried me in asleep. I got out of bed to take a shower and get dressed. There was no reason to go to school today since school was more than half way done. I decided to go down to Starbucks and hand in my job application.
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"Hello Ben!"
"Hi Rick," I smiled at him. "I just wanted to hand this in." I handed him the application as he thanked me. "Also, can I get the usual?"
"Most certainly," he turned and poured the coffee in the cup. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, why are you out of school on this Friday afternoon?" I didn't know what to say. I mean, I didn't want to lie, but I didn't want to tell him I'd skipped.
"I was having a rough time," I shrugged my shoulders. Rick nodded.
"We all have those times once in a while," he handed me the coffee and I put my change in the "tips" jar.
"Thanks Rick," I called back to him as I started to walk out the door.
"He's a sweet boy isn't he?" I heard him call back to me. He had known that I had been with Miah and yet, he wasn't mad.
"Yeah, he is," I said, more to myself than to him.
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When I got home, I took my shoes off and climbed the stairs up to my room. I was startled to see Skya sitting at the edge of my bed.
"Where have you been?" Skya yelled, "We've all been worried sick!"
"How'd you get in?" I asked curiously because I knew I had locked the doors.
"I was with you when you got locked out of your house in that blizzard, remember?" I nodded my head remembering that time. It was in the middle of winter and there was a blizzard. I'd accidentally left my keys on the counter that morning. Skya and I walked around my house at least 5 times trying to look for a way to break in. Well, we used a door in the back of the house I never knew we had. At that time we were able to afford a security system and unfortunate for us... the alarm went off. Imagine that! Getting caught for breaking into your own house. It was a mess. "Are you even listening?" Skya yelled at me. I'd been thinking so much about that silly disaster that I forgot she was talking.
"What'd you say?" I asked her.
"I said!" I had pissed her off. It's not my fault she put the the memory of us breaking into my house, in my head," your dad called the cops! They've been searching for you non-stop!"
"He what!" I was yelling this time and had sprung off my bed.
"We called you hundreds of times but you never answered!" I had forgotten my phone here as I was a mess when I ran to Miah's house. "So where have you been?" she asked, breathing heavily.
"Ohio had a hot air balloon festival so, ya," I answered her casually as if it was just a couple minutes away. She laughed to herself.
"Unbelievable,' she shook her head and then looked at me. "You're really attached to him aren't you?"
"He's... amazing!" I started thinking about him, his beautiful eyes, gorgeous skin.
"Well you need to get unhooked before you run off to Vegas with him and regret you ever met him. You didn't even care to tell your own friends! We were all worried about you guys. Even Brinson and Gus!"
"I was mad okay!"I yelled at her. "I, I was mad at my mom, and my brother. My brother just left me here with these two. I mean I love my dad but he's not like he used to be. Fun and exciting and handsome! Now he's boring, and tired, and dull. And my mother! Don't even get me started with that women," I was babbling now and had forgotten who I was talking to and what I was talking about. "I was mad at my leukemia and-"
