𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫- 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐨𝐰

5.

「 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎 」

    i clean up my deck and fix up my hair. my parents are arguing once again, but this time i asked rudy if he would ft me. i'm really hoping you can't hear much from the outside.

once i get rid of all the beer bottles and cigarettes, i call him right after. i'm beyond nervous to hear his voice only cause we've been texting for days.

"hey." he smiles once his face pops up on the other side of the screen. his hair is all messy and he's laying in bed with a tired look.

"hey." i smile. "glad to see you actually exist outside of texting and social media stuff."

"oh i know. that's very exciting. glad to know you aren't some weirdo i've been texting. kinda expected you to be older."

"sorry to disappoint." i shrug. "what have you been up to today? anything fun?"

"i hung out with my cast mates, but other then that nothing is really happening. i have an interview tomorrow though."

"that's pretty cool. i had work today, and every day." i chuckle, bringing my dog into the frame.

"ginger is so cute!" rudy looks closer into the frame almost like he can't see anything.

"i have a cat too if you want to see her."

"cats? i think I'm okay with dogs for now." rudy jokes even though i find my cat anyway. "so you're an animal lover?"

"of course." i nod, setting my cat back down. animals were always a big part of my life between horse back riding and feeding the giraffes at the zoo.

he smiles widely until the arguing in my house increases. it's almost like they knew i would be out here talking to one of my friends.

my heart drops hearing them continue. it's embarrassing almost, especially since i should be on my own in my own apartment.

"everything okay?" rudy asks worriedly. other then carter and davine, he's now the third person who knows about this although i haven't been talking to him very long.

"yeah..." i trail off. "i better go."

"wait kay-"

i hang up before he can stop me. it was a nice 10 minutes on the call before i basically had to forcefully hang up on him.

i look down at my vibrating phone to see he's calling again. i'm not sure when i'll ever have time to talk to him if this is a nightly routine for my household.

i open the door nervously, stepping in and quietly shutting the door. the cold air doesn't match the anger and heat flying out of my parents mouths every disrespectful thing they say to each other.

"look, kayla came to join us." my dad slurs.

i face drops and my body goes cold when he says my name. this is why i hate walking down here. everything about my house was different and unsettling from day one.

"who were you talking to out there?" he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer to him.

i hide my phone in my sleeve and ignore his question. answering him will only egg him on some more.

"answer me!" he yells, making both my mom and i jump.

"m-my friend." i stumble on my words, completely avoiding eye contact with both of them.

"another boy toy?"

i ignore his question again. this time he gets annoyed and lets me out of his strong grip. it felt relieving, yet i'm still in his presence.

"sorry." i mumble. "i hung up cause-"

"hung up why?" my dad cuts me off. i should have kept my mouth shut instead i had to talk.

"cause you two were arguing." i say honestly. "maybe if you two didn't constantly fight then i wouldn't be living like this."

i suddenly feel a sharp pain on my left cheek, sending me flying back onto the floor. it was something that i didn't expect even though i should have. my dad just hit me.

"oh my gosh." my mom covers her mouth with her hand out of shock.

"don't you blame us for shit!" my dad points to me angrily.

i back up from him still clutching my cheek in my hand. tears stung my eyes as he continues to scream at both my mom and i.

"you should be lucky!"

i stand up and run to my room. i expect him to follow me up, but he doesn't. i quickly pack my things and run off to my car where i drive over to davine's place.

i've had enough of everything my parents put me through. i don't want to hear them anymore nor do i want to stand in their presence.

"kay? what are you doing here?" davine rubs her tired eyes when she opens the door. "oh my god, are you okay?" she asks once she notices the tears slipping down my heated cheeks.

"i-it's them again." i fall into her arms and sob. i hated showing my feelings, but now wasn't a time to hold them back anymore.

"hey it'll be okay." she hugs me tightly.

she brings me into her room and helps me get ready. she's very open to me even if that means taking over her room.

through the many years of constant arguing and drinking, i never thought my dad would lay his hands on me. how can one man be so heartless?

i look down at my phone and see many messages and missed calls from rudy. all of them were asking if i was alright or in need of any help. they were all very sweet, except he wasn't actually here to help me.