MASK ON
—2. New school, New Alex
On the sidewalk near where her mother was unpacking their belongings from the moving truck, Alex stood near them, taking hits from a dab pen.
Rolling her eyes, Georgia turned to look at her oldest daughter. "You know, instead of just standing there and getting high, maybe you should help unpack this crap from the truck."
Alex walked forward, turning to look into the truck. "But there's only one more box left. Ginny can get it," She commented, causing Georgia to scoff.
She snatched the pen from her daughter. "Give me that," She demanded and Alex smiled, watching as Georgia took a hit of it herself, "Don't think I don't know what you did back at that gas station. What if the cameras saw you?"
"There weren't any cameras. I made sure of it. And it was only a boy working. He won't be able to give a description of me. He looked like he couldn't even spell his name," She explained and Georgia sighed in defeat, "I got like eight hundred. You want half?"
Georgia nodded and wrapped her arm around her daughter. "You're too much like me that it scares me," She commented, earning an amused look from Alex.
Alex turned and watched as a blonde woman stepped out of her car across the street. Soon after that, a boy who looked to be Alex's age stepped out of the passenger's seat.
"I wanna know what the hell you were thinking smoking weed on the side of the road in clear view of everyone. Neighbors, the cops...Seriously, I wanna know what was going through your brain!" The woman shouted at her son angrily.
"Well, it's legal now," He answered, causing Alex to quietly laugh.
"Not for you, it isn't!" She snapped at him and pointed in the direction of their front door, "You get inside that house. You are grounded."
The boy stared at his mother for a moment, too high to truly comprehend what was going on.
"Acknowledge me, dammit!" She shouted angrily.
"Alright, I'm grounded," He answered with a smile on his face, walking in the direction of the house.
Suddenly, he stopped and turned to give his mother a curious look. "Hey, but when's dinner, though? 'Cause I'm really hung."
The woman ended up screaming at the top of her lungs, causing Alex to laugh as she turned to her mother. "This is gonna be a fun neighborhood to live in."
"You're telling me," Georgia agreed, the two of them turning to wave at the woman, who awkwardly waved back.
Laughing quietly, Alex walked back into the house, deciding to check out her room.
Once fixing it up a bit, she walked back down the stairs, only to stop when she heard her mother conversing with the neighbor.
"Okay, get this. I'm driving home, and I see him on the corner, smoking a joint," The woman informed Georgia, causing Alex to smile in amusement as she listened to the conversation, "In the middle of the sidewalk! No shame. Not a care in the world. Just gettin' stoned on a Sunday. When I was a kid, we had the decency to use eye drops and be paranoid."
"I get it. I have two teenagers and one's quite the troublemaker. A little me," Georgia replied, causing the woman to stare at her in shock.
"What?" She asked in disbelief, "No way. What, did you give birth when you were twelve?"
"Fifteen and with twins," Georgia admitted, causing the woman to smile and eat one of the cookies she had brought Georgia.
Laughing quietly, Alex walked back upstairs, only to stop near Ginny's door when she heard her on the phone with their father. "I don't know, Dad. It's a house. It's big. I'm unpacking now, and it just seems like an exercise in futility. How's Alex? Well, you know Alex, she's a mini version of mom. Always causing trouble."
Just then, Ginny turned, her eyes locking on Alex standing in the door. "You want to talk to her?" She asked and Alex shot her sister a glare since Ginny knew for a fact she didn't want to talk to their father.
Ginny smiled and held out the phone to Alex, who shook her head and walked away. Ginny sighed in defeat, a part of her looking disappointed. "She's in the shower right now, but I'll tell her to call you when she's done. She's been super busy lately. It's why she hasn't been returning your calls. You know Alex, always the social butterly fly."
Alex rolled her eyes at Ginny's words since she knew Ginny was purposely speaking loud enough for her to hear. She walked over to the window, only to stop when she laid eyes on the boy next door who had been scolded by his mother.
She watched him climb through his window, just before jumping down.
He picked up his skateboard from the ground and just as he was about to walk away, he stopped when his eyes locked on Alex.
He stared up at her, smiling slightly as he jokingly saluted her.
She quietly laughed, wasting no waving back. She smiled, watching as he walked away without another word said.
"You know, I don't understand why you have to be such a bitch to Dad," Ginny complained, causing Alex to roll her eyes as she turned to face her sister.
"There's a thing called knocking, you know. Maybe you should learn it," She commented since Ginny had waltzed into her room without an invitation.
"Why do you have to be such a bitch to Dad? He hasn't done anything wrong. He thinks you're pissed at him," Ginny explained with an attitude.
"I am pissed at him," Alex responded in a calm tone, "He's always coming into our lives, claiming he'll stay, and then leaves when things between him and Mom don't work out."
"That's Mom's fault, not his," Ginny argued and Alex began to laugh in amusement, "That isn't funny."
"It is. It's hilarious how you always put the blame on Mom. He's her first love. The only guy she's ever truly loved. If you knew what that felt like, you'd know that it's so strong that she'd always go back to him no matter what," She explained to Ginny with an attitude as she walked toward her twin sister, "And just because things don't work out between them, it doesn't mean he has to leave. It doesn't mean he has to leave us. What goes on between him and Mom has nothing to do with us. So yes, I am pissed at him. He constantly uses Mom as an excuse to leave and you believe it. It takes two to tango, you know."
Ginny stared at Alex, glaring at her hatefully. "Why do you always have to defend Mom, huh? Even while she keeps so much from us."
"Mom keeps nothing from me. She only keeps things from you," Alex shrugged her shoulders without a care in the world, "All you do is judge her. I can understand why she doesn't tell you things. You're not trustworthy," She paused, moving toward Ginny before she shoved her toward the door, "Now, get the hell out of my room. We have separate rooms for a reason."
Ginny rolled her eyes, shooting her sister yet another glare before storming off.
Alex sighed and turned away from the door. She sighed, running her hands through her hair as she tried to calm down.
Just then, her mother walked into her room, smiling widely. "The neighbors are nice," She admitted and Alex nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and their son's pretty cute," Alex replied, turning to her mother with the slightest of smiles on her face, "You think we'll stay here longer than last time? I don't really feel like starting at a new school for the sixth time so soon."
"There's nothing to worry about, cupcake. This place is different. I can feel it. We're gonna put down roots," She told her daughter and Alex smiled in response, clearly believing her.
"As I recall, you said that about Houston, too," Alex commented and Georgia rolled her eyes.
"I was wrong about Houston," Georgia commented, and instead of snapping at her mother as Ginny usually would have, Alex chuckled.
"Yeah, Houston was pretty shit, wasn't it?" She responded, turning to smile at her mother.
"Yeah, it was," Georgia replied and Alex's smile gradually faded.
"And Kenny was the biggest shit of them all," Alex muttered quietly as she turned her back to her mother.
Georgia's face fell at her daughter's words. She stood up and walked toward Alex, cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "What happened with Kenny will never happen again, you hear me? I handled it, didn't I?" She promised Alex, who slowly nodded, "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me sooner. I could have dealt with it a long time ago."
"You were happy, happier than you've been in a while. I didn't want to ruin it," Alex admitted and Georgia sighed, shaking her head at her daughter.
"My happiness doesn't matter to me when you're not happy, Alex. Especially when you're being hurt in the way you were. I know that pain and I never wanted that for my girls, especially not for you. You're so much like me, but I never thought the way we became what we were would be so similar," She explained and Alex began to smile, deciding to light up the conversation.
"Hey..." She trailed off, lifting her head to smile up at her mother, "I'll be sixteen soon and I'm still not pregnant. So, that's a plus."
"Yeah, and it better stay that way," Georgia responded as she gave her daughter a pointed look, "As much as I want grandkids one day, I'm way too young and beautiful to be a grandma."
Alex laughed at her mother's words and playfully rolled her eyes. "I think I'm going to go to bed. I have to wake up early for school."
"You and I both know you're not going to bed. You're not the responsible type. Not like your sister," Georgia pointed out and Alex smiled at her mother sarcastically.
"Fresh start, remember?" She reminded her mother as she smiled up at her, "New school, new me."
Georgia playfully rolled her eyes. "Good night then, buttercup," She told her daughter, kissing her on the forehead before walking away, "It's just you and me against the world, remember that."
"What about Austin and Ginny?" She called out to Georgia, who gave her a playful smile before walking away.
____
That night, Alex laid in bed, attempting to fall asleep. She always did have trouble falling asleep, especially the first night in a new place. She tossed and turned and unable to take it anymore, she reached for the top drawer of her nightstand.
She took out her dab pen and attempted to use it, only to groan in annoyance when she found the cart to be empty. She began to search the drawer for another cart, only to sigh when she found it to be unsuccessful.
She facepalmed herself and sat up, deciding to get something to eat since she knew she wouldn't able to sleep anytime soon. She walked in the direction of the kitchen, only to stop when she passed a mirror.
She turned, sighing at the sight of the black eye she sported. It was not as noticeable as it was when she first got it, but it was still there. She'd have to cover it the following day for school.
Sighing in defeat, she lifted the hem of her shirt, eying the bruises scattered across her stomach. She knew her thighs were covered in them too.
Alex hadn't returned home until the following day when she was sure Kenny wasn't home. Her brother and sister were at school and she was hoping her mother wasn't home either.
She snuck into the house through the window and was on the verge of heading for the stairs when her mother appeared before her.
"You didn't come home last night," Georgia complained and Alex nodded in response, "I thought you might have stayed at a friend's but then I got a call today saying you didn't show up for school, either. A part of me was startin' to think you had run off with some boy."
"I'm fifteen," She reminded her mother, who laughed.
"I was fifteen when I ran off with your father on a motorcycle to travel the US," Georgia pointed out, causing Alex to sigh in defeat.
Georgia stepped closer to Alex. She grabbed her daughter by the chin and turned her head to the side, wanting to get a look at the black eye Alex bore. "Who did that to your face?"
"It's nothing. I got into this fight with some stupid idiot from school," She told her mother, who smiled in response.
"You and I both know that's a lie," Georgia replied and Alex felt uneasy, "What do I always tell you, Alex? You win more flies with honey, but if you get yourself a bee...sting first."
Alex smiled at her mother and nodded her head.
"I was just about to make some breakfast. You want some? You must be starvin'," Georgia offered and Alex nodded in response.
"Do I still have to go to school?" She asked, causing Georgia to scoff.
"Ain't no way I'm lettin' my daughter go to school looking like that," Georgia commented and wrapped her arm around Alex, "No, today, we're gonna have a Momma-daughter day. Just you and me."
As she and her mother traveled to the kitchen, Alex smiled widely. All her life, she had always been closer to her mother while Ginny was closer to her father, despite the girls rarely seeing him.
He called them every day, though. And while Ginny always answered, Alex rarely did. Zion never understood why and always scolded Georgia for not attempting to fix whatever was going on.
Georgia simply told him that it was Alex's choice and if Alex didn't want to return his calls, she didn't have to. She wasn't going to make her do anything she didn't want to do.
After finding herself a bag of chips, Alex was on the verge of returning to her room when she caught a glimpse of her mother outside.
Frowning in confusion, Alex walked outside to find her mother watering her plants while also drinking a glass of wine. Only Georgia.
"What the hell are you doing?" She asked and instead of answering her daughter, Georgia's attention went toward the boy next door.
He was running in the direction of his house, clearly not wanting to get caught sneaking in.
Just then, Georgia began to chase after him, causing Alex to frown in confusion. "What the hell is she doing?" She muttered to herself.
"Hey, kid," Georgia called out to the boy in a hushed tone.
Slowly, he turned to face Georgia, smiling slightly. "Who are you?"
"My kids and I just moved in across the street. I hear you have bud," Alex heard her mother tell the boy, causing her eyes to widen in shock.
She covered her mouth, beginning to laugh in amusement.
"I can't sleep. That would really help me out right now," She continued to explain and Alex laughed from where she stood in the middle of the street, "Say something. You got bud or not?"
"Mom!" Alex scolded her mother, continuing to smile in amusement as she watched the boy dig his hand into his pocket.
He ended up handing her the bag of weed and Georgia smiled at him. "Thanks, kid," She told him before beginning to run off.
"It's Marcus," He corrected her, watching as Georgia ran over to Alex.
"Don't do drugs, Marcus!" She called out to Marcus before running over to Georgia.
"You're such a hypocrite!" Alex laughed at her mother, "Telling him not to smoke when you just took weed from him."
"Can't sleep? I got the perfect solution!" Georgia suggested, holding the weed out to her daughter.
"We are not about to smoke together. Dad would flip his shit," Alex reminded her mother, who scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Dad doesn't have to know. Better you do it with me than with some small-town low life," Georgia reminded her and Alex began to laugh.
"Whatever. You only live once," Alex announced and Georgia laughed, wrapping her arm around her daughter as they began to walk in the direction of their house.
Alex stopped briefly, turning to look back at Marcus. She shot him a small smile, just before running off with her mother.
Marcus laughed at the duo, shaking his head before returning to his own home. What kind of Mom smoked with her daughter?
____
The following day, when it came time for school, Alex ended up arriving later than Ginny since she hadn't gotten a ride from her mother. She had been taking too long getting ready that she had just told them to go without her.
As she walked in the direction of school, Alex wore a large smile on her face, feeling confident about herself. She wore a lowcut crop top and jeans that rode low enough to expose her belly-button piercing. Her jeans hugged her body close enough to show off her curves, which was exactly what she wanted.
She looked around, smiling when she saw a boy staring at her as he rode his skateboard. She smiled back at him, only to watch him fall over since he was too preoccupied staring at her.
She laughed in amusement and looked away. She couldn't even count she watched something like that happen.
As she walked into school, all eyes seemed to be on her, just as she liked it. She looked around, smirking at all of the boys staring at her. Some of them had girlfriends standing beside them, who scolded them when they saw their boyfriends checking out Alex.
She looked around, searching for her first-period class, which was Geometry. She turned the corner, only to find herself colliding chests with an unknown boy.
"Watch where you're going," The boy snapped at her, causing Alex to frown at him.
"Why don't you, dickhead? You're the one who bumped into me," She retorted with an attitude, causing the boy's face to fall since he was so used to everyone quickly apologizing whenever he snapped at them.
She must have not known who he was, which meant she was new.
"You're new, aren't you?" He asked her curiously and Alex smiled in response.
"Is it obvious?" She replied, causing the boy to shake his head.
"No, but I'd remember a pretty face like yours," He commented, snatching the schedule from her hands to read her name, "Alexandria Miller. Nice name."
"No, it's a shitty name," She argued in a calm tone, "Call me Alex."
"Name's Kaden," He informed her, continuing to stare down at her schedule, "You have Geometry first. Me too. It's this way."
Alex watched as Kaden turned around to watch in the same direction she had previously been going in, causing her to frown. "If Geometry's this way, why were you going the other way?"
Kaden chuckled lowly, turning to glance at Alex. "Because I was gonna skip. But since you'll be there, I guess I'll stick it out, for your sake."
"Aw, it warms my heart to hear you say that," She replied sarcastically as she placed her hand over her heart, "Who knew I could be such a good influence?"
"No, something tells me you're the opposite," Kaden retorted, earning a puzzled look from Alex, "I told you I was planning to skip my first-period class on the first day of school and you didn't say anything about it."
"You got a point there," She replied and they both began to smile, "How's the people here? Any worth knowing?"
"They're all fake. They smile at your face and then talk shit when your back is turned," He informed her as they began to walk to Geometry together, "My friends are the fakest of them all."
"Then why are you friends with them?" She complained and Kaden shrugged.
"They're my friends," He commented as he shrugged her shoulders, "They might be fake as hell most of the time but they're chill and make going to this school less shitty."
"You're not from here?" She asked him and Kaden shook his head, "Where are you from?"
"Around and about," He answered in a calm tone and Alex smiled since she usually had the same answer whenever people asked her where she was from, "My mom and I moved around a lot but ever since she got married to this tool named Harry, we've stayed here."
"His name is Harry?" She asked, beginning to laugh, "Sounds like a tool."
"The whole town loves him but he's an asshole. I don't know what my mom sees in him," He explained and Alex smiled up at him.
"My mom has poor taste. Her last husband died. It's why we're here. For a fresh start," She informed him and smiled when she saw no sympathy in his eyes, "What? No, 'I'm sorry for your loss."
"You wanted him dead," He replied, causing Alex's smile to fade when he pointed at her right eye, "Something tells me he's the reason you have that black eye."
"What black eye?" She asked, confused since she had spent nearly an hour that morning making sure it was covered.
"No amount of makeup is gonna cover that shit," He informed her and Alex turned her head to avoid looking him in the eye, "Trust me, I'm talking from experience. He must have had a killer right hook."
"He did," Alex admitted softly, her hand instinctively reaching for her cheek.
"Good thing he's dead, then," He told her, and Alex nodded, smiling slightly at him. She was surprised by how he didn't even seem bothered that she had wished death upon Kenny.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Alex and Georgia are too much omg 😭😭