— Protecting Peace
SUSPENSION MEANT HELL for Natalia. Her time was soaked up by doing assignments online and praying her parents would leave. She needed to escape their supervision. In all honesty, she needed a to see Clay. Knowing that he had a girlfriend was a whole different type of hell. It was only because she was respectful and breaking him away from a person that made him happy killed her.
Was Natalia even really single? She had Zach wrapped around her finger and she could have a whole roster of people if she wanted. She wasn't even sure if she wanted anyone at this point. She didn't even want herself at the moment.
Her feet planted into the carpet. It felt as if roots sprouted from the soles of her feet as she stares at her closet.
Natalia wasn't sure what she wanted to wear. Or what she wanted to do. All she knew is that her phone was off and she wasn't going to answer any calls. Not one. Zach and even Clay had been calling. It'd been only a day.
She went downstairs and left her bedroom after finding something to wear. Her feet thumped against the steps noisily. Her parents left earlier that morning.
It was like her feet guided her to the cupboard where all of the wine glasses are. She grabbed one and walked over to the fridge. Her hands found the orange juice and the vodka that sat on top of the fridge.
Natalia liked mimosas, but she had to rough it out without the champagne.
She looked like a mad scientist concocting her drink. The orange juice filled one third of the glass and the rest was vodka.
She walked over to the record player her mother showcased. Maybe her mother was actually interesting at some point. Natalia flicked through her parents vinyl collection and couldn't help but settling on My Girl by The Temptations.
Her feet clicked against the kitchen floor as she hopped around.
Getting suspended wasn't too bad when she had ways to keep herself entertained. She bounced all the way to the living room trying not to spill her drink.
The music was so loud, she didn't hear the noise
upstairs.
Taking the large, last gulp of her drink was easy. It was her dizziness from the twirling that had made the booze creep in. Natalia had always been a light weight.
Her back hit the sofa with force. She chuckled to herself and reached for the remote, not noticing the person behind her. The couch was facing away from the stairs, so she didn't see him right away.
"Bex." Justin yelled over the music making Natalia's eyes bulge out of her head. She rolled off of the couch and onto the floor, startled. "Jesus, are you drunk?"
The numbing of the alcohol and the overwhelming
sense of fear made Natalia rub her temples. She seen glass shattered beside her on the wood floor and moaned as she stood up with the help of Justin.
"Always here to save the day, you make my rain clouds roll away." Natalia sung making Justin roll his eyes as he helped her balance.
"Vodka is not your friend." Justin commented as Natalia slid out of his grasp, falling onto the ground, her hands pressing into the shattered glass.
Justin was going to be staying a little longer than he would've liked.
✺ ✺ ✺
JUSTIN DABBED ALCOHOL onto the open wound, listening to Natalia as she talked about things she usually couldn't bring herself to say out loud. She inhaled a sharp breath, the air squeezed to her teeth as she winced.
"I just don't understand why she didn't come to me." Natalia went over again. She always went over the same thing when she spoke about Hannah.
"She was in pain. You know this." Justin replied as he put a bandage over her cuts,
Natalia shook her head as she watched her legs dangle from the bathroom sink. Justin glanced up at her as she avoided his gaze.
"Well, fuck. Now we're all in pain." Natalia thought aloud. Justin swallowed thickly and planted on of his hands beside Natalia's side.
"You brought this one onto yourself."
"I did. Why did they suspend only me though?"
"You're the one who started it." he reasoned.
"And I'm the one with bloody palms." Natalia pointed out.
"Because you got drunk."
"You know what, asshat, I thought we were on the same side." Natalia said and Justin shrugged.
"Just because I'm on your side doesn't mean I can't speak the truth."
Natalia got down and slinked out of the bathroom with Justin trailing behind her and up the stairs.
"Have you talked to Jess?"
"No, she blew up on me. She said I don't understand." Natalia explained as she made her way to her bedroom, where Justin had dropped his belongings.
"Understand what? Like..."
"Her situation." Natalia replied suggestively.
Justin nodded and plopped down onto her hanging chair, the ropes swinging from his weight.
"Well, did you talk to her?" Justin asked and Natalia looked to him offended.
"No, why? I can't bring that up for fun, Justin. It's irrelevant." Natalia said, her voice rushed and panicked as her words came out.
"Maybe she'd understand you." Justin suggested.
Natalia shook her head, sitting on her bed.
"It's bad enough that you know. If anyone else finds out..."
"Like, Clay?" Justin quizzed and Natalia nodded worriedly.
"He'll go apeshit." Natalia told him.
"Well if he doesn't go apeshit, when will someone give that piece of shit what's—" Justin was cut off.
"Natalia, what happened to the trellis? It's snapped in half!" Her mother shouted as she walked into the house from downstairs.
Justin shared a look with Natalia when she motioned to her bathroom.
"Tub." Natalia whispered and she didn't have to say that twice. Justin rushed to her bathroom as the sound of her mothers feet hurry up the stairs.
A moment or two later, her mother bursted through the door with her keys jangling and her face red.
"Answer me. What the fuck did you do? Your grandfather built that, Natalia. Your grandmother loved that rose trellis." Her mother screamed making Natalia shrink into herself.
"Mom, it was really windy earlier! Calm down!" Natalia shouted back and her mother huffed, trying to calm herself down as best as she could.
"You're a selfish little brat. You're your fathers daughter," Her mother spat and Natalia swallowed back her tears. "You're more trouble than you're worth Natalia."
Without another word, her door had been slammed shut. The walls and window shook along with Natalia's core.
The front door also slammed moments later making Justin slip away from the bathroom as he walked in on Natalia. Her knees were clutched to her chest and teardrops stained her shirt.
"Jesus, she's a bitch."
"She's in pain too." Natalia defended her.
"Nobody's son, nobody's daughter, huh?" Justin joked and Natalia shrugged looking up at him.
"You're my bestfriend, you know."
"I know. You're mine, too, Bex."
— Savior Complex