This book is about to be over I'm going to cry. This will probably be the longest part I've written in this book.
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Warning: this chapter contains violence that some readers may find disturbing
Bates
The following weeks ahead were great. Landon and I spent a lot of time together, usually having Emmy with us. She sometimes kept to herself -- she knew we wanted time together, alone. And it was great, just Landon and I. Things were getting really good for me, honestly. Ever since I realized I was my own person dragging my self down, I had become on terms with what I wanted in life.
Nobody was going to drag me down. Not even myself.
I kissed Landon quite quickly before setting off to get Emmy. My mom and Andrew had begun to stay at home a lot. But that didn't mean their drinking problem was resolved. No, they still drunk every single night. Not that it mattered, anyway, because we were used to it. Plus, we tried to stay clear out of their way -- and not to talk back -- in sakes of getting locked out of the house once again, purposefully.
But once Emmy and I arrived at home, our mom and Andrew were in their room, more than likely drinking or sleeping. They were quiet so they were probably asleep.
I gave Emmy a cut up apple for snack. She sat at the table, singing softly and moving in her chair. "Oh, guess what?" Emmy spoke up, looking up after chewing a mouthful of apples. "I got a one hundred on my spelling test."
"You did?!?" I smiled widely at her, excitement bubbling inside me. "I'm so proud!" The night before we had studied together to make sure she'd remember how to spell the words. And with me studying with her, it seemed to help.
"Mhm," she nodded and smiled, looking just as proud of herself as I was.
Still smiling, I sat down beside her. "Any homework today?"
She shook her head no.
"That's good," I nodded. "But I do," I frowned and she made a funny face just to make me smile.
Later on, we watched and movie, ate dinner, Emmy took a bath, and then we went to bed.
Once I woke up in the morning, I walked into the kitchen. My mom, who was seated at the table was passed out. Andrew was passed out on the couch, the empty bottle on the floor. Emmy didn't say anything about them except frown the slightest before going into the bathroom to brush her hair and brush her teeth.
"Ready?" I asked Emmy as I finished tying my shoes. She nodded, still not speaking, and we left.
"You alright?" I questioned her as she still hasn't uttered a single word to me.
"Yeah," she said, yawning, "I'm tired."
"Okay, just making sure," I said, shivering from the cold. "Are you warm?"
"Yeah," she nodded, stuffing her hands in her jacket. "Bye Bates!" She waved at me as she skipped over to the elementary school. I waved goodbye to her and watched her walk in before walking to my school. Once I arrived, Landon, Alice, Jessie, and Jonas was already there. They were inside of course, it was too chilly outside to be waiting, honestly. Emmy and I would have to start riding the bus or something.
Jessie and Alice were chatting amongst themselves, smiling and laughing. Like Jonas, I wish they'd get together soon. I kissed Landon on the forehead, greeting her. "How are you this morning, beautiful?"
"I'm alright," she blushed, wrapping an arm around my waist, leaning in closer to me.
"You smell good," I said and she laughed.
"Thanks,"
Jonas was standing there, looking around the halls. He must've felt my stare because he looked over at the two of us. "Hey, do any of you have some food?"
"Why?" Jessie asks, hearing Jonas.
"So I can hold it to my chest like its the most precious thing in the world," Jonas said, then rolled his eyes, "No, you imbecile. I want some so I can eat it."
"Oh, wow," Jessie said, putting a hand to his chest, wide eyed. "You said imbecile! What a big word, Jonas! Hooray for you, man, cheers."
Jonas glared at Jessie, but it was a playful one, "Do you have any food or not?"
"Even if I did, I wouldn't give you any," Jessie shrugged. "I like food too much to share."
Jonas made a sad face. "So even if one of your dearest friends was starving, you wouldn't give them any?"
"Nope," Jessie smirked.
Jonas turned to Alice. "Do you have any food?" She shook her head. He turned to me, I shook my head. He looked to Landon, seeming hopeful.
She sighed, "Yeah, I do."
Jonas's face light up like a Christmas tree. "Oh? Yay! What did you bring for your beloved boyfriend's friend?"
Laughing, Landon said, "Who said it was for you?" Jonas's face fell, the hopeful look completely gone. "Oh, Jonas, cheer up! I'm just teasing. Here!" She tossed him a small pack of Oreos.
Eyes wide, jaw dropped, he became speechless. He eyed the food, licking his lips. "Oreos? The most delicious cookies alive.. Oh, my..."
"You okay there, Jonas?" said a voice, laughing. All eyes turned on the voice. It was Cece Jakes. She was smirking, eyes locking with me. "Oh, hey there Bates. Long time no see, huh? Ah, Alice you're back! I'm so glad. I was beggining to miss you." Sending Alice a wider smirk, she looked over at Jonas.
"What do you want, Cece?" He asked her with a calm voice.
"Oh, but I am friends with Bates. Just wanted to drop by and say hi, that's all. Also, loving you shirt, Landon." She added the last part quickly.
"Um, thanks," said Landon. A awkward silence settled between all of us and Jessie cleared his throat. Jonas began to open his Oreos and eat them.
"Um, what's up, Cece?" I spoke to her directly. "I haven't seen you since you ditched me again."
"Oh, yeah... About that-" she began.
"You keep doing that a lot, you know. But whatever. It's fine." I told her. Jessie, Jonas, Landon and Alice were quiet. What she did hadn't really bothered me too bad. But it did confuse me. Why would she be upset about us not hanging much? And once we did, she ended up ditching like she had before?
"Sorry..." Cece apologizes, trailing off.
"Like I said, it's whatever." I said.
At that, Cece perked up. "Okay good. 'Cause I didn't want you mad at me or something -- I despise drama." Her eyes swept over Alice and Landon's. "Also, I kinda came over here to chat with the per- Alice and Landon." The two of them exchanged a confused look. "Um, alone." Cece said, looking at the three of us boys. The three of us walked a bit aways to give them privacy.
"Wonder what they're talking about..." mumbled Jessie.
"I dunno." I said, shrugging as I glanced over at them. Cece was talking to them. Landon and Alice's back were facings us, so I couldn't see their expressions.
Jonas, who was devouring the Oreos said, "Me either," in a muffled voice with the cookies in his mouth, making his voice not so clear. When I looked back over at the girls, Cece had her arms crossed and was looking at Alice who seemed to be talking.
I didn't get to ask Landon what the three of them were talking about because the bell rang and we had to hurry and get to class.
•••
"Hey handsome," said Landon at the end of the day while we waited outside. She was waiting for her ride and I was waiting for her, to say bye and go get Emmy.
"Hey gorgeous," I cheekily replied. She smiled and hugged me.
"You should come over to my house for a bit," she mumbled, her hands grasping my jacket. "I wanna cuddle, eat food, and make out."
I grinned, kissing the top of her head. "As tempting as that sounds, I can't right now," she made a sound of protest, "but I might later. Once I get home and make sure mom and Andrew are home so Emmy won't be home alone I'll head over."
"Okay," she pulled back and was smiling. I love her smile, she looked so cute and adorable and it kinda make a little weight in my chest to lift and my lips twitch into a smile.
"Oh, yeah, I never had time to really ask...But what did Cece wanna talk about with you and Alice?"
Landon's smile disappeared. "Oh, that. Not much, really." She looked away. "Look, there's my ride. I gotta go, bye." I furrowed my eyebrows, but caught up to her. She turned and looked at me.
"Wait, what was all that about?" I asked her. I didn't want her to be upset and not talk to me.
"What was what about?" She asked, knowing exactly what I meant.
"You, Alice, and Cece," I said.
She sighed loudly. "Cece was just...wanting to be friends with Alice and I again.."
"Again?"
"In middle school," she explained. "We were friends for a whole. Then Cece stopped hanging out with us. She just started hating us and we stopped being friends."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
She shrugged, "I didn't think it was a big of a deal because it was already settled: Cece wasn't friends with us. So why make a big deal of it? You two were okay friends. I didn't want to hurt it just because of the past."
We both heard a honk. Landon and I looked to see Mandy shooting daggers at us, impatient. "Look, I gotta go-" I pressed my lips to her, a passionate kiss. She was red in the face once she pulled away and left.
•••
Emmy and I made our way home quickly. My mom and Andrew were seated on the couch, smoking and drinking. Once our mom say my sister and I, she smiled, "My babies are home! How was school?"
Emmy and I ignored her and went to the table in the kitchen. "Excuse me?" Andrew said loudly, "Your mother was talking to you two. Don't be disrespectful."
"School was great, mom," I answered in a bored, flat tone.
"You're gonna let your kids talk to you like that?" fumed Andrew. He walked in and look at us. "You two should be more polite to your mother! She has raised you and cared for you," actually she didn't, "and with you two acting like that..." He trailed off. I didn't even look up from my homework. Emmy was doing her homework which was write three new vocabulary words five times.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He snapped. From the sound of his voice, we both looked up.
"What?" I said, not in the mood for them.
"When I speak," he spat, "you listen. Understand?"
"Who said I wasn't listening before?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Andrew let out an annoyed breath. He pointed a finger at me. "You, my dear boy, are on a thin string." He took a bottle of liquor from the fridge and took two large gulps.
Mom looked over at us.
"Pass me some of that, yeah?" She held out her hand and she took lage gulps too. She saw that we were watching and smiled, "Want some?" I rolled my eyes and began working on my homework again.
"What're you working on?" asked Andrew as he walked over to me, snatching the paper into his hands.
"Give it back, Andrew!" I exclaimed. I didn't want him doing anything to my homework. How would I explain that to my teacher?
He grinned wickedly. "Oh, why should I?"
"Because it's my homework," I said angrily. He was getting on my nerves badly.
"Like this homework would make you any smarter because you aren't," he said, trying to insult me.
I glared at him. "Like you can talk."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Andrew was getting more furious by the minute and I didn't really want to get kicked out again. "I'm talking to you, boy," he says, walking all the way up to me. I keep looking down, hoping that if I keep ignoring him, he'll go away.
But he didn't.
"I know you can hear me," he growled, his eyes on the side of my head.
I finally just looked up at him and he was scowling at me. "Boy," he said, like he didn't know my name. "You need to find yourself a better attitude."
I couldn't help the anger that filled me up inside. "Oh, what if I don't? What're you gonna do, lock me and my little sister out of the house?"
I could feel the anger radiating off of Andrew. And my mom took a hesitant step towards him. Slowly, she wrapped an arm around him forearm. He shrugged her off, shooting her a glare before turning back to me.
"You're pushing it," he warned.
"Oh," I chuckled, standing up from the chair, "Okay. And what will you do about it, Andrew?"
Mom put in, "Bates, just go to your room."
I turned my eyes to her. "Why?"
"I don't want any of you guys fighting..." she trailed off, looking over at Emmy who wasn't watching us.
"We aren't fighting," Andrew smiled coldly. "Just having a nice chat. If it's bothering you too much, Bates and I will go in another room to talk." Andrew didn't seem interested in talking with me. He was really drunk, he could hardly walk to the room.
"Now," he jabbed a finger in my direction. "I want an apology! Mostly for your behavior 'cause that needs to be straightened up. Then I want you to go and start cleaning the mess in this house -- by that, I mean the dishes, floors, living room, and so on. Understand?"
"I don't have anything to apologize for," I told him with a clear voice. I was tired of them -- always drinking.
No. I was sick of it.
This time I was gonna do something about it.
"I beg your pardon?" Andrew bellowed.
"I will not apologize to you," I said, staring at him with a cold glare. "I admit my attitude wasn't the best towards you, but how can I get enough respect for you when you're never sober?"
Andrew took a step closer to me. "I'm fed up with this!" Andrew was obviously an angry drunk. "Come here!" He grabbed my upper arm and yanked me back in the kitchen.
My mom was drinking straight up from the liquors bottle when we entered. Emmy was now eating some more apples quietly. She looked up and saw us, she stood up. "What goin' on now?"
"He still wants to be a smart ass!" He yelled, shaking me furiously with each word. "So I decided we need to teach him a lesson."
Her eyebrows rose. "How will we teach him a lesson?"
"Like this," Andrew said, letting go of my arm and punched me hard in the stomach. I doubled over, the wind was knocked out of me. "Ain't so smart mouthing us now, huh?"
I can't talk because you punched me in the stomach, I thought as I began to stand up straight. As soon as I caught my breath, he punched me there again. I couldn't believe this was happening. I'd never think that Andrew would go to desperate measures of hitting me or Emmy.
Emmy.
I turned to look at her. She was still seated at the table, pale and wide eyed as she watched us. I mouthed the words, "Go," to her. As soon as she stood up and went running to the bedroom, Andrew walked over with two long strides and picked her up. She screamed and tried to free herself. "Shut up!" He yelled and forced her to sit down again.
She was beggining to cry.
"I want you to see what happens when you back talk," he told her with venom laced in his voice. Our mom was just watching it all and that infuriated me so much I felt my blood boil.
Andrew turned to look at me. "Got anything to say now?"
"Don't make Emmy watch," I said. "Just leave her be. Let her go to the bedroom."
"Sorry, no can do," he said. "You need to learn your lesson and she needs to be warned." He was seeming to enjoy this.
"Andrew-" I began and Andrew walked over to me and slapped me across the face. The slap was so hard I staggered a few feet, my back hitting the counter right behind the sink.
"Stop talking!" He yelled.
He made another advance to hit me, but I ran to the living room. I searched wildly for my phone to try to get him away. I didn't want him putting a hand on my sister. God, where was my phone?
Andrew walked in. "You aren't so talkative when you're getting beat around, are you?"
"Andrew, just stop," I said, my eyes wondering around the room before meeting his evil stare.
"Why should I?" He asked me as he started walking closer to me.
"Because," I said as he got close enough that I could smell the alcohol. "I don't want Emmy go get hurt or anything." I realized that was a wrong thing to say because then he smiled widely and walked over to her. She cowered in her seat, silent tears painting her cheeks.
I charged at him, gripping his lower half and both of us fell to the ground with a loud thud. He grunted and stood up and kicked me hard in the stomach. I gripped my stomach, struggling to breathe.
I look and saw that Emmy was looking up at Andrew, he was standing over her. "Andrew..." she pleaded, tears falling from her eyes. "Please..." He raised his hand and I heard the slap and then heard Emmy hit the floor with a loud thump.
"That's enough!" Mom yelled.
Now she decided to make him stop.
But I barely even listened to them fight. I made my ways towards Emmy. She had her eyes closed and her cheek was red. I felt a vibrate in my pocket. It was my phone! I didn't even think it was in there. I ignored the text I had from Landon and began to dial 911. And it started to ring.
Something hit me on my head with something hard and then I passed out.
•••
The first thing I heard was the sound of beeping. Where was I? I was sleeping so good, I didn't want to wake up. I heard muffled talking not far away and I moved my fingers, gripping some materials.
Was I on a bed?
I finally opened my eyes. The light was so bright, it was making an ache form behind my eyes. I noticed how everything was white. The walls, floor, bed. A TV was on the center of the wall, directly in front of me. The news was playing, but the volume was all the way down.
"Oh, he's awake!" yelled a voice. I turned my head to see aunt Jenny and uncle Dean walking to me.
"How are you feeling?" Uncle Dean asked.
How did they get here?
"Why am I here?" I asked. Then I remembered what had happened. Andrew, my mom, Emmy... "Oh, God! Where's Emmy? Is she okay?" Please say she's okay. Oh God please....
Aunt Jenny moved a few pieces of hair off of my forehead. "She's alright, Bates. She's safe." Relief flooded through me and I closed my eyes for a few minutes before looking up at them.
"Why are you guys here?"
Aunt Jenny and uncle Dean weakly smiled at me. "When you dialed 911, Andrew had hit you with a bottle of..liquor. You had to get a few stitches. Other than that you're fine." Jenny said, sitting down at one of the chairs closest to me. "But the police came and arrested Andrew. Your mom was put into a rehab center to try to get rid of her drinking addiction."
"Where are Emmy and I supposed to go now?" I asked, panic rising in my chest.
"To California, with us," said uncle Dean gently.
"T--To California?" I blurted, eyes wide.
They both nodded. "You'd go to the best school there and we have a nice room for the both of you." Aunt Jenny explained. I couldn't go anywhere else, honestly. We didn't have any family in this town. And I didn't really know any other family besides Jenny and Dean.
But that means I'll have to leave my friends....
And Landon.
"What about my friends?" I asked, biting my lip.
"You can still talk to them. Plus, you'll meet more once you come with us." Dean said. "Speaking of your friends, some of them are here.. Would you like to see them?" I nodded and looked at my hands that were playing with the covers.
Jessie, Jonas, Alice, and Landon all stepped through. "I'll leave you guys alone," said aunt Jenny and they left.
"How are you feeling?" Alice asked. I noticed that her and Jessie were holding hands.
"I'm alright," I answered, looking over at all of them.
Jonas walked over the side of my bed. "I'm glad you're okay, dude."
"Me too." I agreed. I gulped, "Look, guys... My mom, she's uh, a-at rehab. And t-that means that I gotta go with my aunt Jenny and uncle Dean.."
"Oh," Jessie said.
"Where?" asked Jonas.
"To California." I said, not having the power to look at Landon. I heard her take a sharp breath and then she walked out, crying.
"I'll go talk to her," Alice excused herself.
"I'm gonna miss you..." Jessie said sadly.
"Me too." Jonas agreed, looking at his hands. "Do you know when you are going?"
I shook my head.
"Well, that means we gotta make the best of the days we have left!" Jonas said, trying to cheer us up.
It didn't really work.
•••
Landon came in an hour later, sniffing, and red faced. She looked over at me and forced a smile on her face. "I'll let you two talk," Jessie said. And all of them left.
We stayed silent for a bit. She moved to where aunt Jenny had sat, closest to me. She was looking at her lap, seeming not to really know what to say.
And I didn't either.
What was I supposed to say?
She looked up at me, pain in her eyes. "Hey Bates," the way she said my name, it made me slowly close my eyes. I tried to cherish the way it rolled of her tongue and the way she pronounced each letter.
"Hello," I said.
We didn't really know how to start the conversation we knew we had to talk about. Yet, it seemed unreal. Like this was a dream and none of this had happened.
But it did happen. And I couldn't hide the fact that it was real. Because it was, and as much as I wished it wasn't, that couldn't change anything.
"S-So I guess this is where we have to say goodbye to each other," she said slowly, as if she couldn't process that this was really happening either.
"I guess so..." I trailed off. This was painful. Too painful.
She wiped at her eyes and I realized that she was crying, once again. We both knew this relationship wouldn't work out. I'd be too far away and she'd be here. And it would be to hard for us to try to visit one another. "I knew this would happen," she cried. "I'd get attached to you and then something would happen."
I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say or how to react. I felt like I was in a dream; like I was watching this all happen from someone else's view.
"But at least I'll be able to look back," she said, smiling through her tears. I admired her so much. How she smiled even though her heart was shattering like mine. "And smile because of you."
"I'll always smile at thought of you, Landon," I said, my voice breaking.
She got in the hospital bed with her. Landon's legs wrapped around my very own. She rested her head on my chest, one hand rested there too. I had my arms wrapped around her. One of my hands were tracing letters on her, but she didn't know, but I did.
I traced and retraced I love you over and over until she fell asleep on me. And I didn't care that my arm was asleep or that I was uncomfortable. I just closed my eyes and dreamt of a reality where it was just Landon and I.
And it was one of the most perfect moments in my life.
I don't know what to say. I can't really process that it's over. For good. I've become attached to the characters :(
But I'd like to thank each and everyone of you all for reading, voting, and commenting on Bates & Landon.
This probably wasn't what you had expected when it ended. Although I still hope you all liked it and would like to continue reading more stories by me ;)
I wanna hear your thoughts about the ending too so comment away
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Xoxo
Talia