"I don't know if I should be proud or upset," I hear a man say.
"I am upset! But I'm not sure whether we should wake them or not," a woman says.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion and I sit up, meeting eyes with two people standing at the door. "Um, hello," I awkwardly greet them. I slide my hand over to Calum and pinch him.
He sits up immediately before sending an alarmed look at the couple. "Mom, dad. You're home early."
I blush and look down.
"We are. And apparently you think it's okay to have girls over while we're gone, young man?"
My head snaps up and words quickly fall from my lips. "Calum and I are only friends. I stayed the night because my boyfriend just cheated on me and Cal was there for me. We didn't, um, do anything."
The woman slowly nods her head and glances towards the man. "Alright then. I'm afraid you'll have to leave, however. We're going out for brunch."
"Can't she come with, mum?" Calum rolls his eyes.
"No, no it's fine. I have a lot of Ben and Jerry's to eat and lots of romantic comedies to watch," I chuckle.
I know my way home from Calum's because we live in the same neighborhood, so I begin my short walk home.
The morning air is crisp and cool, everything is quiet except for the occasional howl of wind and passing cars.
"I'm home!" I call out as I step inside the front door.
"In the kitchen!" My mother shouts back. I find her staring down at her phone, sitting at the kitchen table. "Things with Jered have gotten worse," she sighs, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?"
"It's worrying me. He says I'll regret it if I don't get back together with him."
"Maybe you should file for a restraining order," I suggest. "It seems like he's threatening you."
"I wish, but I think you have to have a more serious reason."
I shrug, biting my lip. "I don't know."
I sit down across from her and she finally looks up at me, taking in my appearance. "How was your party?"
I purse my lips. Do I tell her what happened? I don't want to hide anything from her. "Ashton and I broke up."
She gasps, reaching across the table to grasp my hand. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. Why?"
"Well, we were serious before we made it official, but I found out he did something with the girl a week before we did. . . Something."
My mother cocks an eyebrow and narrows her eyes. "What is 'something?'"
I give her a look and she frowns. "Ella! You're so young, darling, were you at least safe?"
I nod quickly. "Always, mama." Tears begin to well up in my eyes as I say, "I thought he loved me. I think, maybe he did. But why would you hurt the person you love?"
Her hand moves up to wipe away a falling tear. "People make mistakes. But what he did was so wrong. If he loved you, and darling I say this in the nicest way I can, he would even be able to stand kissing another girl. If he loved you he wouldn't have done what he did."
I sigh, glancing down. "You think he didn't love me."
"Some boys take advantage. Some lie, and cheat and break your heart. Sweetie, some do all the wrong things. But the point is, sweetie, some don't. You're going to find that one, the one who would shatter his own heart before breaking yours."
I look up and give her a small smile. "I love you, mom, thank you."
She smiles back and pulls away. "Now go find something to do. I have Jered to deal with."
I nod and get up, leaving for my bedroom. I've no idea what to do. Laying in bed, eating ice cream and watching romantic comedies is an option. But doing that isn't going to make me feel any better.
So I change into shorts and a tank top, tell my mom I'm going for a run, and head out.
My tennis shoes slap against the pavement as I run along the road, feeling the sweat drip down my forehead and the wind in my hair.
I slow down when I see the sign for the trailer park. I take deep breaths, shake my head and ignore the urge to go in there and visit Ashton. I speed up again and keep my head straight, not allowing my eyes to wander towards the sign.
Fifteen minutes later and I've never been on this road before. I can turn back and go home when I need to but for now, I want to feel like I can run away from everything.
A red, scratched-up truck is up ahead and I move closer to the grass so I don't bother the driver. My eyebrows furrow as the person in the front seat begins to steer the truck towards me, instead of away.
Suddenly the truck is coming straight towards me and I don't have time to scream before I jump out of the way.
I crash into the pavement and whimper in pain. Looking down I see my knees are absolutely torn up. I take a breath before turning around to see the culprit.
Jered is sitting behind the wheel, passed out. My jaw drops and I shakily stand to my feet. His truck is crashed into a tree and he isn't awake, thank god, so I don't have to worry about him coming after me.
I don't think about the pain, or the blood dripping down my leg, as I run as fast as I can towards home.
And I try my hardest not to think about the fact that my mother's ex-boyfriend just tried to kill me.
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A/N
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I'm sorry for not updating in forever!! I don't even have an excuse except that I'm a lazy ass, but I'm very sorry :(