"Hey Dad." I said with a sad smile as I sat crisscross in front of the tombstone.
The damp spring grass seeped through my skinny jeans and I cringed before bringing my knees up to my chest.
"This morning was a little hard." I began before placing the bouquet of wild flowers on the ground.
"I woke up from a weird dream and I almost texted Jason to tell him about it." I sighed as a lump began to form in my throat.
"Then I realized that were broken up and he hates me."
"So naturally, I began texting Maddie." I chuckled humorlessly. "Then I realized that we're not talking." I shrugged and my eyes welled up with tears.
"Mom is dealing with finals coming up and she's stressed so my problems would be tedious. Grandma is working on a new line and everyone else is just busy."
"And usually when times like this would happen, you would be there and we would have one of your stupid campfires in the backyard and eat s'mores to our heart's content."
"But you're not here." I cried.
"Everything is kind of falling apart and it's really all my fault. The worst part is, I don't know where to start to try and fix things. I think I'm failing half of my classes because I've been trying to avoid my problems." I gasped in a breath and the tears fell down faster and harder.
"I just want you here." I choked out through my tears.
*
After crying out all of my tears. I collected myself and made my way to school.
Despite Jason basically canceling our tutoring sessions, I still go to the library in the morning.
After making a stop at one of the coffee carts, I made my way to my usual table and started my work before the first bell even rang.
About a minute after the bell rang, the library door opened and Jason walked in.
Surprised, I quickly look back down at my work.
What is he doing here? Is he here to tutor me? What do I do? What do say?
"What are you doing here?" I asked before he could open his mouth.
"It's Monday, I tutor you on Monday." He replied and I looked up at him slightly irritated.
Oh no he did not.
"Where were you last Monday? Or Wednesday and Friday for that matter." I asked and he let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry for that." He apologized and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I really don't think you are, I think you're just trying to find an excuse to talk to me because I told you I didn't want to talk."
"So what if I am?" He asked before taking a seat.
"Don't sit down." I told him and he let out a sigh.
"You need chemistry to graduate." He reminded.
"Well I don't need you." I muttered and the second I said it I regretted it.
I looked at him with wide eyes and he clenched his jaws before standing up and I opened my mouth to say something but quickly closed it. I opened it again but nothing came out once again.
He turned on his heel and walked back out of the library and I let out a loud groan.
I am the worst.
"That was harsh." A voice a voice said behind me and I jumped up in surprise.
Looking behind me, I let out another groan, this one in annoyance at Chris Danes.
"Go away." I stated before placing my face in my hands.
"Are you okay?" He asked and I let out a humorless laugh.
My life is kind of falling apart and I'm basically the cause of it all.
"Go away." I repeated and instead of following my orders, he took a seat across from me.
"What part of go away is confusing?"
"I saw you this morning." He said and I looked up at him.
"At the cemetery." He added and I glared at him.
"And?"
"And I was wondering if you were okay." He shrugged and I let out a sigh.
"I'm fine." I replied.
He gave me an look that indicated he didn't believe me and nodded.
"What are you doing here anyways?" I asked with a frown.
"Our exam for English is a research paper. I'm doing research." He explained and I nodded.
"What are you doing?" He asked pointing to my math homework.
From two weeks ago.
"Trying to catch up on work I've missed." I replied and he frowned.
"That's from like two weeks ago. You don't need to do that, it not even a grade." He explained and I let out a frustrated sigh.
Great.
"Could you leave?" I asked and he rolled his eyes at me.
"If that's what you want." He smirked.
"It is." I replied and he nodded before standing up.
"I'd start with Maddie." He stated and I gave him a weird look.
"What?"
"On your list of shit you've claimed to have messed up. You should start with Maddie." He explained and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"How did you even know?"
"When I said I saw you, I meant I might've been eavesdropping on you conversation with your dad this morning." He confessed and my jaw dropped in shock.
"Get out of here." I glared.
"I'm going." He replied with a small smirk and I glared at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason
"McCall!" Coach shouted from his office and I let out a sigh before going inside.
This has become a daily routine between us. He yells at me for being a shitty player and I apologize for being a shitty play and I promise that I will step up my game.
But that hasn't happened.
My head hasn't really been in the game lately.
"Yes sir?" I asked and he pointed to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Do you know who we're playing today?"
"Chesterfield." I replied before clearing my throat.
"How many goals did you score last year when we played them?" He asked.
"Five."
That was a great game.
"Do you think you can manage to score at least one this game?" He asked sarcastically and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
"Yes sir." I replied and he nodded.
"I'm counting on that." He replied.
"You may leave." He dismissed and I stood up. Before I could close the door he called my my name.
"If you play tonight like you've been playing these past three weeks, you're benched the rest of the season." He threatened and I nodded before closing the door behind me.
Asshole.
"What was that about?" Tyler asked me as I reached my locker.
"Just Coach being a dick." I replied.
"Threats?" He asked and I nodded.
"His only form of communication." I replied before pulling my uniform out to change.
"Evan is trash talking on Twitter." Tyler stated and I let out a sigh.
"I've learned to tune Evan out a long time ago." I replied and he nodded.
"Do you think you can block out Casey too?" He asked and my head snapped towards him.
"Calm down, I just meant-"
"I know what you fucking meant." I glared and he let out a sigh.
"Are you still pissed that we locked you two in the girls locker room?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, now shut up about it."
"We really did think that if you guys talked about shit you guys would be better." He explained and I let out a sigh.
"Tyler?"
"Yeah?"
"I said shut up about it." I warned before closing the locker behind me and walking away.
*
Coach blew his whistle for a timeout and we ran towards him exhausted.
It's the fourth quarter and we're up 4-3.
But this game is hard as hell. Chesterfield is bringing their best game and we're struggling to keep the ball on our court.
"McCall, switch with Rotcher." Coach instructed without looking up from his clipboard and I frowned.
"Why?" I asked and he looked at me.
"Because I said so." He stated.
"I just scored two goals back to back." I pointed out.
"Yes, and I'd like to keep it that way. So I'm putting Rotcher in." He stated and I glared at him.
"Coach."
Turning his attention from me to the team, he instructed them on the next plays and I took a seat on the bench.
Something I haven't done since freshman year.
The game ended 4-3 and the second we were released, I was the first one in the locker room.
I reached into my backpack for my phone to text Lizzie but I frown at the multiple notifications from Darla and my father.
He called me three times and Darla called five with two voicemails and a text.
My frown deepened and I pulled open the text message.
"Damn it Lizzie." I sighed before grabbing my bag.
"Why are you in a rush?" Tyler asked as I quickly switched from my cleats to tennis shoes.
"Lizzie twisted her ankle." I replied and he nodded. "It's the same stupid ankle that she broke." I sighed before grabbing my bag.
"Tell her to get better." Tyler nodded and I closed my locker.
"I will." I promised before walking out of the locker room without a shower.
*
"Alright, I have ice cream and three really girly movies from redbox that I'm not going to complain about if we watch." I announced as I walked into my father's living room.
In an instant Darla was by my side and I frowned.
"What are you still doing here?" I asked.
Usually she's gone by the time my dad gets home from work.
"What are you doing here?" She asked and my frown deepened.
"This is my father's house. Where's Lizzie?" I asked.
"She's with your father upstairs." She explained nervously.
"Alright, thanks." I stated before going for the stairs.
"Wait, Mr. McCall." She grabbed my arm stopping me in my tracks.
"What is it?"
"There's... There's someone else upstairs." She said and I nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry, I won't go in my father's bedroom." I teased and she looked at me in confusion.
"I'll see you later Darla." I nodded before taking the stairs by two.
"Mr. Jason." She shouted after me but I ignored her.
Lizzie's door was open ajar and I opened it completely to walk in but I froze at the sight in front of me.
"What the hell?" I asked and the three pairs of eyes turned to look at me.
"What is she doing here?" I asked as I locked eyes with my mother.
"Jason." She spoke and I looked at my father.
"This wasn't planned." He stated and my eyes turned to Lizzie.
She had tears in he eyes but she was happily holding onto mom's hand.
"She came to see me." She stated and I nodded before stepping back.
"Jason." My father said and I shook my head at him before stepping out and closing the door behind me.
This is ridiculous.
Stepping into the closest bathroom, I hunched over the sink and tried to even my breathing.
Fuck.
My grip on the marble sink tightened and I focused on my breathing.
But it wasn't working.
Damn it.
What is happening?
Suddenly, the weight of my problems became unbearable and something inside me broke.
Hot tears rolled down my face and I tried to breath out.
I can't play soccer properly. I can't look my mother in the eyes because it hurts too damn much. I can't decide if I'm making the right college choice. And I broke off the greatest thing in my life because I couldn't get a hold of my anger.
What the actual fuck?
"Damn it." I shouted and my hand did one big swipe at the sink and everything that was on it went crashing on the ground.
Shit.
Every time I tried to calm down, the tears came down faster and I threw something else against the wall.
By the time I was done, my throat was burning, the mirror was shattered on the ground, my left fist was throbbing and there was no shower curtains attached to the shower.
After washing my hands in the sink, I stepped over broken glass and opened the door to reveal a very worried Elizabeth on her crutches.
Great.
"Are you okay?" She asked craning her neck to get a look inside but I quickly closed the door.
"I think I'll be okay." I nodded before she wrapped her arms around my waist for a hug.
"Why were you crying?" She asked and I hugged her back.
Because I fuck shit up.
"I'm fine." I told her instead.
"Are you mad that mom is here?" She asked and I shook my head.
I don't know.
"No."
"Then why did you walk out?" She asked before crossing her arms in front of her.
"I don't know." I answered.
Because I'm a mess.
"How was your game?" She asked changing the subject. Letting out a sigh, I followed her as she crutched back to her room.
"It was fine. We won." I informed her as she positioned herself on her bed. I adjusted her pillows for her elevated ankle before sitting next to her.
On her nightstand were two bowls of ice cream and she grabbed both of them and handed one to me.
"Tell me what happened to your ankle." I asked before we clinked spoons and dug in.
"Okay." She nodded before launching into a story about how she got distracted by another student while trying to land from and handspring and she landed funny.
"Are you okay?" I asked and she let out a huff.
"I'm fine but this means that I have to recover from this too. Which also means that I have to sit out for another however long it takes to heal." She rolled her eyes and I nodded.
"You'll get it back." I reassured.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked carefully and I nodded.
"You can ask me anything Liz." I told her and she bit her lip nervously.
"Did you and Casey break up?" She asked and I froze.
Anything but that.
Letting out a sigh, I nodded. "Yeah."
"Why? You really liked her." She frowned.
"Don't worry about it Liz." I dismissed.
"Fine, but I think you should just tell her you love her and that you miss her." She explained and I smiled a little.
"It's not that easy Liz."
"I think it is." She replied with a shrug.
I stayed for about twenty more minutes before realizing I had a shit ton of homework and it was close to ten o'clock.
"I'll see you tomorrow Lizzard." I told her before grabbing both of our ice cream bowls.
"Can we go to the library?" She asked and I shrugged.
"Depends if I'm up to it." I replied and she scoffed.
"See you tomorrow Jellyfish." She smiled before I closed the door behind me.
Letting out a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair and made my way downstairs to explain the bathroom situation to my father.
Walking into the kitchen, I was surprised to see Darla still working in the kitchen.
"Darla, what are you still doing here?" I asked.
"Oh, Mrs. McCall is hungry so I'm fixing her a snack." She replied and I froze.
"She's still here?" I asked and she nodded.
"In the living room with your father."
Damnit.
"Could you tell my dad that there's some damage done in the bathroom?" I asked her and she shook her head.
"No, you did the damage you tell him." She said not looking up from her and I glared at her.
I know exactly what she's doing.
"Don't do this."
"It is not my rule." She replied with a sigh. She looked up at me and I let out a sigh.
Turning on my heel, I made my way into the living room.
"Dad." I cleared my throat. The couple cut off their conversation and turned to look at me.
"There's some damage done on the bathroom." I told him without looking at my mother.
"What kind of damage?" He frowned and I cleared my throat again.
"Uh, the shower curtain and the mirror, also some things on the sink." I replied before digging my hands in my pocket.
"I'll handle it." He replied and I nodded back.
"Well, I'm going to head home." I told him.
"Bye." I said before turning on my heel and making my way towards the door.
Sadly before I could reach my car, I heard my mom call my name.
I shouldn't have stopped. But I did.
"Could we please talk?" She asked and I shook my head no.
"I need to go home." I told her before turning on my heels.
"But this is your home." She replied and I turned to face her again.
"This house stopped being a home the day that I came home from school and my mother was gone. The day we had the police in our living room asking me questions because we thought you were abducted. It stopped being a home when every night I had to go in Elizabeth's room and hold her after she had horrible nightmares because she kept thinking you were being tortured somewhere.
It stopped being a home when dad told me that you didn't get abducted, you just left because you didn't want us anymore." I told her before turning and walking towards my car.
"That's not what happened." She called after me but I didn't turn back around. I simply got I'm my car and drove away from my dad's house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Coming up: Savannah attempts to torment Casey again. Except Casey was not having it.