The ride to school was long, silent, and uncomfortable. I wanted to scream at the justice of one mistake, at the known fact this was my first strike. What was the use anyway? No adult listens to anyone young then them, even if their words were true and pure. I sat in the passenger seat, pouting, arms crossed while staring out the window looking at the trees passing.
"Being upset at me won't help." Aunt Joyce spoke up with another huff after ten minutes. "This is for your own good."
"Keeping me prisoner is for my own good? After one mistake..."
"There were more mistakes than one, Zaire. You weren't caught on the others, and that act you did last night- you broke the rules of my household and I'm tired of pushing it away. I never wanted to be a strict parent, that's not me, but if you ever do this again there will be more than being a helicopter parent."
"You're not my mother." I mumbled, the car was so silent and small, my words were loud and clear. "Stop being what you're not, stop being a cop for once and understand me."
"You stop being a bratty child and I stop being a cop. How about that, is that good for you?" Not only were the ride uncomfortable, it held an unbreakable tension that made us both want to scream in frustration and anger. I didn't let her park in front of the school, I jumped out as soon as I could with no hesitation; no goodbye or a simple gaze.
Walking into school wasn't any better, I was ambushed by pink and purple decorations on the wall, hanging from the ceiling and taped to the lockers. Winter dance- the most deadly or fantastic night in a teenagers life. I never fandom about the one night of bad music, dancing, expensive dresses, and drunk idiots; right in the school gym (budget cuts, of course).
I passed by everything, brushing off the pink streams and purple balloons; all that make me sick to the stomach. Along with the site of the cheerleaders gather around hanging these decorations in their uniform; it didn't help the fact it was a football game tonight, last game of the season.
"Hey," Gabriel stepped out of the shadows of giggling teenagers and loud jocks. "How did it go?"
I huffed while pulling the locker open with much force, luckily my anger gave me another strength like she-hulk. "I'm on fucking parole, grounded for one mistake."
"Mistake?"
I sighed heavily and caressed his cheek while looking him deep into the eyes. "It wasn't a mistake, it was the best night of my life." I adjusted the thick hoodie by pulling out the string. "I have to sit in the station, bored out my mind while under supervision. How about you? Did the sheriff crack down on you?"
Gabriel blew raspberries while running his hands through his long hair, "The usual, being yelled and cursed at until he left for work. He knew that I slept over your place but he didn't know about the things we done."
"Aunt Joyce made sure not to include that when she calmed him down last night. What are we now?" What the hell am I saying? I sound desperate like a chick of a romance movie in need of love or some shit like that. It my a sour taste form on my tongue and my stomach churn, gosh, I hate romance.
"We're together."
"So you forgive me? I'm really am a bitch..."
"Zaire..."
"Gabriel seriously. I was thinking this morning..."
"While you were watching me sleep." He stepped closer, dangerously close that would be misconduct in the student handout.
I blushed in embarrassment and nod my head in agreement. "I was fascinated by your physique. I never seen you naked before, I gotta say it was tight. I put myself in your shoes for once and thought: if I saw my girlfriend climbing out of a strangers car in the middle of the night, I would be highly pissed off and for her to dump me; I wouldn't forgive her. Not even if we did have relations."
"I forgive you, I always do."
The moment was quaint, awesome, but it didn't end with a chirpy interruption or a high pitch giggle in awe. "Where's Katy? Did you see her when you came in?"
"She's probably in class." I gave her a deadpanned look, one that was very familiar and understandable. Gabriel blew raspberries and looked around the hall, "Text her,"
Z: Hey it's me, just checking.
Kat: Hey, I'm in class now. Where are you?
Z: on my way.
"In class, like you predicted."
"Hey," He grabbed my arms to probably shake some sense into me. "Don't panic,"
"I can't help it. I'm this close into finding the guy and now I have to delay my plans all because she thinks I'm reckless, a brat that needs to be babysat. Did you know at our age, she was being gangbanged in the back of clubs."
"Whoa! Didn't need to know. She's like a aunt to me too you know." Gabriel shivered in disgust, face scrunched up as the image skimmed his mind.
"She also snuck boys in her room everyday of the week, and she paid my mother to keep her mouth shut. One slip up and I'm being thrown under the bus." I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes to calm down, nothing would help nor move on if I ranted. "It's over now, nothing can change."
"There hun, moving on for the best." The warning bell rung loud with an annoying echo. "Unfortunately we still have to go to class. Come on, I'll walk you." Gabriel grabbed my hand, instantly making me calm and numb all over.
"I hope this doesn't change our normal affection in are relationship, such as not holding hands when we walk to class, or calling each other any made baby names or kissing each other goodbye."
"Basically all that normal shit that sick couples do? The affections of annoying teenagers, I'm not gonna grope you in the middle of the hall or take you to the bleachers or anything like that." He chuckled before slowing down his pace until we were near my first period. "Try to stay out of trouble, okay."
"I'll try." I caressed his cheek, my thumb running along his smooth warm skin before dragging him down to taste his lips. The action was quick and simple, but noticeable. "See you at lunch."
***
Being stuck at the police station was the worse hell anyone could endure, being that our crime rate was extremely low until a month ago when they found Naomi; there weren't much arrest nor offices fit to take anyone down. There were six people (including the Sheriff and Aunt Joyce) that worked at the station, half of them were veterans that that needed their life surrounded by guns so they would lose their mind while the other half were just looking for any job that made them busy. The only person that here that did not surround themselves by action and guns was the secretary- Angela Lutz.
Angela Lutz was a young twenty-eight year old woman that gotten married to fast (if you ask me), a true blonde in my dictionary and could not hold a good conversation that did not involve twitter or any other social networks that kids my age would wrap their minds around. She use to babysit me before I hit the age of twelve and when Aunt Joyce finally accepted the fact she had an responsibility.
Now I'm sitting next to this woman that Aunt Joyce ordered to keep an eye on me as if I were nine years old again watch a nineteen year old woman sneak her boyfriend (who is now her husband) into the house and makeout on the couch. They probably did more but I tried to block those things out.
"What did you do?" Angela asked while scrolling through another online store selling shoes and out of season leather jackets.
I fucked my boyfriend and forgot to kick him out afterwards... It would be a laugh if I actually said those things in a full room of old guys and a gossiping secretary that had nothing better to do than shop online. "I just did some stupid stuff." I shrugged my shoulders and took a deep breath before looking up at the ceiling to count the tiles, I figured out that they did not hold the same amount of holes in each tile- that's how bored I am.
"What we got here, Angela?" Sheriff Watson walked in with his brows in question once he saw me. He approached the desk just a few steps from the door- that's how small the station is. "Seems like my son is rubbing off of you."
"My own doing, sir." I voice while straightening myself in the chair and sharing a small smile.
"Well, your aunt is doing a burger run. How about you run across the street and get some soda? Ginger ale and you can get some candy or something." He took out his wallet to only fill my gaze and hands with a crisp twenty dollar bill. "You can keep the change." Like father like son, both rule breakers with a edge to them.
I never felt so free stepping out that door to only go across the street. The corner store was actually the town pharmacy rubbed by an old lady and her young grandson, whom I seen around Tanya's parties in the past. A gentleman with a kind eye to comics and cars, a sweet heart that was dumped all over by other because of his disadvantages. He was sweeping the floor by time I walked in, a smile upon his face as he hummed a tone that his grandmother probably sung to him when he were younger younger. "Hey Greg."
"H-hey Z." Greg waved as his smile turned wider and brighter.
"What do we have today?!" A little comic/magazine section was in the very back by the bread and cookies, made by Greg himself.
"Nothing new," He follows behind to give me details on each comic that he read under a day. "But the new Captain Marvel edition came in last week, only ten dollars."
"Why such the high price?"
"Gran is getting on me about selling the comics, saying it's a waste of money. We're shutting it down in two weeks if I don't show any progress." He ruffled his sandy hair while blowing raspberries.
"Well I will call Thomas, make his ass come down here and bring his nerdy friends too. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep it standing."
"You and Thomas are still dating?"
I chuckled in disbelief, I forgot how excluded Greg is when it comes to gossip- because of his 'disadvantages', no one speaks to Greg about anything. I can't say I was a true friend to Greg, I'm not going to lie about it like anyone else; such as Tanya and Tony when they invite him to the parties to be 'nice'. "No, Thomas and I broke up in sophomore year."
"Really?" His eyes brightened up in hope. You can't say the gentleman had a crush on any girl that shows him attention, considering that's just me at the moment, he was deeply in love with my presence. "Wow, um. I was wondering if you and I would go out sometime, a date if our generation use that term anymore."
Oh boy... "Actually, I'm dating Gabriel. In our generation terms, we are past talking and now showing our affections."
"Attraction, past lust."
"Yup. Sorry, Greg."
"Oh no need to apologize, I'm too old for you anyway. Funny how the two year gap can be stressing." He slowly walked away in shame. What was it to say when you shut a guy down that's being waiting two years? There's nothing to say, actually; the age gap is stressing.
When I walked back to the station, Aunt Joyce was already there with dinner; I could smell the greasy food from the street and hear the loud munching from the overweight officers scarfing down their burgers and fries. I set the liter of ginger ale on Angela's desk and the bag of gummy worms for myself, I stuffed the comic in my bag.
"You're supposed to be grounded, not out and about." Aunt Joyce just said in an impatient voice before slapping a wrapped large sandwich bigger than my two hands and a cup of fries on a tray and forced it in my hands. She walked away to her desk, which was all the way in the back where we couldn't look up and be on each other faces.
Angela gave me a sympathetic look, "It gets worse before it gets better. I know that look from anywhere, lied to mother about spending the weekend with Tracie Delts, actually I went to a camping trip with Kendrick. Guys, they either get you in trouble or actually ruin your life."
I flopped down into the chair, making sure not to spill my fries but even if they did tilt over on the tray, I would still eat them. "That's very upsetting. You and Tracie were friends?"
"Yeah, something like that. But it all ended after graduation, she went to college while I got married to my high school sweetheart." She shrugged her shoulders and went back to online shopping while munching on some fries.
"I hate this." I mumbled before finishing my food.
***
The car was freezing, winter was tomorrow and it was already starting off with freezing temperature and ice rain. The old squad car barely held heat, my thick hoodie wasn't enough to make me stop shivering. "I hate this car." I could see my own breath.
"Don't complain, if you didn't..."
"Can we not play the blame game. Christ, this is worse than that field trip to Oregon. I'm freezing my tits off..."
"I'm not your friend, Zaire!" Aunt Joyce cracked, her chest rise and fell hard as she tried to calm herself down. "You can't talk to me like one of your classmates, this is unacceptable."
"Unacceptable? Who are you right now?" I needed to find the humor in this, to find that camera she's been hiding this whole to. But no humor nor a camera, just a changed aunt that hade something bite her in the ass. "Great, you choose to act this way eight months before I go to college. Fantastic."
"Are you serious right now? Do you not understand the situation, the purpose of me cracking down on you?"
"I'm a bratty child that needs babysitting, you already explained that to me several times, yelled even."
Aunt Joyce opened her mouth but immediately closed it out of shock. "What the fuck? Great I raised an asshole, like your mother."
"Mom wasn't an asshole, she was just too tired of your shit."
"Well I'm tired of your shit, stop being a bitch."
"Wow, calling your niece a bitch. That's good of you." I can admit, I was a little bitch- I got it from my mother who got it from her mother, so on and so on. "Let's just get this sentencing over with, shall we. The quicker we're done here, the faster I can be a regular teenager for once." The road ahead was dark, even the front porch lights of passing homes weren't enough to fill that void in this damn town.
"Sorry to break it to you sweetheart, you never were a normal teenager. Never will be."
I turned my back of her, my breath made a dog on the window as the cold glass cooled me down. "Who fault is that? This is ridiculous, we're going back and forth for what. You're pissed about one thing, yes I broke your house rules that you- by the way- did not run over with me. So, thank you for the run down. Besides, it's my first time- not actually my first but being caught was. At least cut me some slack."
"I've done that for years, I'm tired of it. Your parents death is still weighing on you, now with your friends and the killer still on the use; that can bring back past trauma."
What can a kid do when they found out both of their parents were dead- drowned in a cold river? Then what can they do when they find out that it was a murder suicide- to find out their father (a man that brought them much joy) had an illness that could be past down to you in a later age? A man who took you out camping before school season, taught you about comic books and gave you the whole Harry Potter novel set for Christmas, even taught you how to throw a football and swing a bat, a father who loved you. Trauma? I did not have night terrors or flashbacks, I only want to do what's right and if you call that trauma, then so be it.
I slowly rolled my eyes and shook my head in disagreement. "I doubt it." My eyes narrowed on our lovely dark home to see a very expensive Mercedes parked on the curb. "Is that..."
"Carol." Such disgust and hatred in her voice even made me colder.