05 | 𝔓𝔯𝔬𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔪𝔰 -
OCTOBER 2ND, 1989
THE smell of hairspray and vanilla perfume invaded her bathroom once she was done getting ready. She stood in front of her body mirror a last time making sure her outfit wasn't out of place or looked weird. After examining herself, the light switch in the bedroom was cut off, already having her things and leaving down the stairs to the dim living room.
To her surprise the curtains were drawn a little allowing some sunlight to shine on the coffee table that was occupied with empty beer bottles and an ashtray full of cig buds from last night's smoking session. Her face twisted to the faint scent of it. With a gag she turns to the left entering into the dining area where her father was seated.
Reading the daily newspaper with a cig rested between his lips while he casually sipped on a fresh cup of hot medium roast coffee. Gina stood before the stove aisle cooking a pan of scrambled eggs while discussing with him over Penny's health. Penelope had suddenly become ill over the weekend and Gina could only assume it had to be the cafeteria food. It wasn't the type of food the girls generally ate but oddly it didn't have much of an affect on Liberty and Rosaline like it did on Penny
The mild conversation turned argumentative. Gina was getting frustrated with him because he was reluctant at the idea of taking some time off to care for her while Gina was gone during the day. Richard didn't feel it was necessary of him to babysit her when she could take care of herself. "You need to stop babying these girls, Gina, I'm tired of it."
The only reason he was reluctant was because he didn't want to take time off knowing he could earn some money and deep down inside she knew that was the reason. There was no doubt that Richard didn't care for his kids and surely wasn't willing to be unselfish with his time, calling him out on his bullshit pissed him off further.
Without a word, he gave her a warning glare to shut her bickering and Liberty watched the way her mom's lips automatically grew thin, rolling them in to keep the words she originally wanted to say back. Her silence grew a satisfaction within her father as he resumed back to his reading.
Liberty murmurs a quick "good morning" to both parents and gives her mom a quick kiss on the cheek before going to pour herself a glass of orange juice and sits at the table. It didn't take long for her plate to be set before her steaming hot, a small serving of eggs ー she wasn't a big eggs fan but oddly enjoyed it with a little syrup on top ーtwo pancakes and sausage.
"Liberty." Her father rasped.
"Yes?"
"Who was it that dropped you off the other night?" He asked. Despite her best efforts in trying to see his face, she had an idea of what he looked like behind the newspaper. His face was probably furrowed, bushy brows knitted so deeply together to the point it created a crease in between. Jaw locked and tight and body tense. Liberty bit the inside of her cheek messing with the eggs with her fork and glanced over at her worried mom. "A couple of friends."
"Friends, huh?"
"Yes, Nicholas and Marisol."
"They go to your school, right? Where'd ya go? Your mother didn't tell me you were going out with a couple of friends."
"I didn't think I needed to, Richard." Gina imputed, "She's eighteen. She's allowed to go out."
"Not without my consent, Gina." He squints.
"I'm the man of this house, am I not? I'm ー once again ー the one paying the bills around here, am I not? Getting food on the table, putting clothes on your backs, hell, I'm the one providing everything in this damn house!" She sighs going back and forth to place a couple of plates on the table and he watches her steadily.
She stops in her tracks to stand before one of the table chairs and grips the back of it tightly, to look at him in a submissive manner. "Yes, Richard."
The paper between his hands crinkled closed in its original form, he lays it flatly on the table for his arms to cross over his chest and leans back into the chair glaring up at her tiny demeanor. "I don't appreciate you sneaking around behind my back. When I ask where the hell she's going and who she's going with, I expect a gotdamn honest answer, ya hear me?" Liberty watched his finger point at her mother stiffly. His voice, firm and harsh, resulted in receiving a nod from his wife.
Considering it was early in the morning and the creases between his eyebrows and forehead were getting deeper, she didn't want to piss him off any further, kept her answer short and sweet with a mumbled "Loud and clear" before watching him take a moment to finish his breakfast.
The chair legs screeched against the wooden floor as he went off into the living room, murmuring, "I'll be back before sunrise." leaving the room to fall in an eerie silence.
She proceeded upstairs to Penny's room knocking at her door three times to hear her say "come in." The door was shut behind her before she strolled over to the bed leaning in and holding onto her bedpost, she gazed over her sister concerningly. The duvet was pulled back, spotting the only source of color was over her red nose, her lips were dry and chapped like a desert and body was weak."Hi." Her voice sent a warmth to shoot up inside Penelope giving Liberty a lazy smile as her eyes flutter shut ever so softly. "Hi."
She groans in pain and Liberty frowns, "How do you feel?" She chuckles, "I feel like I got hit by a bus." Penny watches her sister sit on the right side of the bed, taking a good look at her before placing the back of her hand against Penelope's forehead. The feeling of her cool fingers stings her flesh soothingly and immediately she grips her hand to keep in place, lightly fluttering her eyes shut.
"Yeah, you don't look so hot." Even though Penelope hates being babied and looked at as weak, deep down inside she couldn't fool Liberty. Penny didn't understand the reasoning behind it but she leaned on Liberty the most out of everyone else. When it came to being coddled, some closure or just needing her presence beside her, Liberty was the only person she could go to for some sisterly love. No matter how many times she pushes her care and says she's "fine," there's always a sign of wanting to be loved and cared for.
Naturally, Liberty always has her motherly instincts on command.
Aside from their mother and generally speaking, she knows the twins enough to understand when something is wrong. Whether they fall ill, catch a cold, feeling hurt or bothered by something or someone. The urge to care for them no matter what, was a responsibility Liberty was willing to take.
The moment she became an older sister, they were her number one priority. "Are you going with me to the doctors?" She takes ahold of her hand and squeezes it lovingly. Penelope wasn't much of a softie like Rosaline, her hard exterior created her to be against affection. But when she got sick, her soft side always made an effort to appear, 'a cry for attention' as Liberty likes to put it.
Liberty shakes her head, "Naw, I can't. Mom wants me to take Rosaline to school. She's trying to convince dad to get off early so you wouldn't be here alone."
Penelope scoffs, letting go of Liberty's hand. "I doubt it." She places the back of forearm onto her forehead and closes her eyes while her other hand rests on her stomach, feeling the room start to become dizzy as she shifts her position to lay on her back. "But that's only IF he gets off of work. If not, then I guess we'll be leaving school early, or you'll be staying at the hospital till mom's done."
"Let's not act like dad cares for me, or any of us in the matter." They were silent, Liberty looked up from her lap to see Penelope was already looking at her. A look of carelessness and unphased by the fact, and although they shared a mutual hate for their father there was no denying the lack of care he has for them.
The proof was in the pudding.
Their dad always treated Penelope more poorly than the rest of them only because she has a slick tongue and bad temper, tested his patience and knew how to annoy him every second. She understood she inherited this behavior from her father and annoyingly she hated it. "We still need to respect him, Penny, even if we think he's a shitty father."
"You sound just like mom..." Penelope scolds. "Do you even respect him?"
"To an extent." She sighs dismissing the conversation quickly.
"Hm," Penny hums, thinking for a moment. She sits up slowly slipping herself from under the duvet to then grip the edge of the bed. "I still feel like I would be fine without him." Liberty walks back to her after picking her clothes for the day, proceeding to lay them on the side before helping her undress.
"He isn't gonna do anything but sit his lazy ass down on that old, raggedy-ass chair and drink four cases of that stale ass beer ー I swear, one day, one day, Liberty, that man is gonna die from liver failureー" The rest of her sentence wasn't finished when Liberty heard the abrupt sound of stomping and stumbling to the bathroom from behind. She whipped around to drop the shirt to the floor and jog over to Penny's side as she hovered over the toilet.
An hour late to school internally freaked Liberty out, being punctual was a pet peeve of hers and seeing that they were an hour and some minutes late to school made her cringe. Luckily though she had an excuse for being late and was marked not absent with an excuse of having a family emergency by her mother.
She made sure Rosaline went to class first before taking herself to second period. the sound of hollering was heard the moment she stepped inside watching everyone scatter around the classroom passing paper towards each other.
Liberty approached the desk with a slip in her hand adjusting the strap around her shoulder as she waits for Mrs. Stacey to finish handing out paperwork to the students. "Also, I hope you all are happy with the partners I picked out for this mini project! I did my best pairing you guys up with your best friends this time." Mrs. Stacey states sarcastically with a proud smile, turns on her heel and spots Liberty giving a small smile, "Why Ms. Liberty Honey, what a pleasure to see you! I thought you were never gonna show up!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Stacey, had a family emergency."
She frowns. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, I hope everything is alright."
"Thank you, here's the slip."
"Ah, the golden slip, thank you!" She takes it and writes something down. "Alright, how about you work on this and then this right here is for your upcoming project," She instructs handing her two sheets of paper, "You only have about 15-20 minutes before dismissal, so I suggest talking to your partner afterwards and figuring out what to work on for day 1 and 2, okay?"
"Okay, thank you." Mrs. Stacy nods with a smile before proceeding to do some paperwork of her own. Liberty sits at her usual seat with a huff and placing her bag beside her desk and taking out what she needed before glossing over the instructions placed above in the center of the paper.
"Lucas, hurry up man!"
"Go on without me, I'll be there in a minute." Lucas called out, packing his things quickly and slings his bag strap over his shoulder.
Maxwell watched as his gaze was straight ahead, his eyes locked on Liberty who was speaking with Mrs. Stacey about some things pertaining to the homework she was stuck on from last week. Although Maxwell didn't know they were partners, He didn't understand why Lucas was suddenly intrigued to talk to her. He was about to walk over when he felt a tug on his shoulder to then whip his head around in confusion. "Seriously, dude?" Maxwell deadpans.
"What?" Lucas eyes him.
"The hot chick can wait, Angel brought the goods, man!"
Lucas frowns, understanding what he was referring to and shakes his head. Maxwell was a certified pothead; smoking weed was his favorite thing in the world. If he could marry it, he would.
At some point in time Lucas picked up on the little habit but after a while he stopped taking it. "Naw, I'm not interested, man. I'll just see you in Mr. Bricks class. His hand was brushed off Lucas' shoulder as he watched his friend walk away. Maxwell rolls his eyes and scoffs a "whatever," before turning on his heel.
The classroom was practically empty. With all the students and Mrs. Stacey filed out of the room and into the halls, everyone was getting ready for the next period. Liberty stood by her desk with her knee perched up on the seat while she packed up all her things. Like any other day, she looked exceptionally beautiful Today.
She wore a forest green knitted sweater, with jet black pants and black Doc Martens, gold rose pendant and gold hoops. As he approached her, she smelt of mangos and honey. It wasn't overwhelming but a subtle scent that heightened his senses. He clears his throat, catching her attention.
There was a twinkle in her eye when she made eye contact, a smile so wide, it stretched from ear to ear to the point her cheeks made her eyes squint. He says, "You must be a real neat freak if you're over here organizing your bag." He nods, watching her gaze look down at her how she organized her bag. From folders, notebooks, books to her pencil bag, everything was nicely pleased where they needed to be.
"Oh, yeah, I have to, otherwise I lose my things very easily." She chuckled, making a 'yikes' look, fingers brushing her curls back from her face to see him settle himself on top of the table coolly with his feet placed on the seat. "Hm, that's understandable..." He nods, moving his eyes over to her arm, "How are you? Is your arm doing okay?"
"There's still a bruise and a little pain here and there," She stops what she's doing to pull the long sleeve up around her shoulder. Lucas felt his blood boil observing the dark reddish ring designed around her upper arm and underneath showcase nail marks imprinted against her flesh.
Unfortunately, whether the bruise disappears or not, Liberty isn't gonna ever forget. The way he grabbed her, the scent of liquor on his breathー triggered her through slight shock. Nonetheless, had Lucas not intervened, who knows what would've happened.
the pain that struck her every now and then. When she least expects it, her mind was never on it unless it caught her attention in the mirror.
"But it's nothing I can't handle." Her arm drops down, lowering the sleeve to hide it from him and gives a subtle look, "It's all good." She shrugged.
"Is it really?" Liberty just looked at him. He gives her a knowing look, a subtle smile with his eyebrows raised as if to say he knew it wasn't. Liberty chuckled, shaking her head. It's the fact that he was concerned for her that made her feel overwhelmingly pleased.
"Thanks though. I appreciated it, really." She esteemed, zipping up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "Who knows what would have happened had you not intervened the way you did."
This morning, he hoped to have seen her at her locker getting her stuff for class, wearing that gentle, breathtaking smile like she usually does. He was worried when she wasn't there, and oddly, he was overly overthinking, thinking that maybe something was wrong, and normally he isn't the one to overthink.
He wondered if she was okay, if she was hurt, if she was startled in any way shape or form. That night, seeing the look on her face when he grabbed her really tugged on Lucas' heart. Generally speaking, seeing any man grab a woman inappropriately reminded him of his parents. They always fought and he assumed the diner incident triggered him to jump in the middle of it to be so heroic.
"No problem," Lucas hums, "glad I was there to help. Well, now that that's settled, and I know you're doing okay." He suddenly retrieves a piece of paper from his pocket. "I actually came over here because we're partners for the project." She was still in place, orbs moving between the piece of paper in his hand to him.
"You're kidding," She took it from him and studied it discreetly. She scratches the crown of her head with her naturally long nail, perplexed and astounded at the same time by the fact that she and Lucas were partners.
Their names written in red cursive ink at the top right-hand corner with their chosen topic was signed by Mrs. Stacy with a little smiley face in the corner as her signature.
"I definitely was not expecting us to be partners." Liberty expressed bluntly, earning an charmed yet questionable look from him.
"Disappointed?"
"What?" Her head jolts up. Though she was oblivious to his teasing, he was amused by the way her eyes widened in panic, voice cracking in a frantic as she articulated what she meant, jittering out loud, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant! I was just saying I-I wasn't expecting us to be partners. I'm not saying that I don't like you or anything like that, you seem pretty chill and surely hard- working ー I just thought maybe I would have been with a slacker..."
Her words came to a halt when she realized Lucas silently laughing at her. His eyes squinted shut with his hand over his mouth trying his hardest not to laugh loudly. Listening to her try to formulate an excuse for her curt words, made this all a little too funny for his liking.
Her lips twist to the side trying to hide the smile across her face. "You were joking..." She acknowledges and he smirks.
"Uh huh," He nods, taming his composure, "but heyー" His hands were raised up in defense while he stood to his feet and begins to walk away, "I mean, if you want somebody else, we can always switch partners, that ain't a problem with meー"
"No!" Her hands reached out to him quickly, stopping him in his tracks to slowly turn around to her short figure.
She knew for a fact, if she switched, Mrs. Stacy would give her someone less diligent, and the last thing she needed was for someone to bring her grade down because they didn't do what they were supposed to do. "I promise, you will not be a problem." She swears.
He charms, "ya sure?" fixating his azul eyes on her mahogany orbs to watch them roll playfully.
"Positive," She proclaims. "But since we're on the topic, it wouldn't hurt to plan when we can work on it, in and outside of school. Did you want to start tomorrow or sometime this weekend...?"
He ponders, "No, I can't do it tonight, I have some stuff going on...this weekend? I work...How about we start off with the basics during study hall Wednesday? We could meet at the library, check out some books, do some research and then work with what we have and meet up sometime next week for... part 4?"
Liberty nods in agreement, "Alright, sounds like a plan."
He was going to say something regarding Saturday night but was caught off guard by a knock at the door. "Lucas, you ready?" They blinked over to see a brunette girl of average height leaned against the door frame with a couple of books hugged against her chest, glimpsing between how close they were standing by one another.
She clears her throat, suddenly feeling nervous. "After what happened last time, you don't want to keep Mr. Bricks waiting." Last time he arrived late to world history he had to write a three-page essay about the renaissance era, indented with correct grammar and punctuation and handed in on time. The thought of having to do that all over again made him feel exhausted.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute, go on without me." He waves off continuing the conversation as she wasn't there, and she didn't like that.
Instead of leaving without him, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I can wait," Cola insists, "I'm sure it won't take you that long, right?" She approached them with a fake smile.
The look on Liberty's face made him want to shrink out of embarrassment. She didn't fail to catch the way Cola slid her hand into his, entwining their fingers together and leaned into his body while examining the girl before her.
She suddenly felt uneasy, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive manner as she watched the way Cola's orbs observed her slowly. It was like they were tracking every detail, every flaw on her body till she could muster up some judgmental hated feelings towards her, all the while giving her a territorial glare.
In the midst of Lucas speaking Cola cuts him off, "Ah, you must be Liberty, the new girl, am I right? I'm Cola." Presenting an 'innocent' smile along her cherry red lips and extending her hand for Liberty to shake. Which she obliges, locking eyes with her hazel orbs and sending a subtle smile. "Nice to meet you."
Cola's grip was tighter than hers. By the way her facial expression became tight, and brows furrowed, Liberty felt her head cock to the side a little feeling like everything was starting to turn as a threat.
"Likewise," Cola spewed out quickly, giving her a tightlipped smile.
Lucas has never wanted to roll his eyes so hard until now. Liberty could see it all over his face. The Irritation, clenched jaw and tense shoulders. Her persistence was annoying him and the fact that she couldn't read the room made it all the more obvious how careless she was about rudely interrupting their conversation.
However, Liberty cut him some slack.
Lucas sighs, "We'll talk more on Wednesday, yeah?"
Liberty side eyes Cola bashing her lashes at her lovingly and for a split second, Liberty could've sworn those same hazel eyes gave her a dirty look all within the span of 5 seconds.
Instead of questioning it, she shrugged it off, nodded in agreement, "Of course." before quickly exiting out of the room.