Kate’s POV:
Six Years Ago…
“Slow down Katelin… leave some for me.” Pulling the vodka bottle from my mouth I looked back at the guy I happened to be riding at the time. Swallowing the last bit of vodka I threw the bottle to the trash littered floor and pushed off him.
“When did you become such a buzz kill Donny?” I asked my words slurring a bit. Shuffling a bit to my left I kicked up my stained underwear into the air and caught them like a pro.
“I ain’t a buzz kill… why you tryin’ to rush? You got somewhere else you gotta be?” Donny asked yanking his pants from his knees. Turning towards him I stuck my tongue out and went over to my bag.
“I can’t stay out like I did last night… that old bitch across the street has been watching my coming and goings. Since her husband up and died she ain’t got nothing better to do than to eye spy on me.” I said stumbling a bit to my right. Standing Donny shoved his sock covered feet back into his dusty sneakers and reached for his pack of pot laced cigarettes. Pulling two out Donny lit them then handed me one. Pulling in the smoke into my lungs I felt the buzz of the smoke mingle with the vodka in my system.
“Well we don’t want you getting into trouble with the old lady police, you better come on so I can drop you off.” He chuckled blowing out a bit of smoke. Pulling the cigarette from my lips I shook my head.
“You know I can’t let you take me home.” I said a bit sober than before. This has been a reoccurring argument between Donny and I. I may be fucked up right now but I ain’t that fucked up. Donny wasn’t the ‘come meet the parents’ type. He was the ‘after midnight in the dark hook up’ type. Frowning Donny turned away and went towards the window.
“Come on Katelin… it’s pretty late. I wouldn’t be a good boyfriend if I let you walk home all alone.” He said. If he would have said this earlier I would have bit my tongue, the thought of Donavon Walker as my boyfriend was an insult. Too bad this isn’t earlier.
“You aren’t my boyfriend. You’re not even a friend. This is nothing but sex. F-U-C-K-I-N-G. No love, no feeling and especially no kissing. All I want from you is little Donny nothing more, nothing less.” I was expecting him to explode or catch an attitude but instead he did neither. After I finished dressing I dialed a cab and made my way downstairs where the party was still going. Donny followed quietly with this blank look on his face. I waited on the porch for my cab as Donny stood on the other side staring at me with unreadable eyes. As my cab pulled up I pushed off the railing and took a step down only to have Donny grab my wrist and twirl me around.
“That was the last time you make a fool out of me.” He growled in my face. Before I could say anything he released me pushing me forward down the remainder of the steps. I watched as he strutted back inside without another glance. Rolling my eyes I made it to my cab and started my journey home. Usually when I’m wasted like this I doze off until the cabby knocks on the window waking me. While I tried to relax I couldn’t get the image of Donny’s face out of my head.
I hate to admit this but just that one sentence scared the hell out of me. Just thinking about it killed my buzz leaving me with little bits of fear and uncertainty. Once the cab turned onto my street I’d made the decision to cool it with Donny. All I wanted was to have a good time. If he couldn’t play that game anymore then it was time for me to move on.
“That’ll be twenty-four fifty.” The cabby said pushing the window open. Pulling a twenty and ten from my wallet I handed it to him.
“Keep the change.” I said climbing out the cab. Giving me a nod the cabby waited for me to reach my front door before pulling off. As I searched my purse for my key I felt eyes on me. Turning slowly I faced Mrs. Zifferman’s house. Even though her lights were off I could still see the outline of her white nightgown as she peered through the window. Taking my key in hand I opened the door and stepped inside. With a brilliant smile I raised my right hand and pulled my middle finger in the air. I literally could hear her gasp. Satisfied I closed the door and headed to bed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When I opened my eyes I thought maybe I’d died. My mouth tasted like a New York subway station. Pushing off the mattress I glared at the clock trying to make the numbers stop jittering about.
“You’re finally awake.” Turning towards my desk I spotted my little sister Penny watching me. I was about to tell her to leave when everything from last night started rushing up from my stomach. Rolling off the bed I hobbled to the bathroom and threw the toilet lid back unleashing everything in my system.
“Daddy asked about you… I said you hadn’t been feeling good since the dosage of your meds had been changed, that you had to get used to it… but you can’t really know how you’ll feel on the medicine if you’re not taking it. Next time double flush the toilet you left evidence behind. There’s dry toast and tea on your desk and by the way… I’m not covering for you anymore. You wanna kill yourself so be it. You’re not taking me with you.” She said as she made her way towards the door. Pausing she looked back, her eyes were hollow.
“Take a shower first, you smell like dirty, filthy, unprotected sex.” With that she was gone. I sat on the bathroom floor staring at my bedroom door trying not to let my unstable emotions get the best of me. Of everyone in my family the only person I truly cared about was Penny. To see her looking at me with empty eyes made me feel… no, I will not dwell on this. This is my life and I can do whatever the hell I want. I don’t need Penny’s approval.
‘Sure…keep telling yourself that.’ My conscience said. Ignoring it I took Penny’s advice and took a long hot shower. After which I stripped the bed of the dirty sheets and replaced them with fresh ones. While I did this I nibbled on the toast and sipped on the lukewarm tea. It was slow but it managed to settle my stomach. After I was done I grabbed my book bag and started to pull out my homework. I sat there staring at my algebra book for twenty minutes trying to figure what the hell was going on when I heard a soft beeping noise.
I turned to the spot where my phone would be sitting but it wasn’t there. Getting up I searched until I found it under the bed. It was then I realized I had forty-seven missed calls, thirty-four voicemails and twenty-two text messages all from Donavon. As I read through the messages I felt the creep factor getting higher and higher.
The messages started out fine then slowly but surely they started getting weirder and weirder. By the time I reached the last couple message Donavon had threatened to kill me twice. If he was threatening me in a text message I hated to hear what he had to say in the voicemail. Without delay I deleted his messages and voicemails. Scrolling through I changed his ring tone to ‘Do Not Answer This Call’. There had to be someone else I could hang out with and get fucked up with that wasn’t Donavon Walker. Satisfied I went back to my homework only to give up a few minutes later. Laying back on my pillows I replayed the scene with Donavon over again in my mind.
“I don’t care how far I have to go I will not deal with Donavon Walker anymore.” I said out loud… and this I meant.
Two Weeks Later…
Summer vacation was almost here and I was ready. Who knew being popular would turn into a full time job. The stress of trying to keep up with everything was exhausting. Between school and Micah and I fighting about everything I took refuge with a new group of friends I met two counties over. It’s been quiet on the crazy guy front so much I started to forget about Donavon. Every time he called I let it go to voicemail. After the fifteenth time he finally got the message and stopped calling me. Penny had started back talking to me since I dropped Donavon.
Though she still thinks I’m being unreasonable about the medication she isn’t totally ignoring me like before. It seemed like everything was almost right in the world and I could finally go out without the weight of the world on my shoulders. My new fuck buddy Jake invited me to this bar party and of course I said say. These were the types of parties that seem like movies. They are totally epic. I was gearing up to go when my phone started ringing. It was my standard ring tone I used for callers not programmed in my phone.
“Hello.” I said pulling on my jacket.
“So now you answer your phone.” I felt my gut tighten and my heart stop. Donavon Walker.
“Didn’t you get the message already? We are done. Stop calling, stop texting, just leave me alone. We’re done.” I said into the mouthpiece of the phone. I could hear Donavon’s teeth grinding on the other end.
“It ain’t over until I say so sweetheart.” He growled. Going to my mirror I took a deep breath and smiled at my reflection
“No, it’s over when I say it’s over. I didn’t love you Donny. Lord knows I didn’t even like you. Like I said before you we’re just a fuck. Nothing more than it. Tonight will be the last time you reach me at this number. Goodbye Donavon.” With that I hung up and dropped my phone in my purse. Going go for the door I put Donavon out my mind. I wouldn’t let him use his mind games on me. Tonight I would forget all about Donavon Walker and Micah Phillips. Tonight was about me… like it should be.