Scarlett's POV
I slapped him.
I slapped my teacher, and I fucking loved it. I don't know where the adrenaline is coming from, but I love it. He looks gobsmacked at my display of both courage and stupidity.
"You don't know anything about me. Absolutely nothing. Don't go walking around and talking shit when you don't know anything about me" I say and with that I turn around and leave him there with his mouth slightly open.
I stumble out and hail a taxi home. I pay the driver and stumble into my apartment, feeling exhausted. Now that the adrenaline had gone, I was now realising the weight of what I had done.
I'm going to be in so much trouble tomorrow. But honestly speaking, I don't give a rat's ass what he does tomorrow. He had no right to speak to me that way.
Ughhh my head hurts.
I stumble into the kitchen and start opening drawers looking for some pain killers.
"Scarlett? Is that you?" my mum says coming down the stairs.
She is going to be pissed when she finds out I am drunk.
"Yes mom, it's me" I say back to her
"What are you doing up so early love, it's 12 am" she says getting closer to where I was still looking for the damn painkillers.
She sniffs the room and scrunches up her nose and disgust
"Are you drunk?" she asks.
I stop looking through the drawers and turn to face her since she entered the kitchen.
"Oh my baby. What's wrong?" she asks and pulls me into a hug and that's when the tears start falling.
I can't believe I lost my job. Now how am I supposed to save her? I think to myself
"She's going to die mum. She's going to die but there's nothing I can do and it's all his fault. I hate him. I hate him so much" I cry into my mum's shoulder.
She says nothing, just rubbing my back, allowing me to cry my heart out. After about 10 more minutes of crying, I finally calm down.
"Are you alright love?" my mum asks and I nod.
"Want to talk about it?" she asks and I nod again.
She moves us to the living room and sits down on the couch and I sit next to her.
"Now tell me love who is dying and whose fault is it" she says. I forgot I didn't tell my mum.
Sigh this is going to be a long conversation.
"You remember Claire?"I start and she smiles and nods
"Of course I do. How can I ever forget her" she says. "She's being your best friend for as long as I can remember. I haven't seen her in about 6 months though. Is she OK?" she adds
"No mum, she is not alright. 7 months ago Claire was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, also known as CAD. It's a medical condition where the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscles become hardened and narrowed. She's been in the hospital since then. And since she has no other friends or any living relatives, I've been working in a music shop and a strip club as a DJ, for the past 6 months, gathering money to pay her bills. But now, thanks to Jake fucking Xavier, I've lost my job at the strip club. The doctor said they need to operate on her soon or she will die" as I say the last part 1fresh tears starts falling down my face again.
"Or honey, I'm so sorry." mum says and pulls me into another hug. Why didn't you tell us earlier? We could have easily paid the bills a long time ago" she says and I sniff them pull back.
"She made me promise not to tell you. She didn't want to bother you. She doesn't even know I have been paying the bills" I say
"Oh honey, Claire could never be a bother to us. She's family. And families help each other. Tell you what, tomorrow your dad and I will go to the hospital and pay for all her bills. You don't have to work anymore" she says but I quickly shake my head no.
"I still want to work and help with the bills" I say.
"You've already helped enough love. Let us take care of the rest" she says and I shake my head no
"Fine then. When is the surgery?" she asks
"About a month from now." I say
"Alright. You have a month to work and bring some money. Then we will pay the bills together OK?" she asks and I happily nod
"Thank you mum" I say
"You're welcome love. Now go get some sleep, you still have school today" she says, getting up to leave.
"But mum" I whine.
"No buts dear. Get your butt to bed. You only have_" she stops to check the time "about 6 hours" she says and I groan.
She chuckles and climbs the stairs to her room, leaving me alone in the living room. I groggily get up and head to my room. I take a shower so I won't have to take one when I wake up later. I change into comfy clothes and lay in bed. The memory of when we first met plays in my head like it was just yesterday.
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Flashback
"Mommy mommy can I go on the swings?" Eight year old me screams bouncing in place.
"No dear, you're too small to be on that thing. What if you get hurt?" My mother asks and I immediately stop bouncing and pout.
"Why don't you go play on the slides?" She says, and my smile immediately comes back and I run towards the slides.
When it's my turn to go, I suddenly feel scared to slide down. The slide was so high up and I was scared of heights.
"Hurry up already!" a boy behind me screamed, scaring me more than I already was.
My lips tremble and I turn around to get of the slide when I'm suddenly pushed down. I scream as I slide down and when I reach the end, my leg hits a rock and pain erupts from my leg. I try to get up but end up falling back again. A girl, about nine years, approaches me and asks why I'm crying and clutching my leg.
"I was pushed down the slide" I mumble quietly but firmly, not wanting to look weak in front of her.
"Here, lemme help you up" she says, putting one arm under my armpits to help me stand.
"I'm Claire by the way. What's your name?" She, or rather Claire , asks.
"I'm Scarlett, but my friends call me Scar" I say.
"What a pretty name" she says and I blush at her words and mumble a quiet thank you. She helps me sit on a bench and asks me to point at the boy who pushed me off.
I point at the boy in the blue shirt and black jeans. He had style for a eight year old. I sat down and watched Claire run up to him and push him off the slide. He screams as he comes down but thankfully he wasn't injured. All the kids around laugh at him and he runs, I'm assuming in the direction of his parents.
Claire comes back and hugs me. I hug her back and thank her for what she did.
"No need to thank me Scarlett. I was just doing what was right. Now let's get you to your parents" she says and helps me up again.
"Call me Scar" I say with a grin on my face.
"OK then Scar, we're going to be best friends!!" She screams and I can't help but giggle at her behaviour.
"Oh my gosh Scar, what happend to you" my mom asks, as she sees me approaching and runs towards me.
"I got pushed off the slide by a mean boy. But Claire pushed him back" I say with a grin on my face.
"Oh, did she? Thank you so much Claire, for helping my baby" my mom says.
"No need Miss, just doing what was right" She says shyly and I nudge her with my shoulder.
"Wanna get ice cream?" I ask her and she nods frantically and she helps me in the direction of the ice cream shop.
"Best friends forever?" She asks.
"Best friends forever and ever" I say.
Flashback ends
We've been inseparable since then. She helped me become who I am today and I love her so much. My body suddenly feels exhausted from all the crying and drinking. The last thought on my mind before I sleep is
Hold on Claire, I'll save you
And with that, I welcome sleep.
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Sooo guys, what did you think. I know this chapter was boring but I promise it gets better. Don't forget to vote and comment what you think so far.
XOXO
Rahina