Finding My Way

Homey Hell

As soon as we land at LAX, this feeling of dread buries itself into my gut. Being back in this city meant having to go back home and face reality... a reality I really don't want to live in. I know as soon as I walk in my front door, my parents are going to be livid. Not only did I disappear in the middle of the night with a fake note, I used my emergency credit card for a flight, and flew halfway across the country just to be with the one boy they forbade me from being with.
On a scale from 1 to 10, my punishment was probably going to be 100.
Chase lays his hand on my knee, bringing me out of my thoughts. I look up to see he looks half asleep.
"You okay?" I ask gently, covering his hand with my own as I give him a reassuring squeeze.
"Not really," he admits.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know," he shakes his head and winces at the pain. "Headache, nausea, dizzy," he lists off different symptoms he's having.
"Pull over, I can drive the rest of the way home."
He instantly pulls the car over, which tells me how miserable he is feeling. Normally, he'd just say he's fine and push through the rest of the drive.
After a few seconds and a few deep breaths on his part, we swap places.

***

I pull into his driveway and look over to see him leaning against the window with a hand splayed across his stomach.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask gently.
"Stay and take care of me," he sticks his bottom lip out in a pout and gives me puppy dog eyes.
"Of course," I smile at him before thinking, anything to stay away from home.
When we walk into his house, his parents welcome us with open arms and ask about his tour, but quickly let us go once they realize Chase isn't feeling well.
Once we get to his room, we both decide to just cuddle on his bed and binge watch our favorite movies.
We're halfway through our third movie of the night (Five Feet Apart) when there's a tentative knock on the bedroom door.
"Come in," Chase says, though the words are slightly muffled as he's practically pressed into my side with his arms wrapped around my waist.
His mom opens the door slowly with a sympathetic expression on her face, "y/n, your mom's at the door. She wants to talk to you, says it's urgent."
I freeze in my spot, my heart pounding in my chest. Of course this was too good to be true. Of course she'd find me here and stop at nothing to get to me.
"Okay," I sigh as Chase moves his arm off of me so I can get up. "I'll be right down," I tell his mom and she nods in acknowledgment before heading back downstairs.
I turn to face Chase, "wish me luck. Please don't eavesdrop this time."
"Okay," he nods. "Good luck."
I walk out his room and close the door behind me, stopping only to take a deep breath. Each step down the stairs felt like a step closer to hell. Apparently I could only avoid her for so long. I wish I would've been given a warning that she would show, but I guess now was as good of a time as any to deal with her.
I walk out of the front door to see my mom standing at the bottom of the steps with her arms crossed and a disappointed frown on her face.
"What has gotten into you, y/n?" She asks with a shake of her head after I close the front door behind me.
"What do you mean?" I play dumb.
"First, you leave in the middle of the night, then you lie about your whereabouts, get a friend to lie for you, use your emergency credit card to fly across the country, just to be with him," she says the word him like it's something bitter in her mouth. "I thought we had an agreement. You were not to spend any more time with that boy, and certainly not be in a relationship with him."
"No, mom. We didn't have an agreement. You demanded I break up with him. But I didn't break up with him for you. I broke up with him over so many stupid things that don't even matter anymore. I'm nineteen, I'm an adult. I can date who I want." I turn to go back into Chase's house, not wanting to fight anymore.
"Y/n, you either break up with him and come home right now, or you are not welcome back home. Ever." Every word she says comes out in a bitter spat.
I turn back to look at her, taking in the expression on her face that tells me she means every word she said. I silently nod before turning back to Chase's house and walking back in the door, locking it behind me.
I lean back against the door as I think to myself, my own mother kicked me out. Because I won't just do whatever she wants in the blink of an eye.
I'm homeless.