Perseverance

Chapter Fifty One ~ October

September - 2022

I stumble up the driveway in my heels, barely able to stay on my feet. I'm losing the will to stay upright, but I only have five more steps to get to the front door.

My head is buzzing, spinning slightly, a silly little smile on my lips. Wobbling as I stop, I reach into my purse to try and find my key.

"Where the fuck are you?" I grumble, scowling into the black abyss with no success. My hand scrambles down, into the bottom of the fabric, raking over my hairbrush and make-up, passing my phone, across the papers covered with boys mobile numbers. "Come on!"

The door in front of me is suddenly hauled open and I stumble back slightly, eyes wide as I look up. Oops! I woke someone up.

"Hi Mom," I squeak as she raises an eyebrow at the sight of me.

"Get inside, Rebecca," she orders and I nod, hurriedly trying to squeeze past her. I reach for the zipper on my boots, yanking it down and tugging the hideous footwear off, leaving them on the floor.

I go to stand up, nearly collapsing onto the floor before Mom grabs hold of my arms, hauling me upright and grumbling under her breath. I giggle, letting my head drop onto her shoulder as she leads me through to the kitchen.

"You are a nightmare, Rebecca," she tells me before depositing me on the stool next to the island.

"You wouldn't have me any other way," I slur slightly and she scoffs.

"I wish you wouldn't drink so much."

"Never gonna change."

"And why not?"

I shrug. "It's fun."

"Are you even going to remember this tomorrow?" Mom lectures and I force a fake smirk onto my face. The awful memories of what happened last month at college are still fresh in my mind. Not knowing what those boys did to me, whether I encouraged it, sickens me to my stomach.

"I'm not that drunk, Mother," I insist, knowing it's true. I know my limit, I know where I am, what I'm doing. I may be wobbly on my feet, but I can fight off anyone if the need arises. I will never put myself in that situation ever again. "I'll remember this lecture tomorrow." I smile.

"I worry about you."

"Well, don't," I counter. "I was out with friends at a party. There's no harm coming to me when Sav is there."

Mom hums before sliding a glass of water across the counter towards me. "Sav?"

"Yeah." I nod. "It was one of the old high school footballers having a party before the next college year kicks off properly and we all leave Edgewater once more."

"Footballers? Are Savannah and Brett still together?"

"Yep."

"And you spent all night with them?"

"Obviously." I grin at the fact I'm reassuring my mother that I was in safe hands all night.

I'm shocked when her face clouds over, clearly unhappy.

"What?" I exclaim, reaching out and taking a sip of the water.

"The Winters' are bad news," she insists and I shrug, scoffing.

"Brett's learnt from his mistakes," I reply. "He's better now. Brett treats Savannah right!"

Mom shakes her head, gesturing for me to drink up. "Blood is thicker than water, Rebecca."