Fight for Me #Wattys2017

Chapter 5

Recap:
I fumble with the keys in my hand, trying to unlock the apartment door but failing multiple times. I drop my keys after the fourth attempt to unlock the door, I pick them up off the ground, about to try and unlock the door once again to find it's already open. My mom stands there giving me a small smile, I look at her face and it's obvious from the tear streaks on her face she has been crying. "Mom, what's wrong?"

She just shakes her head and walks back into the apartment. I just follow her into the apartment, shutting the door behind me. "Andy, there's something I need to tell you about." she motions for me to sit with her on the couch with her as she takes a seat. "Andy," she begins to talk, but stops suddenly sighing as she rubs her temples. "I talked to your Dad today."

"What? Why?" I question leaning forward on the couch.

"I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to get upset." I nod, leaning back into the couch cushions. She pauses for a moment, before quietly speaking. "Andy, you're going to live with your father this summer."
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My mother's words ring through my head for a moment, and she looks at me waiting for my reaction. I just lean back into the couch, a laugh escaping my lips. My mother looks at me with confusion as she asks, "What's so funny?"

I wipe my eyes, and compose myself enough to reply. "Nothing. I just thought for a second there you said I'm living with Dad this summer."

I watch her visibly wince as I speak, but quickly gaining her strength once again as she interjects, "That's because you are, well if you want to keep up your end of the deal that is."

"Wait, you're serious?" I stand up in disbelief and pace the floor as I talk. "Why? Oh, I'm sorry I forgot this is exactly the kind of thing he would do. And let me take a wild guess, that isn't all of it."

My mother hangs her head, shaking it sadly. "No, Andy, I'm sorry to say it's not. I know you two don't get along, but I wish you wouldn't talk about him like that, he is your father after all." She sighs as she continues, "You have to work for his company over summer." I grit my teeth and put on a fake smile in hopes of fooling her, but she knows me too well for any of that. I turn away from her, mumbling a feeble excuse to leave before heading up to my room, running up the stairs as fast as I possibly can.

Once the door is securely shut, I lean my back against it, and slide down it as I curl into a ball on my bedroom floor. Pain begins to flood through my head, e same way it always does from all the stress my father causes me. I reach into my pocket and pull out my headphones, plugging them in and falling into the only constant in my life: music. Through all my good and bad days, it's comforting to know that I'll always have music, whether it's been created by myself or someone else, it will always be my refuge.

I take a moment before I push myself up off the floor, and crawl into bed. I pull the covers over me and check the time out of curiosity. "It's only 4:30?!" I whisper to myself in disbelief. I don't feel like getting out of bed to do anything else, so I just nestle myself into my bed and drift off into a dreamless sleep.

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I groan, pulling the covers further over my head. "Why am I awake right now?" I ask myself. But for the safety of humanity, I better be able to fall back to sleep, or get a cup of coffee. I let out a sigh, I know that I won't be able to fall back asleep, so I decide to get up in search for coffee. The moment I actually do sit up I instantly regret it, my head starts pounding and if feels like Skylar used my head for a drum set or that someone unleashed an angry Thor in my skull. I know, my analogies are a bit strange, but they're effective.