I Wear Boys Underwear

Chapter Eighteen: You've Made a Fool of Everyone

Chapter 18: Look What You’ve Done, You’ve Made Fool of Everyone

 

 

“Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone.
Oh, well, it seems like such fun
Until you lose what you had won.”

-Look What You’ve Done, Jet

I ran. My short legs growing numb as I pushed myself beyond my limits, moving blindly, while salty tears fell down to the fast moving asphalt under my feet. I couldn’t stop. No, not until I reached my safe haven. That place where no one could or would judge me. It was the one place where I was just me. Not Skye or Speedy, just Austin.

 Home.

My home.

Home, sweet home.

Luckily for me and my feet, it was only about a mile and a half run in the pitch black illuminated by street lights from various corner stores and government funded street lights. But it didn’t matter the distance I had to endure in order to be away from that god forsaken gym, all I wanted was to be in a familiar place with the warmth of my mother’s unconditional love. A love that could never evade my reach as I grew older and made mistakes that I will always want to take back. Turning into the Burning Ridge cul-de-sac I quickened my pace until I was panting in front of the familiar building. I walked up to the aged maroon chipped door, since my dress shoes were now leaving blisters on the soles of my feet, and rang the doorbell repeatedly until I heard my mother’s soft familiar footsteps descending the creaky old wooden stairs.

She opened the door in irritation, pondering the thought of who could have possibly had the audacity to wake her from her beauty sleep at this late hour. She looked up at me with wild puzzlement, and then after taking in my puffy red eyes and skewered clothing drenched by the rain that was falling heavily to the ground. Her hazel eyes shown with understanding and worry, she pulled me into a bone crushing hug that made me feel sheltered, impervious, loved. She let me cry the tears of a broken heart on her shoulder standing in the doorway while the rain poured down from the sky like my tears stumbling down my blotchy sad face.

I woke up the next morning not really sure how I ended up in my bed. Then it all hit me like a cannon ball. The unexpected unveiling of, the ever so evasive, ‘Skye’ had sent me running in the cold rain to my mother. How much more pathetic could I get? Oh wait, I remember downing my sorrows in two tubs of rocky road ice cream as I told my mom everything; from the kiss in the cabin to me taking my leave and running home crying. Let’s just say she was ready to hunt down the monsters, aka Carter and Piper, who hurt her little girl. As I recollected all the things from the previous night I felt my heart clench with guilt and pain as a rogue tear escaped from my eye socket. I tried to dispel those thoughts and groggily removed my sorry self from the comfort of my warm bed wiping at my eyes.

Lazily, I dragged my feet against the hardwood floors, down my stairs hoping that a chick flick might help me feel better about myself. Halfway down, I came through a wonderful aroma wall of bean and cheese tacos from my favorite Mexican restaurant, Jalisco’s. Oh yeah, I am Hispanic and I love my breakfast tacos deal with it. Feeling a new sense of motivation take over my body, I jogged the rest of the way down and walked through my kitchen archway to see Nik and Drew sitting by the island in the middle of the kitchen waiting for me.