No Name | Completed

Chapter 5 - I Don't Need Your Pity

The picture is of Jared!

The person you are trying to reach can not come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the tone.

*throat clears*

Alice, hi it's me, Jared. Umm...I know you probably don't want to be bothered, but...I don't know, I haven't heard from you in awhile. I...miss you. Today is the day...of course you know that...right well, umm give me a call sometime...

I sat on my bed staring at my cell phone and the voicemail that I have listened to over and over again.

I shook my head. How could he? How could he call me, on a day like this no less and act like he even deserves a response. He left me...he left us. He didn't even stay for the funeral and he has the balls to say he misses me.

I threw my phone against the wall and sat in silence as I stared at it on the floor. I could hear my heartbeat it was so quiet. The steady rhythm echoed in my mind as I struggled to forget what this day actually meant.

June 13. A date that holds darkness. A date that serves as a reminder of who my family no longer has. A date that throws me back into the threshold of mourning. While the matter resides in the back of my mind daily, this day is like no other.

I took a shaky breath before slipping on my Birks and grabbing my sunglasses to head out of the house, without my phone. Without the incessant calls from family and friends about my father.

Trudging down the sidewalk, I cut through a field that lead to the water where I could sit for awhile before having to face everyone, especially my mother. She is going to be a mess today, rightfully so.

I stared at the waves. They were calm today. The sun warmed my back as I wrapped my arms around my legs and stared at a seagull dipping into the ocean to make an attempt to catch something. As runners passed by, I kept my head low, trying to remain unnoticed from the neighbors.

"Hey kiddo!" Dad rubbed the top of my head. Annoyed, I shot him a glare as I dropped my backpack onto the kitchen island and plopped into my seat in the kitchen nook.

"That bad huh?" he asked as he bit into an apple and tossed an envelope at Jared, giving him a stern look.

"Dad, I am the only one who isn't going to London on the class trip!" I exclaimed, embarrassed that my family is clearly the lamest at my school.

"Dude, you've already been," Jared mocked as he flicked a piece of his carrot at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "When I was five!" I defended myself. "Jared you got to go to California, tell Dad," I crossed my arms, determined to make this happen.

"Dad, you should let me take the brat to Cali," Jared grinned.

Dad chuckled. "Deal!" They high fived. My jaw dropped. Letting out a streak of frustration, I stood up and stomped out of the kitchen and up to my room.

"Alice?" Someone waved their hand in front of my face, snapping me out of a memory.

"Yes?" I asked, blinking to find Adam come into view. While normally the fact that he was shirtless would make me swoon, my heart felt slightly numb today. Today wasn't about him. Hot body, checked into my brain for a later time.

"Hey, wow I didn't expect to run into you," he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

I looked away from him and went back to staring at the water, lapping onto the sand.

"Hey," he said again before sitting down next to me. "Are you okay?"

Without looking at him I smiled a small smile. "Of course I am, sorry, just a little out of it."