Keep On Keeping On

Chapter 2

I stayed laying there wondering if I should tell my mom now that I dropped out or wait till the weekend. My decision was quickly made when my mom came rushing into my room yelling at me to "get the hell up, I'm not driving your slow ass to school, your father and I have jobs to get to!" I sighed and forced myself out of bed and into the shower. I took my time with everything knowing I didn't actually have to catch the bus, just had to make it seem like I did.

Once I was completely ready I ran out the door shouting a goodbye to my parents. I walked half way down the street then turned around and ran through my neighbors (Travie) backyard to get to mine so I could sneak in through the back. As I was half way through his yard he yelled a "Who the fuck are you and why the fuck are you running through my yard?" terrifying me to my very core causing me to trip. He ran down to where I was and offered me a hand.

"Oops sorry, Clara didn't recognize you." He said as he lifted me to my feet.

"It's alright." I said quietly, averting my attention to dusting off my now dirty and bloodied knees.

"Oh damn, that looks bad..." he said looking down at them too. "Come in, let me help you clean them up."

He led me in through his backdoor which went straight into his kitchen. Boxes were everywhere, some empty, some opened and stuffed with things and others still sealed shut. He sat me at a small wooden dining table while he went to one of the opened boxes and began shuffling through it.

"A-ha!" he said quietly pulling out a washcloth.

"One moment, let me go see if I can find the peroxide." He told me as he disappeared into the next room. He came back with a large black bottle in hand and sat next to me. He pulled the washcloth from his back pocket and poured the peroxide onto it and kneeled in front of me.

"Okay, as you know this is gonna hurt like a bitch." He told me with a slight laugh. "So brace yourself."

"Alright..." I replied shoving my thumb knuckle in my mouth to bite down on.

He looked up at me while he began to count down from 5 allowing me to really exam his features.

"5..." Wow he has really nice eyes.

"4..." and some thick ass brows. Is that uni?

"3..." he looks so disheveled from sleep but it was honestly so sexy.

"2..." fuck he's beautiful. CLARA STOP YOU DON'T NEED TO BE CRUSHING RIGHT NOW!

"Damn, you tough chica. Didn't even flinch." He said causing me to break my gaze away from his face (my own was red as hell when I realized I was staring so hard) down to his hand pressing the damp cloth against my knee. It was then the pain kicked in and I squealed and bit down on my thumb.

"Guess I spoke too soon." He chuckled. "And now for the other one."

He began his countdown again but this time took hold of my free hand making my face flush again and my arms stiffen. "Just so you don't bite your thumb off." He explained.

"Thanks," I said laughing slightly. He again pressed the cloth onto my knee and I squeezed his hand as I felt the alcohol seep into my scrape. He took the cloth away and went over to a nearby drawer and pulled out 2 large band-aids to place on my knees. When he was finished he patted my knees and stood up saying, "all done" giving me a warm smile.

"So now you wanna explain why you were running through my backyard when you're supposed to be on your way to school?" He said taking a seat next to me.

"It's a long story, to be honest." I told him turning to face him.

"Well we both clearly have time, so spill." He said resting his arm on the table and resting his chin on his hand.