He stood for everything she was against and he wouldn't be caught dead befriending someone like her, but when the worst happens and they find themselves in a similar situation, only then will they realize they need each other to discover the anatomy...
Maria knew something was wrong, and there was no point in lying to her. Marlow would tell her sooner or later. They always shared intel on me, as if it were some top secret mission they couldn't let go wrong. It didn't bother me too much, but when I saw them whispering to each other in the halls at school I knew they were talking about me and my stomach would clench in annoyance.
"He always come back, S," Maria sat on my bed holding my hand in hers.
"That's what Marlow said." I didn't tell them that this time felt different from all the other times. After a fight, Jasper would wait a few days before coming to pick me up and we'd never discuss it again. The way he spoke on the phone was enough to kill all hope I had of him coming back.
"Do you want me to help you with your homework?" Maria offered. I smiled a little and shook my head remembering all the times she'd done my work for me while I slept off a high.
"I'm okay. How's dad today?"
"Today's a good day," her face lit up a little. "You should go say hi." Dad was just like Maria-hyper-perceptive to anything amiss with me but I hadn't seen him good in a while.
"There's my little rock star." Dad beamed at me as I walked into his room. He was tucked into his bed, a laptop open on his lap. He was an accountant and was able to freelance from home with businesses who needed their accounts assessed.
He took off his bifocals and placed them on the computer, and watched me as I walked into the room and stood by the bed.
"Que pasa?"
"Nothing's wrong, dad." Hyper-perceptive.
"You're not pouting for no reason. Come on." He gestured with his hand for me to take a seat and I did, avoiding eye contact. "Is it school? Or-"
"Yeah. School. I got that truancy letter BS." Or nothing, dad. He'd met Jasper one time, and had never liked him. This wasn't the normal 'no boy is good enough for my little girl' sort of dislike. Dad actually tried grounding me in order to keep us apart, but he learned quickly that mom had taken all parental respect I had observed with her when she left.
He nodded slowly. "Did you show up today?"
"Yes, dad. They said I'll flunk if I don't."
"The year just started!"
"That's what I said!" He made a face as if to say, "They're crazy," which made me laugh.
"I haven't heard that in a while."
"You haven't been okay in a while, daddy."
He chuckled. "I guess not. It's those new meds the doc's got me on. Working miracles, that test drug is. Which reminds me...do you work this weekend? I need you to take me to the hospital for the physical therapy. Your sister has some play rehearsal she has to get to."
Rehearsal? Maria never mentioned anything. I made a note to ask her about it later.
"I can call in. It's been pretty slow anyway. No one wants to buy used books when they've got a Kindle," I shrugged.
"It's a date then." I gave him a kiss before I left the room and went back to my own. Like an addict, I checked my phone again for Jasper's call. Nothing.
I should be pissed. After all, he ditched me at that stupid lake house, but I couldn't be. He hadn't been sober and whenever he used, it would change him into someone unlike the Jasper I knew him to be. The bruise on my face wasn't the first one he'd accidentally given me. Once, when we were at his place, I woke up to a stinging on my left ankle and a loud buzzing coming from the end of the bed. Jasper had a tattoo machine in his hand and was carving out something onto my leg in black ink. When I pulled my leg away from him, the machine inked an almost perfectly straight line across my ankle horizontally. Turns out he was trying to tattoo his name on me in block lettering but had only managed to make the 'J' which looked more like a poorly drawn crescent moon than a letter. It sat at the very center of my ankle just above the ugly line.
Still a little high, I got up livid and slapped the machine out of his hand. I could tell he wasn't sober either, but he looked frightened when I suddenly shoved him away from me. His long fingers wrapped around the top of my arm hard and he pulled me in for a hug, whispering how sorry he was and how he just wanted me to have something of his forever. When I tried to shove out of his embrace, his hand tightened on my arm, leaving fingerprint bruises on my soft skin. Eventually, he let me go and I walked to the quarry where I used to hang out with Jonah, Zealand, Marlow, Pari, and Juan David. It was still early, so I knew they'd be there, skateboarding and drinking and ignoring the rest of the world.
That's where I went tonight, after I left dad. Jonah, JD and Pari were there, a cigarette between both of their lips. They didn't say anything to me when I got there, but like Zealand, I could tell they were surprised to see me there. It'd been a few months since I'd hung out with them all. Pari stood up and gave me a hug while JD offered me a cig, which I gratefully took. I texted Marlow and Zealand to come over and soon, we were all there, smoking under the stars, while a song I didn't know played through the dark.
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Sorry if it's riddled with typos and weirdly worded sentences! Don't be afraid to point them out lol Anyway, I hope you liked it! Stay tuned for more Caleb chapters tomorrow!
