For Your Love

Snap Out Of It

"She's a stripper?" Luca asks, his voice full of hesitation.

This is great. He's weirded out. Maybe now he'll think twice about wanting to be anywhere need me. But I suddenly have chest pains. Is this what I really want?

"Yeah. She does full time at the grocery store a block from here and she works at a lounge at night. That's why she didn't say goodbye. She was probably dressed for work already." I reluctantly say.

"What does that have to do with Todd though?" Luca questions, sounding completely dumbfounded.

"It has everything to do with him and Amanda Pullman." I let out, tired of bottling everything inside my chest. "Todd knows where my mom works. He's even sneaked into the club and claimed to take evidence. He has me pinned against a wall, he's threatening to expose my mom if I do something he doesn't like. If I even breath wrong he could send the picture to the entire school. Amanda knows everything too and she's even more of an ass than him."

The mattress springs creak. "So let me get this straight. Amanda and Todd know that your mom is a stripper and they blackmail you into doing whatever they want. But why you? How do they know it's your mom?" Luca questions, seeing all the holes in my story.

I stay silent. I didn't think he'd be so interested in everything I had to say. "That's because they used to be my friends before the accident. They used to come over all the time when I was normal." My mouth blurts out before I can filter my thought.

"Wait. What accident?" Luca's voice asks right next to me. "You weren't always blind?"

I've said too much. But I don't get it. He knows about my mom. He knows that I'm Todd and Amanda's tool. Why doesn't it sound like he hates me? Instead he still sounds so curious. What if he wants to stay? I stop myself there. Why would anyone want to stay by my side?

"That's enough Luca. I already answered your question. I don't have anything more to say to you." I bite my lip and feel for my bed.

Luca's footsteps go from one side of the room to the other. "I hate it." Luca finally says after minutes of pacing.

His words take me aback. "What do you mean you hate it?" I ask, furrowing my brows.

"I hate it all. I hate Todd. I hate Amanda. I hate the fact that you're forced to do whatever they want just because they know your mom's a stripper. I hate that you're still not telling me the whole truth after begging me to pretend to be your friend for your mom's sake. I hate it all." He gushes.

He left me out. But I guess that's just common sense.

"This whole time I just thought you were weird. Turns out you're just an idiot." I mutter, tired of Luca pretending to care. "You were the one who said I wasn't a kid in need, so stop acting like I'm some defenseless toddler."

Hands clamp themselves on my shoulders pushing down onto the bed. My heart starts pounding and I swear it will beat out of my chest. I can feel Luca's body weight on me, pinning me into the bed. His body slowly crushing my smaller frame.

"You're basically a toddler in the middle of the road." He says after a moment and gets off of me.

I rush to take a deep breath, feeling my lungs beg for air. "You're so stupid!" I yell and sit back up. Feeling exactly like a helpless child.

"So are you! Why don't you tell someone about Todd, about Amanda? Get someone to help you before they ruin your life anymore." Luca says, fully believing I haven't tried that.

I tell myself to calm down. He's just like everyone else. Thinking I'm stupid enough to not try to get out of the situation. But he doesn't know Woodrow Wilson. He doesn't get that this school, this whole town is different from whatever big town he probably came from. That rumors spread like wildfire and no one ever leaves this stupid town. This town is a small part of hell and the mayor of it all is none other than Todd's mother. But how can he know? He's just a new kid that has a curious nature. Luca will find out soon enough.