Red Rum Inn ✯ h.s. ON HOLD

✯ one ✯

We fought over the same damn thing every time. Normally, a seventeen-year-old wouldn't mind being left home alone, but I certainly did. Other people my age, and from my school, didn't have to worry about the happenings of the world outside their home but I was always scared.  Our town had two sides, and while I felt like I always belonged with the better, more put together crowd, I was stuck living with the opposite.

The East End Executioners were the ones that ran around causing issues every day.  It was scary staying at home in the evenings, especially when the television always had some sort of shooting, robbery, or gang violence displayed on the screen.  So, I continued to have the same fight with my father every night since I was thirteen and here we were, four years later, with the same responses.

"You don't get it! You don't understand how scary it is to be left alone at night, Dad!"

"Then move out," he scoffed, opening the fridge in his drunken haze and taking out the package of bread.  "Where thehell is the lunch meat? V, if you ate all the lunchmeat, so helpme—"

Sighing, I grabbed the lunch meat that was sitting on the shelf directly in front of him. He narrowed his eyes, clearly thinking I had just played some sort of trick on him. Staring at him, I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing I should get to bed but feeling the need to finish my conversation with my father.

"Are you even listening to me?"

He took out two slices of bread, placing them on the counter. I watched as he grabbed the mayo out of the fridge, spreading it on one bread slice. For being in the state he was, my father always managed to know how to make a sandwich. Rolling my eyes, I continued to stand there as he grabbed the cheese from the fridge, piling several slices of that and lunch meat. Once he seemed content with the size of the sandwich, he placed the other piece of bread on top.

"Dad!"

"Holy shit, what?" he asked, looking at me angrily. "You can't yell a' me."

"You aren't even listening to my concerns."

"I am hearin' 'em perfe'tly clear, V. The only problem is I don' 'ive a shit."

Groaning, I stormed off to my bedroom. Yet another night of pointless fighting. It was already past midnight, and I disliked the thought of being stuck in the current situation I was in. Honestly, I wished I could move in with my best friend Denice, but her parents already disliked me because of where I was being raised. They had even gone to the school board about me being in the zone for East End High. Although because I started off my schooling in Arlington's district, and had no behavioral issues, they lost the case.

Lying down in my bed, I tried to think of some way that I would be able to leave. Some sort of reason to get out of this house and search for some relative that probably didn't want me. But my mother had ran off years ago and my father's family was all dead. Honestly, I felt helpless, and wished my mother would have brought me with her but it was too late now to be wistful. After all, I had been the one that wanted to stay at the time. But boy, what a stupid idea that was now, nearly eight years later.

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The next day at school, I was completely exhausted. Denice knew something was wrong but didn't ask about what had happened. Since I always had the same fight with my father, she was well aware that anytime I was this tired it was due to some sort of fight I had the previous evening. Getting up at the bell, I walked outside, waiting for Gloria or Denice to show up. The latter stopped when she saw me, a bright smile on her face as Gloria came out as well.

"Ready to go, ladies?" Denice questioned.

We all nodded, climbing into her car quickly. Our two guy friends couldn't make it today because Ben had football and Trevor had a tutoring session. Buckling up, Denice started driving, the three of us surprised that the popular milkshake place, Evander's Milkshakes & Burger Joint, wasn't busy. No one ever called it that, though. The town had simply shortened it to Evander's considering the name was so long.

Denice parked the car, turning it off as we all unbuckled. The three of us walked inside the place and it was clear now why it was so empty. The group wasn't a rare occurrence. Not for me anyway. After all, the familiar leather jackets were nothing to be surprised by in my part of town. However, I didn't exactly want to stay here and eat if they were sitting down. She sat down in a booth as if nothing was wrong and the loud group of gang members weren't only a few feet away. Gloria and I exchanged a look briefly, the two of us glancing to our friend.

"Um, Denice, did you not see —?"

"I did, Gloria. They don't look like they are going to cause any harm."

I gave her a blank stare but sat down beside her. Gloria sat on the other side, the three of us ordering when a waitress came by. Once she was gone, I couldn't help but get distracted by the group of people sitting a few tables away. The East End Executioners were known to be awful people, but they didn't look like they were going to start up a fight anytime soon. Not to mention that there were at least twenty or more of them sitting in the restaurant. Ignoring the thought, I looked to my friends, the two of them smiling at me.

"So, another fight with your father?" Gloria asked. "Why don't you just move out?"

I raised my eyebrows at her. "It's not that simple. I don't even have a place to go."

Gloria frowned, seeming upset for me. It was nice that both of my friends cared as much as they did but neither of them were allowed to have me over very often—which sucked. God knows I would hang out with them every weekend if I could, but it wasn't allowed. Sighing to myself, I thanked the waitress when she gave us our food, Denice smiling at me when I dipped my fries in my milkshake.

"I'm so glad you showed me that trick," she grinned, Gloria appearing less than enthused by our usual routine. "Gloria, you don't know what you're missing!"

She shrugged, eating her fries and milkshake separately, even though they would only go down to her stomach to get mixed up anyway. After a few minutes, the three of us started discussing school and they asked how my job was going. It was unheard of for an Arlington student to have a job because everyone and their mother on the West End of Arlington had enough money to go around. Though anyone on the East End always had issues when it came to money.

"It isn't that bad. You know, considering I enjoy music so much."

"Too bad you can't play guitar," Denice sighed, sipping her milkshake. "We could make a kick ass band."

"Well, I am terribly sorry that I don't want to ruin people's ear drums with my horrible playing."

Denice and Gloria laughed, reminding me of the time I had played a guitar. Normally, people just strummed notes and it didn't sound that bad, but I managed to touch the thing and it had sounded a thousand times worse than when Denice had touched it. Rolling my eyes at the memory, we finished up, the three of us paying before we got back in the car. Luckily, Denice and Gloria drove me back to my house, waving a goodbye, and telling me to have a good night. Heading up to my door, I unlocked it, not surprised when I walked in, calling out for my father, and got no answer.