The Little Life

Chapter Forty One

A month later everything was basically back to normal, or as normal as it could be. Leo was going to get fifteen years in prison for kidnapping and other charges but his lawyer had him plead insanity on the grounds of undiagnosed schizophrenia, apparently. The judge changed his sentence to ten years in a psychiatric facility and five years of parole upon his release.

Tasha was doing better but she still had bad days. It had only been a month so nobody was expecting her to be back to normal yet. She was going to therapy once a week and was also seeing a special physical therapist for her injuries to properly heal. Otherwise she seemed to almost be back to herself.

Today we were going to the mall to get new school clothes and some other things since classes started back up on Monday. It was Saturday so that left us plenty of time to shop and for me to prepare for classes. I was taking art, psychology, and a biology class this semester since this and next we're going to be pretty easy, considering they're the last two semesters before I graduate.

Once we walked through the glass double doors of the entrance to the mall, Tasha stopped and smelled the air before pulling me harshly to the food court.

"What the heck are you doing?!" I asked as she yanked me to the Auntie Anne's booth.

"We need brain fuel to shop, duh!"

"Brain fuel?" I asked as I folded my arms.

"Keep back talking and ima tell Jack you were being a brat today" she said as she closed her eyes and looked away from me, smiling.

"You're so mean to me!" I whined.

We both ordered pretzel nuggets and began our journey around the mall.

The first store we stopped at was Hot Topic. Tasha got a shirt and some ripped jeans and a pair of fishnets, and I got mermaid socks and some buttons to put on my backpack. The next we store we went to was Francescas. It was a small boutique and everything was insanely girly for mine and Tasha's taste. We decided to skip getting anything there and went across the walkway to H&M. Surprisingly I found four outfits and some shoes, along with some new underwear and a hat. Tasha got a few items as well and we checked out.

We walked around a bit more until I pulled her into Claire's. She rolled her eyes and laughed as we looked at the scrunchies and other hair accessories. I picked out a few things before checking out and heading to another section of the mall where Old Navy was. We tried on some outfits and took some Snapchat photos before checking out with a few things a piece. The last stop was Victoria's Secret. I didn't want to go but Tasha made me.

I was in awe of all of the beautiful lingerie. Although it wouldn't look as good on me as it did on the models, I decided to get a lavender and light blue sparkle one piece. Tasha also picked out a few pair of underwear for me and a new perfume. I felt bad spending Jack's money but he insisted I buy whatever I wanted. We grabbed our bags and headed out of the mall while I whined to Tasha until she allowed me to go to Goodwill.

"I just don't understand why you would want to get used old people clothes when you have a whole ass credit card to use on new stuff!" She said as she sat in the passenger seat of my car and shut the door.

I started the car and buckled my seatbelt before answering. "It's not old people stuff. I just don't like mall clothes as much. I got a few things but most of my stuff is old and ill fitting " I shrugged.

"Because of your lesbian taste" she smiled.

"I DON'T DRESS LIKE A LESBIAN" I yelled and teasingly punched her arm.

"Okay whatever you say, girl in red"

We drove for a few minutes before we got to the Goodwill. I excitedly hopped out of the car and walked into the store without looking to make sure Tasha was following. I immediately went to the dresses to see if they had anything fancy me and Tasha could dress up in to hang out in our living room. She met me at the rack and began sorting through the clothing with me. We came up empty handed and moved to the shorts rack. After searching for a few minutes I found three pair of baggy mom shorts. I also grabbed a skinny brown belt to pair with them. We looked around the store a bit longer and I picked up six button front shirts, a green army jacket, a pair of sandals that Tasha made fun of, and a round straw purse. I took my items to the checkout counter and pulled out the card to give the cashier. Tasha looked uncomfortable standing in line with me so I looked around to see a group of people whispering while staring at her.

"Can I help you guys with something? Didn't your moms ever teach you it's not polite to stare at people?" I said angrily toward the group.

"Cal, it's okay. I was all over the news. I knew it would happen eventually" she said as she flashed me a soft smile. We finished at the register and left the store, deciding to get boba tea on our way home.

After we arrived back at our apartment, I threw my newly purchased clothing into the washing machine and plopped down on the couch beside Tasha, who was watching The Office.

"Why haven't you been hanging out with Jack? Are you guys okay? I mean I know he gave you his card and all but it's weird" Tasha spoke up after we had watched a couple episodes.

"Oh. Umm I've been busy. You know, with getting ready for school"

"Cal, you don't have to lie to me. I know it's because of me. I can take care of myself ya know" she teasingly punched me.

"I know," I smiled and looked at the floor, "but I thought I would never see you again. I don't want to be away from you ever again"

She hugged me and told me she understood. We finished the conversation there and finished the night snuggled on the couch watching Disney movies.