Ravenna

Chapter 34

Be careful fighting someone else's demons, it may awaken your own...

        "You crazy bitch!" River gasps for at least the umpteenth time after returning his uniform, ending his shift. "You just left! No calls..no text! Just..."

         "You know it's not my fault," I sigh, taking a bite of the burger I had been served by one of my favourite persons. "My shit head of a father had me transferred to that stupid fancy school before I could get a word in."

        He pouts, crossing his arms. "You could have called."

         "Yeah, because I'm one of those teenagers who is so obsessed with their cell phone," I tease, reaching for a napkin. "How's Kat? I miss her."

         He does an eye roll, nodding his head. "She's alright. She wouldn't let me have it for the first two weeks you were gone."

     I giggle remembering the weird but unique Katherine Smith.

        "We should do something then. How does next week sound?" I ask, munching on my fries. "We'll come up with something and do it!"

         "We could go to the carnival." Riv suggests.

        "What are we? Five? Tell Kat and...um...text me, I guess."

         "I thought you weren't a part of the teenagers obsessed with their cells." He mimicks me.

         "It's just a text asshole!" I reply, tossing a fry at his direction.

 
                                       ×××

        I'm welcomed into the house by a disturbing sight of Jenna, sobbing and sniffing on the couch. A bowl of scattered popcorn lie around her and the TV screen is way too busy doing its job of displaying the romantic movie it had been chosen to, to notice the hilarious view before it.

      I find myself cackling up before I can think and Jenna immediately sits up, bringing me into notice. She looked even more hideous when her face was in a clearer view. Her mascara was smudged on all sides, her hair looked like a bird's nest and her face was all swollen.

        "Do I even want to know?" I find myself asking as I go to settle into one of the sofas. She sniffs one more time and I shove a brand new box of tissue towards her direction, seeing as she had exhausted about two boxes around herself.

     She grabs on to it, pulling out a tissue and making the action of releasing excess mucus into it.

      My face scrunches up in disgust and I find myself gagging.

        "Guys are assholes!" She begins blabbing, with literally no question out of my mouth. "They are literally the worst! Especially guys named Dean. Just stay away from them..."

       I fidget, playing around with my ear piercings. "So you got dumped."

        "I fucking got dumped!" She yells, increasing her tears.

         "I didn't even know you had a boyfriend."

           "Well...you don't exactly act very interested in my life, do you?" She rhetorically asks me.

           "Not exactly." I nod in agreement.

      She grabs another tissue, releasing more...you know what in it. "Hey. Want to go with me to the store? I need to stock the freezer with ice cream."

        I lift my bag, getting up. "You know ice-cream doesn't really help with break ups."

          "It does more than anyone ever could," she says, getting off the chair. "Plus, what do you know? You're not one to like a guy."

         I begin toward the stairs, adjusting my strap. "I'll be down in fifteen."

                                      ×××

       The store is almost empty as we step in. Waving politely at the guy behind the counter, Jenna leads me towards the ice food sections. Our kart is loaded with different flavored ice-cream by the time we're done shopping and ready to go and I grab a packet of mint because I'd been hoping to buy some for a while now but had been procrastinating with that.

        "That's a lot of sugar." The guy, behind the counter, whose name tag reads Jonas jokes when we unload the ice cream from the kart.

           I place the mint next to the frozen goodness at his comment and he cocks his brow at me.

             "She's going through a hard time." I whisper to him and he chuckles in a way that makes him look exceptionally good. He was young but not my age young, more like...Jenna's age young.

       I receive a slight bump from Jenna who is wearing an icy stare, due to her new distaste for guys.

        "Can we just get the bill?" Jenna coldly asks.

           Jonas pauses for a moment, exchanging glances between Jenna and I. "Uh...yeah, that would be 19 dollars and 20 cents."

          Jenna pays for the items and Jonas packs it up.

          "Thanks." I give a small smile, lifting the bags. I make my way out of the store, to where the car is parked, leaving Jenna inside with Jonas.

        I wait inside the car and a few minutes later, Jenna comes barging out the door with a grin? Damn. Boy must be smooth.

          "Don't tell me?" I turn to look at her when she's gotten into the car.

         Her cheeks are literally a crimson shade and not just from crying at this point. She squeals like some teenager, before roaring the engine to life.

          
         My dad's car, which I rarely see nowadays is parked into the driveway when we return and while we make the trips, lifting the bags into the house, I run into him once but leave before he gets a word out. I didn't necessarily need to be in a bad mood tonight.

         "You know you're actually a groovy niece." Jenna says, when we settle on the couch for a break.

           "Please do not say groovy." I break into a smile.

          "Whatever," she pivots to look at me now. "You're kind of less temperamental now. I want to meet him."

         I almost choke on my spit. "Meet who? Jesus?"

        "Yes and c'mon Raven, I've known you since you were in diapers. You act all giddy when someone talks about a break up and act all gag-ish when love comes up," she rambles on. "Not tonight. I. Want. To. Meet. Him."

             Busted!