Upside Down

one

The bell rang signaling school was over and I couldn't be happier to get out of this hell. It's only the first day of senior year, but I can't wait for it to be over. I hate this town and everyone in it, I just want to save up money this year and get the hell out of here. Woodsboro is a small and cold town in Virginia filled with people who only care about themselves.

 When my dad went to jail four years ago, my mom dragged me here from my hometown in California. I made my way home walking past all the stuck-up teenagers from my high school. I put in my headphones and turned up Devil's Advocate by the Neighborhood, my current favorite song. The only good thing about this town is that we get all four seasons here, which I never experienced in California. The leaves are bright orange, yellow, and red and are getting ready to fall off of the trees. I hummed to the music as I walked home, looking around the town.

Suddenly I felt myself slam into a body and quickly averted my gaze to see who it was. I looked up to see a tall, tan brunette boy. "Watch where you're going!" He said rudely, a strong disdain towards me evident in his voice. I was stunned by his rudeness and glared at him, he rolled his eyes and walked away. "Yeah, fuck you!" I yelled at him, giving him the finger as he walked away. A prime example of how the people in this town are.

If I had a car, running into the people of this town wouldn't be a problem, but my mom spends all her money on her boyfriend instead. I love my mom, she works hard, but she should save her money. Her stupid boyfriend manipulates her and spends all the money she makes on alcohol in order to feed his addiction. I made my way to a small record store that on the main street of town.

I read over the sign, 'Star Records', the fluorescent red sign stated. Maybe I could get a job here in order to save up. I went through the aisles browsing through all of the records in the store. I ran my fingers across the records, feeling them out, trying to see what spoke to me. I landed on one that read, "The Backseat Lovers". The band name sounds promising, so I purchased the record and made my way out of the store.

I finally got home and my mom's boyfriend, Steve, was passed out on the couch with a bottle of Vodka next to him, no surprise there. I ran up the stairs to my bedroom so I could finally lay in bed and relax after a long day of school. I can't even believe my teachers' assigned homework on the first day, I know I just had summer break, but I feel like I deserve a longer one.

I put on my new record and a song called, "Sinking Ship" came on first. I just knew this album would be good, I could feel the emotions and the song in my soul. After listening to the entire record and finishing my homework I went downstairs to make some food. I decided on a frozen pepperoni pizza. My mom's a nurse, so she's gone most of the time taking all of the shifts that she can get.

 I heard footsteps in the kitchen and turned around to see Steve. "You makin' me dinner?" He asked me, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a beer. "No. Make your own food Steve." I said to him, rolling my eyes. "Um, no B-Briar! You make me fuckin' dinner! Your mom would be upset if you didn't!" Steve slurred, raising his voice at me.

To be honest, I'm not scared of him. I usually do what he says just to avoid drama though, so I just nodded and gave him the pizza once it was ready. It was the only pizza we had, so I grabbed some mac n cheese to make for myself instead. I made my way upstairs and turned on my laptop to watch Shameless, my Netflix obsession at the moment.

 I ate my mac n cheese happily, focusing my attention on the show. After a while of watching Shameless, I dozed off to sleep.

I was dead asleep until I heard a commotion from downstairs. I got up and made my way out of my room so I could hear what's going on. "Steve, all I ask is that you keep your shoes off of the couch!" My mom exclaimed to her boyfriend. I heard movement, then Steve started yelling, "I'll do whatever the fuck I want!" I made my way downstairs, hearing him talk to my mother like that made my blood boil. 

"Shut the fuck up, Steve! Mom, don't let him talk to you like that!" I yelled at both of them. Steve looked at me incredulously, then marched towards me, getting into my face and pushing me against the wall. "Listen to me you little bitch, do not ever tell me what to do!" Steve spat at me. I looked over to my mom who just stood there and watched with tears in her eyes.

 I shoved him off of me and mumbled, "You're unfuckingbelievable mother." And started walking away, until I was pushed, hard, onto the floor. "Don't touch me, get the fuck out of here!" Steve yelled, his face red with anger.

This was the first time Steve actually touched me and I was shocked. I got up off the floor and ran upstairs, grabbed shoes, a sweatshirt, headphones, and my phone then ran out the front door. I love my mom, but seeing her not stand up for herself, or even me honestly hurts. 

She pays for everything in Steve's life and all he does is yell at her and treat us both terribly, but him pushing me really showed me that he probably hits my mom behind closed doors, yet she does nothing about it. It's hard for me to comprehend that people aren't always able to just leave their abusers.

I put my headphones in and walked around until I got to a park and sat on a bench near a water fountain. Hot tears started streaming down my face and I tried my best to wipe them away and focus on anything other than what just happened, but it was hard. I miss my dad, I wish he was here. I miss my mom too, we were so close and now I barely see her.

I hate the people in this town and I hate Steve. To be honest, I hate my life in general. I laid down on the bench listening to music with my eyes closed, trying to get an escape from my miserable life. Before falling asleep I mumbled, "Get me the fuck out of this life."

Author's Note: Hi! If you're reading I just wanted to say welcome to upside down and thank you for reading! I'm extremely excited and I have great ideas for this book:)