This story is going to be a little bit different. It's a story based of some actual events and other events which were made-up for the sake of the story. I mean for this to offend no one, and that names will be changed for the sake of anybody who may find themselves in the story. Also, thanks for taking time off from your day to read this story. I hope this means as much to you as it means to me.
2: IntroductionHi. My name is Leaf. I'm 16 years old. I live outside the big city. My life is normal... I guess for me anyway. I live alone with my Mum. My father... well... he sort of up-sticks and left. Never heard from him ever, since he left during my birth, so I have absolutely no idea what a father is like. Mum doesn't really like to talk about it. So, my house, it's just me and my Mum. I don't talk to people much, since I have social anxiety. I just sit at home, playing videogames, although Mum does make me get outside and do stuff to stay healthy, obviously. I do talk to people in online chat rooms, but that's about it. I don't get out much. It's also pretty obvious I don't have a girlfriend either. I tried asking this girl I always chatted with, but she turned me down. She told me to just try again, and hopefully get lucky. But we were still friends. Just friends.
​My school life is pretty normal... I guess, too. For me anyway. I just do the homework, and turn it in. I only talk when I'm called on or when I have to, like for group discussions and whatnot. I'm just the quiet kid... who to some... doesn't exist. I will sit in front of somebody for the whole year and the next thing I know is they'll be saying: "Whoa, Leaf you're in this class?!" Yeah. I sit in front of you! Have since day 1! Even though I don't talk to people, and I get nervous talking to girls, stuff like that just makes me mad. Anyway, back to what I was wanting to say. It was the day after Valentine's Day. The news calling for snow later. I have to go to school. I get ready and after I eat a quick breakfast, I walk toward the door.
"I'm going to school, Mum," I say to her.
"Alright sweetie," she says hugging me. "Be safe, and do good." I leave and get in my car. It's a red Saturn SC1. Mum bought it because she didn't want to pay the $2500 to fix the Toyota I had last. She just scrapped it and bought a new car. Sorry, I'm rambling here. Funny isn't it? A quiet guy apologizing for talking too much. Anyway, I drive to school and I park my car in the parking lot. I walk inside and to the commons area. I get my school laptop out of my locker and I turn it on and sit down at a table. I'm usually the first person here, so I have some time to myself usually. I just check e-mail and write. Nothing special. I guess, if you're into writing, then I write a lot of stories. I think it's very good for me, since I don't have any friends, I can create who and whatever I want in stories. Sometimes I chat with other authors, some of them are pretty cool people. I'm focused on my writing so much, that I don't even notice someone sit across from me. I look up slightly, and I nearly jump out of the seat.
"Oh, Ms. Kate... hi," I say. Ms. Kate is the math teacher here. I kinda struggle in math and I don't like it.
"Hello, Mr. Soto," she says nicely with an equally nice smile. I'll tell you this right now, don't trust Ms. Kates smile. For some reason, she's one of those teachers who have "relationships" with students. You see what I'm getting at? She's a bad teacher. Don't trust her! She leans in close to me, getting very uncomfortably close to me. It's incredible she hasn't been fired yet for this. "My offer for private tutoring sessions still stand."
"Yeah..." I say unsurely. "Uh... I might have to think about it." She grabs my collar and pulls me close to her.
"Well you better think fast," she whispers in my ear, "or I may have to come after you." She lets go of me and she stands up. "Good day," she says nicely with a sudden change in tone. She bows and walks away. You see what I'm talking about now? Ms. Kate is bad news. I do my best to somehow purge this latest incident from my being and I try to refocus on writing and school starts. I walk to my first class. Joy-of-joys, guess what? It's math. I hate that class. When Ms. Kate comes round to check my work, her breasts touch my face. I have to move away a bit in order to get away from her. Whatever kind of tactics she uses, she somehow has all the other boys in the class under her control. They'll do anything she tells them to. She threatens me saying that if I tell any teacher about what she does she'll give me an F for the year. The year! Help!
I always breath a very heavy sigh of relief when I walk out of that classroom and onto biology. At least the teacher doesn't practically hit on me. But if he did, I'd sure turn him down. I'm just joking a bit, he's actually really cool, and I don't mean to offend him. He's a great teacher. Biology is also pretty easy for some reason. Just read the section, do the worksheet and pass the class. That's all I do and I pass the class with an A- average. I sometimes end up with a lot of free time in that class which I use to write as well. After that is lunch. It's burritos, and no one like school lunches, right? Especially burritos. I just buy a bag of chips from the vending machine and I write some more. That's lunch.
I'm not really going to bother with the rest of the school day. I mean, do you really want to hear me ramble on about how much school is just my time to write? Do you really want to go through all that? Even I don't really. Anyway, after school, I drive home. Mum's away at work so I just watch some TV. TV is so boring. I wish it were Friday, then I could play some videogames or something. Mum says that if my grades are B's or above with nothing missing and if all my homework is done, then I could play videogames. And that's still only if it's Friday or the weekend. Mum has some rules about that kind of stuff. Anyway, it's a pretty boring afternoon.
3: The Day we MetYeah, so later when Mum comes home she puts her work things away and after changing out of her work clothes, she comes back out to the kitchen. She opens the fridge and files through what we have to eat.
"Leaf, what do you want for dinner?" she asks, looking over at me.
"I don't know Mum," I tell her, "I'm not really in the mood to eat anything today." She closes the fridge door and walks over to me.
"Aw, what's wrong, baby?" she asks, hugging me. There's a bit of a pause before I answer.
"I don't know. I'm just not in the mood to eat anything." She looks at me with a slightly worried expression.
"Leaf, is there something I should be concerned about? I'm worried about you."
"I'm fine Mum... I just... have a headache is all."
"Oh. Do you want any medicine?"
"No. I just want to go to bed." Maybe sleep with ease my pain.
"Well, let's hope you'll feel better in the morning." I walk upstairs to my bedroom. I take my jacket off and I lay down on the bed, kicking my shoes off. I try to sleep, but I can't bring myself to drift off. I get up and I put my shoes back on. I put my jacket back on and I walk down stairs. There's a note on the counter. It's from Mum. She got called into work and she left. I leave a note for her saying I'm out for some fresh air. I grab my cell phone and I walk out of the house, closing the door behind me. I walk down the street and toward the city. I reach the "local downtown" as we in the suburbs call it. It's the length of road that has the small businesses where most of us do our shopping and whatnot. It's a bit chilly. There's a cold wind. The weather man called for snow today, and I feel it may start any moment now. As I walk along, I pause to tighten my jacket, when a girl comes up to me. She has long black hair, a somewhat tan complexion, and she's wearing European style clothing. I can't really tell how old she is, but I guess she's around my age.
"Hi," she says in a sweet sounding voice over the breeze. Her smile is quite nice, but I'm in shock. No girl has ever just came up to me and said hello before. I'm actually not quite sure what to do. What do I do? I smile and just go with it, as the air takes a sudden temperature drop and it begins to snow.
"Hello," I say, bowing slightly. I'm very nervous, barely holding myself together. Come on mate, just make yourself look nice.
"How are you?" she asks. She tightens her grip on her jacket as well. It's pretty cold, but yet, I somehow feel warm inside.
"I'm good," I answer with a smile, "why do you ask?" Come on, don't be stupid.
"I don't know," she answers with a small laugh, "cause I'm bored?"
"Sorry love, I'm afraid you won't find much entertainment here," I say, letting my inner charisma get the better of me. Shut up you bloody fool! I feel heavy regret as I watch her smile disappear. She blushes and looks away. "What's wrong?" I instinctively ask. She looks back toward me, tears in her eyes. From the wind, I hope. Her face is very red. "What's the matter?" I don't want this girl, to feel sad, and I hate myself for making her feel like she does.
"Why... did you call me 'love'?" she asks, "Is is cause you... love me?" I have to do my true best to explain our current predicament.
"Well," I say choosing my words absolutely carefully, "I didn't mean it like that, see that's just how I sort of talk."
"Oh," she says quietly. "I'm sorry!" she says, suddenly turning around and running away. I gasp and run after her, not thinking. I catch up to her and I grab her wrist and she stops.
"What's wrong?" I ask her again, "why are you running?" She hesitates before looking at me, almost as if she's scared to.
"Cause I..." she's really hesitant and nervous. "Cause... I love you," she says quickly, before running again. I run after her and catch her again.
"Well... why run from love?" I ask her. I know, I may seem like I'm rushing things, but this girl is quite beautiful and maybe, once I get to know her, maybe we could work out, who knows? I let go of her hand, and she faces me.
"I'm sorry," she says.
"Hey, it's okay," I put my hand on her shoulder. "You want to talk over a coffee?" I offer.
"No, I... I gotta go," she says. She turns to walk away.
"Wait," I say, grabbing her wrist again. "Can you at least tell me your name?" She looks at me and she gives me a small smile, her cheeks still red.
"Angela. My name is Angela." Her name is beautiful.
"Your name is beautiful, just like you," I tell her. Slick one, mate. She smiles, but before I can introduce myself, she runs away, into the blizzard.
4: HerAngela. What a beautiful name. It rolls off the tongue so easily, like liquid gold. Wait... what? Anyway, I should probably get back home. Mum might be so worried. I hurry home the best I can in this sudden blizzard. It's bloody cold. I should have worn my trench coat. I arrive home much later. Mum is sitting at the kitchen table in her night gown, a cup of hot cocoa in her hand. She looks up when I come in.
"Leaf!" she says, setting her cup down on a coaster, "baby, where have you been? I was worried about you."
"I'm sorry, Mum," I say shivering. I take my jacket off and it falls to the floor in a cold, wet mass.
"Baby you need to warm up. Right now."
"Alright, I'll take a hot shower."
"No!" she says grabbing me. She hugs me close to her. "You need to warm up slowly. If you suddenly warm up, the cold blood rushing to your heart could cause it to fail." Oh yeah, I forgot about that. It's been a year since I've taken health class. At least I only need to take it once to graduate. Anyway, Mum hugs me for a while. "Are you frostbitten anywhere?"
"No... just really cold." She lets go of me and looks me in the eyes.
"Alright, you better take a warm shower. Not hot."
"I know, Mum." I start to head upstairs.
"Leaf," Mum says. I turn and look at her. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Sure Mum," I smile. I head upstairs and take a warm shower. God it's so bloody cold outside. Damn blizzards. Afterward, I change into an old pair of shorts and a t-shirt and climb into bed. I can still faintly hear the wind outside. The wind, whispering messages into my ear. It almost sounds like her voice. Angela's voice. My last thought, before I fell asleep, was of her.
The next morning.
I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. I groan, as my hand fumbles around my nightstand, looking for the button to shut off the annoying beeping. After finally finding the button to shut it off, my hand fumbles around for my glasses, only to knock them onto the floor. "Damn it," I mutter from under the covers while my hand reaches down and searches for my glasses. After finally finding them, I pull myself out from under the covers. I flick on the light and I blink a few times for my vision to adjust. I stretch my arms and yawn. I get up and I change my clothes. Afterward, I walk downstairs and I open the fridge, looking for the chocolate milk, to no avail.
"I'm sorry, Leaf," Mum says, coming into the kitchen, putting her hair in a ponytail, "We ran out of chocolate milk last night." Sometimes, Mum comes into the kitchen late at night for some reason. "I promise I'll buy another gallon later today."
"Alright," I say, pouring some white milk into a glass. After breakfast, I grab my keys and I head for the door.
"You leaving?" Mum asks. She gives me a hug. "Have fun at school today, sweetie."
"Alright. See you later, Mum." I walk out the door, and climb into my car. Mum waves from the front porch and I wave back, backing out of the driveway. I then drive onward to school. I walk in and I get my school laptop out. Writing, checking e-mail, the usual. I'm so focused on writing that I barely hear the sound of someone sitting down in front of me. I look up and I find myself gasping inward. It's her. It's... Angela.
"Hi," she says, like last time, but with a little more shyness. Her cheeks are slightly red. I can't bring myself to words.
"Uh... hi," I say nervously, my face hot. What do I do? What do I do?!
"Uhm... what's your name?" she asks, even though, I'm screaming questions in my head, I don't hear her.
"What?" I ask, absentmindedly.
"You never said your name yesterday... so... what's your name?" Oh, she said that?
"I uh," I start nervously. I clear my throat. "I'm Leaf. Leaf Soto."
"What's wrong?"
"What?"
"You weren't this nervous yesterday... so... what's wrong?" How do I answer that? How?!
"I'm sorry... I guess it's just that... I never knew you went to this school. I've never seen you before."
"I can understand. We're so quiet people don't notice us."
"Yeah," I agree with a slight, if nervous laugh.
"You know we have Math together, right?"
"We do?" I ask in surprise.
"Yeah."
"Huh."
"So... about yesterday..." she starts. She rubs the back of her neck nervously. The common room is filling up with students as the time for school nears.
"What about yesterday?" I ask.
"Uh... I just... I wanted... I wanted to say... that I l-" she's interrupted by the bell. It rings and the students start heading to class. "I'll tell you after school!" she says before running off to her first class. Shit... we don't have Math today. The one day I want to be in Ms. Kate's class, yet I'm very glad I don't.
5: After SchoolI see Angela at lunch, so I walk over to her and sit down in front of her.
"I said after school!" she says, her cheeks red.
"I know," I say. "It's just that I need to know where after school, though."
"Oh. How about outside the band room? That's my final class."
"Alright. See ya then," I say, getting up to leave, but she grabs my arm. "What?"
"You have to promise me you'll be there," she says. She looks at me with still slightly shy, yet demanding eyes.
"Don't worry love, I'll be there," I say. She blushes at the word love.
"Okay," she says in a small tone, letting go of my arm. I walk toward the hallway and I wave back to her. Don't worry Angela, I'll be there. You can count on me.
After school, I walk to the band room. It's in a separate building outside the school, so I have to walk a ways, but I don't care. Angela seems so nice, I'd walk any distance if she needed me. Maybe not for love, but just out of friendship. I may not have very many friends, but hey, I'm just like that. I finally arrive at the band room and she isn't outside. Hm, maybe she's still in the room. I open the door and she isn't in here either. I promised her, but she isn't here. She can't be one of those girls... could she? I close the door and I hear a noise behind me. I turn around right as Angela runs into me, knocking both of us onto the ground.
"You came!" Angela says. She blushes as she realizes that she's on top of me. Then another person comes up. We both look up. It's Jack O'Hara.
"Oh, I see how it is," Jack says in an angry tone. "Fine Angela. We're done! I'm done with you, you slutty bitch." Yeah, Jack's kind of a real jerk. He has this mental obsessions about some of the girls here. I've heard about him. He may have the good looks, but everyone knows that he has this mental issues with girls, so he doesn't have any friends, except for the guys who like to stalk other girls. Needless to say, he's not a good person to be around. He storms off and after he leaves, Angie gets off of me and I push myself up.
"You dated Jack?" I ask in disbelief.
"No! Don't you know? He's obsessed about me. I never liked him," Angela explains. "He claims that he was "dating" me when he was really just stalking me." She shudders, rubbing her arms for warmth. "He creeps me out."
"Oh yeah. Sorry."
"It's okay," she laughs as I stand, helping her up. "So anyway... about yesterday."
"Yeah...?"
"Well... I just wanted to say..." she hesitates, her face very red, "I just wanted to say... that I... love you." She avoids my gaze, blushing. I blush as well.
"Y-You do?" I ask. Wow, Angela... I'm in uncharted territory. This has never happened to me before, and honestly, I didn't expect it to happen for a very long time. Sure all the teens fall in love in the songs, TV, movies, and books we read. But I just never thought it would happen to me. What should I say? "Do you want to come over to my place?" I regret asking. Her face gets very red.
"What?!" My face gets very red as well.
"Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Jeez! I thought you were the type of guy who really rushes things!" We take a collective deep breath.
"Sorry. I was wanting to ask if you wanted to come over and maybe meet my Mum."
"What about your father?"
"I don't have a dad," I say and she gasps.
"I'm sorry, Leaf," she says apologetically.
"No, no. It's fine. My dad left the day I was born so... yeah. It's just me and Mum."
"Well, at least your Mom loves you," Angela says with a saddening tone.
"What makes you say that?" I ask. Angela sighs and wipes a tear away from her eye with a sniffle.
"My parents abuse me," she says sadly.
6: Her Sad Truth"What?" I ask in utter disbelief. How can she be abused at home? How bad is it? How mean are her parents? Is it one parent, while the other does nothing, or can't? What is going on? Could she even be lying to me? Is this some desperate attempt to try something? She grabs my hands, forcing my thoughts to stop endlessly throwing questions about.
"Leaf, I know you may have a lot of questions now," she says.
"Well... you're not wrong," I say.
"I know. But anyway listen. It's true. Both my parents hate me." She's doing her best to not cry, but some tears fall down her cheeks anyway.
"Wha... Have you told anyone?!" I ask. She shakes her head.
"No."
"Why not? Angela, this is important! Why haven't you told anybody about this?!"
"Would you shut up and listen to me?!" she yells. I take a step back from her out of fear, believe it or not. "My parents are abusive. They hit me and kick me everyday! Not to mention the fact that I've been depressed over the death of a family member!"
"What?"
"Yeah. My Mom and Dad both hate me."
"But why haven't you told anyone?"
"I don't know what would happen. They'd probably put me in a girls' home or something, until I get adopted, or something-I don't know!" I take her hands back. She looks at me, tears falling from her eyes.
"Look," I tell her sternly, "your parents have no right to treat you like that. My mother is a social worker. We have to talk to her. She can get you away from this."
"I... I don't... I don't know," she says unsurely, "What would happen to me?"
"I don't know," I tell her honestly, "but there's gotta be a way to save you."
"Leaf... are you... sure?"
"Yes! There's always a way!" Angela groans unsurely. I grab her hand and I walk her toward the parking lot.
"Where are we going?" she asks.
"I'm taking you home. We're talking to my mother."
"Leaf..." I stop and I glare at her.
"You're going to tell my mother the truth. I don't want you to get hurt, or killed."
"Why?" she asks. I can feel my face getting hot.
"I love you," I tell her, not looking at her directly, "and I don't want you to die on me."
"Oh, Leaf..." Angela blushes and looks at me.
"I don't want to lose you. You're the only friend I have that I really feel a connection to." I keep myself from crying out of rage, and we walk to my car. I throw my bag in the back seat and she sits down in the passenger seat.
"Leaf, you have a really nice car," Angela comments, in an attempt to disperse some tension. I can't help but showing a small smile.
"Thanks." I put the key in the ignition and I start the car. I drive out of the parking lot and toward home. When we finally get home I pull my car in the empty driveway. "Dammit!" I hit the side of the steering wheel with my fist.
"What?" Angela asks with a worried tone.
"Mum's not home!" Angelas face softens.
"Leaf..."
"What?" I ask harshly. Angela reels back a bit.
"I'll talk to your Mom, okay?"
"Good." She takes my hand. I glare back at her.
"But you have to calm down. You're angry and I don't know why." I gasp softly in realization. She's right, I need to calm down. I take a couple of deep breaths.
"I'm sorry," I say, unclenching my fist. After I've calmed down, we get out and I get my bag from the trunk and we walk inside my house.
7: Telling MumAngela sits down on the couch in the living room. She looks around, as if unsure what to do.
"Mum will be home at 5," I tell her from the kitchen, as I'm looking for a snack to eat.
"Okay. Did you want me to do anything?"
"Do what you want. Read a book, watch TV, whatever." I walk back into the living room with a bag of chips. I sit down on the couch and I flick on the TV. I watch Top Gear, my favourite TV show. It's about cars.
"You like cars?" Angela asks, sitting by me, reaching into the bag and pulling out a chip.
"Aye," I say with a smile. She smiles back at me.
"That's cool. I'm very interested in cars myself."
"Really?" I ask, surprised to see her say that.
"Of course."
"You are awesome." Angela laughs loudly. "What? I think that's cool that you like cars." She's still laughing.
"Ya know, you can say some of the stupidest things," she laughs. I blush. Oh, please.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I say, dismissing her comment. We sit here and watch Top Gear together until a little after 5 when Mum finally gets home. She opens the front door, and she stares at me.
"Leaf, why do you have a friend over?" she asks. "If she doesn't have permission, then she needs to leave, now." I sigh.
"Mum, this is Angela, and can you let me explain before you flat-out punish me?"
"Explain what?" I look at Angela.
"Tell her," I say. Angela looks pretty nervous and she seems hesitant to tell her truth to my mother. She looks as if she's about to burst.
"Well, Angela?" Mum asks. Suddenly, Angela starts crying. Mum is taken aback at her sudden outburst of tears. She looks at me for an explanation, but then gives Angela a sympathetic look. "There there," Mum says to her, getting down to her eye level. "Angela, what's wrong?" Angela wipes her eyes and looks at her.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Soto," she says, her voice broken with sadness.
"Hey, it's okay. Just tell me what's the matter."
"Okay." Angela pauses for a moment, catching her breath. "My parents... they... abuse me. I...I can't take it anymore!" Mum is even more shocked at this statement.
"What?" she asks in disbelief.
"It's true." Mum thinks for a moment, then she sighs.
"Alright. Leaf," Mum starts.
"Yeah?" I ask, almost afraid of what she might say next.
"I'll be taking Angela to her house and we'll be having a talk with her parents. You stay here, and if I need you to do something, make sure you're ready."
"Uh... okay."
"Angela, come on, we're going to be having a talk with your parents." Angela seems very nervous.
"I... I..." Angela stuttered.
"What is it?"
"I don't want my parents to hurt me." Mum put her hand on Angela's shoulder.
"Angela, I promise, they won't lay another hand on you," Mum promises. Angela cried happily.
"Thank you."
"Alright. Come on. Leaf remember, I may need you to pick her up, so be ready."
"Yes Mum," I say, putting my shoes back on as they walk out of the door. I turn the TV back on and after half an hour nothing happens. Another hour rolls by and nothing from Mum yet. Now it's about 7:30 and nothing has happened. I'm almost worried. I shove some bad thoughts of bad possibilities out of my head and I decide to wash them away with a quick shower. I get out and I check my phone, still nothing. By about 8:45, they finally come back. Mum and Angela walk through the door. "Hey, you're back," I say. Angela hugs me while Mum just walks by, her hand to her lip. "Mum what happened?" I ask.
"Oh, her father decided to hit me in a useless fit of rage." This worries me greatly, thinking that my mother has been hit.
"Are you alright, Mum?" I ask. Angela doesn't let go of me.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I wait a few moments, while Mum holds a tissue to her lip.
"So, what's the judges ruling?" Mum looks at me, and my expression on my face telling her that I want to know the truth. She sighs and sits down.
"Well, we're going to have to settle this in court."
"Aw man. That's never good," I say, as a bit of a joke. Mum gives me a small laugh.
"It'll be next Friday." Today is Monday so we have a while.
"What will we do until then?"
"Well, Angela's parents have been required to stay away from her until the court can decide what will happen to her." At this statement, Angela hugs me tighter, as if she's scared to let go. "Until then, she'll have to be staying here with us." I look at Angela, who has just been hugging me this entire time.
"What do you say about that, Angie?" I ask her nicely.
"I don't wanna leave you, Leaf," she says, "never, ever." Mum looks at us, that look in her eyes. I have never seen that look on her, yet I can tell what she's trying to say. I then notice Angela's suitcase by the front door. She really will be staying with us for a while. Angela has barely let go of me this evening. She was hugging me tight as we slept in my bed. She stayed like that the whole night, not letting go of me.
8: Surviving SchoolThe next morning, I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. I get up slowly and I reach over and I shut it off. I yawn and put on my glasses. Next to me, Angela groans as she pulls herself up and awake. I stare at her.
"Leaf?" she asks with a tired yawn.
"Yeah, what is it?" I ask her, not moving.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Uh... no reason," I say, getting up.
"Seriously, what is it?" she asks, grabbing my arm.
"You may want to find a brush," I tell her, giving her my only hint. She gasped and after climbing out of my bed, she ran down the hall to the bathroom. She let out a yelp of fright. "Told you." Bad hair day, if you haven't figured it out by now. I walk to the bathroom, where she's frantically running her brush through her long hair, to little acceptable results. "Here," I say, taking her hairbrush in my hand. I slowly run it through her hair.
"Wow, that is a lot better," Angela comments.
"See, you just need to take it slow. Some things work better when you do them slowly."
"Mew!" Angela agreed, surprising me a bit. Why did she impersonate a cat just now. "Sorry. That's just me."
"I know," I say, "it's just that..." I trailed off, unsure what to say, however, my brushing hasn't stopped.
"Can you not help the fact I'm a cat?" Oh, now I see, she's one of those cat-girls who always act and dress like cats. I've never really thought much about girls like that, but with Angela... I think it's cute when she does it.
"No, no," I tell her. "Besides, I think it's kinda cute when you do that."
"Really?" she asks, with a questioningly surprised look on her face.
"Aye." Angela giggles. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, Leaf," she laughs. "Sorry, it's nothing." Her cheeks are red slightly, so it's not entirely nothing, but I pretend I don't notice.
"Are you two ready?" Mum asks, appearing in the doorway. "It's almost time for school."
"Okay, Mum," I say.
"Angela, the school resource officer will be around to make sure your parents don't try to get to you."
"Oh... okay," Angela says.
"Leaf..."
"Yes Mum?"
"If you ever decide to go out sometime between now and next Friday, make sure you keep her safe and away from her parents." What exactly did she mean by "go out"?
"Uh, sure," I answer, since I'm not really aware of what I should say. I then finish brushing Angela's hair. She inspects my work after we change into fresh clothes for the day.
"Wow, Leaf," she says, rubbing her hair between her fingers, "I should really let you brush my hair more often. You get it so fine and soft."
"Really?" I ask, straightening my shirt.
"Yeah," she says looking at me with a nice smile. "You should become a professional hair stylist."
"I don't know," I say in a dismissive manner, "I'm really not into that."
"But you'd be really good."
"Yeah, I guess." She comes over to me and she puts her arms around me from behind, resting her head on my shoulder.
"That's okay. You don't have to if you don't wanna."
"Guys, you better hurry or you'll be late for school," Mum calls from down stairs.
"Come on Leaf, let's go." I grab my car keys and we walk downstairs.
"Have fun guys," Mum says, "and Leaf, remember what I told you."
"Yes Mum," I say.
"Have a good day."
"You too, Mrs. Soto," Angela says politely before we walk out the door to my car. On the drive there, I notice an SUV following us. I look at it in the rearview mirror. "Shit," Angela hisses, "it's my father." The SUV follows from a distance and we get to the school. We pretend to not notice it while we walk up to the front doors. Angela suddenly takes my hand. "Trust me, it'll look more believable this way." I get where she's coming from, but I'm unsure as to what she's talking about exactly. We walk inside and we sit down, breathing a sigh of relief. "Damn, I'm glad that's over."
"I agree," I say. Angela is still holding my hand. I look at her, my expression wanting an explanation.
"Oh, I never got to say it yet," Angela says nervously, blushing.
"What is it?"
"Leaf... I-" she's interrupted by someone putting their hand on my shoulder.
"Hey buddy!" Dammit. It's Jack.
"Can't you see that we're having a personal conversation here?" I ask him relatively loudly, gaining a bit more attention than I would have hoped. The reaction of the other students are mixed. Some are surprised and thinking that Angela is my girlfriend, there's some things being said from the other students to one another and of course there's the one, "wait who is that again?" I pretend not to notice this as well.
"What, we aren't buddies?" Jack asks innocently. Angela stands up, her arms crossed in anger.
"Jut go away Jack and quit stalking me!" she says.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about, Angela. I'm not stalking you."
"There isn't a problem here, is there?" Ms. Kate suddenly asks, stopping the commotion. Good God, why did she have to see us fighting?
"No ma'am," I answer, "Jack here just butt into our personal conversation."
"That may be true, Mr. Soto, but you should be friends with Mr. O'Hara." She shakes her head. "Now if I see you two fighting again, I will put you both in detention. With me. Understand?" she asks, getting her breasts really close to me. I see Angela's face turn red out of the corner of my eye.
"Yes ma'am," I say quickly, in an effort to get her away from me.
"I understand, Ms. Kate," Jack says with a bow, "I was wrong butting into Mr. Soto's and Ms. Buchanan's conversation." Ms. Kate pats his head and gives him a supporting smile.
"Good boy, Mr. O'Hara." She turns and glares at me, getting her breasts close to me again. "Mr. Soto, why can't you be more like Mr. O'Hara?" Because if I were, Angela would completely hate my arse, as would every other girl in the world, and I would be doomed to eternal damnation in Hell with Lucifer himself as the dealer at the one poker table in the underworld along side Hitler and Darth Vader.
"Uh..." I mutter, unsure to make up something or speak the truth I just thought of.
"I'm warning you," she says with a threatening tone before walking away. Thank God the bell rings before anyone can say anything.
9: School DazeAngela and I walk to our first class. I have Spanish while she has English Literature. She grabs my arm before I walk into the classroom. I look at her.
"I'll see you later," she says, "babe." Whoa, where did this come from. Before I can react, she reaches up and kisses me. I can hear a couple of the guys in the class start to cheer. Angela lets go of me and she walks away. I walk in and I head for my desk while the guys Trent and Derrek pat my back.
"Someone's gotta girlfriend," Trent teases. "Way to go! That's awesome, man!"
"Way to go, buddy," Derrek says. Hm, with me suddenly having a girlfriend, people actually treat me like an equal. It feels like I finally exist. My reputation and popularity level will only go up from here. This just might work out. During Spanish class, everyone just wants to ask and talk about my relationship, which technically started just before class, so I couldn't really say much. After Spanish, I have Biology. Biology comes easy to me, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's my favourite class. After that, I go to lunch. I sit down with my laptop. I decide not to eat, since I'm not really in the mood for school food. Who would be? Suddenly, some hands cover my eyes.
"Guess who?" Angela's playful voice asks. I move her hands off my glasses and I laugh. She sits down next to me. "Hi babe!"
"Hello love," I say. She laughs and leans on my shoulder, looking at my computer screen.
"Whatchya doin'?"
"Writing?"
"About what?"
"Just continuing my adventure novel."
"Hey, I know!" she says, reaching into her bag and pulling out her laptop. "I'll write a story too!" I look at her as she opens a blank document.
"Alright, what are you going to write about?" I ask her.
"I'll write a story about us," she says dreamily. "And our love."
"You do that. Here, this is where I publish my stories," I say as she looks at my screen, reading the website's name. She immediately goes to the site and registers to become a member.
"Alright, I'm in," she says. We friend each other on the site. "I'll start right away."
"Cool," I say, looking at her profile picture. I like the one she's chosen, it's cute. Lunch flies by relatively quickly and the bell rings.
"I'm nearly done with the first chapter," Angela says, "I can finish it next hour maybe."
"Alright, cool. I can't wait to read it."
"See ya later babe," she says, walking away to her Biology class while I walk to World History. The teacher, Mr. H is great. He likes making fun of the trouble makers. It's hilarious. If I could get like, some "class highlights" on film and put it on YouTube, then I think that can be a million-view video within a week. It's that funny. That class goes by pretty quickly as well. We covered Ancient China. After that, I have English Lit while Angela has to go to band. After English class slowly creeps by, the finally comes to an end. I walk out to the parking lot and I see Angela standing by my car. Jack is with her, getting all touchy-feely.
"Jack leave me alone!" Angela whines. She fights him the best she can without drawing any attention.
"Come on Angela, just go out with me already!" Jack persists.
"Get away from her Jack," I say, unlocking the car doors. I put my bag in the back seat while Angela shoves Jack away, long enough to jump in and lock the door.
"Babe, let's get outta here," Angela says meekly. I start the car and begin to drive away.
"I'm not giving up on you!" I hear Jack yell from behind us. On the way home, I notice her father's SUV following us again. We act as if we don't notice and I head for the house. I open the garage door and I park inside, shutting the door behind us. When the door closes completely, we get out of the car.
"How long was he harassing you for?" I ask her, getting my bag from the back seat.
"Oh, just a couple of minutes. He followed me out there," she answers.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Hey," she says, changing to a more positive tone, "I finally finished the first chapter of our story!"
"Cool, I can't wait to read it." We walk into the house and find Mum's note on the counter, saying she'll be out late again.
"Oh, your Mom's going to be working late again today, huh?"
"Aye."
"What do you wanna do then?" she asks, setting her bag down.
"I don't know. I'm looking for something to eat. You want anything?" She shakes her head, sitting on one of the stools by the island counter. She sighs a bored sigh as I open the cabinet and dig around the bottom drawer, looking for some chips. It's silent for a few moments.
"You wanna have sex?" Angela asks suddenly. I gasp as I feel like I've been hit with an atom bomb, jumping up and hitting my head on the shelf above me really, really hard. I cry out in pain. I slowly get out of the cabinet rubbing my head. Her expression hasn't changed, which tells me that she's serious about this. I stutter, desperately thinking of something to say.
"I... aren't you concerned that I hit my head?!" I ask her with dismay. Her face changes, but only slightly.
"...you okay?"
"No! It really bloody hurt!" I hold the back of my head with one hand while I open the freezer and grab an ice pack.
"Come on!" she begs, her face changing to a pleading look. "Please?" I realize there's only one way out of this as I gingerly touch my head with the pack.
"Uh... maybe later..."
"Really?" she gasps.
"...In a few years."
"Aw!" she pouts. Angela come on, don't be so childish. I cringe as I gently move the ice pack. Her face shows mild concern. "Babe, does it hurt that bad?"
"I'm not made of bloody steel." I sit down on the couch. Angela comes over and takes the ice pack away and she gasps.
"Babe, you're bleeding," she says in a worried manner. Sure, now she cares about my bloody head.
"I am?" I ask, placing my hand on the cold spot on my head. I look at my hand and theres blood on it. "Damn." She goes back to the kitchen and searches all the cabinets until she finds our first aid stuff. She takes a roll of gauze and firmly wraps it around my head. This is when the headache comes. She cuts the gauze and returns it and she comes back with a fresh ice pack. She holds it firmly on the back of my head. I groan in response, as the headache worsens.
"Babe, I think you have a concussion," she says with a scared tone. I pretty much become a lifeless zombie as I'm aware of nothing but pain. She carefully lays me down. She then runs around the room, shutting the drapes on the windows, making it as dark as possible. She makes sure the kitchen is clean and by then, I've pretty much passed out, even though I really just fell asleep.
Much later, I'm waken by a distant voice. "Leaf! Leaf, baby wake up! Leaf!" I open my eyes and my vision slowly focuses on my mother shaking my shoulders. She gasps happily to see me awake and she hugs me, much to my pain. "Leaf you're okay!"
"Mum?" I mumble, in a daze. She stops hugging me and she looks at me, crying tears of relief.
"Angela called me and said that you tripped and hit your head walking into the house."
"Really? Is that what happened? I don't... remember..." I say slowly.
"The doctor said you have a mild concussion. You probably won't remember." I groan in response, my arms not moving like I want them to. "I'm just glad you're okay." Mum moves and Angela hugs me. She kisses me on the cheek.
"Yay! He's not dead!" she jokes. Like hitting my head could kill me. I groan and give her a weak smile. I now realize that I'm sitting up on my bed in my bedroom. Mom called a doctor to our house? I didn't think they did that anymore. Angela lays me back down. "Get some rest babe. G'night." She and Mum walk out of the room and shut off the light.
"Night," I groan, falling asleep instantly.
10: Dinner, Days laterI wake up. Angela is leaning over me. She gasps happily when she sees me awake.
"Hey, you're finally awake!" she says hugging me. I hug her back. I don't really remember what happened the past couple days. It's all just gone. She sits down on my bed next to me. "You've been asleep since Friday afternoon when you hit your head. I was beginning to think you would never wake up."
"Well... what day is today?" I ask her slowly. My head doesn't hurt as much as it did a couple days ago. I look out the window, my room filling with what I think is the early morning light.
"It's actually early Sunday evening. Dinner will be ready soon." In response to the word dinner, and since I haven't eaten anything in a couple days, my stomach growls. I feel my forehead and find that there's still bandage wrappings there. "How are you felling?"
"I feel... alright."
"Will you be okay to go to school tomorrow?"
"I think so."
"Angela, dinner's ready!" I hear Mum call from downstairs.
"I'll bring you some food," Angela says. I grab her arm, stopping her.
"That's okay." I slowly climb out of bed and balance on my feet. Angela takes my hands and we walk down the hallway, downstairs and into the kitchen.
"Hey Serena, he's up," Angela says, now on a first name basis with Mum. Mum gasps and she hugs me.
"Oh, he's alive!" she cries happily. "Leaf are you alright?"
"Mum, I'm fine," I tell her.
"Okay, well Angela and I made dinner."
"Really?" I ask as Angela helps me sit down in a chair at the table. It's only set up for two.
"Yeah, I hope you like it babe," Angela says with a happy smile.
"'Babe'?" Mum asks with a light laugh, "when did this happen?"
"Sorry, that was just kinda..." Angela mutters. Mum laughs.
"It's okay. It's fine. I didn't think you'd be up Leaf, so I had the table set up for Angela and I, but I see now that I'll just have to leave the two of you alone."
"Mum, what are you saying?" I ask her.
"I'll just leave you two alone," she says, taking her plate to her room. "Enjoy your date, sweetie." What?! She's treating this like a date?! What the bloody Hell?! Angela sets a plate of food in front of me. It's steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Steamed vegetables. They've done it all. It's amazing, and they didn't expect me to wake up? What were Angela and Mum planning? Angela sits down at the table with her dinner, a happy grin at her face. She stares at me with this expression for what seems like forever.
"What?" I ask her.
"Huh?" she asks, confused.
"Nothing, I thought you were going to say something."
"I thought you were." What an awkward start to this date, if you could call it that. "Anyway, I'm so happy."
"What about?" I ask her, cutting my steak into bite size pieces.
"This is our first official date. That means we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend!"
"I see..."
"Aren't you happy?" she asks, leaning over the table.
"Yeah, I am. It's just that..."
"Just what?"
"I've been out for the past two days. I've missed a lot."
"Oh. Well, we didn't really do much. Your Mom just went shopping yesterday for a few things and the doctor came by asking how you were doing. We told him you were still out. He said that when you wake up that you should be fine, just don't do any physically demanding things like play football or something."
"What would make you think I would play football?"
"I dunno," she shrugs, taking a bite of her steamed veggies, "I'm just saying that's what he said."
"Well you can count on me that I won't be playing any football anytime soon."
"What makes you say that?"
"I'm just not a sports person." I put some salt and pepper on my mashed potatoes and I take a couple bites.
"Yeah, you're more of a car guy."
"How do you know?" I ask her. Has she been sifting through my stuff?
"Well, Saturday I just stayed with you."
"You watched me sleep?"
"Well technically you were unconscious, but yes. I stayed by you all day."
"Thank you," I say with mild sarcasm.
"Babe, I was really worried, your Mom was too." By now, we're both nearly done with our dinners.
"You and Mum really worked your hearts out on this dinner."
"Thanks," Angela says as she takes our plates to the sink. "I hope you liked it."
"Yeah. It was great." Mum walks back into the kitchen with her empty plate.
"I see you two are finished?" she asks.
"Yep," Angela says.
"I'll take care of the dishes. Leaf you should get ready for bed."
"But it's only 7."
"You should really rest your head," Angela says.
"Alright," I say, listening to her. We walk upstairs and I lay down in my bed, falling asleep a few seconds later.
11: Bumps in the RoadI wake up to my alarm clock going off. I reach out and shut it off, knocking my glasses onto the floor.
"Damn it," I mutter tiredly, as I search for my glasses along the carpet. I find them a moment later and put them on. I climb out of bed and put on some fresh clothes. I adjust my shirt and Angela climbs out of my bed. Wait, she slept with me? Mum allows that? She stretches and yawns. She looks over and smiles.
"Morning babe," she says tiredly.
"Good morning," I say. "You ready for school?"
"Let me get dressed first," she laughs, stepping over to the other side of the room, dressing herself. I comb my fingers through my hair, looking at myself in the mirror. Then, as I finish getting ready, Angela hugs me from behind.
"I'm ready babe," she says with a fun laugh. We walk down stairs to find Mum walking out the door, ready for work.
"Sorry sweetie, they called me in early this morning. Make sure you get to school on time," she says hugging each of us.
"See you after school, Serena," Angela says.
"Bye Mum," I say.
"Have fun guys," Mum says before driving away. Have fun? Yeah right. We leave for school, getting in my car. On the drive there, Angela's father follows us again.
"He's still following us," Angela says.
"I know," I tell her, "just ignore him." We later arrive in the parking lot and we walk inside and the bell rings. We walk to our first class. Math class. Oh joy. Ms. Kate gives us our assignment and allows us to work with a partner. Angela sits next to me as I flip through my math book to the assigned page.
"Since when do you two work together?" Ms. Kate asks us sarcastically. Don't answer, please.
"He's my boyfriend," Angela says. Mental face-palm.
"Is that so? Well, Leaf, since your grade is low, you should come for my private tutoring sessions that I always offer." Her breasts are very close to my face again.
"What?" Angela asks. She's trying this bullcrap again. I know how Ms. Kate is.
"Ms. Kate if you wouldn't mind," I say, "Angela and I would like to start on our work."
"Alright. But if I need to contact your mother, then I will." She walks away. Thank God. As Angela and I work on our math, I ask her to talk to me later when we get home.
Much later, we arrive home after school, to find Mum home, with another car in the driveway. Who could this possibly- shit. I find it's Ms. Kate as we walk inside. What the bloody Hell does she want? And why is she wearing her shirt in a "slightly" revealing manner, and how is Mum allowing this?
"Leaf, is that you?" she asks, coming into the living room, with her own shirt worn in a similar manner... much to my complete and utter horror. What the bloody Hell is going on?
"Why are you dressed like that?!" I lose myself and ask.
"Calm down sweetie," Mum says handing Ms. Kate a cup of tea as she sits down on the couch. "I'm just in my comfy clothes."
"Why is she here?"
"She just stopped by to talk to me about your grades. They suck."
"Leaf," Ms. Kate says, "you're still more than welcome to come over for tutoring."
"I think that's a great idea," Mum says. No it's not, dammit!
"In fact, we could start today. Leaf I can take you to my house so we can work."
"Great idea. Angela can you help me with a few chores?" Mum asks her.
"Yes ma'am," Angela says unsurely. She looks at me with a scared expression. "Stay safe," she whispers to me. "Don't let her do anything wrong to you."
"I won't," I say unsurely. Who knows what she could do to me? If it's anything illegal, I swear to God almighty I'll be reporting it. But the next thing I know is that I'm n the back seat of her car, on the way to Hell- I mean her house. A notebook and pencil in my hand, slowly being crushed due to stress. She pulls into her driveway.
"All right Mr. Soto we're here," she says nicely. She's totally faking it. I walk into the house, which isn't bad, I'll admit. I see someone else in the house.
"Hey Katie, you're back," it's Mr. Gates, the science teacher. "Leaf, what are you doing here?" he asks as he sees me.
"He's here for some math tutoring," Ms. Kate says from down the hall, her room I assume. "We'll only be a little while." I sit down at the table with my notebook. Mr. Gates sits down next to me. It's weird being this close to your teachers' personal lives. They seem like a totally different person.
"So Leaf," Mr. Gates says, "is your Mom still single?" What? In the silence, as I can't even begin to think about what to say, I hear Ms. Kate yell.
"Richard!" she comes storming into the room. "Are thinking about cheating on me?!"
"I was only asking," he says, defending himself.
"You're dating me. Don't forget it you bastard!"
"Hey, swearing in front of the kids here," I say in spite of myself. Ms. Kate gasps and takes a breath.
"You're right. Mr. Soto I'm sorry you had to see that." Not as sorry as you'll be when you show me something else, like I know you will. "Now come on, you have some math to work on." She grabs my arm and she takes me back to this room where it appears to be her office space. I sit down in the chair and she closes the door. "Okay, so what was it you had a problem with?" she asks nonchalantly as she takes her shirt off, "getting comfy" no doubt.
"Uh... it was the quadratic formula," I say the first thing that comes into my head.
"It couldn't have been," she says with a scolding tone, "we've already covered that. A while ago."
"Sorry. It was the uh..."
"We're going over sine and cosine."
"Y-yeah. That..."
"Don't be so nervous," she says playfully, "are you bothered by something?" You mean the fact that you're only wearing underwear? If so, then bloody Hell yes. She then hugs me, smothering my face with her breasts. "It's okay." She lets go of me and I take deep breath of fresh air. "Your fear smells delicious," she whispers in my ear. This is definitely crossing a line that had already been crossed far too many times. I decide to bail, but she grabs me. "Where are you going?"
​"I gotta go to the bathroom," I lie.
"Here," she says handing me a box, "just use these tissues."
"It's not that!" I yell, running out of the room and before she can yell at Mr. Gates to grab me or something, I run out of the house and down the road as quickly as possible. I see her car coming after me so I run through back yards to get away from her. I finally make it to the back door of my house after knocking a gate off an old woman's fence and putting it back on, and scaring the living Hell out of some little kids at a birthday party. I must look terrible. I open the door and lock it behind me.
"Leaf?" Mum asks surprised. She gasps when she sees me. "God, you look terrible. Weren't you supposed to be with your teacher?" While I'm still catching my breath, I explain myself to her. "At least let her explain herself you bail on her out of meek fear."
"But what was up with that whole 'your fear smells delicious' line?" I ask, very nearly out of breath.
"I don't know," Mum admits, "but I'll be having a talk with her. In the meantime, you're grounded for the rest of the evening."
"But-"
"And go take a shower. You're absolutely filthy." She walks by me and she delivers a stern slap to my cheek. Fine... sure I messed up, but that wasn't necessary. I walk up the stairs and as I reach for my door, it opens, revealing Angela in her underwear. I yell out and run to the bathroom while my door slams shut. That's when the headache comes.
12: DetoursI walk to my bedroom after my shower, to find a cross Angela glaring at me.
"Can I help you?" I ask, combing my wet hair back with my hand.
"What was that barging in on me while I'm getting dressed?" she demands. "Babe, don't be so perverted."
"Look, I'm sorry," I say, desperate just to try to finish this evening on a more positive note. "It was an accident and it won't happen again. I promise, okay?" She sighs exasperatedly.
"Fine," she says stepping out to let me dress. "Just knock next time." I shut the door. "I'll be downstairs." That's fine. I'm grounded for the rest of the night anyway. I should probably talk to the school principal about Ms. Kate tomorrow. She's just weird, and I don't dare ever plan to venture into her house again. I get dressed and I open my door. I sigh and lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. I doze off, this thought cycling around and around in my head, before I eventually fall asleep.
I'm awaken by the sound of my alarm clock. I reach over, to find myself laying in the middle of my bed. I have to crawl across my bed and reach over and shut the alarm off. I put on my glasses. Angela or Mum must have came in last night when I was sleeping and taken them off. Don't want them broken. I sit up and yawn. I step off my bed to trip over something and with a yell I fall onto the ground. As it turns out, I tripped over Angela, who was sleeping on the ground with her blanket and pillow. I tripped over her, waking her up with a yell and I fell, landing right on top of her, my arms out to stop me from falling, only for my hands to grab onto her breasts. As she and I both realize this our faces instantly become red and she shoves me off of her.
"Dammit Leaf! What the Hell?!" she yells. "You perv!"
"I'm sorry!" I say,defending myself, "I didn't know you were sleeping on the floor!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't taking up your whole bed, I wouldn't have to!"
"What's going on up here?" Mum asks, looking into my room.
"Just some Morning Hate," I say, making a History class reference. Just look it up, if you don't know what I'm talking about.
"Well, some people in this neighborhood are trying to sleep."
"Yeah, Leaf," Angela says with a sly smirk, her cheeks still red.
"You were yelling too!" I say.
"Just get ready and go to school," Mum says with a tired yawn. She leaves and Angela and I get ready for school. She's still pretty mad though, she doesn't say anything on the ride to school.
"I'm sorry," I say again as we walk toward the doors.
"Leaf, just forget about it," Angela says.
"Alright. Sorry."
"Is that all you say?" she asks wryly.
"No."
"Then talk about something else," she says with a soft laugh.
"Talk about what?" I ask with a smile.
"You like cars, don't you?"
"Aye."
"So... talk about cars then."
"Do you have a driver's license?" I ask her.
"What?"
"Can you drive?"
"Are you kidding? My parents hated me. Like they'd even shell out the cash to get me a car, let alone a license."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," I say as we walk inside. Later, we have to split up as school starts, but I find her waiting by my car at the end of the day. We drive home and Mum left a note saying she had been called into work and would be home late, as in really late.
"So you're Mom will be home late?" Angela asks.
"Yeah. Usually when she says this, that usually means around 11:30."
"Then that should give us plenty of time," Angela says seductively.
"Plenty of time for what?" I ask, afraid to hear her answer. She doesn't answer me however, but the next thing I know is that I'm laying on top of her, looking into her eyes. "God, you're beautiful," I breath. We then start making out, which later turns to making love. Then, the next thing I know, is that we're lying under the covers side-by-side, catching our breaths.
"Wow," she exhales softly, "you're so good at this."
"Really?" I ask, looking at her, "it was my first time."
"Mine too." She gives a soft, exhaling laugh. "I like you," she says as she cuddles me. "You're so gentle." I'm not really sure if I should say thanks to that.
"Well, of course," I end up saying. Slick you bastard, absolutely slick. Then I hear a car coming up the driveway. "Mum's home."
"Shit!" We jump up and throw on our pajamas and then we throw ourselves back underneath the blankets, looking fast asleep. I hear Mum come into the house and after a few moments, she open my door a little.
"Aw, they're fast asleep," she whispers. She then leaves and shuts off the hallway light. Ha, we did it, and we got away with it.
13: The Fairground SceneSooner or later, the weekend finally arrives. That does mean only one week left until the trial, though. Mum tells us to go out and have fun while she has to work, to help us take our mind off that thought. I was driving around downtown, Angela in the passenger seat.
"So, what do you want to do?" I ask her.
"Have fun!" she exclaims happily, "duh!" She laughs and points to the fairground in the city park.
"Hey, they're starting the county fair early this year," I say as I park the car and we head up to the ticket gate. We buy tickets and head through the gate. I look around and Angela points toward the Ferris wheel.
"Come on, let's go!" she says. She takes my hand and starts running toward it, but she then stops dead in her tracks. My eyes widen in horror as I see Jack standing over there. Angela cries out in fear and hides behind me, but t's too late. Jack sees us and he walks over to us. I clench my fists and muster up all the courage I can manage.
"Hello Leaf," he says with that snake-like expression. "Angela." Angela whimpers in fear behind me. She holds onto me for her life.
"What do you want, Jack?" I ask him.
"Nothing really," he says with a nonchalant tone, "I just want her."
"Leave us alone!" Angela cries fearfully.
"As I said, I just want you." He lunges forward with sudden speed, I don't have time to react. His fist in front of him, he punches me in the gut. Angela cries out as I cough up some spit and blood and fall to my knees, my arms around my stomach.
"Leaf!" Angela screams, but it's very distorted. My vision begins to blur as I watch helplessly from the ground as Jack drags Angela away. I try to crawl after him, but the pain is simply too much and I pass out before I fall to the ground.
I'm starting to get some feeling back. I groan as I try to open my eyes, but even that is painful. There's distorted noise that I'm beginning to hear. As I regain my consciousness, I find that the distorted noises are actually voices.
"Hey! Hey Becca, he's waking up!" My eyes open and my vision focuses on a green-eyed brunette. I don't really have time to take in much about her.
"Hey, you're right Tori," another girl says. She comes into view with her blue eyes and blonde hair.
"Hey, are you alright?" Tori asks me as I groan.
"Yeah," I say painfully. "Wh... where is she? Is she alright?"
"Who?" Becca asks.
"A... Angela. Where is Angela?"
"That girl he was with," Tori says to her friend.
"Oh yeah. The girl that one creepy guy dragged off."
"We... we have to save her," I say. I try to sit up but Tori stops me.
"Whoa, take it easy," she says. "You were hit pretty hard." I shake the pain away as it hurts with every little move.
"There's no time. We have to save her." Why didn't someone bloody do something? I manage to sit up on the bench I was laying on.
"Seriously, slow down. You're still hurt!"
"No. We have to friggin' save her," I say. These girls may have saved me, but they are starting to get on my nerves, and that's something that can be done easily, especially when girls are doing it. Tori looks at Becca and they nod, getting under my arms and helping me stand. "Th-thank you," I sigh. The three of us hobble off in the direction Tori says that Jack took Angela. "Can't we go any faster?" I ask as we head toward the front gate.
"Well, we could," Tori says with a spark of complaining anger, "if you could help."
"Well-"
"Hold this!" she suddenly shouts as she shoves me onto Becca who yelps in surprise as Tori runs off toward a man standing by a golf cart. "Need this!" she says, swiping the keys from his hand. She jumps in and starts the cart. She drives it over to Becca and I and they throw me onto the back seat. Tori jumps back into the drivers seat and she speeds off through the entrance gate and down the street. She stops in front of a bar. "I saw them come in here." I manage the strength to climb out of the golf cart and I stumble inside the bar, slamming the door open. The patron and the bar tender look at me. I scan their faces until I see Jack and Angela in the back. Jack sees me and he grabs Angela, who appears to be very drunk, and he runs with her to a back room. I throw a bottle toward him, but it misses and breaks on the back wall, scaring the patrons.
"Everyone. OUT," I command, sending people out the other door. Tori runs up to the bar, yelling at the bar keep for serving alcohol to Jack and Angela and she grabs her cell phone and begins to call the police while I make my way to the back room. The door's locked. I begin to beat on it. "Jack! You leave her alone!" I throw myself onto the door, until after many tries, it gives in and the door comes off it's hinges. I look up and I see Angela lying naked on a table, Jack standing over her, his pants down. The sick bastard raped her. In total rage I run forward and punch him in the face, sending him flying end over end through the air. He's well knocked out when he hits the floor and as I catch my breath, some police officers come into the room. I watch as they arrest Jack and drag him out in chains. I put Angela's clothes back on her and since she's unconscious, I have to carry her out of the bar.
"Six shots?!" I hear Tori ask in disbelief, "she could have died!" Tori is right as I walk away from the bar and back toward my car. I take Angela home, thanking the lord God almighty that she's still alive. She wakes up in the car ride home.
"Huh?" she asks dumbly, her words slurred together, "what's goin' on? Where," she yawns and then throws up on the floor in the back, "where am I?"
"You're in the back seat of my car," I tell her.
"Hey, yer-" she hiccups, "you're kinda cute." She laughs drunkenly.
"Oh Angela, please," I say, hoping she'll pull herself together. "You're heavily drunk. It's a miracle you didn't die."
"Why are you being so mean?" she sobs drunkenly. She cries for a few minutes before she starts singing. "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer..." She passed out as she reached 96. When we finally arrive home, I carry Angela inside and I lay her down on the couch and put a blanket over her. I clean the floor of my car and when I come back inside, I see that Angela doesn't look as pale as she did before. I just hope her hangover isn't too bad. I stay at her side for a while before she finally wakes up, not appearing drunk or hung over at all for some reason. "Leaf?" she asks.
"Yeah?" I ask her, holding her slightly cold hand.
"I... I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I," she begins to cry, "I should have been stronger. If I was stronger... then this wouldn't have happened!" She cries into her hands. I hug her and she leans on me.
"It's okay. It's okay," I say soothingly. It's likely that Mum will be home any minute, worried out of her arse.
14: Knife FightMum comes home a few minutes later. She comes through the door and I hear the voices of several people outside. Mum gets through and slams the door closed behind her and locks it.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Nothing, it's just the press," Mum answers before letting out a sigh of relief. "You alright sweetie?"
"I'm fine." Mum walks over to Angela and feels her forehead.
"You okay Angela?"
"I'm fine Serena," she says, the sadness still present in her voice.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Mum says hugging her. Angela then bursts out crying again, not that I blame her. If I were her, I'd be sad and scared too I'm sure. The next day, Mum calls us at home and says that she learned that Angela's parents weren't the least bit concerned for what happened to her. This news made Angela mad and Mum told us to stay home today. While Angela was up stairs in the restroom, there was a knock at the door. I get off the couch and answer it, only for my eyes to widen in shock and rage. It's Jack. How? No idea, but before I can react, he punches me in the gut again, knocking me out. Angela had come down the stairs just in time to see Jack drag me to his car and throw me in the trunk. Still scared from the day before, Angela was frozen with fear. But then something in her head had snapped. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the largest, sharpest steak knife Mum had, and followed the car.
The next thing I knew was that I was slapped awake. Tied to a chair in what I could only assume was Jack's room at his house.
"Hello Leaf," he says, his voice like poison.
"What the Hell are you trying to do now you bastard?" I ask unaffected.
"It's simple, really. You're the bait and when Angela comes running to save your helpless ass, I kill you, and she falls in love with me."
"That's your plan?"
"I told you, simple."
"You're not going to kill me."
"You don't believe me?! I'm serious you pussy!" He takes his knife to my neck and cuts just under my skin, enough to draw blood. He takes his blade away and shows it to me. "See that?! That's your blood! And soon, it'll be all over the room!" He let out an uncontrolled, insane laugh. I can feel the blood dripping down my neck. Its slow, but I'll have to cover the hole soon, or I'll die of blood loss. Then the door bursts open, breaking off it's hinges. I crane my neck to see it's Angela.
"Let Leaf go Jack," she says, her voice so determined it's actually deeper in tone.
"Hey Sexy, you're just in time to watch your boyfriend die."
"Let's settle this. Once and for all." She stabs the knife into the wall. The evil smirk that creeps onto Jack's face is full of pure evil and darkness as he laughs maniacally.
"You're on, bitch. What do you wager?"
"If you win he dies."
"What the Hell?!" I demand at her. "Angela?!"
"Shut up!" I cringe in the chair, actually scared of her for once. She sighs and continues. "If you win Jack, he dies and you can have me all to yourself."
"Fair enough," Jack agrees. "If you win, you can have him."
"And you die."
"Deal." Jack takes out a large switchblade and spins the open blade in his hand. "We'll settle this outside." He walks out of the room, and I look at Angela.
"Angie, you don't have to do this," I beg her. She slaps me, my cheek stinging.
"I told you to shut up. I have to do this." She steps out of the room.
"Wait! Don't leave me in here like this!" She sighs angrily and she steps back in and drags the chair outside with me still bound to it. She hisses at me.
"You will not interfere."
"Of course," I say, trying to stay on her good side. When we're outside in the back yard, I notice the clouds have really become overcast and it gets darker by the moment. Jack and Angela stare at each other for a few seconds, their blades at the ready, thirsting for one another's blood. Then suddenly, almost instantaneously, they both strike. At first, they read each other like a book, blocking one another, until Angela makes a move and lands a cut on Jack's cheek. Jack stares at her for a moment, his eyes dilated with rage, and he strikes, even faster, one after another, each cut making a red gash somewhere on her. Jack laughs as he knows that he's taking the upper-hand, and then he thrusts, lightning streaking just over head, the instant thunder booming through the sky, as I stare in utter horror and dismay. The shock on Angela's face as she knows what happened. Rain begins to downpour as I watch him pull his blade out of her stomach. The collecting rainwater and fresh mud beneath them turn red with blood. Angela falls onto the ground, her hand clutching at the gash in her gut.
"Looks like I won," Jack says slowly. He kneels down and takes his knife to her again, carving his way around her, writing 'I heart U' in Japanese characters. Tears falling down my already soaking wet face as I fear she's dying in front of my eyes. Distant sirens then cut through the rainstorm and Jack scoffs and runs away. The rain helps me slip out of the ropes, binding me to the chair. I hurry to her side, thanking the almighty gods she's still alive.
"Angela stay with me!" I beg. "Don't die Goddammit!" A police officer comes around the house. "Get an ambulance now!" I yell at the guy. If the ambulance hadn't been only a block and-a-half away, then she would have died. She gets taken to the hospital, and Mum picks me up. She takes me home and dries me off. She knows how worried I am.
15: Death of a BlossomThe next morning, after a sleepless night, I walk down the stairs. I feel so gray today. Huh, I was right. The world is colourless without Angela in it. I walk into the kitchen for breakfast. As I pour a glass of milk, I don't even notice the sound of someone moving around in the living room. I merely glance over and my heart stops. I stare in utter shock as I see Angela making her way into the kitchen on a wheelchair. She looks over, but says nothing. For a while, I don't move, let alone breath. She notices me staring at her again, and she leaves the kitchen with her bowl of cereal.
"Good morning to you too," she says to me, her voice neither happy or... whatever. Totally emotionless. "Would you please stop staring at me?" I struggle to find any words at all. "Leaf, I'm fine." I have to take a few breaths until I find the energy and motivation to speak.
"What happened?" I ask, my words seeming to exhaust me of life.
"What at the hospital?" I nod, still struggling to speak my native language. "I said I'm fine. Jack just cut my stomach and intestines open, not to mention severing several nerves."
"But do you... still... love me?" Why am I having to work so hard just to bloody speak?! Angela looks at me.
"Of course. We're boyfriend and girlfriend still." Suddenly, I feel as if whatever had seemingly been holding me down had been lifted away and destroyed and I could breath again. I smile and take my milk to with me to sit next to her.
"Serena left for work before you got up and she brought me here."
"Oh."
"The court date to decide my fate has been pushed back until they find Jack.
"Figures. You know..."
"What?"
"Things will be different now."
"What do you mean?"
"Our relationship will be much different now with you in that wheelchair." I picture myself pushing her around town as we go on dates.
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, do you know when the doctors say you can walk again?" Her face darkens and she looks away. Shit, is she permanently confined to the wheelchair? "Angela?"
"Screw the doctors," she declares coldly as she tries to stand.
"Angela careful!" I say, trying to help her back down, but she holds me back. "You could reopen your wounds or something!"
"I'm fine!" she yells, standing up straight, before falling down with a meek "Ow." I sigh, and can't help it, and I smile. It's useless fighting her. Later, she says she wants to go to the park to see the cherry blossoms as they're beginning to bloom. I get us both a pair of fresh outfits and she wheels into Mum's room to change, but she calls me in a moment later for help. I help her take off her shirt, and when we do, at least we now know that none of her stitches are coming undone. She looks at herself in Mum's full-body mirror. My eyes can't help but moving down toward the 'I heart U" written in Japanese on her torso. She wipes away some tears, but then forces herself to appear strong. That's when I figure it out.
"You're strong," I tell her.
"What?" she asks, looking at me with some curiosity.
"You are strong. You don't want to let one trip to the hospital to get you down. Right?"
"Yeah," she says with a small smile. I begin to change my clothes and when I get a clean shirt and pants on she speaks again. "Next time we meet Jack, I;m going to kill you," she says to her reflection.
"Sure," I say, forcing myself to agree with her. "But let's at least wait until you're back to your full strength."
"I can't wait." Once we're both in fresh clothes, we walk out to my car. I want to help Angela, but she insists that she does it herself. I only help when she nearly looses her balance. We later arrive at the park and we walk among the cherry blossoms. "Wow," she breaths, looking at the pink and white trees. "Leaf?"
"What is it?"
"Take my picture." She poses and I angle my phone to get the tree leaves in the background, and I take the picture. She looks really cute. I show her the picture. "Leaf?"
"Yeah?"
"When we get married, I want it to be here, just like this."
"Alright," I say. "Looking forward to it." We laugh, and she kisses me on the cheek.
"It's not going to happen," a voice says. We both gasp and look to see Jack standing at the base of one of the trees. Angela steps forward, her arms in attack stance.
"Let's finish this Jack!" she declares.
"Yes let us finish this childish quarrel," he says, producing a pistol from his belt. Angela gasps in fear as she knows we're both outgunned, no pun intended. She shakes the fear away from her face and she runs forward to strike. Jack grabs her by the neck with his other hand and holds her close to his face. "I'll get to you later, Sexy." He throws her to the side, she lands with a cry of pain. Her clothes are turning red in a few tiny spots as some wounds begin to reopen. Jack aims his gun at me. "Farewell, Leaf Soto. It's a shame your end had to come so early in life. Aw, don't despair. I'll be here for Angela... and your mother."
"You sick bastard!" I yell at him.
"Say what you will. You'll be dead in a moment anyway." His finger moves to pull the trigger and when it moves all the way back, the gun fires and the bullet flies from the muzzle. I didn't even see Angela jump up and shove me away. I open my eyes, and they widen. Where I stood a second ago Angela is now standing. Jack is staring wide-eyed as well in utter shock as he sees what I can't until Angela falls back with a groan. I catch her and tears fall from my face as I watch blood seep out from the fresh bullet hole just near her heart. Jack is still staring in shock, as he sees the girl of his dream dying in front of him.
"Angela!" I scream. People begin to gather, having parted at the sound of a gunshot, police beginning to arrive, Mum amongst them. "Angela, stay with me please!"
"Leaf..." she says weakly, her life draining away in the form of the blood ocean constantly increasing in size beneath us.
"Don't die on me!"
"I'll be... waiting... for... you..."
"You're not going to die!"
"Leaf," she smiles, "I... l-love... y... you." Her hand falls out of mine and I cry out in rage and sadness as her eyes glaze over, the last bit of life leaving her. Jack falls to his knees, having killed the one and only girl he wanted. I gently close her dead eyes and lay her head back. I then stand up and face Jack, my face full of hatred. I'm not aware of what I'm even doing until I hear someone yell.
"Leaf! Stop it!" I stop whatever I was doing, which turned out to be beating the living shit out of Jack against a cherry tree. The voice came from my Mum. I look at Jack, who's looking at me, crying.
"Finish me," he pleads. "Kill me. There's no use for me anymore!"
"No," I say. "You are going to live with the pain and regret of what you've done here today." I leave hi for the police to scrape up. I walk to Mum and she holds my hand. I look back at Angela, and I see her parents standing by her body, as some EMT's prep to move her. I let go of Mum and walk over to them. They both look at me, and even though I have never me them, they know who I am. "I hope you're happy," I say to them. Walking away from them, I hold Mum's hand as we walk to the car and drive home.
16: Author's Ending NoteAs you, dear reader, are aware, this story was based on an actual relationship I had. Angela was the most beautiful, nice, and caring girl I ever knew. It pains me to know that there were those who did take advantage of her, and those who felt hate toward her, in more than one way. The time I am publishing this story, Friday the 26th of February the year 2016, 1:50 p.m. United States central standard time, as far as I know, Angela isn't really dead. This is a piece of fiction based on true events. It was shortly after the fairground scene when certain events came to our eventual and tragic break-up. What I never really understood was why my parents made me leave a girl, who was truly happy in her depressed times. She was fighting depression, suicidal thoughts, and the constant harassment she faced during school and online. My parents were the ones who forced me to leave her, causing her to relapse and sink back into her depression. As far as I know, to the day written above, she is still alive, even though I fear she may not be.
My message to the readers is this: Always report if you suspect of someone being suicidal and abused. AND that this story is fiction and for your entertainment. But please know, dear reader, how much she really meant to me. I'll be with you when you hope and have someone who is there and know how much they mean to you. Thank you for your time, and for reading.
~ L. S.
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