Lost in the Game {Brollins}

| Chapter 12 |

You didn't often hear teenagers say they were glad to go to school, but for Rebecca, it was another story. She was thankful when the school year started not too long ago, knowing it would be an excuse to escape her house.

She opened her bedroom door and was immediately surrounded by the familiar scent of comfort. The slight hint of vanilla that lingered in the air, helped the instant sense of calmness break through her previous negative thoughts.

Her room was fairly small and had a very limited amount of things it in. Her bed was pushed up against the wall directly from the door, taking up most of the space, and above it sat a small window. 

At the end of her bed stood her small makeshift wooden desk, where she did her schoolwork and an old barstool chair that she sat in when she wasn't using it to hold all of her unfolded clothes. 

Behind the desk and chair, was her closet, which almost took up the entire wall, although that wasn't saying much. On the same wall that shared her door, she had a few wooden shelves and a tall bookshelf that carried a few books and miscellaneous items.

Since her room was on the smaller side, arranging all of her items was the hardest part, and she often thought of it as a big Tetris game. 

The bed was too long to be placed in the middle of the room, facing the door, and there would be no space to pass by at the bottom, so it had to be pushed against the wall. It also couldn't be placed on any other wall because of the closet and the short length of the remaining wall that held her shelves and bookcase. 

Her desk and chair also had to be placed at the bottom of the bed so that her room looked like it had more space than it did.

The beige walls that encompassed the main basement area continued into her room, as her mother refused to let her paint it a different colour. The cold hardwood floors that filled her entire house continued throughout the basement and into her room.

Rebecca closed her door and immediately flopped down on her bed, welcoming the soft mattress beneath her.

Sighing, she ran her hands over her face, debating the query her friends had given her. She despised social gatherings and detested the attention that could potentially come with them. But she knew how much it would mean to the girls, and another plus was the fact that she would be able to get out of the house.

She pushed the thoughts aside, knowing they would absentmindedly be brought up while she stared at her ceiling, trying to fall asleep later that night.

She redirected her focus on finishing her homework as quickly as possible so she could try to enjoy the weekend.

Once she was seated and got her work out, she heard the front door creak open and close.

She instantly buried her head in her hands when she heard her mother stomping down the stairs, and she rolled her eyes to herself when she heard her bedroom door open.

Her mother didn't wait another second to start harassing Rebecca over nonsense. "Nice to know you don't care about helping out around here! Leaving your shoes by the front door, instead of putting them in the closet? Am I the only one in this house who gives a damn?!"

With that, she stormed back out and slammed Rebecca's door, causing Rebecca to mumble to herself. "Hello to you too."

The series of events that occurred at school had tired her out enough, and she rummaged through her desk drawer, desperate for a break. She pulled out a lighter and a cigarette and headed towards her window.

Rebecca opened it and climbed out, sitting on the small concrete ledge in front of it, letting her legs dangle. She let her mind wander as she tried to block out the real world. From where she sat, she could see the evening's darkening haze and the few clouds that were scattered across the sky sparsely.

She lit the cigarette and put it in between her lips, inhaling the deadly smoke that filled her lungs. She absolutely understood how idiotic it was, and she couldn't get behind those who smoked and vaped like it was their lifeline, but sometimes it helped her ease some tension.

She by no means smoked religiously, and it was maybe once every few months, but she still didn't like doing it whatsoever. She preferred finding better solutions, but when she thought about it in all honesty, she could be doing worse things.

She continued shortening the life of her cigarette, as she watched it shrink with every breath of it she took in. She looked at her surroundings and could see some of her driveway, noticing her father still wasn't home. 

However, she took in her mother's car, untouched and in pristine condition. It looked as if it was just waiting to be stolen or vandalized, which in this town, wasn't uncommon.

A perk of living in such a small town is being within walking distance of everything and not having to worry too much if you don't always have access to a car. So Rebecca never understood why her mother was so adamant about getting one for herself when most of the time, only her father drove.

Being in debt was also a big factor in her family life, and Rebecca always found it hypocritical when her mother wouldn't let anyone buy anything because it was too expensive. Yet somehow, she had just enough money to buy herself things, in this case, her very own brand new car.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and decided to stop thinking about everything. She threw her remaining cigarette on the rocks beneath her and looked back up at the sky with a deep breath.