Lost in the Game {Brollins}

| Chapter 13 |

Rebecca saw truck headlights brighten up the rubble road in the distance and eventually reflect off of the garage door as it pulled onto the driveway.

She heard the front porch steps creak and shortly after she listened to her father open the front door and enter the house. The fighting quickly began upstairs and she decided to direct her attention elsewhere. She finished her homework and ate whatever snacks she had grabbed from the kitchen earlier, before going to bed.

She had no more energy from her extremely long day to stay up as late as she usually would. She was definitely a night owl and nowhere near a morning person. She loved the serenity and quietness that followed the night, and more often than not she stayed up until early morning, completely happy and at peace.

When she woke up the next morning she noticed multiple new messages on her phone. She also saw that it was almost dead since she forgot to plug it in the previous night.

She slowly sat up rubbing her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face. Although she went to bed earlier than usual, she was surprised when she saw that she still woke up past noon.

She plugged in her phone and began reading the messages, quickly realizing most of them were from the girls and were about the party.

She sighed knowing she had given it some thought before she went to bed. She still didn't have a definite answer and didn't want to give the girls any false hope, just in case she did bailout. So she sent short messages and didn't give away too much, simply explaining that she was debating it.

Rebecca stayed in her room for a while after getting up. She needed time to wake up and have her brain be able to properly comprehend things so she didn't accidentally say or do something that would lead to an issue. She also despised eating breakfast right when she woke up and always preferred to wait for a bit.

Once she was ready she quietly walked upstairs, cautious of the situation she might be getting into. She noticed her mother sitting on the couch watching television in the living room that was right across from the kitchen. Rebecca made her way over to the kitchen and grabbed a mug so that she could pour herself the small amount of coffee that was left until she was disrupted.

"What is this an all-day hotel buffet?" Her mother glared at her, "You don't get to waltz up here and eat whenever you want. You missed breakfast, so you'll have for the next meal and hope you're on time."

Rebecca stared at her blankly, not in the mood for confrontation. She put the mug back in the cupboard and found herself walking straight back to her room.

She quickly threw on an oversized hoodie and put some leggings on before grabbing her phone and walking back upstairs. She then slipped on her boots and grabbed her beanie from the front closet.

"And where do you think you're going?" Her mother scoffed.

"Well, I decided that since this hotel's buffet isn't open, I'm going to find one that is." Rebecca turned towards the door, rolling her eyes while she grabbed her keys and left before her mother could get another word in.

A weight was lifted off of her chest as she took in the fresh crisp air and felt the cool breeze blow through her partially tangled curls.

She shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket and began aimlessly wandering through the streets. When she made it to the main town where all of the stores were, she found herself inching towards the town's cafe, desperate for something to do other than go home, and eating was very high on her list at the moment.

When she was near the entrance she came to the realization that she didn't have any money. She sighed sitting on a nearby curb, hearing a store door open from behind her.

"Rebecca?" When she heard the voice, her face immediately wrinkled in annoyance and she physically cringed.

As she heard footsteps from behind approach she answered with very little interest. "Uh hi."

"What's up?" He asked as he joined her on the curb, sitting a little too close for her comfort.

She stared at the rubble on the road, fidgeting with a hairband that was on her wrist. Knowing what was more than likely coming next. "Nothing."

"Listen," He scooted closer to Rebecca causing her to wearily stare at him, "I know you tell me the same thing every time, but give me a chance. Tomorrow."

Rebecca sighed and cut him off before he started his repetitive speech. "Nick, I'm not interested."

He sighed, putting his hand on her knee, "I know but-"

"I already have plans." She said lowly, pushing his hand off of her knee with some force as a warning, all while giving him a cold glare.

"What plans?" Nicholas ignored her previous action and asked curiously since it was obvious to him and a lot of others that Rebecca liked to lay low.

Rebecca rolled her eyes not interested in explaining and quickly becoming even more irritated with his presence, "Plans Nick. Plans."

"Okay, but what about-" Nicholas started again before getting cut off by someone else.

"Dude drop it. She said no." The voice was unmistakable and it made Rebecca's head turn so quickly she almost got whiplash.

When she saw who it was, Rebecca immediately stood up and was in complete shock, wondering if the lack of food was causing her to hallucinate or if what she was seeing was actually real.

She blinked rapidly, trying to form any sentence she could, but she settled for the only word that was swirling around in her brain. "Joe?"