Smile Again

chapter 5

I walk into my house to hear shouting. I notice the shoes by the door are scattered all over the living room. 'What the hell happened?' I think. I set my bag down and take off my shoes.

"Mom? Dad? What's all the yelling about?" I shout, heading to the staircase.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" I hear my dad yell.

"WHY NOT?" My mom yells back. I am all the way up the stairs now by their room. "YOU'RE NEVER HOME!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN GO AND FUCK SOMEONE BEHIND MY BACK." My dad shouts. I knock on the door and come in. When I do that, I see something flown at him. My mom thrown her show at him. 

"HEY! Don't throw something at my dad!" I interject. 

"When did you get her?" They both say at the same time.

"It doesn't matter," I say, "Why did you throw that at him?"

"Throw what? I didn't do anything." My mom says sternly.

"You threw a fucking shoe at him! Don't try and deny it." I exclaim, "Just because he found out you're a dirty cheater!"

"Delia Jones, watch your tone!" My dad says. I don't have time to respond because my mom shoves me backward into a wall. My head smashes into the wall, my head pounding now more than ever. I look back at her to see her standing with her hands over her mouth, realizing what she just done. My dad rushes over to my side and I try to stand but I just get dizzy and fall over. My mom tries to help me but my dad pushes her out of the way. 

"Stay the fuck away from her," He says through gritted teeth. 

My dad rushes me to the hospital and the ride there all I think about how my mom would do this to me. I'm about crying when my dad carries me into the ER. The doctor there says I don't have a concussion but that I should stay home for a day or two to rest. While I lay in the hospital bed, my dad calls the police to tell them what happen and to get my mom out of the house. I call my friends and Amelia to tell them what happened in tears. The tears at this point are just rushing down my face and I can't control them. 

I awake the next day on the couch in the living room, my head throbbing. My dad is in his chair, drinking coffee. He notices I'm awake and comes over to me.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asks me.

"My head hurts really bad," I say and rub it.

"I know, I know. That's why your home today."

"Is...is..." I stammer.

"No. She won't hurt you ever again, okay?" Right at this time, there's a knock on our door. "That' weird. No one should be here since its a school day."

"Hi, How's Delia? The voice sounds familiar. 

"She's sitting on the couch. Who are you?" My dad asks.

"I'm Amelia. Can I come in?" Amelia. Amelia came to see me.

"Yeah sure. Aren't you suppose to be in school?" 

"Well, I heard what happened and I told my mom, so she just told me to come over and check on her."

"That's so nice of you," Amelia and my dad come back inside to where I am. 

I sit up and wave at her. She comes over and sits next to me. My dad told us that he will be in his room and for Amelia to come get him if something went wrong. 

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you yesterday," She says and strokes my head. 

"It's okay," I say, choking back tears. She grabs me and wraps her arms around my back. I sob into her shoulder, content enough to show this much emotion. I tell her what happens between sobs and she listens patiently. I let go and wipe my eyes. I look at her and she looks like she's gonna cry. I take my thumb and rub it under I. "I'm okay," I whisper.

"I need to go get some clothes," I say and stand up. I stand a little to quickly and almost fall backwards but Amelia catches me. She walks with my upstairs to my room. I pick out some pants and tell her to turn around while I change. 

"Here," She hands me a hoodie, "I was gonna give this to you at school, but you weren't coming." 

I smile as I take it from her, I think I blush too. I change carefully, trying not to hurt my head even more than I should. 'I love her hoodies,' I think and smell it. Amelia helps me downstairs and into the kitchen for a quick snack. Then we go into the living room to watch TV. I leaned my head on her shoulder the entire time, and talked. 

"You skipped didn't you?" I ask a few minutes later. 

"Yeah," she responds shyly, "I got worried about you and wanted to  make sure you're okay."

"Aww, you were worried about me," I tease. 

"Shut up," She says and blushes. 

While my head is on her shoulder, she carefully rests her head on mine. We must've fallen asleep because we awoke to a pounding on the door with my dad rushing in. 

"I wonder who that is," I say and sit up. 

"Yeah, you guys can come in." I hear my dad say. "She just woke up so she might be groggy,"

In through the door come Jackie and Rose. They look concerned at first but then realize that Amelia is there with me. My dad says that he is going into the kitchen to cook dinner and to come get him if anything happens. My friends sit on the floor in front of me and Amelia. I tell them what happened and how I am feeling. 

"I hope your mom doesn't come back here when your dad's not here," Rose says.

"I sure hope so too."

"Hey can I ask you something," Jackie asks me. 

"What is it?" I ask. She leans close to me and whispers in my ear. "Does your dad know you like her?"

"I don't think so," I whisper back. "I don't really care if he does though, he's supportive."

She nods and leans back. Rose and Jackie say they have to head back home and say good bye. I wave good bye to them. Amelia stays for a few more minutes before saying she has to go to.

"If anything happens or if you're scared, just call me or text me and I'll be right over." She tells me.

"Okay. I will," I respond and reach for a hug good bye. I wanted to feel her touch one more time before school. When she lets go and it seems that she didn't want to, but neither did I. She turns around and leaves. 

The next day I stayed home as well, just for a precaution. Amelia came over again and we hang out again. Right before bed that night, my dad stops me before I go to my room. 

"You like her, don't you?" He asks me.

"Yeah, I do. How did you know?" I ask.

"Well, I see how you look at her and the way she looks at you. And I've never seen that hoodie in my life."

"Oh. Are you okay with that?" I ask, cautiously.

"Delia, you can love/like who ever you want and I will fully support you." He tells me sincerely.

"Thank you," I say and go into my room to sleep.