Raging Hearts-Jaylor

Under the Bleachers

Taylor rushed home after the argument with Joe at school, with arrogance and tears welling her eyes.

She opened the door violently and took her skates in her hands. She was just gonna head towards her room when she heard Lauren calling her.

"You home Taylor? How's school?" Lauren, her stepmom asked, happily, sitting on the couch with the remote of the television in her hands.

"Why do you care, Lauren?" Taylor mumbled, rolled her eyes and went straight towards her room and closed the door.

She wore her favorite over sized hoodie and jumped on her bed. She was looking upwards as tears streamed down her cheek and her nose turned red. She took out her iPad from the night stand and opened the gallery. She opened the folder, 'My momma'

She started watching the videos of her and Andrea, her mother, sharing beautiful moments. She caressed the screen, wiping the tears off the screen and smiling.

She squeezed her hands together and sobbed, trying to shut down her tears as she saw the video in which she was 10 years old and was filming her mother.

'Mom, do you love me?' Young Taylor asked.
'Yes I do. Who won't love the cutest girl in this world' Andrea cheered.
Taylor flipped the camera and recorded her mom kissing hard on her cheek.
'I love you loads mom' Young Taylor spoke and kissed Andrea's cheeks.

Taylor wiped her tears with her sleeves and closed her iPad and kept it back in the drawer. She stood up and grabbed her guitar, her stress buster. She opened the window in her room and sat on the frame with her legs hanging in the air.

Without caring about anyone watching her from the street, she struck her fingers through the strings of the guitar, and started singing, 'Place in this world', a song she wrote herself about how she's trying to fit in this world.

Joe was passing through that street, from the front of her house, lost in his own thoughts, when he heard a low and melodious voice hitting his ears. He looked around, trying to find where it came from, when his eyes stopped at Taylor, sitting on her window.

His eyes moved around, trying to find something he could hide behind. He went towards her house and stood close to the wall, assuming she won't see him there. He heard the whole song and understood what it meant. When the song suddenly stopped, he went returned to whatever he was doing.

"Taylor, can I come in?" Austin, Taylor's eleven year old brother asked.

Taylor cleared her through and wiped her face and responded, "Yeah Austin, come in"

Austin jumps and sits on her bed with his notebook and pencil in his hands. "Will you help me with my maths homework?"

Taylor rolled her eyes and muttered, "I hate maths. But fine. I'll help you" If any other day, she wouldn't have helped her, but now, she knew she had to take care of his brother.

--------------------------------------------------------------

After an exhausting swimming practice, Joe finally gets home in the evening.

He rings the door bell and is greeted by his young brother, Patrick. Before Joe said anything, Patrick kept a finger on his lips, indicating him to be silent.

Joe got inside the house, only to hear his parents fighting in the living room, again. Without staying there any longer, he went to his room.

He freshened himself up and went straight on the roof. There, he saw Patrick sitting and watching the sunset.

"Whoa, what are you doing here? This was my favorite spot" Joe cried and moved forward, sitting besides him.

"Guess it's mine fav too" Patrick hissed softly.