Another Reason To Live (Watty Awards 2014)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"Dad, can I go to the mall for a bit?" I asked as I rounded the corner into the kitchen.  

He sat lazily at the kitchen table with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and a pen in the other. He had his reading glasses perched on his nose as he examined today's newspaper, circling anything that appealed to him.  

He glanced up at me before looking back down at the newspaper. "Why?" he asked in a rather uninterested tone. He must be skimming over the stocks.  

"One of my friends texted me this morning asking me to hang out at the mall." I replied, twirling a piece of my vibrant hair in between my freshly painted black nails.  

He paused his work and looked up with slightly raised eyebrows. Leaning back in his chair and draping an arm over the back of it, he asked, "Is this 'friend' Gerard? Because you know that your mother-" 

"No, no," I interrupted him. He gave me a questioning look, so I added, "It's another friend from school. Her name is LeAnne." 

Although I could tell the mentioning of a new friend peaked his curiosity, he continued to give me a questioning look after I gave him my response, but he said nothing in reply.  

I knew that he was cautious about letting me go out, considering how my mother reacted the previous day. She was holding something against Gerard and it was making her not want me around him. My father seemed to not mind, but unless he took my mother's side, she would be angry with him.  

He sighed and turned his attention back to the newspaper, picking up where he last left off.  

"Fine. Be back by dinner." he finally replied as he returned to scanning the stocks.  

I smiled at him and simply said, "Thanks." 

I quickly rushed back to my room and got some money from my dresser - the same money that was supposed to be in the form of a new CD. 

Making sure I had my phone with me, I quickly ran a brush through my hair and straightened out my black skinny jeans and red v neck shirt before rushing back out of my room and down the stairs.  

"Bye!" I called out over my shoulder as I closed the door behind me, not bothering to say a formal goodbye.  

It was a beautiful day outside. Well, at least to me. The sky was covered with a thin layer of gray clouds and there was a light breeze that caressed my face as I walked down the sidewalk.  

I was actually feeling happy today, which was a nice change, regarding what happened yesterday afternoon. But I was in a mood where I could brush that off and focus on today.  

After walking about three blocks down the street, I turned another corner that eventually lead to a local park. The street itself was rather empty, which made it easy to pick out Gerard's car.  

He put the car in drive and drove my way, meeting me halfway so I didn't walk so far. He maneuvered the car to the curb line and stopped, which gave me the motive to open the door and climb inside. The cool air conditioning greeted me, along with Gerard's casual, "Hey Scar." 

I turned to him and smiled, glad to finally be out of my house. His usual black messy hair framed his smiling face and matched the color of his black Anthrax t-shirt. 

"Hey Gerard." I replied as I grabbed onto the seat buckle and locked it in place. 

Gerard pulled away from the curb and began driving down the street, towards the main part of town. 

"How are you today?" he asked curiously as we whizzed past the people on the sidewalk.  

I turned my head towards him and replied, "I'm good, how are you?"