Pretty Boy

Chapter Three

     At Robin's we watched scary movies until about 9 pm, when I checked the time, I realized that I had to rush home. I hated having to walk home so late. "Hey, sorry guys, but I gotta head home," I stood up from the couch. "Hey, I'll walk with you. My mom needs me home by 9:30," Max got up and started to follow me. Veronica and Cheryl were going to spend the night. Max and I left and started walking towards my apartment. Hers was just right around the corner, so when we parted ways at my building, I just called her to make sure she could make it home. When she did, I basically did a repeat of last night. Except, when I got to my room all showered and in pajamas, I found a letter on my bed.

     I opened it, and it was from my mom. My mom lives in California. Doing God knows what. I read it and burst into tears. I fell onto the ground onto my knees. My dad rushed in after hearing the crash. "Hey, hey, what's going on? Oh, I see you found the letter from Mom, what does it say?" he patted my head. "She... she... I... I can't, Dad. I can't," I sobbed. "Please just tell me what's going on. I promise I won't yell or anything, I'll just be there for you." He sat down and hugged me. I cried into his shoulder. "She... she's cutting contact with us. She said she's going to change her name, and she also said that... she found a new man, they are getting married soon, and she is pregnant with a girl." He was silent, at a loss for words. We sat in my room, on the floor for what seemed like hours.

                                                                                             ~

     I woke up in bed, my eyes felt puffy and swollen. I almost forgot what had happened until it hit me like a ton of bricks. I sat up, and just sat there, staring out the window. Dad came into my room. "Hey, kiddo, I know it's hard but you gotta get ready for the day, I don't want you to just sit there all day," He rubbed my shoulder. "Now, get ready. I got to get to work, have a good day, kid," he left. I got up just putting on a sweater and leggings, checking the calendar. I had coffee plans with the boy, which now that I think about it, I don't even know his name. I checked tomorrow's plans and saw that me and mom's official weekly FaceTime call, and all I could think about was that it was canceled. I'd never get to talk to her again. No, I can't think like that, I will find her, somehow, someway, right?

     I don't know why I even still cared about her, after all the pain and suffering she caused me. She was the reason Dad was drunk most nights. He was not an aggressive drunk, more of a... sleepy drunk. Once he had more than two beers, he would just fall asleep. Dad had never really stopped loving Mom, she stopped, but he never did. He still had their wedding photos in his room, he thought I didn't notice them, but I saw them in his sock drawer. Dad seemed so heartbroken this morning, his eyes were heavy, and had dark circles underneath them. I knew I had to just stop wallowing in my own self-pity and get up and go. If not for me, or the boy, my Dad. I checked the time. 9:26 AM. I had a little while, but I just needed to get out of the house. I quickly put on socks and my Converse, put on a little mascara and lipstick, and left.

     I started just walking, I don't know where, but just somewhere. My phone buzzed in my pocket. The contact's name read, "Him." I hope to find out his name today. I found myself outside Robin's house. I checked the time one more time. From her house, it was about a ten-minute walk, and it was 9:35. I had enough time to talk to her.

     I knocked on the door. Her mom answered. "Hey Allison!" She hugged me. "Hi, is Robin here?" She nodded. "In her room!" She smiled. I tried to return the same ear to ear happy smile, but it kind of just came out as a try hard smile. She walked back into the living room, sitting on the couch, continuing her knitting.

     I knocked on her bedroom door. "Hello?" I heard shuffling inside. I heard something slam, and then silence. "Hi. I-it's me, Allison." I stuttered. "Oh, come on in," I heard the door unlock. "Hey, are you okay?" She grabbed my shoulders, and I looked down. She cupped my face in her hands and forced me to look her in the eyes. "Your eyes are all puffy, and red." I chewed on the inside of my lip. "Please tell me what's going on." I told her everything that was going on, and I showed her the letter. "Oh my God, Alli! I'm so sorry," she hugged me and didn't let go. We stood in the middle of her room, just hugging each other for a while. "Thanks, Robin, Really, thank you. I have plans and I don't wanna be late, so I better go." "Hey, if you want to talk, just call me, or just come over. Okay?" I nodded. I left her house sniffling.

     I started heading towards the coffee place, and when I got there it was about 9:58. I went inside and sat down at a random table. I pulled out my phone and aimlessly scrolled through Instagram for a second, trying to calm my breathing. Every time someone came in, a bell rang, and every time a bell rang, I looked up, but it wasn't him. I set my phone down and looked around. There was a big grandfather clock, and I kind of just zoned out on it. When it struck 10:00, the bell rang, bringing me out of the zone. I didn't bother looking towards the door, knowing it probably wouldn't be him. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, stranger." That same deep, gravelly voice said. I jumped up. "Hi!" I smiled. "Shall we?" He pointed towards the table. "Yeah. yeah." I sat back down, and he sat across from me. 

a/n:    Thanks to everyone who reads this crappy story... I realized as editing this chapter that almost every paragraph began with "I". I realize also that it's just kind of bad lol. Please comment and give me criticism. I NEED it. This chapter probably wasn't the best one so far, it's because I wrote it really late at night when I was tired, and when I woke up, I saw I finished it, so I did some minor editing, but yeah. Thanks for reading!! :D