Swapped by fate

Chapter 18

Nami’s POV

The second I stepped through the front door, I could feel the tension hit me like a slap in the face. I barely had time to kick my shoes off before I heard my mom’s voice coming from the kitchen, shrill as always.

“Nami! Where the hell have you been?” she screeched. Like she hadn’t seen me in *days* or something.

I rolled my eyes, bracing myself for round 2: Stepdad Edition.

And there he was, right on cue. “You think you can just disappear whenever you want? You’ve got responsibilities here!”

Ugh. I’d barely been home for five seconds, and I was already exhausted by them. I stood there, gripping the strap of my bag, trying *not* to explode.

“I was *out*,” I muttered, my voice as flat as I could manage.

Mom stormed into the hallway, hands on her hips. “OUT? You’re supposed to be helping around here! We’ve been working our butts off, and you’re just gallivanting around doing God knows what.”

Gallivanting? Who the hell even says that?

“Okay, first of all, I’ve been gone for *days*, and you’re worried about some stupid chores? Seriously?” I shot back, unable to help the sarcasm dripping from my voice.

My stepdad, never one to miss a chance to act like a total jerk, chimed in from behind her. “Don’t get smart with us, young lady. You live under this roof, you follow our rules.”

And just like that, my patience snapped.

“Rules? Oh, you mean the ones where I have to act like your personal maid while you sit on your lazy ass?” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“Watch your mouth,” my stepdad growled, but I didn’t care anymore. I was *done*.

“You know what? Forget this,” I muttered, grabbing my jacket and swinging my bag over my shoulder. “I’m out.”

“Where do you think you’re going?!” my mom shouted, but I didn’t even turn around. I slammed the door behind me so hard the whole house probably shook. Not like they didn’t deserve it. I mean, seriously, I’d been *kidnapped*, and all they cared about was the fact that I hadn’t vacuumed. Like, priorities, people.

I headed down the street, knowing exactly where I was going. Stacy’s place was the one place I could actually go to chill out. The second I knocked on her door, she flung it open, wide-eyed and already sensing the drama.

“Nami! What the hell happened this time?”

I huffed, shoving past her into the living room. “Same crap as always. They’re losing their minds because I wasn’t home to clean. *Sorry* I was a little busy being, y’know, a hostage.”

Stacy raised an eyebrow. “Wait, are you serious? They didn’t even ask if you were okay?”

“Of course not!” I flopped down onto the couch. “They care more about a dirty floor than the fact that I could’ve *died*.”

Stacy shook her head, sitting next to me. “Your mom and stepdad are the worst, dude. Like, actually the worst.”

I snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

She threw her head back, laughing. “It’s honestly impressive how they can go from zero to full-on psycho in seconds.”

“Right?! I walk in, and it’s like, ‘Why didn’t you clean the house?’ Like, sorry I wasn’t around to play maid while I was being kidnapped!”

“They act like they didn’t even notice you were gone. Classic.”

“Exactly! They didn’t even ask *where* I was! Just straight to the chores.”

Stacy leaned back, crossing her arms. “Well, screw them. You can stay here. We’ll eat trash food, watch bad reality TV, and pretend they don’t exist.”

“God, that sounds amazing right now,” I sighed. “I can’t deal with them anymore. Like, at all.”

“Good thing my mom’s chill,” Stacy said, smirking. “She’s literally cooler than half the people we know.”

I smiled at that. Stacy’s mom *was* pretty cool. Way cooler than mine, anyway. She didn’t hover or nag, and she always let us do our thing without getting all up in our business.

“I’m so staying here tonight,” I said. “I don’t even care anymore. I just need to be away from that house.”

Stacy gave me a thumbs-up. “You’re staying here, no question. We’ll binge the worst TV we can find and eat an unhealthy amount of snacks.”

“Deal.”

We spent the next hour just decompressing. I ranted about my stepdad and his constant BS, while Stacy listened like the supportive best friend she was.

“I swear, if I didn’t have you, I’d have lost my mind by now,” I said, stuffing my face with chips.

Stacy grinned. “You *did* lose your mind. But I’ll take the compliment.”

We laughed, and honestly, it felt good to just sit there, talk trash, and forget about everything for a bit. No stepdad, no chores, no drama. Just me, Stacy, and a bag of chips.

For once, life didn’t totally suck.

Again a quite short chapter ...