Not Good Enough

First Day Back

It's gotten worse. Everything has. I'm way behind in trying to find Trey that if I even do find out where he is, he's probably moved again already. And the nightmares are getting worse.

Plus, what's worse than usual, is that today is our first day back at high school. And I'm dreading it. Maybe when Uncle Craig leaves for work, I simply 'forget' to go to school. One day can't really do any harm. He might have said that I have to graduate, but even if I don't, he can't keep me against my will. I'll be 18 and then I can do whatever I want.

I sit in my room, waiting until I hear the front door shut behind him.

The bedroom door opens, and his head pops into my room.
"Oh, Devon. Just so you don't get any ideas about skipping school, I've gotten you an escort and he'll be picking you up soon", Uncle Craig says.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?", I ask him, lying on the bed with my head dangling over the end.
"And you have to graduate school or I will send the ID to the cops", he says, just making up rules as he goes.

He shuts the door and I groan in annoyance. I look again on my laptop, crossing out all the different codes I've tried that have failed. I pick my beer up that I hid behind my cupboard on the floor near my bed. I down the rest of it, giving myself a buzz.

I have a flask left of beer, and hopefully that will help at school. I take a quick look at my appearance. Black denim jeans, combat boots, and a white ripped top. My eyes have bags and are discoloured. A lot. I don't have any make up, so I do what I've been doing for months now and hide them behind a pair of dark shades. Even Craig hasn't seen how bad they are.

I leave my hair the way it is, not caring if it's a mess. I pop a mint in my mouth as the escort to school will probably be arriving soon.

A beep shocks me out of my current thoughts. I look to my phone, but I have no texts. I check the stolen phone. Yes, a text on the stolen phone from a blocked number.
Meet me at the griffin at 8pm tomorrow.

What? Is the griffin some sort of gang? Maybe a bar? It could be code for someone's house. I look up on my laptop 'the griffin' and all that comes up is a picture of the mythological creature. Before I have time to type anything else into my laptop, my bedroom door opens.
"Bertrude?", a voice says.
Oh crap. The return of Sleepy Stan.

"What are you doing here?", I ask him, closing my laptop a little too quickly.
"I'm here to pick up Craig's daughter. Why've you broken into his apartment?", he asks me.
"I haven't...I live here", I say, putting my laptop in my bag.
"Well, my day just got a little better", he says, grinning mischievously.
I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder, putting my phone in my pocket. I walk past him.

"Lets go", I tell him, when I don't hear him walking in the direction of the door as well.
"Aye aye, Captain Gertrude", he calls to me, as I head out of the door and into the elevator.
"So...you closed that laptop quite fast back there", he says.
"Yeah?".
"Were you watching porn?", he asks me.

Oh. My. Freaking. God.
Why did Uncle Craig have to pick him?
"I wasn't watching porn".
"Are you sure?", he asks.
"Of course I'm sure! Now shut the hell up!", I yell at him.
"If it was a good porn site, can you send me the link?", he asks me.

Oh. My. Freaking. God!!!

We get into Kyle's car and he drives us to school, asking me about the porn site the whole way there.

"Shut the hell up or I will set the soccer team on you!", I shout at him.
"Did the girls on it have big boobies, medium, small, or incredibly huge? And we're they firm, saggy or just kind of dangly?", he asks me.
I slam my head against the side door before getting out.
"Fine fine. No more questions about your porn site or obvious trust issues", he says.