16 years

Chapter 3

We're on a beach. The birds are circling around some fries that mason threw. Mom is laughing as dad snaps pictures of her. Cara stands in front by the waves. I get up and run to her. "Hey" I say
She turns around and similes "I'm glad you left"
"What?"
"Nothing" she puts her hand on my shoulder. "Wake up" she says.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm gonna need you to wake up"
"Why?" I say stepping back " I'm not-" she spins around this time her face looks bloody."wake up"

I sat up. I look around. I make out mason in the bed but Cara gone. I sit up and shut the window. Gosh I need something to eat. Maybe mom cooking some pancakes, its Saturday and she usually makes breakfasts on - crunch- I step on a paper. I grab it and look at it. Damn! My stupid essay. I throw towards my desk and make my way out the room. "We can't stay here forever Jane." Dad says.
"Well after Riley graduate we'll steal it" mom says. Its horses shit. They always talk about leaving but they never do. Never will."Good morning" I say walking into the kitchen. Mom standing over the stove with pancake mix out. Dad pop open a chair and I sit. "What college are you going to?" He says. I look at him. We didn't look much alike, well; who could know with the newspaper in his face. "I don't know" I say. He puts the newspaper down."What have you thought about beside going out with your little jail buddies"
"There not all bad" I say.
"Bullshit! All of them are jail retards, no wonder your brother acts the way he dose the only thing his brother dose is hang with prison inmates."
"I'm thinking of going to California" I say beneath my breathe. Mom stop and dad looks at me. "What's in California?" Mom asks.
"I don't know just far away from here" I know if I told her about Cara she would freak
"Mhm" Dads said he flips his newspaper back.
"Well I'm glad" mom says handing me a plate " I love California"
"You been?" I'm shock but not really, mom was a Wester's. Most wester travel. Fucking Wester's. I wonder who won that fight last night. "Wow, look here" dad says laying down the paper."2 kids killed last night at a lot" Dad read. I knew people were gonna be get hurt but murder. "Dose it say who?" I know the rules said no loaders or people jumping in but that mean someone had to get stab and mostly who dose the stabbing is our gang. "Michael kobuk, age 18 and Danny zooua, age 17. Both from the West side of town. Poor kids" Dad says shoving the paper away from him. I knew Michael; we both were in the same AP English class. We didn't talk much only one time when he knock over my books. I remember him laughing with buddies and saying"Never met a nerd hood." He's dead now. Now that I think about it bad things happen to bad people.
"Hey ya" Mason said walking in.
Dad lifted up the paper" 2 boys got killed at some fight last night, is fighting worth your life"
Mason shrugged his shoulders "Sometimes the only thing people are good at is violence"
"Those people are idiots, and you better not get in another fight" Dad snaps at him.
"What happen to your face" He says turning to me. "What do you mean?"
"Your lip swollen"
I place my finger on my lip and I feel the bump. Shit! I forgot about the fight last night. "Oh, I was grabbing my paper off the floor and some wood was sticking out and my lip got hit. I thought I clean it out" Hopefully I made it seem real but from the look he gave he didn't believe me. "Did you finish it" he ask. Gosh he knew I was fighting Jo. "No"
"Why not, you wanna go to college"
"You want me to college by fighting?"
"Fighting? I was talking about the paper, you fought last night?"
"Busted"Mason sang along laughing at me.
"Shut up, I wouldn't got my lip swollen if it wasn't for you" I snap at him.
"YOU BOTH WERE FIGHTING" mom scream.
"I had to get Mason out of the fight at the lot and"- Dad head snap up quickly"YOU WERE AT THE LOT" he yell at Mason.
"I was but he was there first, I didn't know he was there" Mason protest.
"Why were you there?" Dad snaps at me.
"I just wanted to watch" honest. I knew dad would whip us red, he didn't hit us often but when he did you did something really wrong..like going to the lot.."How did you even get up there? Its a mighty far walk" mom ask me, her voice went back to being calm again. "Cara" I responded. Mom rolled her eyes. "Of course! See! See! I told you that girl was no good" Mom yelp pointing at Dad; Dad who's eyes haven't left mine said "Cara dosent have a car so how did you both get out there?"
"We borrowed Teddy's"
"Mhm" Dad says. He turn to Mason"Your grounded"
"WHAT!" he cries out.
"You herd me" Dad voice didn't change, it was always like that when he grounded us."Unfair, Riley had a girl in the bed last night" fuck, brutal. Now I'm in for it. "You did what?" Mom says. Mom hated me with girls. Mommy's boy thing I guess. "It was only Cara, she was lock out" I try to pull it off like no big deal. "Why didn't she sleep at Teddy house when she drop off his car" mom ask. Oh yeah I totally forgot about the whole car thing. "Unless, She didn't borrow a car and she instead hosted one" Dad says. "No it was Teddy's." It was part true. We did come back in Teddy's car. Dad wave his hand up"Whatever I'm done with this, your grounded" his says pointing to Mason"And your on a curfew. Be in this at 10:30 or stay out. Got that?"
"Yes, sir"

After helping mom with the dishes I went outside. Cara was just climbing up the stairs. "Hey" I say looking back to make sure mom wasn't looking." Good morning" she says. She look back and I notice her fingers twitching, she scared. Cara often came to my house when she got scared. "Can we go somewhere?" She says. I pop my head through the screen door "I'll be back mom"
"Where are you going?"
"To the park with Leroy"
"Oh okay be safe" I pull Cara away before mom could look. "Mom dosent like me much" she says as we headed to the train tracks. "Don't worry about it, my mom dosent like anyone"
"That's a lie! Your mom loves everyone but me" She cries. I turn to look at her and I notice she in a gray hoodie that covering her face. "Hey" I say putting my hand on her shoulder. She stops. "Let me look at you"
"Why? So you can masterbated to the memory of my face" Rudeness is a sign that something bad happened. "I wanna see if your okay" her being okay is all I want. Her being okay makes me okay. She dosent answer. She's not okay. I pull her around till she facing me. "Oh now you caught me. What are you gonna do, Officers Riley force me on the ground and fuck me?" I wish. Not the forcing part but the fucking. And also not outside. I didn't answer I pull back the hoodie and see that her neck has a hand print. "WHO did this?" I snap at her. "One of my mom's dunkin friend, I came in this morning and he was walking out the bedroom and he just stared starring and smiling then he was on top of me.." Cars answered. On top of her! "Did he... You know" I couldn't say the word. Not to Cara. Never to Cara. "No, I pulled my knee up and hit his nuts. He back up by that point. But my wrist and neck feel broken" she says sliding up her hoodie to show my her hand. The wrist were blue, not healthy. I gently touch her neck bone and she yelps in pain. "We gotta go to the hospital" I say. She needed a doctor. What if her one of her vines are broken in her wrist. She could die. "We can't" she says. Tears are in her eyes now. Usually when a member in our gang cries we all look away, but with cara its serious. Maybe when everyboby cried in out gang it was serious to."Just take me to your mom's so she can help me" before my mom drop out if college she was working to get her doctor degree if she would've a few months she would've got it. Everyone on the block goes to her when they can't afford a real doctor. "Okay, but one thing"
"What?" She trying to cover up her tears but they keep coming out. What could i want from her? Not sex,money, kids. Well maybe kids. But no. "You have to stay with me." I replied.
She smiles again "Deal" she says spiting into her hand.
"Deal" I say doing the same. We then handshake.