// MEANWHILE \\
POINT OF VIEW: Ella O'Connor
I walk in the door of our apartment and am enveloped in the smell of cigarettes and alcohol. I start to cough. I quickly notice my mom on the couch and cover my mouth to keep the smell from making me gag and sputter. I sneak off to my room, trying not to wake her up. I plug some head phones into my iPod and shut the door, starting to clean up the room, since my mom trashed it, probably after I ran off. I bend down to the ground and pick up an upside down photograph. I flip it over and take a look at it. As soon as I get a glimpse of the image on the page, my eyes start to well up with tears, a sad smile on my face.
It's a picture of the day Cory, and I, along with our moms, went for a picnic at the park, about 7 years ago. Cory and I noticed our Moms handing someone their camera and posing for a picture. We took one look at each other and nodded, before jumping on top of them, mid-shot. It was ironically, a picture perfect moment.
I can faintly hear banging coming from my door, over the sound of my music. I pull my headphones out of my ears as my mom bursts through the door.
"I thought I'd heard you in here..." She spits drunkly. I freeze. "What's that?" She says, grabbing the picture from my hands. "Hey, I remember this day." She says, reaching into her pocket. I can see what she's grabbing. A lighter. I gain some self-control once again.
"Mom! Stop it!" I yell, reaching for the picture as she dangles it over the lighter. She quickly turns to me, burning my hand instead of the photo. "Hey, don't grab! You have manners, do you not?" My mom mumbles, dropping the picture and reaching for a snow globe I have sitting on my desk. She starts to toss it in the air, testing it's weight as my hand burns intensely. I look away from my burn, but just as I do, my mom whips the snow globe at me, hitting me in the right eye. I press my good hand to my eye as she leaves the room, tears streaming out of both eyes. Why didn't I stay with Cory?
I find my vision slowly starting to fade away into nothing as I fall asleep, my hand becoming numb and the throbbing sensation radiating from my eye becoming dull once I close my eyes.
YOU ARE READING
Leaving The Friendzone
Teen FictionI've been friends with Cory since we were 6. Despite everyone we know poking fun at us for hanging out all the time, the subject of 'dating' never came up. But lately, I've been thinking about him differently. The way his eyes glint when he smiles a...
