Words That Cut Too Deep

Chapter 3

Natalie-Three months earlier

"I'll call you." Sam kissed my cheek and pulled away from me. I stood there in the stairwell waiting for my heart to stop beating a mile a minute. As the blush faded, I fixed my lip gloss and walked to the cafeteria. Renee and Demi were sitting at the far end of my table with the rest of our cheerleading squad. The entire table had bowls of lettuce, with no toppings or, God forbid, a dressing. Pathetic. I paid for a hamburger and fries and sat at my seat at the head. The nervous conversation stopped.

"What?'" I asked Renee from all the way across the table. She was giving me an icy glare. The rest of my girls sat there anxiously.

"So," Renee started. Her short tone made me flinch. She was pissed.

"So, I heard you've been whoring around a bit, Natalie." My eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently, raising my eyebrows and tilting my head down for ful puppy-dog effect. She rolled her eyes so hard I was scared they would roll back into her head.

"Sam just broke up with me." She stated bluntly. My heart stopped. He said he would do it, promised actually, but I was counting on him not to. This way, we could be a secret. Renee would never know, and neither would Logan, my boyfriend.

"Honey, I'm so sorry! That dick!" I quickly recovered. I dipped a fry in  ketchup and handed it to her, knowing all to well of her inability to say no. She had zero resistance for anything sugary, salty or deep fried. Surprisingly enough, she ignored the food.

"Are you seeing Sam?" She more stated than asked. "If you are, I won't be mad, I just want the truth." I took a deep breath.

"I am absolutally not. And whoever the whore is, she better watch her back." I lied smoothly. Renee's face cleared over.

"Thanks, babe. I knew it couldn't've been you." We hugged, but I felt she was still tense. This clearly wasn't over.

Conner-Three months ago

"All packed, honey?" My mom shouted from downstairs.

"Yep!" I hollered back and picked up the last stack of boxes. I turned and looked back at the room. The desk where I never did my homework. The closet where I had my first kiss when I was in middle school. My bed, where countless girls...nevermind. I smiled fondly. Good times. I stumbled down the stairs and tripped over my own feet halfway down. I fell all the way to the bottom and grunted as three heavy boxes landed on my stomach.

"Shit!" My mom screamed and scrambled into the room, clacking in four inch black Stilettos. She bent over me and smoothed her hands over her perfectly ironed, pin stripe, black and grey pan suit.

"Fine." I grunted.

"No, not you, Sarah, just get the papers!" She ordered into her Bluetooth and hung up. She daintily slid one of the boxes off me. I shoved them off and stood up quickly.

"Ugh," She gave me a disgusted look. "You need a haircut." And she strutted back into her office. I rolled my eyes and picked up the boxes. I was the amazing one-man moving company, if your mom is a buisness-crazed psychopath, give me a call, I would be happy to pack up and move your entire house in a week, by myself. I waddled into the kitchen and let the boxes thud to the floor. Who cares about the books anyway? I spotted Cal sitting on the floor, covered in chocolate. He looked up at me with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Shok-lit" He squealed. I laughed and carried him into the bathroom. I cleaned him up and put him in a new outfit.

My brother was adopted from Africa when he was five months old. My mom went on some vacation with another of her one-week boyfriends, and she came across Caleb at an orphanage where they stopped for directions. He was a loner at the orphanage, and no one really paid attention to him. My mom, who was neglected as a child, must've seen something of herself in Cal, because she started filling out papers right away. My mom's heart may be buried in a powerful, productive businesswoman, but it was there.