That's Life, Bud

aftermath

We pulled away from each other moments later and looked into each other's eyes. My lips and fingertips were tingling. Sam was blushing deeply and I'm sure I was, too.

We just stood there, melting into each other's eyes, until Sam's mom called from downstairs, "Sam! Dinner's ready!"

Sam looked at his door, which was opened ajar, and then looked back into my eyes.

"I need to go," he told me. Sam pecked me on the lips and then sprinted out of his room.

I stood there dazed, trying to contemplate what had just happened. Man, and they say girls are confusing, I thought. I forced myself back to reality before climbing back through the window and back into my house, where the screaming match of the decade was occurring.

"You work at a tattoo parlor! That isn't even a valid job! How are you supposed to raise a 13 year old girl!" Mom's shrill voice screamed. I cringed and walked to the top of the steps, out of sight, so I could listen better.

"Hey Mom! Guess what?! I'm rich! And I made my money on my own and not with Dad's help! And I'm never going to leave Carter alone in the house for two weeks with no one else there to look after her!" Jasper screamed back.

"I have been raising Carter for the past 13 years!"

"Oh, yeah, and you're doing a hell of a job!" he screamed, sarcastically.

"Listen here! I know how to raise a child-!"

"Oh, sure you do! Leave her alone for two weeks and hope that she is still there when you get back!"

I started down the stairs at a leisurely pace. They heard my footsteps and stopped screaming. I reached the end of the stairs and walked to Jasper's side.

"Carter, if you think that you are moving-!" Mom started, but was cut off by Jasper again.

"Oh, what?! No hug, or smile, or even a hello?! You're just going to start screaming at her?!"

Mom was at a loss of words.

"Carter, what did you do to your hair? Oh, never mind that! You can't possibly-" she started a little bit calmer, but was cut off yet again. But this time, I was the one to cut her off.

"When was the last time you cooked me a dinner, Mom?" I asked. She stuttered.

"When was the last time you went to a parent-teacher conference?" No words.

"When was the last time you asked me how my day was?" Nothing.

My mom glared. "Is it my job to do those things?" she asked, bitterly.

"Yes! It is! You could have at least been there for me one time!" I stressed. "But, you know what? You won't even have to worry about that anymore. Go on as many trips as you want. I'm moving whether you like it or not," I spat and stomped up to my room. Then I yelled from upstairs, "And by the way: I'm 14 years old!"

I heard Jasper say to Mom downstairs, "You can call Dad and tell him, 'cause I'm not going to be the one to do it," and the stomp up the stairs, following after me.

I sat down on my bed and waited for Jasper to come in. When he walked in, he sat down next to me and we both listened to Mom say on the phone to Dad, "Hey, Honey, I need to tell you something," and walk outside, shutting the front door behind her.

Silence.

"That was the first time I have ever heard Mom call Dad 'Honey'," I said.

"Me too," he agreed.

We just sat there, staring at my door blankly.

"I honestly didn't think that that was going to go as well as it did," Jasper stated.

"Your expectations were pretty low then, huh?" I replied.

"Ridiculously low."

More silence.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

I cringed. "After that conversation, I think I lost my appetite for the next two weeks."

"Thank God. I really didn't want to drive anywhere tonight, and I couldn't cook for my life," Jasper said with a small laugh. Then he stood up. "I gonna go take a shower and head off to bed. Goodnight," he said and walked out of my room.

"Night," I replied.

!!Viva la Time Skip¡¡

After a long, long shower and getting changed into my pjs, I was finally ready to sleep.

The second my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

I woke up minutes later, it felt like. I laid there for a few moments, trying to wake up my dazed mind. It was too early for the sun to be out, thus being the middle of winter, so it was completely dark.

I grabbed my phone off my nightstand and checked the time. 6:45 am, it read in bold, bright numbers that I thought would blind me. I groaned and forced myself out of my bed, blinking hard in an attempt to wake up just a little more.

I went into the bathroom and combed through my purple hair, leaving awkwardly straight and fluffy. I brushed my teeth next, trying to get the bad taste out of my mouth, and then put on mascara, not wanting to go through the work of putting on any other makeup at the moment.

I shuffled to my closet and picked out and outfit and pulled it on: black jeans, black winter boots, a black long sleeved shirt, a red beanie, and a giant black sweater over the shirt that went down to just above my knees.

I fluffed my hair one more time before grabbing my backpack, which I have not opened this past week to do any homework, my phone, and my earbuds and headed downstairs.

I usually get ready pretty quickly, so it was only 7:10 am when I came downstairs. Jasper was snoozing on the couch and Mom was probably still asleep, judging by the snores coming from her room when I passed it. I wrote a quick note saying that I was going to school early on a piece of paper and left it on the counter.

I walked to the door and opened it quietly, shuffling out and closing it in the hopes that I didn't wake up Jasper.

It wasn't as cold outside as I thought it would be, but it was still pretty cold. I trudged down the driveway and on the sidewalk for a while until I could see the school up ahead. I sped up a little, hoping to get out of the bitter cold soon before I got sick.

On Fridays the library is open early before school starts so that kids can come in and study for last minute tests and stuff like that. Usually four or five panicked kids come in to study for a test they heard about the night before, and a few other kids come to hang out. Today, I came to get out of awkward conversations with Mom.

I walked into the front doors and was greeted by warm air and soft lights. I wiped off my shoes on the carpet before going up the steps and straight ahead into the nearly empty library.

I walked over to the fantasy section and took a seat on the empty sofa placed at the end of the isle. The shelves made a nice little cave around the sofa, secluded from everyone else, which I obviously liked.

I put my earbuds in and started playing 'Stay Away From My Friends', closing my eyes, drifting away from reality once again.