ROLLERWAY

Chapter 5: Pull Yourself Together

Jack's POV:

I left the cafe and abandoned the girl I paid, to make Katie jealous. What the heck is going on with you? I said to myself. I needed to let out my anger.

I got into my car and drove to a park that my mom used to take me too. It was filled with trees and there was a small pond. I usually went there to clear my head. While I sat near the pond, I was racking up my brain with so many thoughts and I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to break something. I kicked a tree and it was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life. 

Katie made me feel something that I've never felt before. She was something I had to work for and not something I could just have easily. She made me feel like I was more that what people saw me as. Not just a trouble maker and a player. She's the reason why I haven't been hooking up often and it feels so different and foreign. For the first time, I felt like it was time for me to trust again and start getting my act together.

-

It's been an entire week since I last talked to Katie and I really want to make things right with her. It was 7:00 am and it was time for me to get ready for school. I put on the usual black skinny jeans, black t-shirt, black beanie and my black converse. As you can probably tell, my style is quite plain and simple. 

I headed to the kitchen to see my dad hung over on the living room couch. Before I made my breakfast, I made sure to help him up and drag him to his bed. My dad became an alcoholic ever since my mom passed away in a car accident when I was 5 years old. That was a day when I had to grow up and give up my childhood. Ever since my mom died, my dad never really got to recover from his depression. My dad quit his job and I had to somehow make money to survive. For a 5 year old with an alcoholic parent, it was hard for me to make money. I tried to make money by having lemonade stands and garage sales. But after awhile, I had to resort to stealing and selling the things I stole. I could never forgive myself for doing those horrible things but my dad and I desperately needed the money. I was still young and the guilt used to eat me up. I found myself crying myself to sleep every night because of my mom's death, my dad's addiction and the things I've been doing to survive. Now that I'm older, I've been doing a bunch of small jobs to support my dad and I. 

After eating the leftovers from takeout that we ordered two nights ago, I got into my car and headed to school. 

Once I got to school, I parked next to Katie's car. She walked out of her car and I could tell that she was still avoiding me. She wouldn't even look me in the eye and every time would be a few feet away from her, she walks away. I know I messed up really bad and I wanted to apologize. But I don't know how I'm going to apologize if she won't even let me. 

"Aren't you going to sit with Jessica and all her little minions?" Jade asked, when I sat at our usual table.

Jade was my girlfriend ever since 8th grade and we broke up in the beginning of this year because she found out that I was cheating on her.

"I don't feel like it." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, you can't just come sit at our table like nothing ever happened. We aren't your backup friends that you can go too when you don't feel like hanging  out with your new popular friends." She said, crossing her arms.

"I can do whatever I want. So, if I want to sit in this table, I'm going to sit in this table and if you don't want me too, you and your minions can just leave." 

"Whatever." Jade said, as she left.

"What's up with you and Katie? She paying you to bang her?" Derick asked.

"Shut up Derick! She's not like that and no one pays me!" I said, getting a bit defensive.

"Chill dude." He said, as he lit a cigarette.