If Ever You're Afraid l.r.h

Two

I woke up to the feeling of my phone vibrating underneath my pillow, my eyes flew open almost Immediately as if by reflex and my hand reached beneath my pillow to grab my phone.

"Hello?" I said, barely audible as I had woken up not even 20 seconds ago.

"Jared, it's your mother" I heard my mothers voice on the other end of the phone.

My morning was instantly ruined and I knew today was going to be a shit day.

"What do you want?" I asked her, my voice sounding full of annoyance that was apparent to me as well as my mother.

"I just wanted to see how University is going Jared" she said, now softly as I heard her take a sip from some sort of drink afterwards.

"Yeah its going good" I replied bluntly, not wanting to speak to the mother who threw me out, lying through my teeth and leading her to believe I had actually stayed at University and sorted myself out.

"Ah I'm so glad!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, "Listen to this! today me and John went-" she tried to continue but I hung up the phone the moment she started, I couldn't sit here and listen to her boast about the awesome life she had and how my grade A brother was the center of it, I've got more important things to do.

I look up at the ceiling, a light shade that had no light bulb in the center of it dangling from the center of the ceiling, being too lazy to go out and buy a new bulb so I left it as it was, I take a deep breath and tell myself everything is going to be okay before looking to the left at my alarm clock and realising I had slept in.

"Fuck!" I scold myself, throwing the sheets of my bare body and running around my empty room, grabbing a dirty unwashed checkered shirt from the floor and jeans that I found next to them, putting them both on before going to the bathroom to quickly freshen my breath and face.

"Hey Jared, when you going to pay me rent?!" I heard Mr Smith pester from the hallway as I lock the door to my flat and place the key back in my pocket.

"When I have it Mr Smith" I called out as I ran pass him in a hurry, holding onto the grubby bar as I almost fling myself down the narrow steps.

"You better hurry boy!" I heard Mr Smith shout down after me before huffing a little and returning back into his home.

I press the button on the bottom floor that unlocks the doors to the building, running out of them as soon as there's enough space for my body to fit, and running down the long path of the building, Last night I drank so much that now it was hard for me to be able to even walk in a straight line let alone run all the way to the café.

I put my brown hair back into my cap and decided to use the £3.76 I had left in my pocket to catch the bus as I could see it slowly coming around the corner of the street and I knew I'd never be able to run all the way to work after last night.

I jog over to the bus stop just across the road from the flats and only have to wait a few seconds before the bus reaches me, the man pulling his brakes and allowing the bus to make that sound that is surprising enough to give anyone cardiac arrest let alone a teenage alcoholic.

"A single to Westbrook Street please".