The Badboy Guide to Fitting in

The Rise of Hunter Mason

      When I walk through the door I'm hit with the familiar smell of greasy cheese pizza. My mouth begins to water as I stroll into the kitchen, in front of my mom picking a slice up from the box and kissing her cheek. She rolls her eyes they suddenly harden. She starts playing with nail polish, slowly picking it off. That was a bad sign, that was a very bad sign.   

    "Hey, Aspen. I was gonna talk to you earlier but you ran away." She starts off, gesturing for me to take a seat. I balance myself on the island and take a bite of the pizza,the cheese dripping down my chin. 

 "Shoot," I say between chews,stretching the cheese out as far as possible before it breaks. "I'm all ears." 

"Your dad called." She starts, holding her breath to see my reaction. "He wanted to talk to you." 

"What'd you tell him?" I ask, trying to keep the cheese intact as I spread it across my chin. 

"That you weren't home. I think you need to talk to him. You haven't talked to anyone since what happened." She says, fiddling with the crust on her pizza.  

"You know it's funny mom," I say dropping my pizza back in the box, suddenly losing my appetite. "How he show's up when everything goes to shit, but doesn't bother staying afterward."  

"Would you rather him not be there when things go bad?" She says. I can tell she's struggling to keep her cool by pulling her food apart. "Wouldn't that be worse?" 

"He's a fucking deadbeat! This was the one thing we could agree on, that dad's a little bitch!" I say starting to raise my voice. 

"He's your dad and he wants to talk to you!" She screams back." Why won't you let anyone love you Aspen?" 

"Becuase the last person I let love me is dead mom, That's why," I yell back, letting it sink in before continuing. "You don't even talk about her. She's a part of this family too. Why don't you care?" 

"Micheal is good person." She says, trying to change the subject.

"Paying child support does not make you a good person, mom," I scream. I can feel my face slowly getting red as the tomato sauce dripping from the pizza.I wipe it away and try to calm down, I haven't yelled at my mom in forever.  

 "Aspen, why are you making this about you. It's fucking not. It never is about you. You are not the only person who lost someone that day. I lost my daughter. I gave birth to her, she was a part of me. Don't you ever forget that. We're all grieving." The tears that stuck to my mom's cheeks were starting to slide down her face. I could tell my face mirrored hers. 

 There was a vibration in my back pocket, Caden. "It's never about me mom. Ever." I muttered running up the stairs two at a time, slamming the door. My shaking hands opened the message, it was just an address. Rummaging through my suitcase I picked out a pair of skinny jeans and a random shirt with a cardigan, tears still clinging to my cheeks. 

A take out a zip up sweater and grab the keys slamming the door behind me, but not before I see my mom hovering over a picture of Isabella, shaking with sobs. I input the address into my GPS and turn on the radio, trying to forget everything. But like I said, you always remember. 

   I think It was this point in time that I knew I was desperate. Maybe it was now, or maybe it was when I pulled into the old abanded barn with heavy music and lights coming out it. All I know was that I just wanted to forget. Stumbling out of the car I pick up the nearest beer and chug it down, hating the sour sting at the back of the throat.  pushed my way in, seeing kids dancing inside the barn, people making out in the back and throbbing bodies.