The Boys and Me

21. Running

The drive was so smooth, it felt like a cloud. Yes, driving with a cast was hard but not as hard as you'd think. The doctor told me I was able to if I needed to. Maybe going to Tallahassee wasn't a 'need' in any other person's mind, but for me I needed a break and who better to go with than Heath?

Of course my cloud driving was cut short as I pulled into my driveway.

Not to mention I had to walk inside to hear my parents arguing.

"She doesn't need a car!" My mom protested.

"Once she finishes high school, she's done Carol. No more Alissa living with us. We'd be bad parents if we sent her off to college without a reliable car." He argued back.

"I just don't understand why it had to be expensive!" She scolded.

"Because I want her to get a lot of use out of it. I'm only ever going to buy her one car, so why not this one?" He said.

"Uh, guys?" I asked, closing the front door, them both looking to me.

"Alissa, give me those keys." My mom demanded, walking over to me.

"No! This is my car! Dad bought it for me" I protested.

"You don't need a car that flash Alissa, don't be stupid." My mom all but snarled.

"I'm going upstairs to relax" I said and my mom tried to stop me.

"Stop mom! He bought the car for me, it's nothing to do with you!" I said and she actually stopped as I turned and ran up the stairs.

I looked back briefly and saw my dad give me a wink of approval. Was he giving me permission to speak to my mother that way? I shrugged it off and began to pack some decent clothes, getting ready for my trip away. I had no idea where we'd stay or what we'd do there but I wanted to get out of this house and I wanted to be with Heath.

Heath called me and I smiled to myself before picking up, making sure my window was closed. Scotty didn't appear to be in his room anyway.

"Hey" I answered quietly, not wanting anyone but me to hear this conversation.

"Hey, I'm at the mall, how long will you be? Because I need like half an hour to sort something out" He said and I sighed.

"I want to get out of this house. I'll text you when I get underground, you take your time" I said and he sighed in return.

"I can't wait for this" He said and I felt myself grinning.

"Me neither." I said.

"I got us a place to sleep" He said.

"I think I'm half running away this weekend" I said and he laughed.

"What the hell do you mean?" He asked.

"Dad knows I'm going, mom doesn't. She won't let me." I said and he laughed.

"Didn't take you for the dysfunctional family type" He said and I rolled my eyes.

"You don't know the half of it." I muttered and he laughed.

"You're right, my parents are still together, surprisingly. Given how bad I turned out" He said with another laugh.

"Whatever, I'll text you when I get there" I said as we hung up. I sighed to myself as I finished packing, walking downstairs.

"Alissa, where on earth are you going with that bag?" She asked and I stopped.

"I'm going to stay with a friend in Tallahassee for the weekend" I said and she shook her head.

"No you're not, you're staying here and your father is returning that car!" She said.