Bad Love (on hold)

Chapter 10

I stared at the ceiling, staring at the intricate patterns until a voice broke me away from my chain of focus. There were a multitude of voices downstairs, the house may have been massive, but the voices bounced off the walls. I snug deeper into the comfort of the bed, not in the mood to engage in any conversation.

I looked at my phone, noticing the string of messages Kira had sent me. I lightly smiled at her concern, texting back a brief reply before putting my phone away. The voices seemed to be getting closer, already on the second level of the house. There was the Francos, Caleb and a girl. She sounded vaguely familiar, but her voice was muffled as they were at the far end of the floor. I realised that I didn't care finding out about who this girl was. It's probably their cousin or something.

The voices came closer to my room, alarm bells rang in my head as I didn't want any of them seeing my tear-stained face and sullen mood. I quickly buried my head under the duvet, looking as if I was sleeping rather than anticipating their arrival. The door of my room suddenly opened, but due to my lack of vision from the covers, I couldn't see who this girl was.

'Didn't we tell you that we fostered a girl about your age?' Mrs Franco said. So this family member must go to the same school as me, I thought. I couldn't see their facial expressions, but I could picture the warm grin on her face.

'Really, what's her name?' The girl said. I could hear her voice clearly, and it sounded very much like someone I disliked. Stacy, or Lady Macbeth. What was she doing here? If she found out I was living here, hell would break loose.

'The name's Marina.' I said, making my voice as stifled as possible. I could envision the confused looks on the Francos of this moment. I hoped they would go along with my plan.

'That's her middle name.' Mrs Franco said, baffled at what I had just said. I almost laughed at how she had jumped to that conclusion. I was tempted to peek out of the duvet to see the reactions on their faces.

Stacy complimented my name, but not before she walked out of the room with the Francos in tow. I gratefully peeled the duvet off of me, expecting to see the room empty. However, I saw a figure standing by my bed, an expression of worry etched on his face.

'Caleb, what are you doing here?' I asked, surprised at his willingness to actually come to me. From his expression, he clearly needed my help.

'You can't tell Stacy that you are staying here.' He said simply, as if I would just obey his command.

'Oh yeah, what's in it for me?' I asked, a smirk plastered on my face. Finally I had control, issuing him my terms and conditions.

'I'll make sure Stacy lays off you.' He promised, distressed of the reaction that Stacy would have, if she found out about me staying there.

'Deal, now get the fuck out of my room.' I said, before falling on the bed once more.

His expression hardened. 'Don't expect me to be nice to you.' He growled, before walking out of my room. This guy had anger issues, I only told him to get out politely. Well, as politely as I could.

-

I woke up, peering at my surroundings before fear crept in. Where was I? Oh I remember, staying in the same house as my enemy, what joy. I was still in yesterday's clothes, making me feel uncomfortable against the duvet. I quickly texted Allison about meeting to pack my belongings. The time was currently 6:50. Record-breaking for me, considering that I usually woke up pretty late.

Allison texted back, telling me to come to the house after breakfast, so that I could get a fresh supply of clothes. It was college today, so I obviously needed to wear new clothes. It was social embarrassment if you wore the same clothes for two days at a time.

I went to the bathroom on the second floor, brushing my teeth before walking downstairs. I still couldn't get used to the feel of this house. I missed the homely feel of my house deeply. I hoped my Dad would finish recovery soon.

Mrs Franco had been up for a while, judging by the smell of food drifting down the hallway. I walked into the dining room, seeing the rack of pancakes, cereal, juice and breakfast bars greet me. She smiled at my reaction.

'We like to go all out for breakfast.' She said, gesturing for me to sit down. Mr Franco's eyes were trying to drift asleep, as his wife slapped his arm in amusement.

'Lucy dear, I'm so sorry for being forward yesterday at dinner.' She looked at me with sadness. 'It must be hard for you and I was ignorant.'

'It's fine.' I said, taking a bite of the pancakes, sugary sweetness exploding in my mouth.

'Now can you explain to me. Is your middle name really Marina?' Mr Franco said, before I burst out laughing. 'No, it's just a name I like.' I lied easily, annoyed at myself for having to do this to a nice couple.

Mrs Franco explained that Caleb had gone to Stacy's house for breakfast. She said this with no anger or conviction, Stacy had really hit it off with her. I nodded, before proceeding to take a sip of the orange juice.

I finished my breakfast, before grabbing my bag and rushing out of the door. Allison was waiting outside in her car, smiling at me. 'I could honestly kill you.' I said.

'But you're not.' She said, humour present in her voice.

After ten minutes, we had reached my house. I forged the key out of my bag, opening the door. The familiar atmosphere of this house came back to me. 'What's going to happen to this house?' I asked.

'Seeing as your Dad is in rehab and will most likely be there for a while, it's going to be rented out.' She said, sitting on one of the armchairs.

I hurried to my bedroom, trying to seek out my clothes. I quickly dressed, before realising that most of my things were still in suitcases, as I had just moved here a week ago. I asked Allison for help carrying the cases downstairs.

'I'll drop these to the Francos house, but I need to drop you off to school first.' She said, struggling with a particularly heavy case.

'Thanks.' I said, helping her carry the cases to her car. It was hard work, considering they all weighed a ton. It wasn't my fault that I had a lot of clothes.

-

After she had dropped me to school, I checked my timetable. I had Chemistry again, with Caleb. I cursed the person who made my timetable, before making my way to the Science department. Before I could get to the classroom, I saw someone block my way.

I looked up, seeing Stacy's calculated glare. Standing behind her was none other than Caleb. I tried to move past her, but she gripped my wrist. 'Got a problem?' I asked, looking more at Caleb than her, warning him of the agreement we had sealed yesterday. He didn't make any attempts to silence his girlfriend.

'Yes I do. Because of you, I have this monstrosity on my head.' She looked at me angrily, motioning to the purple bruise on her head. Not even makeup could conceal it, I tried to suppress a smile.

'It really adds some colour to your face.' I added helpfully. She narrowed her eyes, unsatisfied with my remark.

'You won't get away with this bitch.' She snarled, coming closer. I could see Caleb tense behind her. I silently sent him a message to get this crazy shit away from me.

'Stacy, get away from her.' He said, pushing her towards him. She looked at him in shock, waiting for him to tell him this was a prank. You're not going to bother her anymore.' He said calmly.

Point one to me.