STARGIRL

18. Snake

week 2 without arabella bet she's probably coked out in some warehouse or dead, hopefully.

Kate's grip on the steering wheel of her red Prius wasn't letting up anytime soon. Her usually pale colored face was currently a flush with rich undertones of scarlet red.

Kate's anger was evident and Arabella, who was sitting in the passenger side staring at her bag in her lap stayed silent looking and feeling intensely disinterested.

Kate took in a deep breath and in her mind she began to count backwards from the number ten. She would often use this mechanism to keep herself calm whenever she was upset since she was never one to show any type of negative mood or behavior.

Kate's wide and signature smile came back into play and she reached over the center console to lightly tap Arabella's hands, Arabella looked at them all pale, long, and thin just like Kate was. She always kept a very short natural looking manicure too and that always complemented the small gold marriage ring she wore on her index finger.

When Kate reached back and placed her hand back on the steering wheel she let out a deep sigh, "Just tell me where you'd go for the last few weeks."

Arabella looked up and forward at the familiar road ahead of them, they were close to her high school but she hadn't been to school for the past few weeks at all.

Keeping the expression of calmness on her face Arabella pressed her lips together tightly, "Library." She responded curtly.

Kate nodded slowly, "So you're telling me you didn't go to school for two weeks just for the library?" She was trying her hardest to comprehend the teenager without finding a fallacy in her responses.

Kate had always found her foster daughter to be so responsible and trustworthy that when she found out Arabella was skipping out on school she was a bit skeptical of the whole thing.

Arabella annoyed and void, leaned her head against the window, "Yeah."

Kate was unsatisfied with the answers Arabella was giving, in a way she believed her but also, she didn't.

"Arabella you're lucky." Kate's sweet dulcet voice became a bit firm, "Lucky I didn't tell Wendy and lucky that the dean is giving you another chance."

Arabella felt herself tense up with hate hearing the name Wendy, Wendy being the bitch of her social worker who put so many restrictions on her involving her mother. Wendy never listened to Arabella's wants or needs and just placed her wherever she thought they'd be their strictest on her.

Arabella sat upwards again, "I know Kate, I'm sorry it won't happen again." She apologized sounding proper sincere all while feeling the exact opposite. She wasn't sorry for ditching school at all and she wasn't sorry for putting a strain on Kate either. Arabella found Kate worried too much about her and Arabella disliked it so much although she did somewhat care for Kate.

Nate was the piece of shit at her foster home, not Kate.

Arabella watched through dull eyes as Kate pulled up into the driveway of her school other cars dropping off their kids both in front and behind her.

Arabella collected her things rapidly, she really didn't want to be here at all but she couldn't let Wendy find out and send her to another town far away from her mom. Kate furrowed her brow together as Arabella opened the car door to get off.