I started the car and drove out of the parking lot. Pop music isn't all that bad. I might actually start listening to it. I pulled up into my driveway and right away I knew something was wrong. No one was screaming. I didn't hear a single word. I ran out of my car and opened my front door. I started crying and screaming my parents names. There was nothing. I continued walking around the house. I figured that maybe they were upstairs sleeping or something. I ran up the stairs, continuing to scream their names. I opened my parent's bedroom door and there they were, sleeping. Finally, some peace and quiet.
I walked down the stairs and into the livingroom. I saw a pile of money on the table. I bet that's from my father selling drugs. I don't think he would notice if I took some, would he? He shouldn't even be doing drugs, so in a way, I'm helping him. I took a small stack out of the pile and I ran to my room. I quickly started counting the money that I had just taken. There was about three hundred dollars. I wonder how much money he actually had sitting out on that table. I decided that I would go out there and check. I just wanted to count it.
I walked towards my door and as soon as I reached out for the doorknob I heard my father yell, "Who the fuck thought it would be funny to steal three hundred dollars from me?" How could he know? I guess drug addicts count their money. I heard my father start pounding on the table. I quickly ran over to my bed and I hid the money in a box with a lock on it. I have the key to this box at school. That's where I've kept my money ever since my dad stole my money to buy drugs. In a way, I'm taking back the money he stole from me in the first place.
As soon as I closed the box and locked it I heard pounding on my door. I quickly jumped onto my bed and grabbed my phone. I wanted to make it look like I had nothing to hide. My father flung the door open and angrily stomped towards me. I didn't cower in fear this time. When Bernard apologized to me today, something in my mind changed. I wasn't afraid anymore. I knew that if my father so much as laid a hand on me, I could take him. I'm not afraid of him anymore, I'm not afraid of anyone anymore.
My father looked me in the eyes as best as he could. His eyes were all red and bloodshot, his face was red and puffy and it looked like something was dragging it down, and he looked like he hadn't slept for a week. He screamed, "I didn't raise my little girl to steal from me! So, where's my fucking money and don't fucking lie to me you little slut!" I had tears forming in my eyes. I can't believe my own father just said that to me. I fight back the tears, get off my bed, stand in front of him so that I can look him straight in the face, and I asked, "What the fuck did you just call me?" He slapped me in the face and replied, "You fucking heard me! How dare you ask me to repeat myself, bitch?"
After he said that to me, I knew what I had to do. I pushed him down and I grabbed my phone. I ran towards my bedroom door but, he grabbed my ankle and I fell. My phone slid across my bedroom floor. I tried to reach it but, it was no use. It was too far away. I looked down at my father. He had such a strong grip on my ankle and it hurt. I used my other foot and I kicked him in the face. He screamed in pain. I was able to get to my feet and I grabbed my phone. I ran outside the front door.
As I ran down the road I texted Bernard, "Help me please!" He responded immediately, "Woah! Is this Bailey? Is everything okay? What's wrong? What happened?" I wanted to text him but my eyes were filled with tears and I couldn't see the letters. I called him. He answered and I could tell that there was worry in his voice. "B-Bailey? Is this you?" He asked. I was trying to calm down but I was breathing so heavily and crying so much that my words kept getting all choked up. "Y-Yea-h, it's B-Bail-ly. P-Please, h-help m-e-e." I could hear him grab his keys and jolt out the door. He started the car.
I knew that he obviously cared. He's actually going to help me. He wants to help me. This has never happened before, with anyone. I'm glad that I can call him my friend now.
"Bailey, I'm on my way. Tell me where you are. I'm coming to pick you up!" Bernard said in a worrisome tone.
"U-umm, I-I think I s-see a sign that says, "Mockingbird Lane"." I replied.
"Okay, I know exactly where that is! Stay there! I'm on Champagne Drive right now, do you see that road sign? It should be on the other side of Mockingbird Lane."
I walked over to the sign and replied, "Y-Yes, I s-see that sign." I could see his red sportscar.
I waved at him. He pulled his car up to me. He had a box of tissues in his hand and said, "Get in the car. You can talk to me about what happened when we get back to my house. You need to take a break and sit down. I can play some music if you want. I've heard you like punk rock or something like that." I walked over to the passenger side of his car and got in. "Would you like me to buckle you in, or?" I smiled and said, "Nah, I got it, t-thanks!" He smiled back at me.
He handed me his phone so that I could pick whatever song I wanted to listen to. I was super excited to see how nice he was being to me. He handed me the box of tissues and said, "Here, you might need these so that you can actually see the letters." He laughed. For that moment in time I actually didn't feel worthless. He made me feel like I was the center of his attention. I loved feeling this way. I wish that I could always feel this way.
I laughed with him and he looked out the windshield of his car. The light caught his eyes and they looked like they were sparkling. He laughed to himself and then looked at me. He could tell that I was staring at him and I quickly looked down at the ground. I was trying to act totally normal. "Bailey, is everything okay? You seem kind of stressed out about something. Would you rather just talk in the car?" I slowly looked up at him and replied, "I-If you want to go h-home you c-can." He started driving the car back to his house.
"Are you gonna play something?" Bernard asked. I grabbed his phone and put on, Drive by Halsey. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I thought you listened to like some kind of hard rock shit?" I laughed and replied, "I listen to Halsey. She's amazing! Also, have you seen how hot she is?" Oops, I just called her hot. He's definitely going to question me about this. I just know it. I sat there looking embarrassed.
"W-Wait, did you just say a chick is hot?" He replied.
"Y-Yeah, s-sorry." Bernard looked at me and said, "So, are you gay?" I looked up at him and said, "The technical word would be, "Pansexual"."
I can't believe that I just told Bernard my sexuality. I'm pretty sure that he's going to stop the car and regret ever talking to me. "Oh, that's cool. My brother, well, now she's my sister, is also pansexual. Maybe you two could hang out sometime. You guys might get along. She listens to rock music and wears band bracelets just like you. Now that I think about it, you guys are kind of like twins. Wow, this is awesome! My new friend is going to get along great with my family! You can come over all the time and hang out! I'm having a party this weekend! You should totally come, it's gonna be rad!"
I smiled at him and replied, "Your sister sounds pretty cool! Just there's one difference between us. I am a boy. I go by, "Blake"."
He looked at me and smiled. He pulled into his driveway and turned off the car. He looked me in the eyes and said, "I'm glad that you've decided to open up to me about this. If you want, we can go in and talk about what happened."
I was happy to finally have someone to talk to about my problems. I replied, "Yeah, that would actually be really nice, thanks!" He smiled and then lead me into his house.
