Playing Favorites

Always Accept Free Food

6 am is way too damn early to be getting up but somehow, I've been doing it for the past two weeks. It's not completely terrible because I don't have to walk to and from school anymore. Miss Paulson insists on giving me rides considering we're going the same place anyway. After I'm dressed and ready, I grab a granola bar and head outside.

"Good morning." Miss Paulson says as I climb into her Jeep.

"Is it really though?" I say opening my breakfast.

"Here sweetie." She hands me something wrapped in a warm paper towel. I open it to find a breakfast sandwich.

"Are you not hungry or something?"

"No, I ate hun. It's yours." She says stopping at a light.

"You don't have to do that ya know. You give me rides and extra help with homework...in classes that aren't even yours." I laugh. "I've been taking care of myself for a long time. So you really don't have to do all this."

"I like helping you with your work and giving you rides. Gives me someone to talk to in the car. And as for the food, just eat it."

"Okay thanks." I laugh.

"Any plans for the weekend?" She asks turning into the school parking lot.

"Applications for college, scholarships, and lots of cartoon."

A big smile appears on her face. "Did you finish your paper?"

"Did you grade my test?" We get out of the car and walk inside.

"No." She mumbles.

"Well I did my paper."

"Damn it." She mumbles and laughs.

We get to her classroom and the day begins. English, painting, my aide hour with Paulson, and so on till the day was over. I grabbed my bag from my locker and met Miss Paulson at her classroom.

"Ready?" She asks as she locks up her room.

"Jesus Christ get me out of here." I say as we walk. She seems nervous. What the heck is wrong with her? "You good?"

"Oh yeah." she says getting in the car. The ride is silent, there's a first. "Since you're not doing anything would you want to have dinner with me? I'll help you with application stuff and I'm making-"

"Miss Paulson, I'm very thankful but I'm not a charity case... I told you you don't have to do that." I awkwardly turn towards the window.

"Oh god no Riley I didn't mean it that way." She says quickly.

"It's fine, I promise. Just..." I bite my lip. "Just don't look down on me like some helpless child Miss Paulson."

"I don't Ry." My heart flutters at the way she sounds so genuine. "And I told you, call me Sarah when it's just us. Miss Paulson still just sounds weird to me."

I smile. "Yeah...you passed my house."

"I thought you were eating with me?" She says pulling into her garage.

"Well I guess I am now."

"Good." I follow her out of the garage and into her house. "Wow, this is nice."

"Thanks. I fixed it up a little after I moved in. Redid a lot of it."

I throw my bag to the floor by the couch and walk over to her huge CD case. It's practically a whole wall of CDs. "Ooh." I pull the Hall & Oates off the shelf and pop it into the stereo. Rich Girl starts to play, and I sway a little remembering always listening to this when I was little.

"You listen to Hall & Oates?" Sarah laughs.

"Since I was like 2." I go back to the couch and pull my laptop out of my backpack. "Look."

I pull up a video and me when I was a baby. I was in a little mermaid swimsuit singing You Make My Dreams Come True.

"Oh. My. God." She says, pulling the laptop from me. "This is adorable!"

"Ry, say love you Daddy!" My mother's voice says on the video.

"Loveh daddy." I say shyly.

"Can't wait for you to come home!"

"Come home, daddy."

My mother's voice rings in my ears and I shut the computer. I didn't realize but my eyes are squeezed shut.

"Sorry," I awkwardly laugh. "I forgot that was in there."

"It's alright sweetie." She starts to hold out her hand to me but I'm already jumping up off the couch.

"Uh, where's your bathroom?"

"Down the hall to the left. Darling are you-"

She stops when she hears the door shut behind me. I feel heart shattering while my body aches. I can't stand to hear my mother's voice. It strikes a vain that runs through my whole body and it feels as if someone is ringing out my heart and lungs like an old dishrag. I miss her so much.

*Sarah's POV*

"Riley," I knock. "Honey are you okay? You've been on there for a while."

The door swings open and I almost fall over. "Peachy." She says. I can hear the sadness in her voice. At least she didn't cry, I don't think.

"You wanna eat?" I suggest.

"I'd rather drink." She walks to the couch and sits.

I know this isn't okay, but the girl is having a bad day. So what, a glass of wine won't kill her. I grab two wine glasses and one of my favorite bottles from the wine rack.

"Here, hun." I pop open the fresh bottle and pour her a big glass.

"Thanks."

I sit between her and the armrest and turn the radio off with the remote. For a minute there's only silence and the sound of us drinking wine. She's already gulped it down.

"You shouldn't drink like that Ry."

"If I wanted to be bossed around I wouldn't have gotten emancipated Sarah." She says numbly.

"You know I just don't want you to-"

"I know! I know..." She looks down.

Slowly she puts her wine glass on the coffee table and begins to lean. I don't really question when she cuddles against me and rests her head on my breasts. She uses her knee to push my leg to the side of the couch so she's lying flat between my legs. I can feel her heart pounding against my stomach, so I run my fingers through her hair to sooth her.

"You're alright baby." Her tears build up and run onto my chest. "Shh you're alright."

"It's not okay." Her voice is shaky.

"What Ry?" I assume she's upset about her parents until I suddenly feel her kiss right between my breasts.

"I'm sorry." She says but doesn't stop.

I lean my head back and let her lips wonder my neck. "Oh god." I moan.

Her head moves lower and starts sucking on the inside of my boob.

"Shit." She pushes herself of me. "I'm sorry."

"Ry-"

"I gotta go."

"No." I stop her. "You said you'd stay for dinner." I intertwine our fingers.

"Tomorrow?" I watch her stare at my lips. I hadn't realized I had been biting my lower lip.

"Sure."

A small nervous smile spreads across her lips. "I'll see you in the morning."