Earth Angel

Chapter 5

When I got in, the house was dark, and it felt so soothing. I was finally in the safety of my own home. But my mom was still up. She was sitting in the living room.

"Margaret? Is that you?" She asked.

"Uh, yes.." I answered. She turned to me.

"You were out late! Did you get anything?"

"No.. we just looked." I wanted her to stop talking to me so I could go upstairs and just sleep.

"Okay.. well, go upstairs, take a nice bath, and get into bed." She dismissed me.

After my bath, I told Jan everything. She told me that Theresa was a bitch, that those men are going to hell, and of course she wanted to know if Dominic was hot. I said no.

When I pulled my covers over my body, I was dead. This all made me so tired, and I was so done with today. I wanted it to be over.

....

The next day, Drew came over. He drove me to his house, and we talked in his backyard. It was huge. His whole house was gigantic.

"This is a beautiful backyard," I told him. He smiled.

"It's all my mom, of course," He picked a tulip from the ground and gave it to me. "Don't tell my mother." I gave him a small smile and took it.

"Drew, have you ever been downtown?" I asked him. Maybe he'd know a bit more of why it was such an awful area.

"Oh, boy. Yes, I have. I'll never go back," He rolled his eyes. "They're all dirty, and they live in these small apartments that have broken fire escapes! It's awful. I don't believe there's one person there who would even just say 'Excuse me'." That was a lot more than I expected.

"It is scary down there," I said. His brow creased with worry.

"Why? Did something happen?" I shuddered at the memory.

"No," I lied. "Just curious. Everyone talks about it so.."

"Don't go down there. Just stay on the good side," He warned. "There's more of people like me." He laughed a little, but I wasn't sure if he was joking or if he was serious.

Later, when I exited the giant gates at the end of his long driveway, I thought about his family. I always had something to think about on walks home.

But I really started thinking. Who was Drew, really? All he did was buy 15 cents worth of tobacco for me. Dominic saved my life.

Wait, why was I thinking about Dominic?

I shook my head and focused on Drew. I thought about how his parents laughed because Drew's little brother told them about a boy he met at the park with flip flops on. What was that supposed to mean? Is it dumb for boys to wear flip flops? Isn't it summer?

Why was I starting to point out bad things about Drew? He seemed nice.. and we kissed, and I felt like I was in love. But suddenly I was starting to feel like he was one of the snotty rich kids that people at my school dislike.

But why now? I guess ever since Dominic came to the rescue last night, I started thinking about if Drew would do that kind of thing. Maybe he'd just buy me tobacco and leave.

Margaret stop! Oh goodness, I think too much into things. These second thoughts about Drew were starting to anger me, and I didn't want to be angry at him.

....

I went two weeks without telling Jan anything about how I was feeling. I tried to figure it out on my own. And I couldn't.