Blurred

Chapter 3

  The rest of the afternoon and evening went well, that is until Joey got home. He waddled in, ovbiously in a drunken stupor. It was already dark outside, but I didn't bother asking where he had been. It really didn't matter; not as long as he stayed away from me. I tried escaping the room before he could say anything, but I was too late.

  "Sadie-cakes, grab me a beer before you go up, will ya?"

  "No, Joey. Get it yourself. If you can even make it that far." I headed for the stairs when Joey said something I might never forget.

  "Your mother would've done it." I turned around and gave him the coldest stare I've ever given anyone.

  "No, she wouldn't have. And as a matter of fact, if you hadn't killed her maybe you wouldn't be drinking a dozen a day anyways!" I stomped up the stairs and locked my bedroom door behind me. I thanked the lord that I was the only one who had a key. I sank down behind the door, burying my face in my hands. I crawled into bed, curling up with my pillow and Cubbie, who sat at the foot of my bed. I heard a bottle breaking, then another, then another. I heard Joey grunting in anger. I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I stopped them. I hadn't cried since my mother's death, and I wasn't about to start now. I fell asleep to the sound of bottles shattering below me.

  I woke up the next morning  with jumbled thoughts. I got ready lazily and slipped out of the house before anyone could see, even Cubbie. I got into my car and sped off towards Jenna's house, hoping we wouldn't be late. I pulled up and found Jenna sitting on her porch alone. "Were you alone?" I asked as she got in the car.

  "Uh... yeah. My mom leaves for work early." She was lying, but I wasn't going to ask her anymore; I knew how it felt. We drove in silence for a while until I realized I still had questions.

  "So how old is Eric?" I asked, even though I knew she probably didn't want to talk about it.

  "Eric? He's a  junior. I think he's seventeen. My brother, Dean is a junior too. I'm not sure why he likes Eric at all; I mean, normally he hangs out with really nice people. It's just weird." She turned away, looking out the window. I knew she was embarrassed, but I wanted to help.

  "Well if he tries to hurt you again you should tell someone." I said. It was wrong of me to expect her to just tell someone, but she should've the first time around. "If it makes you feel any better, my life's pretty messed up too."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'll tell you some other time, okay?" I said as we pulled up to the school. She nodded and thanked me before heading off for class. I walked to homeroom and went through my daily routine. When I walked by the alley, it was empty of Jenna and Eric. I was actually proud of myself; I had helped someone. I didn't get a note for the counselor's office, and no one really picked on me too much. For once, I actually had a good day.

  The rest of the week went by in a snap, and it had been a good week. Jenna seemed to be happier too, for obvious reasons. Joey stayed out of my way for the rest of the week, and when Friday came, I was actually kind of sad that I wasn't going to go to school. Jenna caught up with me in the hall as soon as the final bell rang on Friday afternoon. "Hey!" She said, poking me in the back. "Do you see that guy over there?" I looked over to where she pointed subtly. I heard her snicker as I wiped the awed look off of my face. He was tall, he was cute, and he was... Talking to Jamie Meyers?

  "Jenna, he's talking to Jamie."

  "Well I caught him staring at you earlier at your car." She said with a smirk. I turned around and began walking towards my car. I doubted that anyone in the school would look at me, especially someone like him... Jenna's voice snapped me back into reality. I was about a centimeter away from driving straight into a parked car. "I know what you're thinking about." She said. She knew exactly how to push my buttons, even just being my friend for a week.

  "Have a nice weekend!" I said over enthusiastically. She smilled and signaled that she would call me later. I was happy for once. But you know what they say, nothing good ever lasts...