Tamed [BOOK ONE]

Chapter 18

Toby's Point of View

I walked lazily out of my bedroom and sat at the dining room table for dinner. I brought the food to my face, but I wasn't actually hungry. My mother sat across from me, her hair looking terrible and bags under her eyes. I remembered how beautiful my mother was before my father's death, I wanted her to go back to being that happy and cheerful person again.

"You have a good day?" She asked with some enthusiasm in her voice. Of course she would be happy on the day I break up with my girlfriend.

"Me and Natalie broke up."

"Who?"

"The girl that came over here with the flowers."

"Oh, her," my mother paused and took a bite of food, "you don't want her anyways son. She looked like a loud mouth and a hoochie mama. You don't want or need that in your life, she's better left in the hood where she belongs."

My heart cringed at the words my mother said. Was this the real world? Were we honestly decades away from slavery and segregation and still letting race influence us? I shook off my mother's comments and continued to eat dinner.

"Have you been looking at colleges?"

I shook my head, "I wanna go into the military. You know that."

"Why? So you can cause me hurt and pain like your father? Why not go to college and get a good corporate job."

"Can I live my life please? I'm not five years old, I don't need you making decisions for me. First you insult my girlfriend and then you tell me I'll end up like my father. I liked it better when you didn't give a damn."

I took my plate to the sink, tossed it in the sink, and went to my bedroom. I unlocked my phone and my heart hit a stone cold wall. There were several text messages between Nat and I still left up. I tried to move to something else, but I couldn't. All I could do was stare at how cute she acted in our text messages. I bit my bottom lip as I thought about what I was losing. Happiness. Natalie was honestly the first thing that actually made sense in my life since my dad died. I would miss our kisses and playfulness and just the essence of our relationship.

I sighed and through my phone against the floor. I tossed and turned until I could get in the right position for sleep, but I couldn't find it. I tossed and turned all night with even closing my eyes for a drop of sleep.

I rolled out of bed the next morning for school. My mother was nowhere in sight and that worried me. I probably had been a bit too harsh about my words, but I was upset. I didn't want to hurt my mother by joining the military, I only wanted to carry my father's legacy. I started up my car and made the long, silent drive to school.

The hallways were packed once I got to school and I bumped into almost everyone to make it to class. There was no longer a reason to linger in the hallways because Nat and I were over. Some part of me knew that we couldn't be officially over, Nat and I were perfect for each other. Stubborn, strong, independent, and deliciously sexy. I wondered through the hallways until I found my first block class.

I sat in the back with some of my friends as the bell rung and more students piled into the room.

"Toby? Early to class? Someone pinch me?"

"Yeah, I got dumped." I tried to laugh it off, but the pain in my heart prevented me from doing anything more than an awkward smile.

"By Nat?"

I nodded my head slowly and they burst out into laughter. The teacher looked up from his lesson plans but didn't say anything to us because we were the usual troublemakers.