Famous

6

I awoke with a headache and a dry throat. I rubbed the side of my head. "Mae! Hey finally you awoke, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today?" I turned to the side and saw Meredith's plain white converse directly in front of my eyes. I lifted my head. It was pounding.

"Meredith?" I asked sleepy, feeling as if I was on anesthesia. I looked up to Meredith's hair. Today it was patted down into two fishtail braids that ended near her bellybutton which was visible due to the crop top she was wearing. Her ripped denim shorts looked the same as the ones I bought yesterday, and was wearing now. The hot sun burned on my cheeks and I doubt it was even 8 a.m.

"So? You coming with or not?" Meredith asked me, now on her feet. She pulled me up onto my feet and everything instantly went dizzy.

"Are you sure you weren't the one drinking last night?" I laughed. I hadn't laughed for real in a long time. Meredith turned, also smiling and began walking down the court. My father's house was at the very end of the court, so his house was the one everyone saw when they drove in. I looked back and saw my father's window shade open. He obviously didn't sleep last night. He was probably too drunk to care.

"Mae just forget about your father and everything you think about him for just today." As she spoke I heard the calmness in her voice.

"Hey Mae... What's this?" I turned towards her, away from my house. She held a small white slip of paper in-between her fingertips.

"I don't know... What does it say?" I asked puzzled.

"Oh as if you don't know," she exclaimed smiling.

"Meredith I'm being serious, I actually don't know what you're looking at." 

A smug smile crept across her lips as she spoke, "Call me!" I looked at her puzzled. "Who's the secret boyfriend?"

"What?"

"This was sticking out of your back pocket."

"I actually don't know where this came from." She didn't answer, instead she was still smiling at me. "Wait these pants, I bought them from the op shop or something! They were probably in them before I bought them."

"You actually shopped at an op shop?" She asked a blank look on her face.

"Yeah, had to get away from some screaming fans..."

"Huh?"

"It's a long story..."

"Well, why don't we call this number and see who answers?" Meredith laughed as she fiddled with the numbed between her pinkie and thumb. She started running down the street towards her house laughing.

"Meredith!" I laughed. I had to follow her, otherwise she would get us both into trouble.

I sat on her pink fuzzy double bed, across from her. Meredith sat on the ledge of the open window. "Are you ready for this?" she asked me.

"Im ready for nothing, because that's what it's going to be." I sarcastically laughed.

"Just you wait!" she excitedly giggled and then dialed the number. I had no idea why but my heart got faster and faster as the phone rang. It rang for what seemed like forever, until a males voice answered.

"Hello, who is this?" the voice asked.

"More importantly who is this?" Meredith asked back. I reached for the phone but she refused to give it to me. She pulled away from the window ledge and walked across the room. The hot summer air wafted into the room, making my skin feel warm.

"Uhhh I asked first," the male's voice mumbled on the other end of the line.

"My name is Meredith Walker, now it's your turn."

"I got to go."

"No mystery man please!" Meredith laughed. As the phone beeped due to the call ended she threw her iPhone onto the bed beside me. "Well that was no fun at all."

"Told you it was nothing."

"No it was something, he just doesn't want us to know." I rolled my eyes at Meredith. How far was she going to take this? If this was my friend back home, they would have given up by now. I noticed Meredith's usually brown hair glisten in the sunlight, turning it a soft red.

"I better be getting home, my dad- Jeremy won't know where I am," I lied as I stood up. Her carpet made my toes nice and comfortable.

"Really? Must suck for you, my parents are no way protective of me."

At first I wondered how that sucked for me, but I didn't say anything. I just smiled at her and walked out of the room. I let myself out of her house and walked towards Jeremy's. I didn't like to call him my dad or father, because usually fathers were there for their children. Mine wasn't. I didn't even know mine.

I reached the house and Jeremy lay on the couch probably drunk. "Dad."

I cringed at even saying the word. I shook his shoulder and his tongue slowly slipped out of his mouth. I shook his head and slapped his cheek but he didn't respond to me. I pulled out my phone and braced myself to call 911 when his eyes flicked open and he looked at me. I had never seen a pair of eyes that were so bloodshot. 

"You've got to be kidding me," I spoke as I got up from my knees. 

I ran across the floor to the stairs and shouted back at my father, "I wish I hadn't woken you."