hard | daniel seavey

chapter one

- AUGUST 29, 2019

   My phone buzzed repeatedly as I tried to pay attention to Mrs. Laucks lecture on Wuthering Heights. I knew it was Aaron and I should've at least checked to see what he wanted, but he had also made me miss all last week and I couldn't afford to skip school anymore. I sighed and turnt my phone over, seeing the spam of text messages before turning my phone off completely.

    When Aaron and I first moved out here, things were great and we were happier than ever. Then out of nowhere, he started to fight with me over everything. He became oddly overprotective and I wasn't allowed to leave our apartment without him for a while. I finally convinced him to let me do my own stuff, but he didn't fail to make himself known in the situation.

    When class was over, I noticed a younger looking kid walk over to Mrs. Laucks. He wasn't in our class, so I assumed he was in one of her other classes. As I was packing up they both turned to look at me and right as I was about to leave, Mrs. Laucks called my name.

    "Mr. Herron here is one of our online students," She began and looked down at a stack of papers on her desk. He nodded at me and I smiled back. "He seems to be late on some registration papers so could you please show him the way to Mr. Neff's office?"

   "Yea, sure," I smiled as she handed the papers to him. I led him out to the hall as I turned my phone back on.

    "I would hate to actually be in her class. She's kinda out there," He joked as he walked beside me. He wasn't wrong, as nice as Mrs. Laucks was, she did have some loose screws.

     "You could only imagine. Last week she went on a half hour tangent on why Anne and Charlotte Brontë deserved more recognition than Emily. It was.. interesting." I laughed back as my phone rang. It was Aaron. Yet again. I sighed and declined it, quickly texting him that I was busy.

      "Trouble in paradise?" The kid asked me.

       "I guess you could say that," I pushed the topic aside. Aaron was the last thing I wanted to think about right now. "So, why are you taking online classes? Don't have the energy to come to campus?"

     "No, actually." He laughed at my little joke. "I'm in a band so we're always traveling. If it were my choice, I'd just skip school all together."

     "Ahh I see," I looked down at his outfit. He wore a pair of white Nikes, a baggy pair of black jeans, and a black crewneck. He wore chained necklaces and had his ears pierced, as well. "I wouldn't think you were a musician if you didn't mention it."

    "Then would you believe me if I told you I was in a boy band?" Once we reached Mr. Neff's office, I stopped and looked at him.

     "Yes and no. No, because you don't seem the type to dress in tight skinny jeans and wear tight shirts. Yes, because you do have the face 13 year old girls would die over."

     "I'll have you know that my girlfriend is 18 and would die for this face," He pointed to himself and tried to stay serious. "You seem really cool, you should come hang out with me and my band sometime."

       "I don't even know your first name, Herron," I threw at him. My phone buzzed in my pocket for the fifth time. I sighed and looked at it.

     Aaron: Madison where are you
     Aaron: Why aren't you answering me
     Aaron: Answer me
     Aaron: Call me now.

   "It's Zach," He said and looked at me sincerely. "Let me at least give you my number. Just incase paradise seems to go downhill again, I'll swing by and we could do something to get your mind off of things."

    "We just met, why does talking to you feel like talking to a best friend?" I laughed to myself and handed him my phone.

    "Some friendships are just meant to be, which gives you even more of a reason to hang out with my band and me." Zach typed his number into my phone and handed it back.

     "Okay, Mr. Herron, I'll think about it. Now go turn in your registration papers before you have to transfer schools."

       "See ya around," Zach laughed before walking into Mr. Neff's office.

     It felt good talking to someone that wasn't Aaron. Although we had lived out here for a month now, the only friend I seemed to have made was the middle aged barista at the corner cafe. Maybe hanging out with Zach and his band was a good idea, but it could never happen. Aaron would loose his shit if he found out I went and had fun without him.

   While driving home, I could only imagine what laid waiting for me. Would Aaron be high or drink, looking for a fight, sad and moopy because I was in class and not payong attention to him? Maybe all of the above? The elevator ride up gave me a quick second to breathe before walking into the messy relationship that had taken over my life. When I walked into our apartment, empty beer bottles laid on the coffee table. Aaron sat on the couch with his head in his hands.

   "Why haven't you been answering me all day?" He asked sternly. He followed me as I walked to our room to put my school things away.

     "I was at school. Trying to focus since someone made me miss all my classes last week," I threw back. I was putting my bag in my closet when a strong hand gripped my wrist.

     "Don't talk to me like that," Aaron hissed through his teeth. The grip he had on my wrist was starting to hurt. I tired shaking out of it, but it was useless.

    "Get off of me, Aaron!" I yelled at him. He scoffed and let go of my wrist.

     "I'm going out. Stay here." Was all he said before grabbing his keys and slamming the front door shut.

      I stood there, wondering what I had done that lead my life to this. I was barley 19, struggling in school, unable to find a job, and living with my addict boyfriend. It were moments like these where I wished I had a friend to talk to about this.

   But I didn't, and I guess that was my fault for letting Aaron take complete control of my life.