Across the Railroad Tracks

Chapter 7

I stretched as I got close to my grandma’s house. Everyone looked at me as I climbed the fence.

“What?” I asked when I got over the fence. They stared at me.

“You were riding a train!?” Jane yelled after a while of them looking at me and I laughed. I nodded.

“I was. I went by the rail yard and hopped on the twelve o’clock for a quick ride home. It was a real rush. I still feel some adrenaline in my veins.” I said and walked past them.

“She’s a crazy girl. Good luck Riley.” I heard Noah say as I went inside. I looked over my shoulder at them and gave a look that signaled that I heard him. I closed the door and went into the kitchen. My grandma walked in wearing a suit and I grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

“Lilly I have to leave for work,” She reached into her purse and handed me a fifty and a ten,”I’ll be working late so you deal with dinner. You can keep what is left over.” She then kissed my cheek.

“Also try not to ride anymore trains while I’m gone.” She sad as she was walking out the door.

“No promises.” I said and she smiled at me then left. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that is was noon. I sighed and walked towards my room. Lulu jumped out from under the couch in the living room and tried to attack my shoe while it was still on my foot. I chuckled, bent down and picked her up. I continued towards my room with Lulu hitting the cap on my soda that I was carrying under my arm.

“You are one weird cat.” I said as I went into my room. I sat her down on my bed, put my soda on my dresser and walked over to my closet. I got my cloths for a shower, patted Lulu on the head and went into the bathroom. After my shower and taking two ticks, who didn’t have a chance to burrow off, of me I walked back into my room and started brushing my hair. After tiring my brushed hair in a ponytail I walked into the living room and saw everyone watching tv.

“What are you guys watching?”I asked. I leaned foreword and saw a creepy doll that gave me the chills.

“The conjuring…we told Mason not to pick it since he knows that I scare easily!” Jane yelled and I rolled my eyes. I took the remote from Mason and walked away.

“For playing a movie that will scare Jane You don’t get the remote until diner Mason.” I heard him start to whine and I turned around.

“I will spank you.” I said and he shut up. I smirked and placed the remote onto of the fridge.

After a few hours I was getting hungry. I went into the kitchen and looked at the clock. It was six. I went into the living room.

“What do you guys want for dinner?”

“Pizza!” Mason yelled and Jane handed me her phone.

“Ok then.” I then ordered and everyone else went outside. When the pizza arrived I paid for it and went out back. They were over the fence and I ran over with pizza in hand.

“Boys catch!” I yelled and threw the pizza’s over the fence. They each caught one and I hopped over the fence. I swiped the boxes and ran off towards the tree house with everyone chasing me.

“My pizza I paid for it!” I yelled as I neared the tree house. Next thing I know I’m tackled to the ground and the pizza in front of me on the ground. I looked back to see who had tackled me.

“Noah!?” I yelled.

“Hey I was on the football team at my high school. I needed to do something to stop you.” I rolled my eyes as he got off me. I rolled over and propped myself up with my elbows. He offered his hand, I took it and he pulled me up.

“Thanks…now bye!” I picked the pizza up, ran to the tree, climbed the ladder and pulled up the ladder before they got to the tree.

“Lilly!” They yelled simultaneously. I snickered and leaned over the edge. I looked at them and smirked. I stood up, got the lamps on and set up then let down the ladder. I heard them fight and scramble for who was going to head up first. I then saw Jane poke her head up, she shrieked and she disappeared from sight. Eventually they all got up and I threw each of them a soda.

“Hey Lil…” I heard Mason ask and I looked at him.

“Yeah?”

“How about you tell us about yourself.” He asked and I looked at the lamp in the middle of our circle. I then began to speak while the memories flashed in front of my eyes.

“Well… ok. I’m seventeen and…I have had a rough life.” The vision of the day things went to hell started to play.

“When I was five I was living in a house across the street from my grandmothers house when things went down the toilet. My dad was fired from his job as a crane operator because he accidentally put a few co-workers in the hospital. He was brought to court, had to spend a few months in jail, had to give all the savings we had to pay both his bail and the hospital bills. When he got out of jail he and my mother started arguing all the time and he struggling to hold down a job. We had to sell my toys to get by, I was pulled out of my school and placed in a cheaper one across the tracks. We eventually lost the house and had to move into a small shack with one room, a bathroom that didn’t work and didn’t have a shower, and the living room was combined with the kitchen if you could even call it that. We went days without eating…and when it was my first year of high school I was exposed to the gangs and drugs I had to deal with every day.”

“It was the second week of high school where I tried drugs for the first time. In my sophomore year I was sent into rehab because I had become an addict. When I got out I had found out that my mother had become a prostitute. My father, of course, didn’t know it. I ran away for a few weeks and I found this tree house the first day. When I decided to go home I dealt with my dad bouncing from job to job, my mom offering her body and going to a school that barely taught you anything.” The memories had stopped replaying and the lamp came into view. I took a bite of my slice of pizza.

“Wow…you’ve had a horrible life.” Riley said after a minute.

“What…drug did you even get addicted to?” I laughed slightly.

“More like drugs. Weed, cocaine and they described alcohol as a drug at rehab. I’m clean though…I just hope my parents are getting by.” We spent the next few hours mocking around, eating, talking and I feed the animals that wondered in.

“Anyone want to go to the rail yard?” I asked as I blew out the lamps. they all shrugged and we headed down the ladder.

“To the rail yard it is!” I yelled as I jumped on Riley’s back.