Our Past

Chapter 1

Norma sat in her room, shaking as her quiet sobs filled the room. Her brother had just left and was out with his friends. She couldn't believe the person who she needed the most had done something so cruel to her. She didn't want this life. She didn't want a mother who never cared and she most definitely didn't want an abusive father.
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Alex sat with his mother, talking about random things as she stared at the wall.
"Do you think I have a chance with this girl?" Alex asked.
Silence. She's probably too drugged up to answer. Alex thought.
"You're probably right. She probably won't date me." Alex stated, acting like his mother answered.
It had been like this for over three years. His family was never this dysfunctional. They used to be happy; there was never alcohol in the house and definitely no over-use of pills.
He stared at his mother, she had lost her color and her eyes weren't even close to being as happy as they used to be. Alex had to look away or he would break down again.
He loved his mother to pieces and hated seeing her like this. The silence between them was almost sickening. He hated when she never said anything because his mother loved to talk, but now, she never did.
"I don't like the girl you described," Theresa whispered, looking at her son emotionless.
Alex smiled, "Why not?".
It took a minute before there was a response.
"You don't like girls like that. I know you don't. I just want you to be happy and with the girl, you want to be with." Theresa replied
"Mom?" Alex asked
"Yes," Theresa responded
"We should go somewhere. Somewhere were you can be happy, even if it's just for a little bit." Alex said, having hope that his mother would agree.
"Come here," Theresa said.
Alex obeyed, walking over to his mother after getting up from the end of the bed. As he stood in front of his pale mother, she slowly grabbed Alex's hand and gently pulled him on the bed, moving over. Alex laid next to her and held her close. This was rare for them and he was beyond happy.
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Norma woke up to ruckus downstairs. It was twelve in the morning and she wasn't in the mood to deal with her father. Norma slowly got up from the cold, wooden floor she had fallen asleep on and locked her bedroom door. As soon as she stepped away from her door, she heard loud footsteps on the stairs, then towards her bedroom. Norma backed away and leaned back, against her window.
There was a loud band on the bedroom door and it didn't stop for half an hour. Norma silently cried.
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Later that morning, Norma woke up with a throbbing headache. She sat up from her bed and put her palm on her forehead; squeezing her eyes shut.
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Alex looked at himself in the mirror. He wasn't in the mood to look good for anyone. It was one of his off days and dressing up for school wasn't his thing.
Alex wore grey sweats and a white sweatshirt. It was cold in the town today so nobody would question his attire.
-
Norma glanced at herself once more in the mirror to make sure any bruises weren't showing. She had put makeup on to cover the black eyes she had, and the rest of the bruises were covered up by her long sleeved shirt.
She was wearing a yellow, plaid skirt that ended above her knees and her long-sleeved shirt was maroon. It had white buttons on the front and had a v-neck. With this outfit, she wore a pearl necklace.
-
Alex walked outside of his house and walked over to his car. He opened the door and was about to get in until a truck screeched to a stop in front of his neighbors' house. As he examined the car, he saw someone in the corner of his eye leaving the house. He drew his attention away from the car and saw a blonde headed girl running to the truck with a piece of toast in her mouth.
Alex had seen this girl at school but didn't know her name. He didn't even know they were neighbors until now.
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Norma walked through the halls to go to her last class. She wasn't in regular classes for teenagers her age, she was in her last year of high school due to skipping her sophomore year.
Once she walked through the door, she quickly scanned the room and saw a boy sitting in her desk. Norma scoffed at how ignorant this boy must be. Everyone knew that was her spot and they were glad to give it to her.
Norma marched over to the boy and cleared her throat, making the dark-haired boy look up at her.
"Can I help you?" The boy asked, clearly annoyed.
"You're in my seat," Norma responded
"Too bad," The boy responded
"Who are you to get an attitude with me? You aren't even in this class," Norma snapped, taking in the boys appearance.
"I got kicked out of my English class, now I'm in this one." The boy stated.
Norma laughed, "Who are you anyway?"
"Alex Romero," The boy stated, putting his forehead on the desk and closing his eyes.
"You're in the 'popular' group," Norma stated, using air quotations as she sat down next to him.
"Hardly. People know Bob and Keith," Alex responded.
Before Norma could answer, the English teacher walked in.
-
Halfway through the class, the teacher announced two people who were nominated and going to be working on the newspaper for the year.
"Norma Calhoun and our new guest, Alexander Romero will be working on the newspaper," The teacher stated, "As for everyone else, you will report any news to the two.".
Alex scoffed and Norma rolled her eyes. She was the leading student in the class but she did not want to be an author for the newspaper.
-
Norma quickly picked everything up from her desk and put it in her bag. She was about to walk away but Alex stopped her.
"Want a ride home?" Alex asked, a small smile on his lips.
"I was actually going to walk to the coffee shop," Norma replied
"I can bring you there," Alex said, putting his book sack on his back.
"Fine," Norma said, trying to sound uninterested but failing.
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