spoken word. (gxg)

ten.

ten.

It was weird to see June, the bad girl who did what she wanted when she wanted, get pulled around from the ear by her mother. It was obvious how much June loved her, enough to oblige all of her crazy whims. When we got shoved outside of the house, credit card practically forced in June's hand, a pair of June's ripped jeans sagging off of my legs, I laughed in delight. It felt kind of nice to be mothered.

"I have to buy new pants," I had muttered, mostly to myself, after June handed me a pair of her jeans so I wasn't half-naked, "now that that pair is gone, I only have two left."

"You only have three pairs of pants?" Her mother, who's name I had learned was Jean, gasped. She turned to glower at her daughter as if it was her fault. "You," she pointed at her, "you," she pointed at me, "shopping." I tried to argue.

"Ma'am--"

"Out!" She screeched. I shot a panicked glance at June, who avoided my eyes, an amused smile tugging at her lips.

"Your mother is nice," I said to make conversation. June didn't reply, her eyebrows lifting as if to say 'really?' "And, uh, we don't have to go buy pants."

"We're already outside," is all she said, putting her truck into gear and starting forward, fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly. She seemed stressed, though I had no chance of figuring out why.

I stared forward as she drove, not quite relaxed in her presence. It was weird to think that less than 24 hours before I had been assaulted. And less than 24 hours before that, Mrs. Lee singlehandedly helped me with all of my college worries. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Apparently, my brain chose the latter. I turned away from June as a tear dripped down my cheek, wiping at my eyes with the sleeve of the big flannel jacket she had lent me.

"I didn't know what to do," June suddenly said, voice tense. "It was dark, and you were alone, and I couldn't find you, and..." She inhaled sharply, "Then I heard your scream." I stayed silent, watching the landscape as it passed.

"I saw red. Even when he was already unconscious, all I could see was his hands on you and I just..." Her voice was rough, almost painful.

"Snapped," I said. Because she had. The image of her on top of that man was permanently seared into my brain. It was vicious.

"I would do it again," she said harshly, then softened her tone, "but I shouldn't have done it in front of you. I'm sorry, it was probably frightening."

"It's okay," I said, unsure if it was, my throat tight. "You saved me." No matter how brutal she was, she had saved me. Whether it was justified or not, terrible or not, she had saved me. It made the image a little more bearable.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said, barely a whisper. Silence followed, my head swimming.

It seemed like forever before she parked, coming around the front to open the door for me. Her truck was old, and she made sure to push down the lock button manually.

"Where'd you get your truck from?" I asked after a while to break the silence. I was curious why her vehicle was so worn when her family obviously had the money to purchase a better one.

"I got Tommy from a friend," she told me.

"Your truck's name is Tommy?" I asked, incredulous.

"Yes."

"Okay," I said, holding back a laugh, "what friend?" Her grin was wicked, sudden. I wasn't expecting it.

"One who lost a bet," she sang. It was petty, driving an old car purely because she had taken it from someone. I wanted to know who the person was, what relationship she had with them if she kept their car simply because it was theirs.

It was a little frustrating. I wanted to solve the mystery of June Willow, but it seemed that every answer I got sprouted more questions.

"Where are we?" I tried, glancing around. The streets were small, stores tightly packed together. Fairy lights danced on the decorative trees around us.

"You've never been here before?" She asked, incredulous. "It's the outdoor mall everyone goes to because it's so close to the school." Ah, that explained it. I didn't know how to tell June that my budget was so small I could barely afford the gas to drive to school, needless go out of my way to wander around a mall I could never buy from.

"I dunno," is all I said, feeling embarrassed, "I don't really shop much." June fell silent, which wasn't really unusual, but this time it was especially awkward. I pointed in a direction.

"Let's go in that one," I suggested. She nodded.

When we were inside, I found that I actually really liked the clothing. Mostly, it was cute, the colors complimenting my skin tone. I found a cute sweater-- yellow, thick-- and was about to try it on, until I glanced at the price tag.

"Shit," I stuttered, "fifty dollars for a sweater?"

"Yeah, all the stores around here are like that," she told me. I reached to put it back, but she placed her hand on mine, stopping me. "No, don't. Let's waste as much of my mother's money as we can," she said wickedly. I didn't even care about the sweater anymore-- the place that her hand touched mine burned hot.

"Okay," I managed to say.

Two pairs of pants, a yellow sweater, and a coffee later, I still couldn't shake the feeling of her hand on mine.

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A/N:

wow, that's kinda gay Mia

Surprise update!! bc I'm sad and this story makes me happy :'))

Did you guys have Thanksgiving break last week? How did it go? 

Feel free to leave comments/suggestions/edits!

UPDATES MONDAY AND FRIDAY (unless I have a crazy whim like today)