Life as Prolonged

Lunch invitation with Ashton

CHAPTER V

I didn't get a wince of sleep last night. Instead, I paced around the room, and sat at my desk. My firm hands cupped my chin as I let my thoughts over ride my mind. I let everything sink in. I wanted to know what had driven me, what made me fall for them? Why had I spent my time with them? I knew what was coming. I felt as though I'm know longer the Aubree everyone knew. It all felt so far fetched.

At about seven the next morning, I grabbed my change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. I avoided any confrontations with the mirror, it would show nothing but a hung over, disstressed teen, and I'm not ready to see that at the moment. I sat my clothes on the counter. It was a Saturday, and honestly I have nothing planned. On the counter rested a pair of worn-out black sweatpants, my favorite, loose Beatles tank, and my favorite laced bra and underwear set. Nothing special was happening, why dress for it?

I had no goals in life.

My eyes were bagged bright blue, I couldn't exactly see it but I could feel it. I knelt down and flipped on the water, adjusting the knobs to the perfect temperature.

If that was possible- it was not.

I made it as hot as I could stand it before undressing and stepping in. I danced around hugging myself until my skin stopped tingling and my body absorbed the heat of the water. I laid my head back and let the water spray my face. I cleared my mind of any thoughts as I hummed to the song "Be Your Everything" by Boys Like Girls.

I stayed like that for a while- silent, and still. No one could ever possibly know that a ghost was, in fact, not haunting our house, but rather me in the shower. I chuckled at my wit. After snapping back into reality, I poured an excess amour of shampoo into my hair without even realizing it. I scrubbed my head, making sure every pore was clean and open for my thoughts to escape. My hair fell to my lower back as I rinsed away the suds.

It went like this for the next half hour, until I decided it was time to get out. I wrapped my towel around me and picked up my clothes. I figured it was pointless to bring them in there because I had almost never gotten dressed in there. It was too tight of a space for me to be flinging my arms around at eight in the morning trying to find my fucking arm hole.

Screw coffee.

And that's how my morning went. Ranting on about stupid things in the world until about ten, when Haylee decided to fall, literally, downstairs.

She walked like a crippled old lady who just had back surgery. Mind as well give her a cane and send her off to a nursing home. Need me to change your bedpan? Ha... RIGHT. Practically reading my thoughts, she shot me a look before continuing to pour a bowl of not-so-lucky charms. Before she realized it, hee bowl was filled with my moms skim milk. I laughed obnoxiously as my hair fell out of the loose bun it was in. Curls flung out and turned into a frizzy mess. Haylee mocked my laughter, though hers felt more forced, rather than relaxed.

Why am I even talking to myself?

"So uh, 'sup?" I asked Haylee, sounding a little too much like my dad. She flashed me a concerned look before choking on her cereal.

"Wrong...." Cough. "pipe." Cough. Cough. Cough. Gag. Cough.

"You okay over there?" She nodded, assuring herself she could breath again. I thought about my phone, which was laying smack center in on the table.

It blinked a few times before I picked it up and unlocked it. I had a few messages, nothing special. Except for the one with an unknown number. I stared at them for a while, letting them jumble in my mind. I didn't recognize the number at all. I texted it back, asking who it was.