Trading Pieces of Sky [COMPLETED]

17

I put on a smile and tried to pay attention to Cass's story about her plans for Winter Break as she attempted to distract me from my thoughts. As we entered the school building, Elena gave me a sad smile and a quick hug before pulling away. We were climbing the stairs to the third floor when Eliza Toome bumped into me and called me a slut.

"Excuse me?" Cassidy said with sass, stopping mid-sentence from her story, and grabbing Eliza's arm.

"She's the one who cheated on Beckett Hill," Eliza said giving me a look of contempt.

"What?" I asked astounded.

"Ugh, like you don't know. Check your email," she said before ripping her arm from Cassidy's clutch and continuing up the staircase.

Cass quickly pulled out her phone and pulled up her email.

"Oh my god," she said under breath, looking up at me with an expression of shock and sadness.

"What?" I shouted, grabbing the phone from her hands.

"Fuck," I said, my heart racing, as I swiped through the photos.

It was photos of EJ harassing me at the bus stop. His hand under my skirt, caressing my cheek, kissing me...

The email was sent by an unknown address and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I shoved Cassidy's phone back into her hands before turning and running down the steps. I needed air, I couldn't breathe. I shoved through the crowd of students who were going the opposite direction and calling me profane names. At the bottom of the stairs, I pushed past Beckett who stared at me with what looked like an expression of pity.

When I made it outside I gulped in the cold winter air, willing myself not to throw up. It didn't work, and I retched into the trash can outside.

I can't do this. Oh my god, that's why he broke up with me? Did someone send him those photos? Did he take those photos?

I can't do this.

If I could just explain...but I can't. I would have to tell him how I knew EJ. I can't risk being taken away from my mom and Waylin.

I ran across the street and headed towards my house, not bothering to wait for the bus. When I was inside I let the sobs escape me, replaying what Beckett had said to me yesterday.

Even if I did explain. He wouldn't care.

He's right. I'm nothing.

I crawled into my bed, wrapping the quilt around me tightly. I shamelessly cried myself to sleep.

I woke up to the muffled sound of my mom talking to someone.

I rolled over, trying to figure out what time it was. The brightness of my phone burned my eyes as I checked the time.

Why is she home?

I threw the blanket back with frustration and walked into the living room.

"Sky?" she asked confused, "what are you doing home?"

"Wasn't feeling well," I said, which was true; my head was throbbing and it felt like my insides had died.

"Oh," she said, putting her phone back to her ear and walking into her room, closing the door.

I picked up my bag from the floor where I had dropped it and brought it to my room. I sighed and sat on my bed, scrolling through the missed calls and messages from Cassidy and Elena.

They explained that they had my back and that I didn't need to tell them anything. I didn't have the energy to compose a response so I laid back down and curled myself into a ball, tears slipping onto my pillowcase.

The next day the girls escorted me to all of my classes, shooting dagger glares at anyone who even looked my way. Luckily we had a substitute in Priya's classes, so I didn't have to work with Beckett or even look at him. I spent lunch with the girls in an empty classroom and they kept me distracted. I smiled through the empty hole I felt inside until I made it home.

There was a letter taped to our front door labeled "open immediately". I dropped my bag on the floor as I entered and ripped the envelope open. I pulled out the folded paper and began to read it.

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed as I reread the first paragraph several more times.

"Mom!" I shouted marching towards her room.

Empty. She wasn't home. I groaned with frustration and switched on her bedroom light. I sifted through the stack of mail that was sitting on her dresser.

"This cannot be happening!" I screamed as I shoved the papers to the floor.

There were several past-due bills. I took a deep breath and picked them up, taking them with me to the kitchen table.

I pulled out my phone and dialed our landlord, deciding to deal with the most important issue first: eviction.

"Hello?" Mark answered.

"Hi Mark, this is your tenant from apartment 2B. The Drehers," I clarified.

"Oh, right, you got my letter?" he asked impatiently.

"Yes. About that, it says that we're three months behind on rent?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Uh, yeah," he said obviously.

"Um, okay, well, how much do we need to pay right now for you to not evict us?" I asked, trying to remain sweet.

"All of it. That's $3000," he said irritated.

"Um, okay, um, I can get you the money I just need to go to the bank. Do you need a check or cash?" I asked, writing down the amount he had specified on the top of the letter.

"Cash," he said roughly.

"Okay, uh, how do I get it to you?" I asked, my leg shaking with anxiety.

"I can come by in...a few hours," he said after pausing for a moment.

"Okay, I'll, I'll see you then."

The line went dead without another word and I sunk into the kitchen chair staring at the pile of other bills that needed to be paid before they shut off our utilities.

I don't understand, why hasn't she been paying this stuff?

I took a couple of calming breaths before standing up and heading towards the bank to retrieve the entirety of my savings account.

While I waited for Mark to come by, I called the rest of the utility companies, asking what the minimum needed to be paid was. In addition to the $3,000 in rent, we also needed to pay $700 in utilities or they were going to shut off our electricity, gas, and water.

I only had $3,054 in my bank account, and I had to leave $50 or else they would make me close the account.

That meant I was $700 short. A knock on the door brought me out of my train of thought. I cracked it open to see who it was.

"Rent," Mark said, holding out his hand impatiently.

"Yeah, okay, umm, let me get it," I said.

I closed the door and returned with the envelope of cash I had gotten at the bank. He grabbed it from my hand and counted the money in front of me.

"Reminder, rent is due again in two weeks," he said, looking at me with annoyance before turning to leave.

I sighed and leaned against the closed door. Waylin would be home soon, and I needed to get dinner prepared. I cleared the table and settled on breakfast for dinner since we were limited on groceries.