My Eyes Pick Up What Most Leave Behind

Chapter Eighteen

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! I'm over 3,000 reads, now. I know there are some stories with a few hundred thousand reads, and thats a lot. Way more than I'll ever have. But 3,000 is a lot to me, and I really appreciate that you have stuck with me this long. Thank you so much, and Happy New Year! <3

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Recap: Scarlett told her dad never to talk to her again, he said he never loved her anyway. :(

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Chapter 18

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The morning light rays that darted through my blinds brought a pounding headache back into my conscious mind.

"Did it feel good?" Tanzie's voice startled me. Last night's memories came flooding back.

"No, not at all." I answered truthfully. I stood up slowly and threw on a sweatshirt before heading downstairs.

"Really?" She asked, following me.

"Really," I said. I was now in the kitchen, swinging open our cabinet door. I popped two Tylenol into my mouth and sipped from a nearby water bottle.

"Oh. I thought it would be good for you to release some pent up emotion," she explained.

"It was good for me. But kicking my father from my life completely did not feel good. At all," I responded.

Tanzie nodded, then faded out. I shrugged and went back upstairs, my head starting to feel better. I flipped open my phone to check my messages. 'Four New Messages' caught my eye. Two from Erick, one from Alice, and another from Riley.

Alice lives with me and we never talk anymore. Come to think of it, she's never home. Riley and I haven't talked since school got out a few weeks ago.

Erick's messages read "Hey." and "Is everything okay, love?" I typed back a quick response. "Yeah, for the most part." I read Riley's message next. "Scarlett! We never talk anymore! Anyway, my birthday party will be next Saturday. My house. Starting at 8 pm. You can leave when you are ready." I responded with, "Yeah, I'm free."

Alice's message was next. "Scarlett, I need help. Don't be mad, please!" I didn't bother texting back. I simply called her. It rang twice before she picked up, sounding very distraught.

"Scarlett?" She asked.

"Spill. What's going on. Don't even try and lie, Alice." I replied.

"Well..." She started.

"Yes?" I questioned.

"Okay. So I'm at my boyfriends house. We, well, you know." She continued and I rolled my eyes. It was going to happen sooner or later. Sooner, in her case.

"And...?" I asked.

"And he dumped me, okay! He used me." She started crying. What a jerk.

"You need a ride home?" I questioned, instantly changing my tone of voice. She murmured a yes and I hung up. My eyes searched the room for my old directory, flipping to her boyfriend's name. I recognized the address, he lived on the same street as Erick. I stepped down the stairs and went into the garage. My car was gone! I pulled my fingers through my hair. Why now? I called Erick.

"Erick I need a ride. Now." I pleaded.

"Alright love. May I ask why?" He questioned.

"Later," I said and snapped my phone shut.

 I put my hand on my hip and opened the garage door. My car wasn't in the driveway, either. How could my car just disappear from the garage? My mom was at work so I texted her, asking if she had borrowed it for some reason. I went back inside.

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Alice was sitting on the curb. Her red-brown hair was a total mess. Her electric blue eyes were a dull blue grey. I opened the door and pointed to the back seat. She got in without a word.

"Why is he here?" Alice asked, referring to Erick.

"My cars gone. I knew Erick would respond the quickest." I said, smiling at him. He smiled back.

"Oh." she replied.

"Are you alright?" Erick asked her.

"Not really. Does he know what happened?" Alice asked. I nodded.

"You can trust him." I said. We all smiled.

The next event was one big blur. The headlights of a car shone directly in my eyes, blinding me momentarily as the car spun out of control. The screeching of the tires against asphalt echoed through the street, and a loud boom, followed by the shattering of glass, made everything afterwards seem eerily silent. I caught Erick's eye before everything went black.