cassette tapes [rough draft]

tape four

"oh god, " the girl's voice cracked, and for a moment there was simply a moment of just silence. "i've just had the worst day probably imaginable. i got in a fight today at school and got suspended for two days. then when i got home, my mom was a complete wreck. apparently, my step-father had hit her when she tried to stop him from taking the grocery money. god." she laughed without any humor. "all he does is buy drugs and beer with it anyway."

dane buried his face in his hands. he almost couldn't bear to listen to her. her lifestyle was such an obviously diferent way than his. sure, he sometimes got into fights with his parents, but nothing as serious as this girl's troubles.

she laughed again, sounding close to crying. "since i got suspended, i took up a couple of extra shifts from where i worked. it's not great but at least it gets me out of the house." there was loud banging and a man's voice yelling something indistinguishable.

almost to herself, the girl cursed in alarm. "sorry dane, i've gotta go. he's back earlier than i thought he would be. i'll get one of my friends to sneak this ou-" the tape cut off abruptly, static resuming.

dane pulled his hair in frustration. it had been almost two weeks since the last tape and he had been half hoping that it had all been just a bad dream.

then today, a girl that dane knew was associated with lizzie o'hare had handed him a sealed envelope and walked away without a second glance. later in the day, luke had come up to him and practically socked him in the gut. "what the hell, man!" dane had cried, groaning in pain.

"micah callahan approached you willingly and you didn't mention it to me?" luke had spluttered out with disbelief. dane had given him a glare as he stood back up, rubbing his stomach.

there were some wild rumors flying micah. one particularly popular one was that she was a full-on lesbian who had the hots for lizzie, which was why she was part of lizzie's posse. another was that she had been a convicted criminal a few counties over and was on the run from the government.

no matter the truth, micah was scary as hell. she never approached anyone without their prompting, which was why dane and everyone in the school was so surprised at her actions. dane had wondered what connection micah could have with the girl. he also wondered why so many of the tapes came from someone related to lizzie.

as dane wandered down the halls of his house and looked at all the happy family pictures on the walls, he wondered how he had gotten so lucky. sitting down at the table for dinner and glancing around at his large, talkative family, he couldn't help but hope that someday the girl from the tapes would know a proper family.

~

i know i have no excuse but here it is. i know it's short *dramatically cringing* but i hope that you enjoy. if you like it please follow me, vote, or leave a comment.

thank you friends!