Natalie Peterson was a beautiful, intelligent and athletic teenager, but she hated high school for all of the right reasons. When she's bored, she smokes pot in the ghost area with her best friend Tamara Woods who's bullied by Gina, the hot popular...
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When I reached home I started to cry. No one was there though. My mom had left to work and there was only Cameo in the house to give me support. What was going on with Brad? Who was that guy and why was he acting so weird lately?
I walked to my backyard with my confusion and I called my dog.
"Cameo!" I said and whistled. He ran to the sound of his name and his fur ruffled with the wind. If he were human, he would have had a big fat smile on his face, but instead he had his tongue out with his canine teeth and his tail wagged.
"Cameo!" I said again and dropped my buttocks onto the grass. I hugged my dog and he licked my face. I usually didn't like him licking on my face, but today I was down and I needed someone to uplift me. He wagged his tail and barked. I wiped my tears from my eyes.
"Can you tell me why men are so stupid?" I asked him as I pet him.
"I'm sorry I was mean," Brad's voice scared me and Cameo flinched. Then, my dog did something unexpected. He started to growl at Brad.
"Brad?" I said, but it came out like a question. Cameo stood his ground and he didn't seem to back off. Brad reacted to Cameo in a stange way. He started to stare at the dog and he totally ignored me.
"Cameo? Cameo, that's enough boy," I said trying to make him stop, but Cameo growled louder and then began to bark at Brad. Brad moved his shoulders upward and opened his chest. Then, he too began to growl.
"Brad?" I asked him. What the hell was my boyfriend doing? Brad placed his hands on my fence and then hunched. His eyes grew smaller, he frowned and his teeth were showing like a madman. Was he trying to be funny or something?
"Brad! Enough," I yelled. Brad's eyes shifted to me and he lost concentration. Cameo was still barking and growling ravagingly as I pulled him into the back door of my house. I didn't want to, but I didn't have a choice. He was hysterical and he just wouldn't shut up.
"What the hell's a matter with you?" I asked him. Brad shook his head bewildered.
"I... I don't know. I should go," he said.
"But wait a minute, what are you doing here? Brad?" I asked him as I walked to the fence.
"I... wanted to apologize, but-" He turned around and walked away from my backyard. I rushed and ran to him, jumped over our fence and grabbed his arm.
"But what?" I asked him.
"Maybe we should... I have to go," he said staring at his arm. I let him go.
"Brad, wait a minute, maybe we should what?"
"Nothing. I don't know. I just wanted to apologize for what happened back there. It wasn't my intention to be mean to you," Brad replied.
"What's going on?" I asked. Brad walked in front of my house and I noticed that he didn't come with his bike as he usually did.
"Where's your bike?" I asked him.
"It's at home. I'm running to Smith's everyday. I just... I feel that I need to do it," he said.
"But, isn't that kind of a long way?" I asked him a bit bewildered. He simply nodded.
"My body just craves for it. Okay? That's all I can tell you," he said.
"Brad, what's wrong? Does it have to do with the mugging?" I asked him trying to get answers from him. He laughed, but it didn't seem natural. It seemed forced.
"Why would there be something wrong? Everything's fine baby. I love you," he said. He placed his hands on his pockets and he walked away. I felt like he was trying to say something to me, but he couldn't.
"Brad, who was that guy in the store?" I asked him.
"That guy? What guy?" He said. I knew now that he was avoiding the subject. I was sure now that the guy from the store had something to do with it.
"That guy in the store that you were talking with and started to fight. Preston says that he's been coming into the store lately, just talking to you and not really buying any gear," I said.
"Oh, you mean Patrick? Oh, he's just some guy I met on the street," Brad replied.
"So you meet random guys on the streets now?" I asked him.
"Yeah, why not? Natalie, I have to go. I just wanted to apologize and I did. I have to go back to Smith's. I need the money," he said like if our discussion was unimportant. It was so hard for me to maintain composure, but I did.
"Okay. My first game's on Wednesday. If you care," I said.
"What baby? Of course I care. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Wednesday it is. I'll be there," he said and then he kissed me on the cheek. I didn't know why, but I didn't like that kiss. Maybe I was just mad or confused, or both. He left and I went back into the house. I wanted to punch somebody in the face, but instead, I just turned on my T.V. and watched M.T.V. for the rest of the day.
