Learning to Love You

She Won the 'Ultimate Prize'

Okay, this is the first chapter to my new story, and I hope everyone likes it. I'll try to update at least once a week. :)

I knocked on Jenna’s door 3 times and when no one answered I used the key she gave me and walked in. I made my way up to her bedroom and slammed the door open.

“Jenna!!!” I yelled at her.

“What?” She gave me a confused look.

“I knocked like 5 billion times and no one answered.”

She gave me a stern look. “More like 3 times.”

“Shut up”

Jenna patted the spot next to her on her bed, I dropped my bag and sat down. Jenna is my best friend. When I moved to this small town 6 years ago she was the only person who would talk to me and we instantly became friends. She knows me better than anyone else and we are really close.

She was working on something on her laptop and I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“What are you doing?”

“I Jenna Haren am winning us tickets to go see the greatest band that ever existed.”

“Oh really? And what band might this be?” I already knew the answer but I played along anyways.

“Katrina!! You know this!”

“Yeah yeah I know, Follow Me.” I mumbled.

“Duh!”

“Well how exactly are you winning these tickets?”

“It’s a contest where they ask questions about the band and if you get them right then you win the tickets.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Look!” She said turning towards me for a quick minute “I know you hate this band and all, but you have to go with me! It will be fun I promise.”

“No. I don’t want to go see some band play that I don’t even like. I will just be wasting 4 hours of my life.”

“Please!!!!” She gave me her best puppy dog eyes and popped out her bottom lip and started pouting.

I really wish I could resist that. I will not go. I don’t want to go. C’mon this could be fun. A night out with your best friend. My mind argued with me. Maybe it wouldn’t kill me. “Ughh fine.”

“YES I LOVE YOU!!”

“I know”

She was silent for a few more minutes until she pushed the laptop aside, jumped off the bed screaming, and started dancing around the room like a crazy person. But this is why I love her. I stood up and grabbed her shoulders calming her down.

“Guess what?” she said giving me an extremely happy smile.

“What?”

“I GOT BACKSTAGE PASSES” she yelled in my eardrum.

“Great…” Now I have to spend more time at this stupid thing. I even have to meet these people who I am pretty sure will turn out to be assholes because they are soo famous.

I wanted to slap her to make her calm down, but I let her have her moment.

“Oh my gosh! We have to go shopping to get the perfect outfits!”

“Or not.” I said sitting back down. I don’t want to dress up to impress people I will never see again.

“Pleaseeee” with those eyes again.

I grabbed my bag and keys, “You are lucky I am your best friend.”

“I know” She grabbed her wallet and phone and we left.

On our way to the mall she hooked up her phone to the audio jack and played Follow Me's music the entire way there. She sang along to every line and I only knew the lines because she played their music so much.

I parked the car and we walked in. We had to go to 10 different stores until she picked out her perfect outfit. My feet were killing me and I wanted to go home and watch Netflix for the rest of the day. Instead Jenna dragged me around the rest of the mall to fine me the perfect outfit. She forced me to try on clothes I didn’t even think I could fit into. After she picked out my clothes I made her pay for them for making me go to this stupid thing.

We went home and I dropped her off.

“When’s the concert?” I asked.

“In 2 weeks!”

“Wow, a little last minute J”

“Yeah I know, but I really wanted to go, and this way I didn’t have to pay for the tickets!” She said getting out of the car.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 7! Be on time please.”

“Fine” She said before walking inside.

I got home and took my bags inside and went straight to my room not wanting to deal with my ‘brothers and sisters’ as my foster mom called them.

You’re probably wondering why I am a foster child. Well it’s a long story, but I guess we have a little time. So When I was 9 years old my parents started to fight a lot. I was so young I didn’t realize that my dad was constantly drunk, and my mother was always taking “prescription meds”. It was two days after my 10th birthday when she decided she “couldn’t take any more of my father’s bullshit.” After she left he would always yell at me and blame me for her leaving. When I was 10 and a ½ he started to abuse me. He would beat me almost every day when I came home from school and I never told anyone. I thought that’s how most people’s families were. I didn’t have many friends to help me through it either. One day one of my dad’s friends came over to get some papers and he saw him beating me and that he was drunk. He took me with him when he left and when I was 11 they took it to trial in court and I got sent to the next state over and was put into the foster system. I haven’t moved houses in 6 years and no one wants to adopt a 17 year old, so I think I will be stuck here for a while.

It has been a sore subject for me to talk about in the past, and I have only ever told Jenna why I moved here. She knows never to bring it up, or mention anything like that. Her parents have become like one of my own. But they do what parents are supposed to do. I love her entire family and I feel like another daughter to them. I am really lucky to have her. I don’t know what I would do without her. I can talk to her about anything and everything. My few breakups, and my past, my life at ‘home’, or school. I can tell her anything.

I am pretty used to thinking about my past. It crossed my mind at least once every day. I can comfortably think about it myself and scroll through the memories in my head. Sometimes they trigger my tears, but most of the time I have grown used to holding them back. I hide my past from anyone and everyone. It’s embarrassing, and I used to think it was normal. I wish I could go a day without thinking about it, but it is a part of me and I can’t forget it.