Scratched

Three

THREE

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My body felt dead. I groaned, stretching out but my legs hit something hard. I opened my eyes blinking passed the haze as I looked around. Where was I? And then I saw Cody beside me and it all came back to me. I had went to a party at the river with Tiana last night. Bits and pieces came back to me but one thing in particular stuck out to me—the feeling I had felt before I had slipped into unconsciousness. That feeling that I wasn’t living my life. That feeling that I was lying to everybody. I shrugged it off, snatching my phone off his dashboard. My eyes widened. Oh hell.

I poked Cody. “Cody, wake up!”

He groaned. “Go back to sleep, babe.”

Of course, I thought. “Come on.”

He didn’t respond though. I sighed, dragging myself over to him. I leaned into his ear, placing a kiss on his pulse. I trailed kisses along his skin. I heard him groan again but for completely different reason now. His hands clutched my hips. “Babe, you’re killing me,” he murmured as his eyes slowly slid open. Finally. He went to kiss me but I pulled back, fixing him with a look. He blinked at me, confused. “What?” Clearly, starting to wake up now.

“Can you drive me home?”

“Can’t you stay?” he asked.

I laughed, moving back into the seat. I shook my head at him. He frowned, clearly disappointed. “It’s noon. I have stayed longer than I should have already,” I explained to him. As he heard my words he bolted upright, his eyes widening. That’s more like it. He quickly turned the keys in his ignition, starting to pull out. We'd be home in no time.

“I’m late for class!”

“Drive faster then!"

He didn’t need me to tell him twice. He speed down the road like a bat out of hell. I gripped the seat, feeling my stomach turn. Ah, man I hoped I didn’t get sick. I could already feel the hangover looming over me. This one was going to be killer. In a matter of minutes he pulled up to my house, slamming the brakes. I leaned over kissing him before jumping out of his truck. As soon as I shut the door he was speeding off down the road. I smiled, stepping inside the house. I was surprised to find no one in the living room. Usually someone was hanging around here. Thinking this, I plopped down on the couch, rubbing my temples. This headache was horrible. I almost wished I had stayed home last night now. I hated hangovers. It was fun though, right? I couldn't remember much but I think it was.

Just then Laila started crying. The reaction was instant. Mom rushed through the door. She spotted me, looking frantic. “Piper!” she exclaimed, hurrying over to me. She didn’t even seem to notice my rumpled state or the fact I hadn’t been home last night. Figures, I thought bitterly. “Where is Laila?” I didn't even respond. I just pointed towards the stairs. She patted my leg, running off in that direction.

Laila was my new sister. The center of both mom and Louis’s attention these past few months. My mother had Laila at least ten months ago. You’d think by this point that she’d be a little more comfortable with being away from her or at least to not panic every time she cried. My mother had just started spending hours away, on Louis’s suggestion. It had been hell! I’d never seen a woman so bent on disaster. She insisted that all these terrible things would happen if she wasn’t there. Once it was a fire and another time a kidnapper. Since that they just got more ridiculous and impossible. Her entire life seemed to revolve around Laila. She didn’t even notice anyone else anymore.

I sighed, flipping onto my side. I flicked on the television, hoping I could ignore Laila’s crying. A few minutes passed and the crying ceased. My mother came back in then, bouncing Laila on her hip. “You slept in late, Piper,” my mother said, pausing on the stairs with Laila in her arms. She still looked like my mother, same large amber eyes and sweet smile, but at the same time I felt detached. That same feeling I had felt last night at the river. As if this wasn’t my life I was living but someone else’s. How could everything change around you and still be the same?