Trust in Love

Chapter 9

When Justine entered the house, it was unusually quiet. The t.v. wasn't on and there was no pancake smell coming from the kitchen.

'Mom? Are you home?' she called out.

'In here.'

Justine went into the kitchen. Her mom was sitting at the dining table with a cup of coffee.

'Well, if it isn't the prodigal daughter,' Ada said bitterly. 'How was your night of debauchery? Was he worth it? Did he leave a rose on your pillow?'

Justine felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment.

'Stop it, mother!' Justine cried, feeling horrible.

'I will not stop!' Ada yelled. 'No slutty whore of a daughter will live in this house as long as I am alive. You have twenty minutes to pack your bags and get out of here.'

'What?' Justine said incredulously.

'You heard me. Get out! You have twenty minutes and not a second more.'

The look of hatred on Ada's face was so severe that Justine knew she was serious and there would be no reasoning with her.

Trying not to cry, Justine ran up to her bedroom and found two suitcases sitting on her bed. She didn't know how she was going to fit all her stuff into two suitcases. She would have to leave stuff behind.

She managed to pack all her new clothes and shoes in one suitcase. She raced to the bathroom and grabbed her toiletries and makeup. She only had space for her laptop and a few of her books. It was hard to choose which ones to bring with her.

She carried one suitcase at a time to her car. She didn't know what she was going to do. Her mother didn't even say 'Good-bye' to her. She just slammed the door behind her.

Justine drove to an empty parking lot and parked her car. Her heart was pounding mercilessly so she took a pill.

She tried to phone Jared, but there was no answer.

She called Sandy and luckily Sandy was available.

'What's up, girl?' Sandy said cheerfully. 'Do you want to go shopping today?'

'I can't,' Justine replied tearfully. 'My mom just kicked me out of her house.'

'She what?' Sandy cried incredulously. 'Why'd she do that?'

'It's a long story,' Justine replied. 'I don't know where to go.'

'I'd ask you to come here, but my sister is coming to visit for Thanksgiving.'

'Do you know of any other places I can try?' Justine asked.

'There's a hotel near the university that rents rooms to students on a monthly basis,' Sandy suggested. 'You could try there.'

'Okay. I'll do that,' Justine replied. 'Thanks.'

'Good luck, girl! Give me a call later.'

They hung up and Justine sighed. She had never had to worry about putting a roof over her head before. It was a very humbling experience, to say the least.

Justine drove to the hotel Sandy mentioned and luckily they had a room available.

Between her recent car repair and her clothes shopping, she barely had enough money to cover one week's rent. But she had a pay day coming up soon, thankfully.

By the time Justine carried her bags to her room and unpacked her clothes, she was exhausted and faint from hunger. She found a vending machine and bought herself a bag of chips. It was a poor substitute for a hot meal, but she was too tired to care.

She collapsed on the bed and surfed the t.v. channels. She had trouble concentrating on anything and she ended up crying herself to sleep.

*******************************

Justine spent the next day feeling sorry for herself. Her life had been such a roller coaster lately; why wasn't she dead yet? The doctor said she only had four to six months left. Now was the perfect time for her to die. She had no home, no money, and no boyfriend. The perfect combination for hopelessness.