11 Days in Hell

Chpt. 3 "forget the library"

"Hey, Mom. Is it okay if go to the library tomorrow?" Cora asked her mother as soon as she put her backpack down.

Julia looked at Cora for a few seconds before eventually nodding and saying it was ok.

"You're father is taking me with him while he runs errands tomorrow morning so we'll be gone by the time you wake up." Julia informed her.

This actually made Cora happy. She wouldn't be trapped in the house with Carl all day, forced to watch sports with him in the living room all day.

Sometimes though, Cora would watch her mother garden or re-sew any new tears in Carl's work uniform.

"Where are you guys going?" Cora inquired. Carl never took Julia with him anywhere. He'd usually pick up anything they needed and brought it home. It wasn't always everything they needed and he didn't care.

Julia shrugged. "I'm not sure. He told me he needed me to go with him. You know I never question your father."

Cora often wandered what her mother was like in her teens before having her life destroyed by Carl. What happened to the girl with the big eyes, pink lips, and slender frame.

It seemed like Julia's past was always a secret. She never told Cora anything and after hearing Robbie's family's story, Cora wanted to know more about her mother.

"What were you like as a teenager? You know, before me..." Cora decided to put her thoughts out in the open.

Julia stared at Cora for a while. She wasn't expecting a question to take her so far into her past.

"Um, well, I was really just a lot like you." Julia told Cora straight out. "I was quiet, didn't have friends, and I was very intelligent." She put a pause on washing the dishes and gave Cora her full attention.

Her mother's words made her smile. Just a lot like me. Very intelligent.

"My head stayed in the books. I graduated high school with a 4.0 gpa. A dozen of scholarships." Julia trailed off, reminiscing of her better years.

What happened?

"You know, I wanted to travel the world. Study abroad and eventually settle down somewhere in a small country. Maybe Italy." Julia confessed, passion laced in her words.

Cora knew her next question would be the Debbie-downer but she had to know.

"What happened?"

Julia froze, gripping the dish rag tightly, her eyes locked onto the hideous rooster clock Carl had hung on the kitchen wall.

"Your father happened."

Before Cora could ask Julia anything else, her mother quickly turned around, facing the sink. "I'm gonna go grab a few vegetables from the garden to go with the chicken for dinner." She let out quickly before running off into the backyard.

Cora stood up from the kitchen table, walking over to the window that overlooked the small garden Julia had faithfully worked on every morning.

Julia aggressively yanked off cabbage and using her sweater sleeve to wiped away a few tears.

Had the conversation hit a sensitive spot for Julia? Was there something haunting her from her past life? 

When Carl came home, Julia was back to her silent moping, as she tended to her husband. She placed the baked chicken on the dinner table with the cabbage she had cooked on the side.

Cora analyzed her father. How did he end up with such a beautiful wife but carelessly sucked the life out of her?

Her father was old, wrinkly, fat, gray bearded, and always smelled like alcohol.

Carl didn't deserve his family.

The next morning, as soon as Cora woke up, she showered and got dressed. She threw on a white t-shirt, blue skinny jeans, somewhat white converse, and her pale pink anarok jacket since it was the fall.

Since her parents were already gone, she didn't have to sneak to use the house phone. She grabbed an apple from the fridge and dialed Robbie's number, which she had made a mental note of.

"Hey, I was waiting for you to call." Robbie said into the phone, taking Cora by surprise.

"No good morning?" Cora questioned, causing Robbie to erupt into laughter.

"Good morning, sunshine. Come outside." Robbie instructed before ending the call. Cora did what she was told, not wanting to rebuttal.

Cora stepped outside, the crisp morning wind causing goosebumps to make their way to the surface of her skin. As she bit into her Apple, Robbie cane strutting down the street.

She watched him make his way to her, while also taking note of his appearance. He wore blue jeans, a grey sweatshirt, and a pair of white canvas shoes.

"Let's go," Robbie waved Cora over as he kept walking past her house.

She quickly caught up to him, eager to find out where they were headed for their first real outing together.

As they walking side by side, Robbie couldn't help but notice the crunching and munching Cora did with the apple in her hand. He really hoped that wasn't what she considered breakfast.

"Please tell me that's not all that you've eaten this morning.." Robbie trailed off, curious to know what her response would be.

"Yes." Cora told him, quietly.

Robbie smiled. "Well, I haven't eaten at all. And since that apple isn't considered breakfast to me, I guess we'll have to go to the diner for pancakes." He told her, shrugging.

Cora had never eaten at a restaurant. Her mother cooked everything she'd ever eaten in her entire life. This diner thing kind of excited her.

The diner that Robbie was referring to was a short walk into town. It wasn't a big diner either. It was probably the size of the girls bathroom at Cora's school.

"Hey, Robbie. What are you getting today?" The waitress, greeted Cora's friend. She glanced at the name tag and giggled to herself. Patty.

"This here is Cora. We're going to have two orders of short stacks and a few strips crispy bacon." Robbie told the waitress, who nodded and smiled at the two teenagers.

Cora followed Robbie to the island where he found two seats for them.

Cora was interested in knowing how Robbie knew about this place when he'd just moved into town.

"My aunt set me up a job here on the weekend. I'm gonna be bussing tables and washing dishes in the evening." Robbie told her, instantly answering her question. Was he a mind reader? Cora thought to herself.

It wasn't long before Cora and Robbie were stuffing their cheeks with pancakes.

Cora watched Robbie closely. The way he used the back of his hand to wipe away oozing syrup, gulped down his milk, and yelled WOO! after finishing his meal. He was outrageous while she was quaint and neat.

She actually enjoyed the breakfast meal. She'd never had restaurant breakfast and the great tasting food actually left a warm fuzzy feeling within her.

"How was the food?" Robbie spoke after a few minutes of silence. Cora had assumed he was letting his food digest.

"Really good, thank you." Cora replied.

"You know, I've never eaten out before." She finally admitted.

Robbie looked at Cora utterly surprised. His jaw dropped for a few moments before he flashed a smile. "Well, I'm glad to have introduced you to something new." He told her before dropping a twenty dollar bill on the table.

When she had finished her apple juice, Robbie got up and helped Cora put her jacket back on before they went heading out of the door. 

"What's next?" Cora excitedly wanted to know.

"The park."

Another place Cora never really went to. She'd walk past them to and from school, but she never took the time to walk through them.

Anyways, the park was empty. The tree leaves had began changing. They were all various shades of red, yellow, purple, black, orange, pink, magenta, blue and brown.

Cora never took the time to appreciate her small town. The town center, the park, her school, the library she found a safe haven in, etc.

"If you don't go to the park, where do you go?" Robbie wondered as they walked around the park trail, which bridged over a pond that came from an opening in the towns river.

"The library, mostly."

Robbie chuckled. "Oh, forget the library. From now on, we're broadening your horizons, Cora!" Robbie exclaimed.

Broadening my horizons? What does that mean?

"I don't understand." Cora said.

Robbie turned to face Cora, staring down at her. "When you go home, I want you to make a list of things you've never done and places you've never been."

Cora nodded. She'd read hundreds of books that all took her to a different place mentally; but physically she did desire to see things she'd never seen.

"Will do." She responded, happily.

Today was a really good day for Cora. She had finally made a friend. Someone who related to her in unimaginable ways and someone she trusted dearly. 

Cora decided against letting Robbie walk her home. She didn't want her father to see her with a boy. He'd probably blow a gasket.