Chapter 5
1265 Words
The Doctor came in about an hour later and sure enough he diagnosed me with pneumothorax and recommended I get lots of rest. I was free to go when I was ready.
Only thing I could do was go back to the house and I wasn’t really looking forward to that. So I slowly got dressed. The longsleeve shirt was a deep maroon paired with black leggings along with socks and gray shoes. Surprisingly it all fit. I gathered all my wet clothes in a plastic bag and left the room.
I followed the signs to the main entrance, stopping at the receptionist desk to check out.
“How can I help you,” the lady asked me politely.
She was in her late 30’s, dark brown hair with a few grays sticking out of her ponytail.
“I was just wondering about my bill and if there was anyway I could set up a payment plan”
“Okay, what room were you in”
“604”
She typed a few things in and smiled at me.
“Everything is paid in full”
“There must be some mistake”
“A young gentleman came in a little bit ago and took care of everything”
No way, I thought to myself
“Thank you,” I tapped the counter and rushed to the door.
In the pick up area was a sleek red car and leaning against it, in his well fitted suit was Liam.
I suppressed the smile that was growing across my face.
He flashed his pearly teeth and opened the passenger side door.
“You really came back”
“I said I would. Now, would you please get in the car? As good as I look in the suit it doesn’t keep me very warm”
I slid into the car, he closed the door and ran around to his side and got in. The warm air slowly comforted me as my body adjusted to the heat.
“Where to?” He asked, rubbing his hands together.
I didn’t want to go back to Anne’s but there was nowhere else to go.
“To my moms”
“Alrighty,” he put the car in drive and we were off to Anne’s.
“So, besides skipping school and landing yourself in dangerous situations,” a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “what else do you like to do?”
“It’s not like I go looking for it”
He squinted his eyes at me in an accusatory way.
“I don’t. But if you must know I like to walk and occasionally I like to cuddle up with a warm blanket and read”
“Oh yeah. What’s your book of choice?”
“Webster dictionary,” I tried to say with a straight face, but lost it when he furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me with disgust. I held my sides, crying from laughter and pain.
The drive was filled with jokes and laughing. Liam was very easy to get along with, but I couldn’t help but feel cautious around him. I felt my insides fill with dread when I saw that Anne’s car was in the driveway.
“Here’s your stop,” he smiled at me.
“Thanks for the ride,” I unbuckled and panicked when he jumped out of the car quickly.
Does he want me to ask him to come in? A hundred different excuses ran through my head and before I could choose one he was already opening up the passenger side door for me.
“Do you want some help getting inside?”
“I can manage from here. Thank you for everything today”
“Of course. We should hang out again. Preferably away from any nearby bridges,” he gave me a charming grin.
“I’d like that. Your not as arrogant as I thought you’d be”
An exasperated look on his face.
“I’ll text you later,” I shouted over my shoulder as I walked in the front door, closing softly behind me.
The warm fuzzy feeling I had washed away as quickly as it came. This house had a way of doing that. If I was lucky Anne would still be passed out.
I was careful to not step on any of the old floorboards that creaked. I could see my room up ahead when Anne’s door flung open, smashing into the wall again, only making the hole in it bigger.
“Where the hell have you been?” She swayed, one eye nearly closed while the other was unimaginably wide open.
“Just coming home from school”
“Who was that dropping you off? Is that how you’ve been getting all that money?”
I didn’t respond.
“Well… you’re getting underpaid. I was able to spend all of that in an afternoon”
Nothing but pure hate filled me. I worked so hard to get that money and she wasted it. Not just the money, but all the time I put into getting it.
“Why don’t you come with me and I can show you what really money is suppose to look like”
“You’re disgusting”
“Excuse me?” both of her eyes opened now.
“You’re a disgusting excuse for a mother and person. Do you know how long it took me to save that money up? Do you even care what it was for?”
“How dare you talk to me that way?”
“Like you’ve very cared about anything else, but yourself!” I pushed past her, but she took hold of my arm.
“You selfish little b***h! I put a roof over your head and food on the table for you and this is how you thank me?” We were inching closer to the edge of the stairs.
“You didn’t buy this house dad did and what food are you talking about? The only food in this house is either molded or expired,” I shoved her off, but her hand was already in the air and my heart fell to the bottom of my stomach when I had taken a step back and realized there was no more ground for me to step on.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain, but it never came. Instead there was a warm presence behind me, helping me find the steps. I looked over my shoulder and saw blonde hair and brown eyes with a gentle smile. When he looked at Anne his pale pink lips were nothing more than a thin line. I could see his jaw tighten and I was a bit scared to be in his arms.
“Who the f**k are you,” Said Anne running her hand through her tangled hair.
“Are you alright?” His tone was soft as he held me close to his chest.
No words were coming to me. I just simply nodded. His posture straightened and he looked like this was a business matter.
“Are you Aria’s guardian?”
“Get out of my house!”
“Gladly, but not without her”
“That little tramp isn’t going anywhere”
“She will be leaving with me and you will not come after her,” he handed her a card.
Her expressions soured, all color draining from her face.
“What have you done?” her voice was small and a look of worry on her face as she looked at me.
- Writer
