I was at Yvonne's window to open it so I can have a cigarette, she came in and sat on the bed,"You know you need to go back home"
"I know, but now most of the time, I just think that she's better off without me" I took another puff and she sighed,"I know, as much as I want you to stay here, but with your 18th Birthday in the summer, you have to stay there"
"Yeah, it'll be fantastic" Emphasizing fantastic,"I just don't think it's safe for me there anymore, all it had to take was that one Police Interrogation for her to take sides and who she chose just said it all" She laid back down and placed her hands on her stomach,"I don't even know how you can live with this. I've only heard what you said, but now it's gotten worse and I can't even handle it, how can you?"
"Just gotta live with it, ain't nothing I can do about it until I get that diploma. When I get it, it'll be 'Sayonara' to her and I can get outta there, maybe go the big city"
"For what?" I smiled as I shrugged,"Dunno, but sky's the limit huh?" She got up and shut the door,"Well seems like it's over with Kyle"
"Really? Come on, you two were-"
"Incompatible, the only thing we had in common was sex. Soon as I stopped giving him what he wanted, he got frustrated and went to the next thing that had a hole" I groaned and took another puff,"I don't even know why we even date in High School"
"Maybe to get us started for what's out there" What she said did make sense,"Why can't we just get a sensor for who's an asshole and who's a good guy?" When I asked that, it really did kinda make both of us think,"Guess we just need to be observant from now on"
"Even if we do become observant, they'll always have a good image to make up for the bad personality"
"Might as well become lesbians huh?" I tossed the cigarette out the window and pulled another out as if it was another piece of gum,"Nah, women are too emotional, even I can't stand myself" She chuckled in amusement,"So when do you think you'll go back?"
"No clue, maybe tomorrow, otherwise I'll just be delaying the inevitable and putting this disaster on hold" She nodded slowly and said,"I don't want you go back over there but with the shitty law…."
"Yeah, you're lucky you're turning 18 in April and here I was born in August" She rubbed my back and told me,"You know when you turn 18, you can move here. We have 7 months left"
"It seems too far" I looked out the window and she took my cigarette out of my middle and index fingers,"Then don't count the days" She tossed it out and turned off the light,"We got school tomorrow"
Later on that night, Yvonne was sleeping on her bed when I was sitting on the floor looking at photos of her friends, us and her family. I began scanning the room to take it all in because this was my last night and I'm just gonna walk in the middle of the night so I don't have to deal with Mom's bullshit.
Yvonne, thank you for being there when I was in my lowest and helping me when I didn't know I needed help. I will consider that offer to stay here after high school, this weekend, you weren't just my friend or drinking partner. You were like my sister
Thank you
I packed my bag up and walked out the front door keeping quiet so I wouldn't wake the house. I looked all around the house again, the staircase, the dining room table that's always proper, the living room that's always clean. I start to remember those times during Breakfast and Dinner, Yvonne's little brother, George and sister, Lisa were always goofing around, Yvonne would get annoyed and embarrassed to call them her siblings. Her parents were the sweetest people I've ever met. I didn't want to leave here, but I know I have to and get back to my shitty life, I turned the doorknob then I heard a low, crisp voice,"And where do you think you're going?" I turned around and there was Yvonne's father standing at the bottom of the staircase,"It's a little late to go out for a walk, don't you think?"
"Not really to be frank" He sighed and walked over,"Here, in case those weirdoes come out and try to attack you" He handed me a pepper spray. I thanked him and hugged him, I know it was weird, but being hugged by him, it was one of the warmest feelings that you could get from a parent, he hesitantly put his arm around me then he went with it,"Thank you again, have a good night Geoffrey"
"You as well and just know that this will always a home away from home" A lump began forming in my throat, I turned around and told him,"Thank you"
I turned the doorknob and walked out, I wanted to turn back, walk back in and just stay there, but my feet just kept moving and eventually I made back to the house. Crickets were chirping away, dogs faintly barking, my footsteps clicking away as I made my way to the door. My breath staggered as I walked up to the door, I was scared, my entire body just began shaking; Inside of my head, I'm running from the house, but I was just stiff, I just stood there until I made the decision. I walked inside the house, the Living Room was empty and I saw my mother,"Oh so I see you're done with partying and fucking, how was it? You plan on going to the police to send more innocent people there. Why did I even bother keeping you? I should hit you" She walked over as she put that drink down and swung at me, I flinched and opened my eyes after seeing that possibility, I looked up and down that door , shook my head as I walked around the house and climbed up to my window, I was able to peek through the window and noticed that she has been in my room, the door was locked and my chair was up against the doorknob, but the chair isn't by the door. I crawled through and set my bag down on the bed, I heard noises from her room,"Yeah, yeah" Faintly, I groaned in disgust as I changed into my clothes after shutting the door, turning on my Walkman, grabbed headphones and crawled into my bed then drifted off to sleep.
I woke up at the crack of dawn before my mother woke up, I went into the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, put some school clothes on and I thought that maybe I can ride with my friends today, but I just didn't feel like it, so I just walked to school. As soon as I walked through the front doors, it all just felt weird, it was like everyone around me was just talking about me, even when the cheer squad was just looking at me as they were putting up anti-bullying posters up. I tried my best to ignore them, but there were these constant whispers and glances at me; I just went straight to class and saw Greg at my spot, my eyes began darting around to look for an available seat, it was close to the window, so I guess that was okay. Greg walked over to talk to me in a hushed voice,"I just want to say that I'm-"
"Sorry? I don't want to do this right now...ever, so go find someone else. Someone else besides me" The school bell rang and more kids started to come in, we still had this awkward eye contact, I cleared my throat and told him,"Class is starting"
"Right, okay" He said softly and walked away. There was a whole lot more that I wanted to say,'The way you were trying to get into my pants was how you wanted to do when you were sober. I thought you were interested in what I was saying more than my body' And the thing is that, I don't even wear tight clothing, it was just casual wear on a regular. Physically being there, everything was fine, but emotionally, the room was spinning, I kept seeing myself in a different place, maybe on the countryside, somewhere away from here. Next thing you know, I walked out, took the next bus to New York City, got off and went to the cafe that Dani works at, I saw Scout behind the counter,"Oh hey, aren't you suppose to be here? It's a school day" I shook my head and asked for Dani,"She's in the backroom, getting ready to check out"
"Okay, thanks Scout"
"Sure no problem, hello sir, how may I help you?" Walked off as she was tending to a customer, I walked through this little doorway, saw Dani taking off her apron,"Dani?" She looked over her right and saw me,"Hey, how's it going?" Hyperventilation took over, a lump began a bitter pill to swallow, my eyes just began forming tears and I lost it,"Oh come here" She hugged me as my tears was leaving her blouse completely drenched,"I don't have any classes today, I just came in to fill in someone's morning shift, so we can talk, explore NYC, how's that sound?"
"Sounds good" We went to the tiny bathroom so I can wash my face,"God I can't believe it, I don't really cry this hard"
"What happened?"
"Everything, I just needed to get out of there. I've had it with high school, my life in Brooklyn" I gestured for that sentence and she petted my hair slightly,"7 months left, is that correct?"
"7 more months of hell" She gave me a paper towel and I wiped my face,"Wanna hang out to get your mind off of whatever bullshit is happening that you obviously don't need right now" I nodded,"Yes"
We went to grab some coffee and walked around, she asked me,"Juliet told me about what happened at the Homecoming party, Greg and Danford don't deserve you" I took a sip of my coffee and we sat down on the bench, I know Juliet shouldn't have told anyone about that, but it was just Dani, that's okay and otherwise, Dani has grown mature since High School and that's all that matters. "How's school going for you?"
"Sent out an application for Vet School, hopefully I get in, but I'm still being level-headed about it and if not, I'll keep trying until it comes true" I loved her motivation, the energy that she had was absolutely undeniably amazing, it was like no matter what was thrown at her, she was going to keep going and push herself until she makes it. Her parents were struggling with financial stability, they only graduated High School and never really went to college, so she's learning from her parents' mistakes. "Have you ever thought about what you've been wanting to do after Graduation?" The question that will always annoy the students who are already struggling finding a correct answer for a simple test, what makes adults think that we can figure out what we want to do when we can't even get a good test score? I shrugged and answered,"I've always liked dancing, interest in theater, but I don't think Broadway will take someone like me"
"You never know, gotta give it a shot" She patted my shoulder and I leaned on her,"I can try, but where am I gonna get the money for Broadway or California?"
"Los Angeles? You plan on going there?" Again I shrugged,"No idea, my brother Jim is living over there now" I got up when she turned to face me,"Have you been talking to him lately?"
"Over the phone every couple weeks when he has time. He just calls the school, not at my house, he doesn't want to talk to mom" She tapped her index finger on her coffee,"How's you and Gerard?"
"Well we'll always have bumps along the way, but other than that, we're still good. Him and I got into an argument, but it wasn't really serious that we didn't hit one another, we're just normal now, it's crazy" I smiled at the way she talked about her relationship, she always did say that she wants to be with someone that she can talk to and be honest, Gerard can be that person for her.