"Come here, sweetie." He says, his voice soothing and calm. A big contrast to what it was a few minutes ago.
I can only shake my head and take two steps back when he takes one closer. My eyes are wide with fear and I feel out of breath. Out of place.
"Don't be scared, honey. I won't hurt you anymore. I'm sorry." He continues.
I sqeeze my eyes out momentarily and hot tears leak out. He steps closer and I whimper a little. He looks hurt by my behavior.
"Mommy will be fine. I'll take her to the doctor and she'll be just fine." He continues.
My eyes dart to the floor, where my mother- my beautiful mother- lies limp and unconscious on the tiled ground.
I choke back a sob and a shiver runs through me, but it's not from the cold. It's past midnight. He came home late again and another argument arose.
"She'll be okay..."
"No, she won't." I choke out. I want to say more, to curse him, yell at him. But fear creeps in like a snake, wrapping itself around my throat and blocking any sounds from following.
"Yes, she will. Come here, sweetie-" he says and lunges for me, his arms trapping me in.
I release a shuddered scream and thrash around in his arms-
I jolt awake in my bed, pulling the covers along with me. I take in deep, tense breaths and relish in the crisp air in the room.
Light filters in from the balcony window and I let it push the sleep away. The dormant alarm clock on my nightstand tells me it's 8:14 am. I pick up my phone and sit up on the headboard.
I have a single text from Emily telling me she'll be picking me up at half-past eleven so we can spend more time at the mall. I send her a reply telling her it's fine with me.
A knock sounds from the door and it soon swings open. Mrs. Sanchez bounces in, a tray in her hands.
"Oh, you're already awake, Miss April." She muses as she places the tray of breakfast on my lap above the covers.
"Um, yeah. I have a thing today." I tell her and she hums in acknowedgement.
She scoots around the room and begins opening windows, letting fresh warm air filter in. "And where is that?" She asks, a raised eyebrow.
"The mall. With Emily." I reply. Her face contorts into an expression I cant read.
"I'm not a fan of that girl." She says finally.
"Emily? Really? She's fine." I chuckle out and Mrs. Sanchez merely scoffs.
"She's a bad influence. Always talking about boys and material things..." she muses.
"She's okay. I'm still myself, aren't I?" I retort.
"Yes, you are. And such a good girl, you are." She gushes and throws the door open.
"I'll be back for that in twenty-minutes. Eat up, dearie." She says and scurries away, shutting the door behind her.
I look down at the tray she left for me. A plate of eggs, bacon and toast, a small fruit bowl and a steaming cup of coffee. I smile a little.
She doesn't have to bring me breakfast in bed but she wants to, since I don't eat breakfast regularly on school days. And I've grown tired of arguing with her to stop, so I just go along with it.
I begin to take a few bites from the breakfast and pull up my phone, logging into my instagram. You could call my account a ghost account because didn't post anything but dark humor or art. I only have it to keep tabs on my mom.
I log in and pull up her latest posts. A breakfast picture, a short clip of her boutique, a picture taken with Tanya-a woman I've met a couple of times. I am not a fan. A picture of her at the beach, in a car and at what I think is a Polo game.
Atleast I know she's okay. Where she is, I have no idea.
"I'm back." Mrs. Sanchez chirps as she pulls the door open again. "Are you done, dearie?" She asks.
I nod and smilea little. "Yeah. Thank you, Mrs. Sanchez.
"It's no trouble, dear." She says and balances the tray on one hand. "You should get ready for that trip you're taking with that girl." She reminds me.
"Yes, Ma'am." I humor her and she huffs at me. She says it makes her sound old when I call her that.
She leaves the door ajar when she leaves and Chunky comes blaring in.
"Chunky, where have you been?" I say as he jumps fluidly into my bed and lying over my legs.
He only barks in answer and scratch him under his neck, making him lie down against my bed.
I reach for my phone again and he places a heavy paw against my hand, silently telling me 'no'.
"It's okay, Chunky. I'm fine." I soothe him. A sound escapes him. It sounded like a doubtful scoff. "Really, I am."
I decide to leave the phone and pick out what I'll be wearing to the mall. I decide on a pair of black jeans, a long-sleeved white t-shirt and a grey hoodie. My Converse will be the usual for shoes.
Chunky watches me from the bed and his ears are pointed in attention, watching my every move. "Calm down, boy. I'm fine." I tell him.
As per usual, he ignores me.
I shoo him off the bed and clean it up, putting the pillows back where they belong. Once I'm done I grab the Nebulizer and plug it in after taking a seat on the couch. I grab a new tube, along with the mask, and begin the daily process.
Chunky stays by my feet for the whole duration of the process, rubbing his nose on leg every now and then.
'Cause I can't let you lose yourself
Looking for me
And I can't let you make me your
Your everything
I just wanna be an escape
I just wanna be an escape
Baby can we escape, escape, escape?'
My phone rings while I'm sat at my vanity, looking into the mirror while brushing my auburn hair, untangling whatever knot I can. I reach for it and swipe left to answer and put it on loud speaker.
Emily's soprano voice rings out. "I'm at your gate. open up, April."
"Okay..." I say and end the call. I quickly dial the gate code and I soon hear the smooth engine of her car from the driveay.
"I'll be back soon, boy." I say and pat Chunky on the lightly as I pass by. He whimpers at me leaving, but we can't all get what we want. I certainly didn't.
I grab my leather duffel bag, stuffing my phone, earpods and an inhaler before stalking out the door.
"I'm leaving now, Mrs. Sanchez." I call out into the house. She replies from the kitchen.
"Have fun, dearie!" She yells back. I didn't want another stand-off between her and Emily, so I manage to keep them apart.
The weather outside is warm and partly cloudy. I walk down the tiled steps and pull open open the passanger side of Emily's cherry red BMW.
"You made it! I was about to start honking." She jokes as I buckle in.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go. The sooner we leave, is the sooner I can get back and start my new novel." I tell her and she scoffs.
"The weekend was created for a reason, April." She says.
"And everyone should use it however they want to..." I retort.
She pulls out of the driveway and treks down the paved path towards the gate, I unlock it and she veers into the street.
"So... I heard Claire mouthed off at you yesterday at lunch," She says after a while.
"Uh, yeah. I don't really know what that was about." I reply and she hums in acknowledgement.
"Cami told me about it. And she was not happy. Claire has this new infatuation with Sawyer, but it will die down soon." She says and I just stay quiet.
Claire and I aren't originally close. We only tolerate each other because of our group and that's it. I wouldn't care if she says something mean or rude, it would just justify my opinion on her.
I turn towards Emily as she's focusd on the road. She's wearing a black lacy top with a black bra underneath and a pair of red shorts, paired with heeled ankle-boots. Her hair is pulled into a sleek ponytail with complicted eye make-up to match. she looks amazing
"-and we're gonna he meeting Luca and the guys for lunch later on-"
"Wait- what?" I say, finally tuning in on her rambling.
"We're meeting the the guys for lunch at the pier later on." She says noncholantly.
"Uh, yeah. Have fun with that." I tell her.
"You're not coming? Why?" She asks, sadness lacing her voice.
"I have a thing..." I say simply. And she only pouts in protest.
"Come on, April. It's senior year. When are you going to start living?" She chides softly. "And it's nothing bad. Just a little group activity."
"I know, Em. But you know why." I conclude.
He hands tighten on the steering wheel and she purses her lips a little. "Yeah, I know." She says.
Honestly, she knows nothing. I told my reason for being highly anti-social was because of my anxiety and I couldn't function or breath when around a new set of people. It's not a complete lie, per say.
"I just want you to have a good year, babe. Find new friends, meet more people. Get a boyfriend even!" She says. "Or a girlfriend if you play for that team..." she says playfully.
"You are insane, Emily!" I retort and she only laughs in reply.
"We're here," she says after parking a few minutes off the mall entrence. She shuts off the engine and reaches for her phone.
"The girls are already here, over at Montego's for breakfast. Let's go." She says after a few taps on her phone. We exit her car and she locks the door, and stalks towards the mall entrence, and I trail a few feet behind her, adjusting the hood over my head.
_
"So what did you think of getting for Trenton?" I ask Cami as we stroll through a popular sports shop. The purpose is to get her a gift for her long-time boyfriend's birthday.
"I told you: I don't know. I just want to get him something special." Cami stresses from beside me.
"Well, I know nothing about boys... So, I don't understand why you're asking me." I tell her honestly.
"You're the only sensible one in the group, April," She says in a 'duh' tone. I can only nod dumbly.
"Well have you ever tried making something for him?" I ask?
"Like what?" I ask.
"Uh, I don't know. A drawing? A mug? A cake?" I continue.
She pauses in her step and looks down at me. I'm shorter by a few inches than her. "April, baby." She says softly. "You know I couldn't cook to save my life. Why would you say that?" She chides.
"You've been dating Trenton for four years- he knows that. Imagine how happy he'll be to know you even touched the oven for him..." I explain.
"You do make a point." She muses. "And that boy does love carrot cake... Okay, I'll do it." She says triumphantly.
"Good." I conclude.
"But you're helping," she continues.
Noooo!
She laughs at the look on my face." Let's go look for cake toppers at Walmart." She says and grabs my hand, pulling my out of the sport shop.
I can barely catch-up to her Runner's strides and almost face plant when she takes a sharp turn.
My heart pounds loudly in my chest, and-
"Come here, sweetie. She's going gonna be okay, April. Stop resisting!" He says as he pulls roughly on my arm, dragging me away from my mother limp body.
Another scream is released from me as he drags me back, rough hands digging into my arms-
I rip my hand away from Cami's and pause in step. Salty tears sting my eyes as I look at her.
"Cami, stop!" I whisper yell at her.
She turns around confused and leans down to look at me from under my hood. "Shit. Are you alright, girl?" She asks lowly.
I will the tears away and try to regulate my breathing back to normal. "I'm fine, Cami. Just, don't do that again." I tell her and she nods somberly.
"I won't. I'm sorry." She says, her brown eyes sad and downcast.
"No, it's fine. Still want to get those toppers?" I ask, changing the subject completely. The quick change in mood throws her off a bit and she only blinks at me.
"Okay, let's go." She says and walk out first. With me trailing behind her.
As I twist around to follow Cami, I smack into something- someone- and would've veered back and hit the ground if it wasn't for the hand that caught me. A distinct but very familiar scent clouds me once more and I feel myself flush.
"You know, If you're going to be walking that fast, you should really watch where you're going." A voice says. I expected malice or irritation but could only trace mild amusement in the raw voice.
"I know. And I'-m sorry," I mutter and move away from being too close for comfort. And I move past the stranger, planning to make a beeline for the door.
But those plans deplete when a hot hand lands on my and pulls me back. My eyes are downcast and my eyes land on a pair of black Air Force 1s.
"If we're gonna keep seeing each other like this, I'd like to know what you look like." Keep seeing each other?
I look up with my mild confusion and suck in a sharp breath when my eyes land on dark brown ones. Sawyer Forster.
"So you do have a face..." He says, clearly amused but no sign of it. "Do you have a name?"
I feel all too hot. My hands are suddenly very sweaty and I think I'm about to puke out my heart, and his hand still hasn't left my forearm.
"April... April." I say breathly.
"Yo, Sawyer! You coming, man?" A distant voice rings from a few isles down the sports shop.
"I'm coming!" He yells back. The then looks down at me, those eyes pining me with his gaze. "Guess you know my name now. I'll see you around, April." He says and pulls away, and strides up to join his friends.
I can only stand and look at him as he disappears. He's wearing dark jeans and a matching T-shirt along with those black Nike sneakers. His shoulders are wide and he is very tall.
A hand lands on my shoulder and a shriek follows. "Girl, what just happened?!" Cami whisper yells and I shush her.
"I don't know. And where were you, traitor?" I ask her.
She only laughs, her laugh sounding like bells. "You need as much human contact as you can get, babe. That awkward but very cute introduction was proof." She says between laughs.
"Shut up!" I glare at her and only laughs harder.
"And oh- Claire is gonna be pissed." She says. "I can't wait to tell her," She says devilishly, scratching at her nose ring.
"You just love making her mad, don't you?" I question her as we pass by a local ice cream shop.
"It's fun. Plus, she's kinda mean to you most of the time. I don't like that." She says pursing her red lips and shaking her head.
"She's fine." I reply simply as we finally reach Walmart.
"What do we actually need to make a cake?" She asks after we found a cake topper with the number 18.
I can only blink at her. "Were you really planning on baking a cake without having the ingredients?" I question.
"And that's why I have you, Sweet April." She says, twirling around in her black dress shoes. "So, what do we need?" She ask, batting her eyelashes at me.
I can only scoff and stalk off in the direction of the baking isle. I hear her yell, 'I love you!' a few ways behind me, drawing looks from shoppers.
-
Fin.