Chapter 14

I sat on the couch as my mother stared me down, tapping her foot against the carpeted floor. She received a call from the principal, letting her know about the change in schedule. I didn't really know why she was mad at me. I got into an advanced class; she shouldn't feel mad. 

I rolled my eyes at her and leaned back comfortably as she continued tapping her foot. "Oh, come on, Mother. Your daughter is a genius, be happy."

"I will be happy when the day comes that I don't receive a single call from your school. You only got into that advanced class because you wouldn't leave the poor teacher alone." She seethed. "So, no. I am not happy that my daughter is a 'genius'."

I was taken aback by her sudden attack, my brows knitting together. Why did she always get so worked up with every little thing? She was already starting to get agitated, and we haven't even spoken for ten minutes. A frown etched on my face as I shook my head in disbelief. 

Did she always had to point out every bad thing?

The answer to my unasked questions came rather quickly, since she decided to keep on talking. "Not to mention that the reason for your suspension was because you couldn't help jumping back to your stupid ex-boyfriend!"

"What do you even mean by that? You know what the real reason was, so don't come to me with that bull crap!" I shot back. "If you want to talk about failures, then you should look at yourself in the mirror."

"Amelia!" She gasped, her face turning red. "How dare you say that?"

"The more I look at you, the more I see why my father cheated on you while you were pregnant with me." I huffed. Her face turned pale, probably not expecting me to tell the harsh truth. "What? Did you think I wouldn't find out about him? About how he got another woman pregnant a few months after he found out about me?"

"How—"

"It doesn't matter how I know this." I sighed. "But you shouldn't look down upon me when you are not perfect yourself."

She stayed silent after this, her eyes slowly brimming with tears. I didn't look at her, the frown still prominent on my face. A few seconds passed by until the front door was opened, and my stepfather walked in. He closed the door behind him and eyed us skeptically. 

Great, even more problems.

"Honey, what's going on here?" he asked my mother, not even looking at her as his eyes stayed on me. I held his stare, certainly not backing down. He put his things down by the table and crossed his arms in a way that was supposed to be intimidating. My mother didn't answer him, just sniffled and sighed. His stare turned hard. "What did you do to your mother this time?"

"It's none of your business." I spat. "Get your drunk-ass out of my way and take a shower. You reek of alcohol."

"Listen here, you," he growled and stepped forward. "I won't take any more disrespectfulness directed toward me or your mother. Either you change your way of acting or face the consequences."

"I'd rather face the consequences than bow my head to an alcoholic asshole like you," I said, glaring at him. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, pulling me up so that I basically stood on my tip toes. My glare didn't falter as he sneered down at me, instead, it turned more challenging.  "What? Are you going to punch me?"

That was all it took for him to throw me across the living room. My back hit the floor quite harshly, making me wince, and I instantly rolled to the side and stood up. I flexed my muscles and stood in a fighting stance, prepared for him. He marched toward me with a raised fist, sending it down toward my side. I used my left arm to block his fist then brought my right knee upward, hitting him in the stomach and making him stumble back.

My mother let out a shriek, rushing up to him and holding his shoulders. He pushed her to the side and charged at me. I sidestepped and kicked his shin, causing him to fall on top of the coffee table. He groaned as he rolled to the ground and his head hit the floor. I huffed in annoyance then took the advantage of my stepfather lying on the floor to punch him in the pit of the stomach. This made him lose his breath, and he started wheezing.

I darted through the front door to make them think that I ran away. Instead of going down the road, I ran to the side of my house and into the backyard. I immediately climbed the tree to my room then opened the window in time to hear his heavy footsteps running outside while screaming my name. I hopped inside the room, trying to make as little noise as possible, and went over to my door to lock it.

Grabbing my duffel bag, I emptied the contents on the floor. Then, I hurried to my closet, grabbing enough clothes to last me about a week and throwing them inside the bag. I got my makeup as well, along with some toiletries and undergarments. Lastly, I pried off a piece of wood from the floor and took all my hidden money and a butterfly knife, just in case. I placed the wood back in place, then threw the gun I snatched away from Bryce inside before closing the bag. I draped my school bag over my shoulders, grabbed the duffel bag, and closed the window.

I tiptoed to the door and opened it a little, peeking through the crack to make sure that the coast was clear. Once I didn't see—or hear—any signs of movement, I hurried my way out. I crossed the kitchen and walked into the garage, cursing silently when I found the garage doors were closed. I quickly ran towards my bike, lifting the seat to stuff my duffle bag inside the storage compartment. As I secured the school bag on my back, I dug the keys out of my pocket.

My stepfather's thundering steps entered the house as he screamed profanities. Without a second thought, I brought the bike to life and pushed the button to open the garage doors. The doors were half open when my stepfather ran inside, his face contorting in anger. I didn't hesitate to quickly punch him in the throat causing him to stumble back, gagging. My mother shouted my name behind me, but I ignored her and hopped on my bike instead, before speeding off.

My hair flew everywhere, constantly getting in my eyes. I soon reached a gas station, so I stopped to fill the tank and tied my hair up. Once I was finished doing both things, I got back onto the road and headed to the spot I used to hang out with the Danielle and Kenneth. I killed the engine and hopped off tiredly, stepping through the hole in the fence. I climbed the hill slowly, sitting down once I reached the top.

The sun was starting to set, the sky becoming a nice hue of pinks and oranges. The wind blew softly, the street void of any vehicles, creating a peaceful environment. I wasn't sure of how much time I spent watching the sunset, but I knew it had been a while due to my aching back and butt. 

Once darkness took over the sky, I threw the bag beside me and laid down. Getting my hair and clothes dirty was the least of my worries at that moment.

The faint sound of a car coming to a stop almost caught my attention, but I didn't feel like checking who it was. Two doors shut in the distance and I slowly reached into my back pocket, taking out the pocket knife. I heard as two pairs of footsteps approached me, but I stayed still, holding the knife in my hands. The footsteps grew closer, and I was about to attack until Danielle's voice called out to me. A package of cigarettes was thrown on my torso and I looked up to see Kenneth holding a bottle of whiskey.

"Thought you needed something to relax," he spoke and they both sat next to me. "Your mother called me desperately, saying that you ran off again."

"This time for good," I grunted and grabbed a cigarette from the package. He offered to light it up for me, and I gladly accepted. I puffed out a cloud of smoke and snatched the bottle from his hands, taking a huge swig of whiskey. I grimaced once the strong liquor ran down my throat, but welcomed it, nonetheless.

"Lily, you know you can stay in my house if you'd like," Danielle offered, and I chuckled humorlessly.

"I appreciate it, but that's the first place she's going to go searching for me. I can't stay at either of your houses, at least not after a couple of weeks," I said, tapping the cigarette to get rid of the ash, and inhaled deeply. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Perhaps I'll stay at a cheap hotel for the meanwhile."

They nodded and watched as I finished smoking the cigarette and took two more swigs of the liquor. I threw the bottle back to Kenneth to prevent myself from drinking more. I also threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it before standing up and stretching. The couple stood up with me, dusting their backsides from any dirt. 

I turned to them. "It's getting late; you both should go back to your houses."

"We were going to grab dinner at Steak 'n Shake, would you like to come?" Danielle asked hopefully. 

I sighed and gave her half a smile. She was always trying to lighten up the mood and make everyone feel better. I finally nodded my head and she smiled brightly, pulling Kenneth towards the car. 

"Great! We'll see you there!"

I chuckled and grabbed the bag from the ground before heading to my bike. I slung the bag over my shoulders and hopped on my baby before bringing her to life. I didn't waste any time to speed over to the nearest Steak n' Shake, seeing Kenneth's car already parked there. I positioned my bike next to it and killed the engine, seeing my friends waiting for me at the entrance. I got off and went inside the building after them. 

A woman in her mid-thirties greeted us and led us to a table before handing out the menus.

"Hello, welcome to Steak 'n Shake! Do you have your orders ready?" a bubbly voice asked, making me look up. 

You've got to be kidding me.

"Izzy?" I asked, and the waitress looked up from the notepad she was holding.

"Oh, hi Amelia!" She smiled and put her notepad down. "I see you discovered my part-time job here."

"It appears so," I said, uninterested. "Anyway, I would like a Western BBQ 'n Bacon Steakburger with a Cookies 'n Cream milkshake."

"Alright." She noted it down and looked at the couple. "And for you two?"

"Grilled Portobello and Swiss Steakburger with a Snickers milkshake," Kenneth answered. "And for Danielle, a Royale Steakburger with a Salted Caramel Milkshake."

"Your orders will be ready in about twenty minutes," she announced, and I watched as her back retreated behind the counter.

Was it normal that a person you just met suddenly appeared everywhere?

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[Edited: August 26th, 2020 by michh_44]

Problems, problems, and even more problems... When would Amelia be able to relax and have a calm day? There's always something coming up for her. At least her friends always come to her and comfort her a little. What a pair of good friends she has. Click that star and feel free to comment your thoughts! xx