I feel like all I do lately on here is apologize, but just know that I'm constantly thinking of ideas for updates for all my books and for those of you that have moved before, you know how exhausting the process can be! We haven't moved houses yet, but we should be soon! I hope you enjoy this update and all of the other updates that I plan on doing tonight (Nov 1, 2016) and if it's not tonight, then it'll be soon! Enjoy!

Marcus Falls kissed me.

What?

It was all I could think about all weekend. Emily and Jen had stopped by the next day to hear all about the date and when I told them about him kissing me, they just fangirled as if they'd just found out Zac Enron and Vanessa Hudgens got together.

RIP Zanessa.

"We knew you two would be the perfect couple!" Emily cheered as she ate a grape.

"How? What made you two decide this?" I asked, eating my own grape.

We all had grape bowls, and Jen popped a grape in her mouth as she responded. "Well, we talked with Mike and Scott, and it just kind of worked out. We love watching you two flirt."

"We don't flirt," I chuckled.

"Yes you do," Emily chuckled.

I just laughed and rolled my eyes.

"So do you like him?" Jen asked.

I bit my lip and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe? I mean, he's a great guy and everything, but... I don't know."

The front door busted open and we looked to find my mother stumbling in, a beer in hand. This wasn't like her. She was usually never home on the weekends.

Emily, Jen, and I quickly made our way to my room to get our things. As I threw clothes into my bag, it all came crashing down on me. One of the big reasons that I didn't have a boyfriend. Because he'd have to deal with my drunken, abusive mother.

Emily and Jen found out on accident. I'd gone to school with some bruises that had formed overnight and when they didn't buy the lies I was feeding them, they threatened to report my bruises to their parents, so I came clean. Yet, they still wanted to be my friends.

I'd tried pushing them away, but it didn't work. They were always there for me and I was always there for them.

Coming back to reality, we ran out of the house and jumped into their car, knowing that once my mom slept off her drunkenness, it'd be bad. When she was drunk, it was usually safe—depending on what she drank. But her sober? It was awful.

Emily and Jen's parents knew that my mom wasn't a nice person, but that didn't know she hit me from time to time. I'd convinced Emily and Jen to keep it to themselves, but I hated that they had to lie for me. My mom could be a good person, but it was really rare. Especially in these last couple of years.

When we got to their house, we went in to find their mom and dad watching TV in the living room.

"Hey, girls," Karen smiled at us.

"Hey," Damon waved.

"Hey," we greeted.

Karen noticed my bag and gave me a sympathetic smile. "You girls hungry?"

"No thanks," Emily shook her head.

"Okay, well let us know if y'all need anything," she said as we went to Emily's room.

"We will," Emily called and we sat in her room. Emily on her bed, Jen in the pink beanbag chair, and me in the green one.

"So," Jen chirped. "Back to Marcus."

"He totally likes you," Emily looked at me.

"Okay, let's pretend he does. It wouldn't be right for me to drag him into my mess of a life," I said.

"Hey, we're in it, and we're okay," Jen protested.

"That's because y'all are y'all. Marcus may not want to put up with me like you do," I looked between them.

"For the 'bad girl' of the school, you're really not bad," Emily laughed.

"What? I'm not the 'bad girl' in school. That'd be Kylie," I said confused.

"No, Kylie is the slut of the school," Emily corrected. "Everyone sees you as the bad girl since you occasionally ditch class, ride your motorcycle everywhere, and hang out with 'the bad boys.' Plus, you're that equal amount of extrovert and introvert to where you have your awesome friends," she flipped her hair and looked at Jen and back at me to be funny. "but you don't judge. I think it's more that people are intimidated by you."

"Intimidated? By me? What?" I laughed.

"It's true," Jen chimed in. "You're, like, crazy confident and you carry yourself in the way of 'don't mess with me,' that people are just, like, 'maybe we shouldn't say anything to her.'"

"Y'all are nuts," I laughed. "You two carry yourselves better than me. Everyone wants to be y'all's friend. You two are very approachable."

"Well, our point is, you should give Marcus a chance if he says anything to you on Monday," Emily smiled.

"That's a big IF," I told her.

"Not really," Jen laughed.

"Also, we've got to do something about your mom," Emily said.

"Why?" I asked.

They both gave me the "really?" look.

"What? She didn't even hit me or say anything to me today," I shrugged.

"Key word; today," Jen said.

"She needs to be reported and put in rehab. You're eighteen, you won't be put in foster care," Emily reminded me.

I sighed, knowing they were right, but I just couldn't. She was my mom. I couldn't give up on her. My phone buzzed with a text from Marcus.

"Guys, Marcus text me," I said surprised.

"What'd he say?" They said excited.

"He just said hey," I laughed at their excitement.

"Well text him back," Jen encouraged.

Me- Hey

Him- What's up?

Not much, just hanging with Emily & Jen. You?

Bout to call up Mike & Scott. Y'all wanna meet us at the boardwalk?

"He invited us to go to the boardwalk with him, Mike, and Scott," I looked at them.

"YES!" Emily cheered.

I looked to Jen who was doubled over in laughter, but she managed to say "yes" in between laughs.

Me- See y'all in 30
******
So it's Nov 2, 2016 now but I updated!!!! Onto *hopefully* update the rest of my books!!! Thank y'all so much for the understanding & support!!!!

What do you think Marcus's story is?
Do you think they'll get together in the next chapter or more towards the end?
Do you think Kylie will cause trouble?
Do you think Marcus just started liking Erin or do you think he's liked her for longer?
What about Emily and Jen? Opinions on them?
Predictions for the next chapter/rest of the book?

Love y'all!!!
WritingMelody🙏🏻❤️✌🏻️