“Ok, what’s wrong?” Adam asked.
I sighed heavily and counted to ten. It was my method; to calm myself down when I was angry. “I can’t deal with this crap anymore. Mom’s getting overemotional, I get bossed around all the time, I want to rearrange her face, Dad’s not doing anything about it, and it’s like the world revolves around mom. If she wants food, you get her food. If she wants the freaking TV remote, give it to her.” I panted, and closed my eyes. I began to hug the pillow I had in my hands, and Adam frowned.
“Lacey, that’s how pregnant women are,” he said softly. “My mom was like that too, except… I don’t think that she demanded so much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, Adam. That helps a lot.”
He sighed. “Sorry.”
I stood up, throwing the pillow back onto his couch, and walked over to the door. “I’m going outside,” I mumbled, and moved across the living room to the Foyer. Resisting the urge to throw open the door and let it slam against the wall, I stepped outside and sat down on the porch steps. Adam’s house was my second home. I was always over there, even if he had company. We were so close, people thought we were basically dating. I had never thought of dating him, even though I found him extremely attractive. I heard him come outside, but I didn’t say anything.
“Lacey?” He asked, sitting down next to me on the porch.
“It’s like I never existed to them, like I was just a freaking practice kid, so that they would know what was ahead of them when they were ready.”
He ran his hand up and down my back carefully. “Don’t think like that, Lacey. Your parents love you.”
I rolled my eyes. “She only talks to me when she needs something, Adam.” I turned to look at him. “Lacey, get me a glass of water. Lacey, help me wash the dishes. Lacey…” I said, mocking mom in a high pitched voice. My voice cracked, and I suddenly felt like crying. I stood up, and paced on the sidewalk.
I began to beat on my thighs as I walked. “Lacey… you’ve got four more months. To be honest, it won’t seem like that long. I had to go through all of this, too, remember?”
I sighed. “You make this sound easy.”
“That’s because it is! God, you’re acting like you’re the only one who’s gone through this!” He raised his voice a little by every few words. “You’re so spoiled, Lacey. I can understand why you’re upset about this, but it’s not the end of the fucking world!”
I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. “Wonderful words of encouragement, Adam.” I started my way down the sidewalk, but then turned around and stared at him. He came towards me and I huffed. “I’m not spoiled. I work for everything, and unlike you, I don’t have a car!”
Adam sighed, and, grabbing my wrist, he pulled me closer to him. “I have that car, Lacey, because I bought it myself. I got myself a job, and I paid for it myself. I bought my insurance myself, and I don’t ask for money to get gas. That’s why I have that car. Because I work too.”
I huffed again, and I tried to pull my wrist back, but he held on tighter. “It’s not my fault that no one will hire me, Adam!” I yanked at my wrist again, but he wouldn’t let go. “Let go of me!! I want to go home!” I closed my eyes, and slowly counted to ten. I felt Adam’s lips brush mine and I froze. I stopped counting and held my breath. He deepened it after a moment, and I finally kissed him back.
My anger was washed away, and all I could feel was giddiness. He pulled back, and I said, eyes still closed, “what was that for?” My lids fluttered open and I looked up at him. He blushed, and bit his lip.
“I thought it might help,” he said softly. I smiled, and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing the side of my face into his chest. He ran his hand down my hair, and I closed my eyes. He smelled like axe, but it wasn't too strong.
“That was,” I mumbled, “kind of weird.”
Adam laughed. “Sort of.” I let go of him and took a step back. I was calmer than I was before, but not totally content.
We stared at each other for a few moments, before I said, “so… what now?”
He pressed his lips together, and said, “I don’t know.” I wanted him to say something other than that. I wanted it to be… hey! Let’s go out. He wasn’t going to say it though, because I know Adam all too well. He was going to forget that it ever happened, and I was going to be angry with him because he was… I don’t know. He was the guy that every girl wanted for her boyfriend, because he was very sweet. He thought about what he was going to say before he said it, and he cared about what us girls thought. He was definitely polite. I watched him patiently, and he raised his eyebrow.
“What?” He asked, running his hand through his hair.
I sighed. It wasn’t going to happen. “I – I’m gonna go home. My mom probably needs me for something,” I mumbled, and turned to walk away. Adam didn’t try to stop me this time, and I didn’t mind. I wanted to go home and think. He really made me realize that I sounded like some cold, heartless villain. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans and heard a gun shot.
Now, living in New Jersey had its advantages, as there were a number of big bands from there, but at night, it’s one of the scariest places to be. I looked toward the park, and saw a group of figures. Three or four of them were shooting at two of them. The two who were being shot at dropped to the ground and I gasped. No, it wasn’t the first time I’d seen this happen, but I didn’t see it very often. I started to move towards home, trying to forget about what I just saw. It wasn’t like I was going to be traumatized, but it still freaked me out... majorly.
I opened the front door quietly and saw dad pacing in front of the couch. He stopped when I shut the door, and said, “oh, Lacey! Where’ve you been?”
I gave him a confused expression. “I was with Adam,” I said. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at me.
“You were supposed to be home at nine. It’s almost nine-thirty. You know you’re not supposed to be out at night!”
“Dad, don’t freak out, ok? I walked home.”
He sighed again. “Adam is supposed to give you a ride if it’s after seven.”
“I wanted to walk home, dad, ok?”
“Lacey! Two people were murdered in the park today! I’m surprised you didn’t know.”
“Of course I know, dad. I watched it happen. I wasn’t going to get hurt. I’m in track, remember?”
He nodded slowly, and sat down on the couch. “Go tell your mother you’re ok. She’s on the verge of tears.”
“Ok. Where is she?” I shoved my hand into my back pocket and leaned onto my right foot.
“Bedroom.”
I skipped up the stairs two at a time and, tripping on the end of the rug, I reached her bedroom. I took a deep breath, and regaining my balance, I knocked softly. “Mom?”
The door swung open and she appeared. She looked horrible. Her shirt was wrinkled, and with that little bulge in her stomach, I felt my stomach drop. I suddenly felt so guilty for everything I’d been complaining about. I was such a brat. I hugged her, and said, “mom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve been such a brat about this. I love you.”
She rubbed my back, and I sniffled. I wasn’t one to cry, but I felt so bad about how I’d been acting. “It’s ok, sweetie. I know it’s hard.”
I let her go, and smiled.
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