[Teen and New Adult Romance]
"Life as a trailer trash kid is nothing short of shitty, especially when the love of my life pretends that I don't exist."
River wants two things: to get out of Gladstone and to be with the boy from her childhood. With h...
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***River at Fifteen Years Old***
Relieved that my mom's boyfriend wasn't home, I sat down on the couch and flicked on the television.
"River!" Vinny called from my mom's room. "Bring me a beer."
He was here. Shit. I fumbled with the remote and managed to turn off the television before I nimbly slipped out the front door. I grabbed my overnight bag from under the skirting of the trailer and trudged toward the park.
Vinny hadn't been bad at first, but that had been three years ago. For the first year, he had a good job as a mechanic until he got fired. My mom worked nights at Bobby's Bar, so she didn't come home until after two in the morning.
Vinny had been all kinds of nice when they first met. He'd even taken us to a water park over the summer before my mom asked him to move in. We'd had a lot of fun until he started looking at me differently. There were moments when I would catch his eyes lingering on me.
Typically, it never mattered when people stared, but there was something behind Vinny's eyes that made me feel uneasy. I never enjoyed being alone with him. The last time I'd stayed home alone with him, he'd started tickling me, and it took a downward turn. I ran out of the room and vowed to never be alone with him again.
I could only pray that my mom would dump him one day, or maybe he'd get another job and leave, but he only stayed home and drank all day. Every once in a while, I'd get lucky when he would go out with some of his buddies, but it didn't happen often. I thought Vinny had gone out this afternoon since his motorcycle was gone. Sometimes he let his friends borrow it, so that's probably what happened today.
Finding my usual spot near the brush and trees, I sat and pulled out my homework. With the dying sunlight, I tried to focus on getting my algebra done.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the trailer bitch of the park." Lyla said from somewhere. "What's wrong? Mommy forget to pay the electric bill again? Maybe you need to tell her to spin on that pole a little harder."
Glancing up, I ignored Lyla's jabs as she walked by with Jordan Hemler, her boyfriend. Lyla had made it public knowledge that Jordan had taken her virginity, which was just weird. They were complete opposites. Jordan was a quiet, friendly guy with a long face and shaggy brown hair.
"Hey, River," Jordan greeted. "Big test tomorrow, huh? You ready for it?"
"Ew! Don't talk to it." Lyla sneered.
I rolled my eyes and sent Jordan a soft grin. "Hey, Jordan. Yeah, I'm just finishing up the review."
"I didn't do mine yet. I hate math." Jordan's lips tipped up into the tiniest of grins. It was cute.
"Jordan!" Lyla shoved him and marched away.
Jordan's slight grin drained from his lips as he ran after her. "Wait, Babe."
