[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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After Kaleb dropped me off, I limped into my apartment and grabbed a pillow off my bed to lie down on the couch. I put on some comfy pajamas and went to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. It was a scary sight.
My entire face and body was covered in purple bruises. I could even see the shoe marks the girls had left on my skin. Feeling around my scalp, I found several lumps on my head where I'd been kicked. Needless to say, I was in terrible shape.
I called into work and told Dennis what happened to me the night before. Dennis sounded deeply concerned as he told me to get better soon. He asked me to check in with him daily until I could return to work. His worry showed me how much he cared, which made me feel good. I didn't have many people in my life who cared about me like that.
Laying on the couch, I tensed up, knowing that I needed to text my mother. I hated that I had to do it. After I typed out a message, I shut my eyes and pressed send.
Me: I got jumped by some people from school last night. I can barely move. I'm staying with a friend until I get better. It might take a few days. Will you please let the school know that I'm sick this week?
Mom: I figured something like this would happen.
That wasn't the response I was hoping for. I thought maybe she would give a damn, but I was wrong, as usual.
Me: Love you.
Mom: ...
It took my mom a long time to answer, and I couldn't understand why. Why couldn't she just say the words back? It was obvious that my mom barely loved me, so why was I even waiting for a response?
Mom: Get better soon. Love you.
I threw my phone down on the couch, pissed. Yeah, she'd finally said she loved me, but how long did that have to take? She had to think it over. My boss had shown that he cared more about me than my own mother.
About an hour later, I was watching a movie on my phone when Kaleb walked into my apartment without knocking. He brought in a large duffle bag and a bag from a gaming store.
"What are you doing here?" I sat up on the couch, eyeing him closely. "I never said you could come over."
"I don't need your permission." Kaleb shook his head as he set his bags on the kitchen table. He quickly pulled out a new PlayStation with two controllers from one bag. "I'm staying here until you're better."
"I don't think that's a good idea. I just want to be left alone, Kaleb." I could barely hold my eyes open.
For the shortest moment, I thought about how terrible I must look as my gaze fell to the floor. I knew I looked like shit, but if he didn't care, neither did I.
"I knew if I said something, things would get worse. I'm so fucking sorry." Kaleb barely looked in my direction before he started hooking up the PlayStation to the television.
