Welcome To My Life

“There you are. How was your study group? Are you hungry?” my aunt asked sort of nicely.
Study group? I turned to look at Jack, who shrugged.
“Yes, study group was okay. Actually, I already made a friend. We went to get ice cream after study group and then he drove me home. You might know him, his name is Alex” I said, smiling sweetly.

I turned to look at Jack, to see anger flash in his eyes. Good. That’s what I was going for. If he was gonna leave me at school, I would get him back for it.

“Alex Gaskarth? Isn’t that your friend?” my aunt asked Jack.
“Yes” Jack said through gritted teeth.
“Ah well, it’s nice to see you’re getting along so well” my uncle said.
“Yeah, Jack makes me feel so welcome. All of his friends are so nice to me and I had such a great day!” I said faking enthusiasm.

Of course Jack saw right through me, but his parents bought it. Kill ‘em with kindness, that’s what I was going to do. If I were to actually explain what Jack did, he would make me the bad guy without doubt. "Sweet" Jack would never do such things I accused him of and of course Jack would deny everything. Therefore I took this approach. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?

My aunt got up to heat up some lasagna for me. I didn’t expect people like them to eat lasagna. I expected them to have caviar and lobster for dinner every night. I did prefer lasagna though. My aunt told me she would make an exception and let me eat in front of the television, something I used to do every day.

I held back a sigh. Even though my stay here was only temporary, I was pretty sure it would still seem like forever. In fact, it actually might be forever or at least until I’m 18 years old. I wasn’t really expecting my parents to ever let me move back in, but we’ll see.

I ate my lasagna while we were all silently watching TV. This is something I would have to get used to. My parents and I always used to chitchat during diner, or whenever we saw each other really. These people didn’t really seem to have anything to talk about, causing an uncomfortable silence.

They were like this at birthdays as well. They would hardly say anything nor would they care about what other people told them. I always wondered why they even bothered ever coming over. They don’t anymore. Before yesterday I hadn’t seen them in years which is why I was surprised my parents decided to make me live with them, instead of, I don’t know, my grandparents? I would’ve preferred that, that’s for sure. I knew they accepted me for who I was, unlike my uncle and aunt. They wouldn’t say they didn’t like the way I acted, dressed or did my makeup but I could tell. Not that I cared, because I learned long ago not to care too much about what other people think of you, but it did make living with these people sort of awkward.

After I finished my food, I decided to go upstairs. When I was about to go into the guestroom, I heard someone running up the stairs behind me, and seconds later Jack appeared.

“What was that?” he groaned.
“What was what?” I asked, smiling sweetly again.
“Cut the crap” Jack sneered. “What were you doing with Alex?”
“I told you...” I started before he cut me off.
“You didn’t have study group with him.”
“Yeah well, I got lost because you decided to go home without me, ending up somewhere in Alex’s neighborhood. He found me while he was walking his dog, we went for ice cream and then he dropped me off. Why do you care anyway? A little bird told me you two were fighting.” I told him.

“That doesn’t mean you can hang out with him” Jack said.
I sighed. “Jack. How many times do we have to go over this, before you will get it? I. Don’t. Care. I don’t need your permission to do anything. If I want to hang out with Alex, you’re not going to stop me.” I said.
“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that” Jack snarled.
“Bring it on” I dared him.

“I can’t wait till my parents kick you out” Jack spat.
“Why would they?” I asked, tilting my head and giving him a quizzical look.
“Because you annoy me” Jack said.
“And what exactly did I do that would make your parents kick me out. Hang out with one of your friends? Tell you to stop bullying? I hardly doubt they have a problem with that.” I said simply.
Jack narrowed his eyes at me, before he turned around and went into his room, slamming the door shut after him.

I went into my own room as well and decided to search for the book I was reading in the boxes that were still on the floor, waiting to be emptied. When I found it, I sat down on my bed as I didn’t have any other furniture and started reading. I could easily read for hours and so I would. It would help me keep my mind off things. It was nice to mentally disappear into a whole new world and leave my own messed up life, even if it was only for a few hours. At least I wouldn’t have to think about what happened a few months ago while I was reading.

It had been 4 months since the accident but I still wouldn’t let myself give it any thought nor had I talked to anyone about it. I didn’t think I could. It would probably cause a mental breakdown and that was the last thing I needed.

I put my book away around 11 PM and decided to go to sleep. I didn’t feel like saying goodnight to anyone, so I didn’t. I quickly brushed my teeth in the bathroom, thankfully not running into Jack, and changed into my pajamas in my room and got into my warm and comfortable bed. I already wasn’t looking forward to having to get out of it in the morning for my second school day. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally fell asleep.

Notes

I am now out of pre-written chapters and don't have a lot of time to write at the moment, so I probably won't be updating as often as I have been doing. Just be patient with me, I'll try to update as often as I can :)

Title credit: Paramore - Anklebiters