Second Chances
It seemed everything was going wrong in my life. I continually made stupid mistakes until they all piled up and I felt I was drowning in them. The one mistake I made over and over was wanting things too much. I wanted my relationship with my ex- Jason to work out; I wanted my mom to believe in me; I want my brother to forgive me. Want had left me broken and alone. What I needed was a fresh start: a second chance.
Chapter One
It was warm and quiet as I lay on top of the blankets on my small bed, in my small room, in the small, two-bedroom apartment I lived in with my mom.
"This'll be a good day," I thought to myself hopefully as I sat up; but then again, how could it not? It was the last day of school.
Waiting until I heard the soft purr of my mom's car drive away, I got out of bed and got ready for my last day of being a sophomore; my last day of having to put up with my mom. After getting dressed, I took one last look at the suitcase I'd had packed for a week now, lying hidden underneath my bed frame. My best friend, Harmony, and I had been planning for me to move in with her and her mom for months. Her mom was fine with it, so I was going to move in as soon as possible.
I began to walk to the door, but paused, realizing I had forgotten the most important thing in my room. Picking up the black, worn, picture frame, I sat back down on my bed again. I stroked the glass, staring reminiscently at the light brown haired teenager with playful, turquoise eyes. The small girl sitting on his shoulders had light violet eyes, and curly auburn hair that bounced while she laughed. I looked in the mirror, and saw my violet eyes, no longer crinkling with laughter, and curly, auburn hair, no longer bouncing playfully. I may have looked like the girl in the picture, but we weren't the same person; not anymore.
I ran my finger over the picture one more time, and tucked it into the bag slung over my shoulder; I needed some reassurance today. Stopping at the door, I took one last look at my room, knowing the last time I'd ever see it was just a few hours away, when Harmony, her mom, and I, would come back to pick up my suitcase. Shutting the door behind me, I walked outside into the warm, summer air. I loved everything about summer; the weather (well, as warm as it got in San Francisco), two months off from school, and it meant my birthday was just around the corner. Birthdays were never anything special; it was usually just Harmony and I going to the movies, but I wasn't concerned so much about the day as I was about what it signified: one year closer to getting out of this city, to having the chance to start over. I was especially looking forward to this birthday; I was turning sixteen. That meant I could drive without an adult, so no one could stop me from out-running my past.
I didn't realize I was daydreaming until I was at the drop-off area of my school, nearly running into the gate.
"Goodbye sophomore year," I thought happily, walking through the metal gates.
"Lina!" a bubbly voice screeched, tearing through the crowd of teenagers to come and hug me.
"Hey, Harmony!" I laughed and hugged her.
"It's the last day of school! Oh my gosh, in… 4 hours we're going to be juniors!" she checked her phone to make sure it was 8:30, and finished the sentence by jumping up and down, screaming.
"Harmony, Harmony! Calm down!" I laughed and grabbed her shoulders, smirking at her enthusiasm.
"But today's gonna be awesome! It's the last day of school, only half a day I might add, and you're moving in with me! How can I not be jumping to the stars right now?" she smiled from ear to ear, and I had to smile with her. It did seem like one of the best days I could think of.
"Oh, fine, just don't jump too high. I can't have you flying to another planet when I'm staying at your house," I laughed, and walked with her to our Honors English class, which we'd shared as a class for two years now.
I didn't know why, but it always seemed that minimum days dragged by the slowest. Since a minimum day was added to my excitement of moving out, the school day felt like I was trudging through syrup. When the last bell finally rang, I jumped out of my seat, .S-filled yearbook in hand, and rushed out the door to meet up with Harmony. We met up at our usual place: a small tree at the back of the school, and began walking to her mom's car, but I stopped.
"Harmony," I grabbed her arm, "I don't know if I can do this. What if my mom's home when we get there?"
Harmony hugged me, saying everything would be all right.
She pulled away, a comforting look on her face, and asked, "Do you need to play?"
I nodded, and whispered, "I'll meet up with you and your mom in a bit."
"We'll wait," she smiled reassuringly, and walked to her mom's car.
Turning quickly, I nearly sprinted back to the school, and rushed into the music room. I took a calming breath as I sat down in front of the piano in the middle of the room. Brushing my fingers over the keys, I began to play, getting lost in the music. The melody danced through my ears and replaced the anxiety I had felt a few moments before.
Suddenly, a strong arm draped over my shoulders, and I stopped playing, ripped from my fantasy. Turning to look at the rude intruder, I looked into the light brown eyes of my ex-boyfriend, Jason.
I gasped, and slapped his shoulder, sighing, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
He chuckled and whispered, "I never knew you could play." I hadn't missed the fact that his arm was still around me.
"Yeah, hardly anybody does," I responded, carefully shrugging his arm off.
Obviously, he hadn't missed my not-to-subtle attempt to make him give me my personal space.
"What, I can't put my arm around my girlfriend?" he murmured in my ear, pretending to sound hurt.
"You and I both know what you did," I responded fiercely, turning my head away from his touch.
"C'mon, Eve, you know she met nothing to me. There's only you; it's always gonna be you," Jason murmured, continuing to move closer to me.
"Jason, Jason, stop!" I screeched, pushing his attempts to kiss me away. I jumped off the bench, and stood as far away from him as I could.
A burning look flashed in his eyes, and he whispered darkly, "You're always going to be mine. No matter how much you want to fight it, no matter how many other guys come along, you'll always be with me." He was standing right in front of me now, pressing me against the wall with his arms on either side of my face. Leaning in slowly, Jason's face was just inches away from mine. I turned my head just as his lips were about to kiss mine, and felt them press against my cheek.
He smirked and pushed off the wall, away from me, and whispered, "Don't worry, you'll realize I'm the only one for you soon enough." He backed away and walked out the door as I wiped my cheek, disgusted at myself for ever liking him. I waited for a few minutes until I was sure Jason was gone, and then left the music room, disappointed in the fact that I was even more nervous than before.
"Don't be such a baby," I muttered to myself, "You're going to have to do this eventually."
I didn't realize I was walking quickly until I nearly ran into Harmony's car. Taking a deep breath, I opened the silver mini-van's door, and ducked inside, placing my bag carefully on my lap.
"Ready, hon?" Harmony's mom asked soothingly.
I nodded, sticking my hand inside the canvas material, and felt the worn-out frame; I needed a bit of courage.
Harmony took my hand that wasn't stroking the picture frame, and squeezed it, ssmiling reassuringly. I smiled back, grateful that I had someone like Harmony in my life; without her I- well, I wasn't exactly sure where I'd be.
The drive to my- my mom's house was fairly silent, except for Harmony's and my quiet humming along to Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars. Before I knew it, her mom parked in front of the small, off-white apartment I had lived in for 10 years.
"We'll be right here," Harmony whispered, her light gray eyes full of encouragement.
I smiled nervously and hugged her before climbing out of the car, and walked slowly toward the apartment. Not bothering to see if the door was locked (it never was) I opened the door quietly, peering my head inside. Despite the strong smell of alcohol, the smell that always seemed to occupy our house, it seemed there wasn't anyone inside. Turning back to Harmony and her mom, I smiled and nodded, letting them know everything was okay. Taking a deep breath, I rushed inside, and carefully placed my bag on the kitchen table before running up the stairs to my room. Pulling up the covers of my bed, I grabbed the handle of the suitcase and sprinted down the stairs with it dragging behind me. At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and my breath caught. I stood looking at my very drunk, and very angry mother.
