"Where have you been?" Ah great. The question I've been trying to avoid for I don't know how long. I softly closed the door behind me and kicked off my wet combat boots so they wouldn't track mud in the house. All I wanted to do was go upstairs in my room, change the wet clothes that were now sticking to my body, and hit the hay.
"Nowhere mom, I was just at the store..." I muttered back, heading towards the staircase. Before I knew it, my mom was in front of me, blocking the stairs.
"What did I do now?" I asked. I didn't mean to make my voice sound like I had an attitude, but I just really wanted to call it a day already.
"What's this?" My mom asked, pulling out a negative pregnancy test. My eyes practically popped out of my head when she pulled it out.
"You went through my trashcan?! How dare you!" I tried to get it out of her reach, but she only yanked it farther back.
"Kimberly Anne, you are my 16 year old daughter. As long you're under my roof, I have the right to know what goes on in this house!" Yeah, she's right. But she could've just simply came to me with more respect so we could talk about it maturely. You see, my mom and I don't exactly get along. One minute we could be having a normal conversation, but a few minutes later we would be screaming and arguing at each other at the top of our lungs until a door ends up being slammed. It wasn't always be like this, though. We were actually happy. But when I was 13, my dad went away on a business trip in Miami, and never came back. I snooped around and found out that my dad had been talking to this younger women over the phone for about a week before he went away to Florida... but then he called my mom over the phone to tell us that he found another women that he wanted to be with. It was hard watching my mom file out the divorce papers. She just looked so... sad. So after that, everything went downhill. My mom would lock herself in her room or the bathroom and I'd just go out without her even noticing. I may or not regret leaving her at a time when she needed me the most, but she never paid any attention to me. So ever since then, that's how things sorta went now.
"Mom, calm down, at least I'm not pregnant!" I laughed halfway through my sentence because she was honestly overreacting. She should be happy that she's not raising a 16 year old girl who's about to have a baby!
"Kim, I'm sick of your goddamn attitude. You go around doing this and that, but what if you end up fooling around and really getting yourself knocked up!" Really starting to push my buttons, woman...
"Why do you even care? It's my life, I can do what I want to do!" I shouted back, stepping closer so I was up in her face.
"Well then why don't you start taking care of it? This is coming from a 16 year old girl who has been kicked out of public school and just got kicked out of an alternative school! What else am I supposed to do with you?"
"But mom, I-"
"You know what, I'm calling Charlotte. We are driving up to Seaford, California tomorrow, and like it or not, you're gonna be spending your junior year there!" She shouted back, picking up the phone.
Oh God. Aunt Charlotte, aka my mom's sister, is a fancy-pants Southern Belle who somehow made her way into a California mansion. I mean, I'm not complaining (the woman has money), it's just that I'd miss all my friends (or 'hood rats' as my mother likes to call them) here in Tennessee. We all went through crazy shit together, and we've gotten each other in some crazy shit.
"What?! But what about my friends!" I asked, following her around the house.
"Oh, you mean the same friends that almost got you expelled from school for smoking in the restroom? I'm sure they'll be fine!" I swear she brings that up in every fight. A few weeks before school ended, a few friends and I thought it would be fun to smoke a little bit of marijuina in the schools restroom. Ashton (who is a girl by the way) said that she could sneak some of her dad's weed and bring it to school. None of us thought she was serious, but she brought it to school the next day. Eric, one of my guy friends, suggested that we should smoke it in the school restroom. So they put up signs showing that the the restrooms were "Out of Order" and skipped an entire period. Oh, and before you start wondering, I wasn't pressured into doing anything. It's called being a dare devil and living out your teenage years.
As she dialed her number, I felt angry tears well up in my eyes. I never thought she would go to the extremes by calling my aunt to be honest. In situations like these, I'd simply go up to my room and lock the door while my mom called after me. But no, this time, it was different. She was actually serious.
"I... I hate you! I hope I never have to see you again," I knew that that was horrible thing to say at the moment, but it felt like I had to end the conversation before things got bad.
"Kim-" I didn't get to hear what she had to say. I didn't want to. So I bolted up the stairs, flung the door to my room open, and slammed it behind me as I walked in. I instantly went for any object that was breakable. A chair. You see, my temper usually causes me to completely flip out and rage. I'd throw things around, punch holes in the wall, kick the door until it had a crack in it, and I had even slapped my mom when she tried to snap me out of it once. I'm pretty sure that she learned her lesson that day.
When I was through with my mini tantrum, my room looked like a tornado had ran through it. (Well, it always does, but this time it was worse.) I hadn't even realized I was furiously crying until I felt hot tears on my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away by pulling up the sleeve of my damp long-sleeved shirt as I bent down to look underneath my bed. I stuck my hand out to search for the pointy end of a certain box. When I finally got it in my reach, I pulled it out and placed it on top of my bed. I sat crisscross on the bed with the shoebox in front of me.
Now this may sound sort of weird, but I seek interest in things that may be unusual to other people. For instance, sharp objects and antique weapons. Something about the shininess in the blade and the sharpness at the tip of it excites me. Another thing; fire. That one's my favorite. The way the orange-sometimes blue-flame dances and swirls around gets me so fascinated and intrigued in it. Sometimes, I'd take it a step farther by slicing my thighs and wrists.
I slowly open the box and saw my prize possessions. My pocket knifes, matches, lighters, and miniature candles were perfectly aligned in a row. Under the objects was a pile of gauges for any incidents.
My cold hands were slightly shaking as I picked up a match and a candle. I took one match out of the little box and quickly swiped it against the scratchy part on the side. I watched the flame for a few seconds, almost forgetting what I was about to do. I put the lit fire flame on the stick of the sweet scented candle. I watched the candle for a few minutes, but my thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on my door.
"Kim?" I don't know why, but I felt like crying right then and there after I heard my mom's voice. So I did. I brought my knees up to my chest and hid my face in them and cried. I heard knocking again.
"Yes?" I replied, sniffing a bit. Maybe if I started talking back to her she'd go away...
"Start packing, we're leaving first thing in the morning." That made me cry even harder. I managed to choke out an 'Okay' to her, but as soon as I heard her footsteps walk away, I started to violently shake with sobs coming out. About four minutes had pasted before I finally got all of the crying out of my system.
I probably looked insane right now. You know, the damp hair and clothes, the one candle illuminating my entire bedroom, and the orange flame dancing in my glossy dark brown eyes. But I really didn't care. I felt relaxed. If I had music in the background and no wet eyes, hair, or clothes, I would instantly feel better. Yeah, I know. Weird right? But it's just something I've done since I was fourteen.
After pondering for what seemed like an hour, I started to get sleepy and exhausted. I looked over at the digital clock on my nightstand and it read 9:37 p.m. I decided to put the candle that sat on my bed out (because I have actually burned myself and literally lit my bedspread on fire before) and get ready for bed. It wasn't like I had a bedtime or anything, it was just that I had a long day and all I wanted to do was sleep and prepare for the long day ahead of me in the morning.
I took a twenty minute shower, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and threw on a pair of white ankle socks with some baggy camouflage print pants and a plain oversized black shirt. When I walked out of my bathroom and went into my room, I froze.
My room looked horrible.
I ran my fingers through my stringy wet blonde hair and sighed. Since I could tell that my mom was pissed from earlier, I chose to clean my room and start packing. I started by picking up anything that was on my floor and bed, then I walked over to my closet to pull out my old faded pink and light purple suitcase. (Yes, I said pink and purple. Besides, the only reason I use it is because my aunt Charlotte bought it for me when I was around... 8.)
I opened the light suitcase and the first thing that caught my attention was a picture. It was of my mom, dad, and me one the day we first went to California. I was around 11 when most of it happened. When aunt Charlotte first moved there, we decided to check the city out, so it was sorta like a vacation to us.
To be honest, I missed my family being complete. Ever since my dad left and I started making my own decisions, my mom and me started to become more distant with other family members on his and her side of the family.
But hey, that's what tomorrow's for. It's for me to start over and create a new reputation in a new environment... so maybe this is a good thing for me.
Tomorrow is going to be the start of a looong journey...
So... What did ya think? This idea has been stuck in my head since July, so I decided to write it out. PLUS, I already got like 3 chapters of it written out. xD I really hope y'all enjoy this fanfic because I got a feeling that this is gonna be one of my best ones. Remember - Read, Fave, & Review! :D