Gina turned on her iPod and put the earphones in her ears that afternoon after Ray dropped her off, she laid back on her bed and let the music flow over her. She needed the comfort of her music, or rather her mother's music after dealing with Ray.
The song was 'Audioslave, 'Like a Stone,' and it always calmed her down when she was stressed, and today she was stressed. Ray had gotten handsy again in the car, right in front of her house and she had to practically fight him off. This wasn't what she wanted or how she wanted to spend her time.
*******In your house, I long to be, room by room patiently. I wait for you there, like a stone.*****
Her mother loved Chris Cornell, and so Gina did too. She said a quiet prayer for the singer who was now dead too young and listened to the words of the song.
Gina closed her eyes and let the music wash over her; she didn't think of Ray. Her mind was on a blonde-haired blue-eyed boy and had been for a long time. She didn't know what it was about Daryl's looks that got to her, but there was just something about him. He was a nice person too, and that was most attractive of all.
She'd spent the better part of a year watching him and his brother. Both of them were well known around school, both for good things and sometimes bad, depending on the day.
It was if they were two sides of the same coin and Gina had been intrigued with Daryl for a long time. While Merle was the life of the party and a notorious flirt, Daryl was quieter. Daryl was more of an observer of life and didn't let too many people get close to him.
Merle was friends with everyone and Daryl was friends with maybe a handful of people. He just didn't have the same style as his older brother. Most of the girls she knew swooned over Merle, with good reason.
He had a bad boy vibe going on that was very attractive, and some of that rubbed off on Daryl and maybe that was it. He was so different than Ray, though, he never tried to intimidate people even though he was perfectly capable of it.
But she was sure he would never go for a cheerleader.
Gina saw Merle with all manner of girls through the year, but she never saw Daryl with one, that didn't mean it wasn't so, it just meant that he kept it out of school.
She really was in a bind now, because spending more time with him was going to be hard.
Her father liked Ray; he was the son of one of his business partners and everything he wanted for her. He had made it clear more than once that he would approve if Ray ever decided to propose to her.
That thought made her sick to her stomach.
Gina thought Ray was a poser and he had a mean streak if you didn't do things his way. Things were coming to a head in their relationship because he wanted more than she was willing to give.
She needed to talk to her mother about it, but she didn't live with them anymore. She still had two more years of high school and she wanted to enjoy it, not be tied down to some douche who only wanted her for arm jewelry.
/
Her parents had never married, and when she was young, there had been a huge custody fight. Usually, the courts wouldn't take a child from its mother, but somehow her father had made it happen. He wasn't an evil man; he was just so mad at Gina's mother, Jenny.
Gina's mother moved in down the street, and now she spent half of her time with her and half with her father, they had finally worked out their differences for Gina's sake. But it had taken a long time and they still only spoke to each other when they had to.
Tonight she would see her mother and tell her about Ray.
Ray was all over her, all the time trying to get his hands where she didn't want them. Her father liked him though, and he wanted her with him, he was the son of a man he did business with and that was good for business.
Her father would be disappointed and maybe angry if she didn't make it work with Ray.
Gina sighed to herself, it was all too much sometimes.
"Temple of the Dog" was next, 'Hunger Strike' and Gina smiled, her mother loved this song. Gina's mother would be proud of her, no matter what and she would support her in any decision she made. She couldn't wait to go see her.
Next to her on the bed, her phone pinged with a message from Lori, and she reached for it and gave the screen a swipe.
~Wanna go to the drive on Saturday night.
~I'll check with Ray.
~OK, let me know.
Gina called Ray because he didn't like to text and he agreed to go to the drive-in Saturday as long as they took his car and met her friends there. Gina sighed after she hung up the phone, he always had to be in control and she was done with it. Maybe by Saturday, they'd be broken up, Gina thought to herself as she rolled over on the bed, she smiled at that thought and sent a text to Tara.
Tara didn't like Ray one bit and she also knew some other things, but she was the only one; they had a nice long conversation about what Gina really wanted. And who she really wanted.