Craig grabbed his shirt off the floor and looked over at her.
"I really think you should go now, Manny. I dont want...I dont want Joey to see you or anything," he said, pulling his shirt on and staring at the ceiling. Manny swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, Craig...."
He looked over at her. "Don't be. I mean...it's not your fault. It was mine..." he muttered, running a hand over his face. "That was a mistake, Manny. A really....huge...mistake."
Manny leaned over and gathered up her clothes. "Oh." She looked at the clock."Shit. I'm late for work. Shit...." she muttered, sadly, obviously upset about basically being called a "mistake."
Craig felt bad, but he just had to get her out of his room, out of his house. He couldn't understand why this kept happening. Again and again...Once Manny was dressed, she stood up, and turned toward him. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but she didn't. Instead she just turned and hurried out of the room, but he could have sworn he heard her mutter "I'm such a slut," or something like that, to herself. Craig stood up.
"Manny, wait!" he called, but she was already gone. Craig plopped down on his bed in frustration. He reached over and turned on his stereo, and loud rock music blasted from the stereos. He closed his eyes, allowing the music to take him away from the mess he had made. Again.
Manny stumbled through the doors of the Quickie Mart, hastily pulling her revolting orange visor onto her head. She tripped over the frayed rug in that laid in front of the glass doors, but regained her balance and hurried toward the front counter. She was dismayed to see her boss, Mr. Grove, waiting for her behind the register, his fat arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving frown on his flabby face. Manny smiled apologetically, hoping if she looked really sad and pathetic, he might take pity on her. "Mr. Grove, I am so sorry. See, this thing happened, and, well, this other thing happened, but then-"
Mr. Grove held up a hand, demanding silence. "Excuses, Manuella, get you nowhere in life."
Why did he always have to say retarded things like that? Manny nodded. "I know, Mr. Grove. But I promise it's not going to happen again-"
"You're right," Mr. Grove interrupted, glancing at his wristwatch. "Because you're fired."
"What?!" Manny shrieked, her mouth falling open in disbelief. "I was late one day! And it's not like this place is exactly crawling with people, you know!"
"Yes, I'm very aware of the fact that you were late," he said, shaking his head. "On your second day. That shows a sloppy pattern of unprofessional behavior. I already have more employees than I really need, and I'm going to have to let you go."
"Mr. Grove, please don't fire me," Manny whined, gripping the edge of the counter. "You really, really don't understand how much I desperately need this job." Great- she had resorted to pathetic gravelling. But desperate times called for desperate measures. And Manny was willing to swallow her pride for once, even if it did mean throwing herself at the mercy of boring, morbidly obese Mr. Grove. "Please give me another chance. I'll wash the floors! I'll clean out the bathroom. I'll even stand on the corner and wear that burrito costume and do that weird little dance!" She just wanted to reach across the counter, grab him by the collar, and shake the hell out of him. Was his heart made of stone? Was he trying to make a little girl cry?
Mr. Grove looked sympathetic- for about a second. He shrugged. "I'm sorry, Manuella. Hopefully, you'll grow from this experience. Now, you'll have to return your official Quickie Mart uniform." He eyed her, acting as though he was taking away the most important thing in her life. Oh, no, please not the tacky apron and dumb hat, she thought sarcastically, yanking off her visor and pulling off her apron. She slammed them down on the counter and scowled at her former boss. "Here. Take your gross uniform. I can't believe you do this to people. How do you sleep at night?"
"Thank you," Mr. Grove said, pointedly ignoring her last comment. "You know, Quickie Mart has an excellent reputation, and our employees are the best and the brightest. Quickie Mart is customer-service at its best. We display ourselves with respect, dignity-"
He was going off on one of his boring speeches about how wonderful his shitty little store was. "Yeah, yeah," Manny interrupted impatiently, drumming her hands against the counter. "When do I get paid?" She just wanted to take her money and leave this shit hole forever."
"Your money, which will total about 25 dollars," Mr. Grove pointed out dryly, "Should be arriving in the mail shortly. Now, I hope you have a nice day." He smiled tightly at her, turned, and walked off. Manny sighed and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "Fuck you, you dirty bastard," she muttered, but it didn't make her feel any better.
She had no family, no money, and now, no job. God, she was like a fucking plague or something. Everything she touched turned to crap. Well, Merry fucking Christmas. Once again, Manny had fucked up and now she was going to have to pay for it. Failure- it was the gift that kept on giving. Manny swiped a candy bar from a display and walked out of the store, vowing never to step foot in that place again. It was snowing, and J.T had agreed to pick her up in his new car. Problem was, he wouldn't be coming for another three hours, since that was when Manny's shift would have ended, if she hadn't just gotten canned. She bite into the candy bar and sighed.
Looked like she'd be walking.
"Emma, are you alright, sweetie?" Spike asked, rubbing her daughters shoulder and staring at her in concern. Her daughter looked like hell, but Spike hadn't expected anything different. Emma was slumped over the table, her eyes bright red from crying. She was staring at the table, her head in her hands. Spike bit her lip. "Sweetie, I know this is hard…but will you talk to us?" Emma remained silent.
"Emma, we need to know what happened," the large man said from across the table, as he flipped his notebook open. He had told Emma his name, but she couldn't remember it now. He smelled like cigarettes and cheap cologne. "If you could just go through what happened…"
Finally, Emma looked up and took a deep breath. She didn't want to talk about- she just wanted to go home and take a bath and fall asleep, and completely forget about the entire night. But if talking about it was the only way to get out of the cold, small room, then she'd do it. "Well…I was at the party, and Jay was there. He started talking to me and-"
"Did you have anything to drink?" the man interrupted, clicking his pen.
"What?"
"Do you recall having anything to drink?"
Emma glanced at her mother. "Well….yeah, I might have had a beer or two. I don't really remember, exactly….does that matter?"
The man was quiet, and then glanced down at his notebook. "No. Not really." Emma could tell he didn't mean it. He clicked his pen once again, which was really beginning to irritate Emma. He cleared his throat. "Ok, so you said Jay approached you?"
"Yes," Emma said, nodding quickly. She was sure about that. "He came up to me, and we talked for a moment. And then we went upstairs…"
"So you went willingly with him?"
Emma thought for a second. "Well, yeah…I mean, he didn't force me to go with him." She saw the man make a note, and she hesitated. "I thought we might talk or something. I don't know. But I did go upstairs with him, into one of the rooms. It was dark, but he didn't turn on a light. I mean, we both didn't."
"And then what happened?"
Emma took another deep breath, and her mother squeezed her hand. "We started…kissing. I mean, we were kissing, and he….I didn't want to. I mean, I did, but I really didn't." She stopped and frowned. That didn't make sense, even to her.
The man looked up. "Emma, did you tell him to stop kissing you?"
"No. I thought it was ok…I didn't think he was going to try…"
"What did he try?"
Emma closed her eyes for a second. She saw Jay, kissing her, touching her. He reached out and ripped her shirt- just like Kevin. And then she saw Kevin, sneering at her, holding her neck down to kiss her. Kevin pining down her legs so she would stop struggling…her eyes snapped open. "He….he ripped my shirt. No, he grabbed my arm, and then ripped my shirt. No…wait…"
"Did you tell him to stop?"
"Well, I did. But he didn't listen."
"At what point did you say no?"
"I…I don't know," Emma said, frowning. "I can't remember. But I said no. He should have stopped. But he grabbed my neck and pinned me down, so I couldn't move. But then I got up and tried to leave, and he grabbed my arm…"
"So when did he rip your shirt?"
"He….he…" Emma trailed off. She thought back to what had happened- hadn't Jay ripped her shirt while they were still kissing? Yes, he had. But his ring had gotten snagged, right? Or was that Kevin? No, that was Jay. God, she couldn't even think anymore. Jay and Kevin kept getting jumbled in her head, and she couldn't separate what had happened. Jay- he had stopped, hadn't he? He'd said he'd stop and he's backed off, but she kept screaming anyway…
"Emma? At what point did he rip your shirt? After you said no? When did you say no?"
Emma felt tears build up in her eyes. "I…I just don't know."
"Emma, did Jay force you into doing something you didn't want to do?"
Emma looked at the man, at her mother, and then at the table. "N…No," she choked out. "He didn't…he didn't try to rape me. I'm sorry." She started sobbing. "It's not true. I'm sorry…."
Emma just kept crying and crying, and she barely noticed as her mother helped her up and guided her from the room. God, what was wrong with her? She had accused Jay of attacking her, but that's not what had happened at all. Sure, Jay was a slimy jerk, but he was no rapist. She'd had too much to drink, flirted with him a bit, made out with him. But then when things had started getting more serious, she had freaked out, because it reminded her of her rape a few months before. She'd lied. Jay had stopped, but she kept panicking. What the fuck was wrong with her? Emma didn't know anything. She didn't know anything about anything. She hadn't been the same since the rape- she'd pretended to be fine for Sean, but she wasn't. And now that Sean had heartlessly dumped her yet again, and this time for another girl….well, everything was falling apart.
She was falling apart.
Manny twisted her key in the lock of the door to Roxie's apartment, and pushed open the door. As soon as she was inside, she ripped off her scarf and jacket and tossed them aside. She had just walked home through the bitter cold, the bottoms of her jeans were soaked, and she could no longer feel her face. She sighed and shook the snowflakes out of her long black hair and turned to walk to her bedroom. She found Roxie standing in the middle of the room, staring at her. Manny jumped and giggled softly. "Roxie, you scared the hell out of me-"
"Where the hell have you been?"
Manny hesitated. "Work." Roxie stared at her. "Ok, fine. I quit." Roxie continued to stare. "Ok, fine, I got fired. But I really hated it there, anyway, and I'm going to find a new job. I swear I will."
"God, you can't even keep a job for two days!" Roxie cried, throwing up her hands. "And last night? You were with Craig, weren't you?" She was tapping her foot furiously, and Manny shifted uncomfortably.
Manny frowned. Why was Roxie suddenly attacking her? "I said, I'll find a new job. I got fired a half hour ago. Could you give me some time? And you sent Craig to come spy and get me- where the hell else would I be?" Manny hoped she didn't look as guilty as she felt…it Roxie only knew the truth about last night….
"So, why'd you get fired?" Roxie asked with a shrug, apparently deciding to drop the Craig-subject- at least, temporarily. "Spill something? Rude to a customer? Show up high?"
Manny ran a hand over her face. She couldn't handle this. "I haven't done any of that stuff. I'm clean."
"Really?"
Manny sighed. "Yeah. I haven't touched it." She walked past Roxie to her room, imagining crawling into bed and moping around for as long as possible. Her life was going down the shit hole- again. When was she going to get a fucking break?
"Then what is this?"
Manny turned slowly and saw Roxie holding up a bag she hadn't noticed before- a small bag of Coke. Manny swallowed hard, unable to look Roxie in the eye. "I…where did you get that?" she stuttered, her mind working rapidly to think up some sort of explanation that wouldn't result in Roxie bitching her out. She came up blank.
"I was looking for my sweater- which, by the way, I found in a crumpled ball at the back your closet- and I stumbled across this. Interesting, isn't it? So, what is it? Laundry detergent? Cookie crumbs? Huh, Manny? What the fuck is it, then?"
"You were going through my things?"
Roxie snorted. "Please. Don't pull that "you were going through my things!" bit, because I've tried it myself, and it doesn't work. We had a deal. Did I not make myself perfectly clear when I let you move in here? I said no drugs. And when I said no drugs, I didn't mean you could horde them in the back of your closet. And I'm not even going to bring up where you were last night, because I think we both know what went down." Roxie said, her eyes flashing. Manny swallowed hard and looked at the ground.
"I didn't take any, I promise. I just had them leftover….you just don't understand!" Manny yelled in frustration. "You don't get it!" She turned and ran into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She felt like a little kid arguing with her Mommy, and she sunk onto the bed and took a few deep breaths. A second later, the door burst open and Roxie trooped in. "Get out!" Manny said angrily. "All you want to do is yell at me and accuse me of thing. You've hated me since the day I showed up here. Because I was with Craig, and you have a thing for him. Look, I just can't handle this right now, alright? It's my life. I can do what I want. Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to go all "Mommy" on me."
Roxie nodded slowly, and walked over to the closet. She pulled down Manny's suitcase from the closet and tossed it onto the bed. "Fine."
"Wait- what are you doing?"
"Fuck up your life some more; I really don't care. Just don't do it here. So just pack up your things and go, alright? And take your shit with you." She tossed the bag of Coke on the floor at Manny's feet. Manny stared at in confusion.
"Are….are you kicking me out?" Manny asked in disbelief. "You….you can't do this to me."
Roxie shrugged. "You knew the rules, Manny. I'm not going to sit around and watch you fuck up again and again. You just can't stay here anymore." She didn't sound happy or even satisfied about it- just frustrated and sad and worn out. She didn't look well. Heavy bags under the eyes looked vivid against washed out skin. She obviously couldn't take the added stress of Manny Santos anymore. No one could. She was beginning to realize that.
Manny couldn't believe this was happening. She had thought that, of all people, Roxie would understand her best, have her back. Sure, they weren't friends, but she had thought they'd had an unspoken understanding. Manny knew Roxie's parents had been drug addicts and all that, but shouldn't she know how hard it was to just stop? Manny was trying her fucking best to just stay strong and get things together, but things weren't coming along very well. "Where am I supposed to go?"
Roxie sighed. "Go home, Manny. Go home to your parents, and their cozy little house."
"I can't go home!" Manny said, standing up, on the verge of tears. "I just can't. I can't take my parents. You don't get it."
Roxie placed her hands on her hips and frowned. "Whatever. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself. I know you lost your boyfriend, and that sucks, but you can't keep living like this! You're lucky, Manny. You don't see it, but you are. I wish I had parents who cared about me like your parents do. I don't have a home to go back, too. At least, not one I'm welcome at." She sighed. "But this isn't a pity-fest about me. This is about you, and the decisions you make, and all that other psycho-babble shit. Anyway, the point is, go home."
"I can make it on my own," Manny said in determination, holding her head up high. She used to be this weak, mousy little girl, Emma's bouncy little side-kick, nothing Manny Santos. But now…she was tougher. She knew more about life, and, although it wasn't all pretty, it would get her by.
"You think that just because you wear lots of makeup and dress up in flashy clothing, you're suddenly a woman?" Roxie retorted. "You're just a little girl. Go home, Manny. I'm telling you, you have to go home. But I can't make you do anything, so….I don't know. Do whatever you want, I guess." Manny stared at her suitcase, her emotions jerking her back and forth like a game of tug-of-war. Silently, she began packing her things, and Roxie slipped out of the room. When she was finished, Manny picked up her suitcase and walked into the small living room. Roxie was leaning against the entry to the kitchen, looking miserable and tired. Manny grabbed her scarf and finally managed to look Roxie in the eye. "I'm really sorry things couldn't work out," she whispered.
Roxie nodded. "Yeah. Me, too."
Craig pressed the remote and flipped the channel. "Ok, there are only so many Ben Affleck movies I can take, and I've had my yearly limit," he said, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. He glanced over at Roxie, who was slumped over on the couch, staring blankly at the screen. She'd hardly said a word the whole night. Craig shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, someone's a little moody tonight, someone needs to cheer up!?" He nudged her gently in the arm.
Roxie glanced at him quickly. "Hey, someone's a little noisy tonight. Someone needs to shut up." she snapped, ramming her elbow into his gut. He grunted. Roxie went back to staring at nothing unhappily. Craig sighed, deciding to change the subject.
"I've been thinking…"
"So?"
"Well, I was thinking, you need a little vacation," Craig suggested, grabbing the remote and switching off the T.V. He turned to face Roxie, who stared at him in disinterest. "After Christmas, you and I are going somewhere special, ok? Where do you want to go?"
Roxie shrugged. "An alternate galaxy?" She was only half-joking.
Craig smirked. "We could, but I heard you have to book that months in advance. No, seriously."
Roxie thought. "Well….New York City wouldn't suck. And, before you say anything else, I said it wouldn't suck, which doesn't necessarily mean I want to go there. It just means that if you must drag me on one of your deluded little adventures, New York City wouldn't be the worst place possible. "
Craig rolled his eyes. "Um, ok. Well, it's done. Joey will lend me a car, and you and I are going to New York City, to soak in the ambience of big city life."
Roxie sat up and sighed. "Great. We can soak up the polluted air and witness multiple muggings and rapes. You sure know how to show a girl a good time." Craig sunk into the couch. He gave up. Roxie was obviously in one of her "leave-me-alone" moods, and Craig would do exactly that. He picked up some more popcorn. "So, where's Manny tonight? Working?"
"I wouldn't know. She doesn't live here anymore."
Craig nearly choked on her popcorn. "What?!"
"I kicked her out. I mean, she left. This afternoon."
"Roxie….how could you just kick her out?"
"Um….she was using again. In my book, that's cause for the boot."
"No, she wasn't." Craig froze. Why had he just said that? He knew it wasn't true, not after last night. But he just felt like he had to defend Manny. He wasn't sure why, but it was a natural instinct for it. "I mean, you don't know that's true." Roxie stood up suddenly and walked into the kitchen. Craig jumped up and followed her. "You're so blind, Craig," she muttered, piling some dirty dishes in the sink.
"What?"
Riley whirled around. "I said, you're so blind. Don't' you see what she really is? She has a problem. I can't have that in here, ok? I told her straight out, no drugs, and she didn't listen to me."
"So you figured leaving her on her own was a better alternative?"
"She has a family," Roxie pointed out. "Why are you defending her? She had drugs. Wake up- she's not changing."
"She…she needs help, that's all."
"Exactly! Rehab would do her good. I'm sure her parents-"
"No, it wouldn't. You don't know Manny. It would only mess her up even more. I can't believe you just abandoned her!" Craig said. Roxie was very quiet and very still. "Fine. Alright. If you think she needs help so bad, why don't you go help her? I'm sure you'll find her at some crack house."
"Fine. Maybe I will," Craig said defensively. "You know, I just can't deal with all this. I just want to go back to being a normal teenager. You know, as hard as it is to believe, we were all normal at one point. But then all this shit happened and everything's really fucked up…This isn't how being a teenager should be! I just want things to go back to being normal."
"Oh, ok. I'm sure you'll find complete normalcy with Manny," Roxie said sarcastically with a snort. "She's just the poster-child for a perfect, ordinary childhood, isn't she?" She paused. "So, exactly what happened between you two last night?"
Craig's heart dropped. Had Manny told her something? "Nothing!" he insisted. "I picked her up from the lake, and took her to my house. She slept in the garage. I slept in my room." Lie. "Nothing happened between us at all." BIG Lie. "She left without even saying anything." Another lie, but Craig couldn't bring himself to tell Roxie the truth- she was dangerously close to the knife drawer. A lot more had happened, but Craig knew it wasn't the time to bring it up. "Why are you so jealous of Manny?" Craig took one look at Roxie and knew it was time to leave. "Ok, so, I'll just be leaving, then." He turned and hurried into the living, and snatched up his jacket. Craig heard the dishes clink in the sink, and Roxie quickly followed behind him.
"You think I'm jealous of her?" Roxie asked in disbelief. "You don't know anything. I can't believe-"
"I can't do this anymore," Craig said evenly, putting his hand on the doorknob. Roxie frowned.
"Fine. Me neither."
Craig nodded and opened the door, stepping out. He shut the door behind him, and Roxie plopped down on the couch. Craig took a deep breath and walked away, wondering if he'd just done the right thing.
It didn't feel right.
"Hey, Cameron."
Sean turned and saw Alex walk up behind him. She had her usual tough-ass look on her face, and she was chewing obnoxiously on her gum. "Oh, hey, Alex." He didn't dislike Alex, but he wasn't exactly into making small-talk with her. She plopped down in the chair next to him, and Sean glanced at Mr. Simpson, who was sitting at his desk, busy at work. He didn't even notice. Alex stared at him. "May I help you?"
"Yeah, you can," she said, leaning in closer. "So, you heard about Emma?"
Sean stared unhappily at the computer screen and clicked the mouse. "No," he snapped. Emma was still a touchy subject with him. "Emma pretty much wants nothing to do with me."
Alex smirked. "And that's surprising? You ditched her for psycho-chick. I would have chopped off your balls and fed them to my dog."
"That's very charming, Alex. And Ellie's not psycho."
Alex held up a hand. "Alright, calm down. This isn't about Ellie. This is about Emma and Jay."
Sean glanced at her quickly. "Emma and Jay? What are you talking about?"
Alex glanced around. "I'm surprised you didn't hear. Two nights ago, at that party, Jay tried to rape Emma. The police came and took him away and she filed a report and everything," she muttered, her eyes narrowing into angry little slits. "Your fucking best friend tried to rape your girlfriend."
"You're messing with me, right?" Sean asked in disbelief. He wanted everything Alex was saying to be a lie. It would make Alex sick and twisted, but at least it wouldn't be the truth. Alex frowned, obviously insulted.
"I don't mess around," she said. "I was there. Along with twenty other people."
Sean stared angrily at the computer. "Jay tried to rape Emma." He'd never felt so much rage and hate boil inside of him.
"Yeah," Alex said, leaning in closer. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
Kids crowded around the bonfire, laughing, talking, and drinking. But mostly drinking. It didn't matter what day of the weeks it was- kids were always willing to get drunk. The ravine was a 24-hour party spot. Their always seemed to be an abundance of alcohol and a constant fire burning. Sean was temped to just grab a beer, say fuck it, and get completely hammered. But he didn't stop or get anything to drink, because he was there for a purpose. He stopped near the fire and glanced around. He finally spotted a lone figure standing against a tree a few feet away from the crowd. He clenched his jaw and stalked over. They looked up.
"Sean," Jay said, pushing himself off the tree. "What are you doing-"
Sean didn't let him finished. He grabbed Jay by the collar of his black t-shirt, jerked him forward, and then hurled him against the tree. Jay's hat went tumbling to the ground. "So, you're not so tough now, are you? Huh? Come on, you fucking rapist." He threw Jay to the ground.
"Dude, it wasn't like that," Jay said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do that to her, man, I swear-"
Sean kicked him in the stomach. "You shouldn't be touching Emma to begin with, but taking advantage of her like that?" He grunted and gave another hard blow right to Jay's chest. "It's disgusting."
"Sean," Jay moaned, hunching over on the ground and he clutched his stomach. "I didn't try to rape her. Look, just let me explain-"
"Shut up!" Sean yelled. Jay looked up and staggered to his feet.
"Fine," Jay said, charging Sean. He punched Sean in the face, and Sean fell into the tree. "I said, I didn't try to rape her."
And suddenly, the old Sean came out. The Sean who deafened that kid back in Wasaga Beach. The Sean whose only solution to anger was violence. The Sean that had no mercy. He grabbed Jay and punched him repeatedly in the face, until Jay fell backwards onto the ground. He heard people yelling and screaming, but he ignored them as he took Jay's arm and dragged him into the nearby woods. He found a small clearing and threw Jay down, and delivered another kick to his face. "You really want to mess with me? With Emma?" He continued to beat the crap out of Jay, until he became tired and stopped for a second.
"Sean….don't do this," Jay moaned. Blood was pouring out his nose, covering his neck. "She was drunk. I was probably drunk, but who knows. We made out and fooled around, but it wasn't rape. I swear to God it wasn't rape."
Sean kicked him again. "Emma's off limits, man."
"She's not you girlfriend anymore, Sean," Jay said. "You dropped her for Ellie, remember? She's a big girl. She can make her own decisions."
Sean froze, and stared at Jay, who was lying on the ground. His lip was busted up, his eye was already swelling, and he had blood running all over his face. He was a mess. A big, fucking mess. Sean was just debating exactly what to do when he heard leaves rustling behind him, and suddenly, someone was grabbing his arms. "Hold it." Sean felt handcuffs clamping over his wrists. "Jesus, you did a number on this kid."
Sean watched blankly as another officer kneeled beside Jay. Reality hit as the officer grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the woods, away from Jay, and into a flashing cop car…..
"This isn't good, Sean," the officer said, slamming down a file on the tabletop and staring Sean straight in the eye. "Look at me. I said, this isn't good. Do you know why this isn't good?"
Sean slumped over. "Don't I like, have the right to remain silent or something?"
The officer chuckled harshly. "Sure. But I advise you start talking, Sean….Alright. Just sit there. But you've got a record, Sean. Assault, another assault, and now- surprise- another assault. I'm seeing a pattern, Sean. Give me one good reason I shouldn't throw you in the juvenile detention center. You certainly fit the profile."
"Alright," Sean said, holding out his arms. "Go ahead."
The officer smirked. "Well, lucky for you, this Jay Hogart kid is refusing to press charges." Sean looked up.
"He's not?"
The officer clucked his tongue and nodded. "Lucky, lucky you. So I can't put you away- yet. But I did talk to some people, and we've all come up with a nice solution." He smirked at Sean again. "I think you'll enjoy it."
"What is it?"
"The county is requiring you attend anger management classes for a minimum of two months, three times a week."
"Fine. Done."
The officer held up a hand. "I'm not finished, son. You'll be attending anger management, doing community service, and moving back to Wasaga Beach with your parents."
I'll be coming home
just to be alone
Cause I know you're not there
And I know that you don't care
I can hardly wait to leave this place
Sean rolled his eyes. "Alright, then can I….wait- what was that last one?"
"You. Wasaga Beach. You're parents. You do remember them, right?"
"Yes," Sean snapped. He pounded his fist on the table. "I'm not moving back with them."
"Uh, yeah, you are. Obviously, living on your own is doing nothing for you. You need stability and your parent's guidance."
"That's shit!" Sean yelled, shaking his head. "Stability? Guidance? You really think my parents can give me that? Maybe, if their not too busy drinking themselves stupid. Why the hell do you think my brother and I moved away in the first place?"
No matter how hard I try
You're never satisfied
This is not a home
I think I'm better off alone
You always disappear
Even when you're here
This is not my home
I think I'm better off alone
Home, home, this house is not a home, home
This house is not a home
"Because you deafened a kid."
He had a point with that one, but that hadn't been the only reason. His parents hadn't been able to deal with him, because they were constantly drunk, so they had just sent him away. Sean shifted in his seat, racking his brain for ideas. "I'm not going back to them. I just….I just can't. It's not fair. I've been living here for four years, and you expecting me to just pick up and move?! This is a cruel and unusual punishment, man."
By the time you come home
I'm already stoned
You turn off the tv
And you scream at me
I can hardly wait
till you get off my case
The officer stood up. "Well, you should have thought of that before you beat the shit out of some kid." He gathered up his papers. "You need to be packed up and ready to leave in two days. You can shape up, Sean. You just need a little help. This might do you some good." With that, he turned and walked out of the small, cold room. Sean watched him go, realizing that he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one.
Sean took a deep breath and put his head in his hands, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.
This house is not a home
I'm better off alone.
Author's Note- I finally updated. Not alot of action, but I had to move the story forward. What's going to happen to Sean, Emma, and Jay? Manny, Craig, and Roxie? Updates will be coming soon, so keep reading and reviewing. The song I used was "Home" by Three Days Grave. Thanks for all the reviews so far! Any idea or suggestions are welcome!