I might update again.
I like where I'm heading with this story. I wanna see how it's going to end :) sorry for any mistakes. I'm writing this off my phone! Goggle docs app doesn't make it easy for me to spell check haha
PLEASE REVIEW. LET ME KNOW YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON ME.
Mitchies surrroundings turned to normal. The smell of stale coffee no longer lingered. She looked over at the opened car door, her legs sung over and her white sneakers made impact with the stone walkway of her normal hell. Her medicated body relaxed at the normality of her home. Nothing changed.
She did though.
"Are you hungry?"
Her hair didn't sway much as she shook her head. She really needed a shower.
"Do you want us to help you settle in?"
Silence.
No! She screamed. But her mouth wasn't reacting.
She climbed the stairs with her parents next to her. Her hand moved towards the doorknob.
At least I'm still here somewhere. Come on Mitchie. Snap out of this.
You can't remember?
Mitchie's inner demons responded.
Her room smelled like a nice mix of lavender and vanilla. It was clean. Her last few hours in this room were a fog but she was sure she had left behind a mess.
She looked back at her parents who wore exhausted smiles as they stood at her door.
"We'll leave you be. I'll be back in a few hours to give you your 6 o'clock pills and dinner. Any special request?"
Mitchie shook her head. Her parents came in and kissed her head.
She looked at them and tried to get her brain to work with her face. She wanted to smile for them to let them know she was okay. But the message wasn't received.
Her parents closed the door behind them as she grabbed her bag from the ground. She lifted the small overnight bag that held a few of her things.
Her overnight stay turned into a few days. Mitchie had been mute for a week.
Her parents took her belongings away, with a promise of getting her new ones.
"A step to new beginnings."
Whatever that meant for her.
She sighed as she unzipped her bag. Slowly, she moved across her room. Organizing her room. Over and over again.
You're doing it again.
Stop it.
I'm not doing it. You are. You can snap out of it you know.
If only it were that easy.
Wow. You lost your touch. Shame.
It was like her inner demons were mocking her.
On the other side of town Shane sighed as he threw the small basketball over his head. He looked over at his phone multiple times in a minute. He has texted Mitchie three times in the last week and a half since he's seen her.
Word got around that Mitchie had left town. No one knew where. But rumors were that she went back to Los Angeles. Someone said she had tried to overdose. There was one that her parents sent her away to an isolated island to get away.
Shane had reached out to Caitlyn but she wasn't getting any more answers than he was.
Shane was on day four of his 7 day suspension. They expelled Sander and put Misty in an in class suspension for the duration of the year. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere but that class and the lunchroom with supervision.
Mitchie's parents went ahead and didn't press charges. The page was taken down immediately after Sander's expulsion. Word followed him to his new school and Shane heard he was bullied his first day and not allowed to join their football team mid season.
Shane didn't think that was enough. But he did give him a nice shiner before he dropped him as a friend completely. He knew that a black eye wouldn't suffice what he really wanted to do.
Shane shook his head as he got the idea of punching Sander's head in. His parents weren't happy with the suspension but weren't as hard on him after Nate had explained the situation.
His parents reached out to Mitchie's parents by sending some flowers. They got a nice edible arrangement as a thank you. Shane smirked at how boujee it was. He felt bad at his mother's blushed cheeks when she was in awe of the nice gesture. He started to realize where Mitchie got her "had to one up them" attitude.
Shane sighed as he grabbed his phone and keys. He needed to get out of his head. Both parents were out. Nate was at the coffee shop and his younger brother Frankie was out with his friends. He locked up behind him as he got into his truck and drove.
He grew up in this small town, all his life. His parents knew most of the families that lived here. They moved here from their home state of New Jersey. California seemed like a promising state for both parents. Him and his brothers were born in the same hospital. They brought them all to the same home. Their parents' door frame held their heights since they were one.
Shane always had a love and hate relationship with how small this town was. Sure it expanded over the years but it was really rare when a family moved into their town.
And when they did they stood out like a sore thumb. Mitchie and her family were the talk of the town for months. No one from a big city like Los Angeles moved to their small town.
Shane found himself driving the familiar vineyard road. And next thing he knew his truck was outside her gate. He looked over to the intercom. He was tempted to ring. He sighed as he tried to call her. After three rings he hung up.
With defeat he put his car in reverse only to be blocked by a Mercedes. His face turned red as he stopped. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the driver door open.
Steve Torres made his way up to Shane's driver side window. He motioned for him to lower it.
"Can I help you, son?"
"Hi. I uh, I'm sorry. I got confused. I must've turned here by accident." Shane stumbled. He was caught off with Steve's welcoming tone. Not something he was used to from dads when he picked up his ex girlfriends in the past. Wait Mitchie wasn't his girlfriend.
"Are you looking for a specific address?" Steve asked almost like he read right through Shane's lie.
"Uh no sir." Shane said politely, "I'll get out of your driveway. I'm sorry, sir."
"Call me Steve. Mitchie isn't really ready for visitors. But you're welcome to come say hello."
"How?" Shane asked.
"I have security cameras that are linked at my office. I noticed your truck from the last time you were here." Steve smirked.
Shane cleared his throat as Steve walked back to his car. The gate opened. And Shane had no way out but in.
He drove slowly up the driveway and parked where he did last time he was here. When he stepped out he looked down and tried to flatten out his t-shirt. Why the sudden nervousness?!
"You're welcome to stay for dinner if you'd like. You can tell me all about last time you were here." Steve chuckled as he walked up the stairs. Shane nervously chuckled.
"Uh thank you but I really didn't mean to stop by all of a sudden. I've been trying to get a hold of Mitchie. But no ones been able to." Shane explained as he followed Steve in and closed the French doors behind him. He remembered what Mitchie said about the glass and he did it ever so softly.
"She's been a little busy. And with a broken phone she's had a hard time getting a hold of anyone at the moment." Steve wasn't letting any information out of his daughter. Which made Shane more confused. He had so many questions.
"Steve, is that you? Oh." Connie came around the corner of their dining room.
"Hello." Her warm voice was welcoming to Shane's ears. He bounced on his feet, a nervous habit.
"Hi. I'm Shane Gray. I got to school with Mitchie." Shane introduced himself with an extended hand for a handshake.
"Connie Torres. Do you have any relations to Denise and Kevin Gray?"
"Yes ma'am. They're my parents."
"Please call me Denise, dear. And tell them thank you. The flowers were lovely. I hope they received the arrangement alright."
"They did. They were really thankful. I think my mom was in the most amazement of something so in her words "beautifully put together"." Shane shyly admitted.
Connie's white smile shined brightly, her eyes squinted and the ever so softly hint of wrinkles showed through her perfect toned face. Shane noticed Mitchie had a lot of her father's features. But undeniably it was her mother's natural beauty that she inherited.
"Will you be joining us for dinner?" Connie asked.
"Uh actually ma'am, I mean, Connie, i didn't mean-"
"He sure is. He's going to tell us what he and Mitchie were up to when he was last here."
Shane blushed furiously at Steve's teasing tone.
"Ahh you're the boy with the pick up."
Shane nodded shyly.
"I'll go get Mitchie." Steve said as he climbed up the staircase.
Shane had to swallow back a cough that was threatening to spill. Connie motioned for him to follow her. Shane's heartbeat was thumping against his ears, he couldn't hear a word Connie was saying. He just nodded his head and sat down. His eyes were glued on the take out containers that were in front of him. As he heard Steve's voice grow louder with each step he took.
Shane was seconds from seeing Mitchie face and all he could think of is if he put on deodorant this morning. Does his breath stink? What about his hair?
Wait. Why does he even care?!
Oh for fuck sake. He liked Mitchie.
He knew that from the second he saw her at the party.
Steve's voice quieted down as Mitchie rounded the corner. Her sunken eyes looked up slowly.
They widened suddenly.
Shane's mouth fell open.
They looked at each other.
Mitchie's eyes began to water.
Shane reached for her.
Mitchie lunged at him.
Shane caught her.
She fisted his shirt.
A sob broke the silence.
"Why?!" Mitchie cried.
"I'm so sorry." Shane said at the same time.
Steve and Connie looked at each other and back to their daughter in the arms of a boy they just met.
This was the first time in a week they heard her voice. As parents they didn't want her to stop. They wanted her to talk, scream, cry. Whatever she wanted. As long as she talked.
They stayed quiet as both teens hugged and cried together. Mitchie sniffled as she tried to untangle herself from Shane.
Shane wiped at his eyes as he blushed.
"What are you doing here?" Mitchie's voice croaked. Days without speaking, she forgot what she sounded like. Her throat was sore from the lump of tears threatening to spill.
"I was just driving and somehow ended up in your driveway." Shane admitted.
"We invited him to stay." Steve explained.
Connie went over to Mitchie and wrapped her arm around her daughter. Her own tears spilling from her eyes. Steve went to stand by his wife and daughter. He looked over at Shane and mouthed a thank you.
They gave each other a look of relief. They knew Shane was a big deal. Without really knowing who he was to their daughter. He was the reason they got a sign that their daughter was still there. And for that they'll welcome Shane over and over again.