Hi everybody! Sorry for the delay, shout out to Pottergirl for being patient, unfortunately my creativity doesn't move very fast so I thank you guys for waiting. When I start a story, I just sort of role with what I have and hope something comes from it from there. oen more shout out. Sorry Bloody, this isn't vampiric, it's my own creation.
(Isabel's POV)
Instead of being disgusted or sad or even weirded out, I felt nothing but pure rage at whoever had branded Thomas's face. I felt myself beginning to tear up, so I turned the other way. I was not about to be weak in front of this boy who could possibly save my life.
(Thomas's POV)
This time Jase McMillen and his posse had gone too far, making my one friend think that I was gay was the final straw. Outside, I was nothing but sad. Inside, I was in a blind rage. Tomorrow at school, I was going to end this fight. It wouldn't be pretty, but at this point it was absolutely necessary.
I zoned out on the bus ride home, considering Isabel couldn't and wouldn't even look at me. I didn't know what I was going to do yet, but whatever it was, it had to be drastic. The chances of Isabel finding out were about one in a million, but in the situation that she did, it wouldn't make much difference considering how low she already thinks about me. She's probably wishing right now that she wasn't sitting next to me in this seat. Creepy gay guy who gets branded, ew! She must be thinking right now.
(Isabel's POV)
Thomas seemed locked away today, and all I wanted to do was reach out and touch the mark on his cheek, tell him that it was ok, and whoever did that needed to be taught a lesson. I wanted to comfort him, tell him that I was still there for him, but I didn't dare reach out to him in this state. My mom would always try to take my dad's hand after he'd had a bad day at work to make him feel better, but he would always shake her off and backhand her across the face. She never stopped trying to please him, though. Every time she would reach out to him, and every time she'd get slapped across the face. I was going to keep my friend.
(Thomas's POV)
Isabel stared at me for a while before turning away. Funny thing though was that she wasn't staring at the mark, she was staring at ME. That much, I could tell. But I kept my face turned away, anyhow and settled in for the long ride. After a while, she started to talk. "Thomas…"
"Don't." I cut her off. "Just be quiet, please." I begged while still never facing her.
"But Thomas!" she started again.
"Don't or I'll have to do something drastic." I raised my voice.
"Like what?" She raised her vocal chords to meet my level.
"Like this." I whipped around and kissed her. It was only a second or two long, but it felt like a millennium. I pulled back just long enough to see her expression of total shock before I faced the window again.
"Like that." I muttered. It was silent for a while. I began to worry that she would never speak to me again. Finally, painfully, her stop came. As she was getting up, she bent down to me and whispered in my ear: "You can shut me up like that anytime."
My mouth fell open and gawked at her as she walked away. "Whaa?" Was all I could muster. I reached up and touched my mouth, still tingling and fizzing from feeling her lips and hearing her words. Suddenly I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. I couldn't wait for the bus ride home. I couldn't wait to tell her to be quiet again.
(Isabel's POV)
He's definitely not gay. This revelation leaves my heart high and my new emotions for Thomas happy. Maybe, just maybe, if I'm lucky, he'll kiss me again. He was my first kiss, and hopefully he'll be my second, too! I skipped down the street, temporarily forgetting about my home life, for once.
I pushed through the front door and screamed "HELLO MOTHER!" as loud as possible. There was no response, not even the usual sobbing. Maybe she stopped crying. That's not really an option. Maybe she went to the store. Not really an option, either.
"Mom?" I dropped my bag on the floor of the dark house and walked inside. She was lying on the couch, asleep. That was my first thought until I took a careful step closer. Nothing. No motion, nothing.
Only then did I see the note pinned to her stomach along with the pill bottles and whiskey on the side table. I floored over and ripped the tack out of her stomach to read the note. It said:
I can't stand life anymore. Go figure it out on your own.
Love, Mom
I began to cry. I curled up in a ball and cried for I don't know how long. After a while I brushed away the angry, sad, salty tears long enough to call the police and ask them to come and get her body. I didn't want to be there when they arrived, so I sped up the stairs and packed a small bag with toothpaste, a toothbrush, one of my mom's last credit cards left that still worked, and a change of clothes. Without thinking about what I was doing, I sped back down the stairs and never looked back. I shut the door silently as if it would keep my mom from waking up. Who was I kidding? She would never wake again.
Now where was I going to go? Is stood for a minute, thinking. All of my relatives left were either old, dead, or lived in Canada, and there was no way I was going to Canada. Suddenly I knew where I wanted to go. The place where I would feel safe was with Thomas.
I looked at my watch. Right now it was 5:46. I could catch the 6 o'clock bus to the end of town and be there by 6:30. That's what I'd do! But I had no clue where Thomas lived, other than at then end of town.
I didn't have his address or anything. I shrugged on my backpack and walked the block to the bus stop. The bus couldn't come quick enough. When it pulled up at our stop, I hopped on and handed the bus driver my newly acquired credit card. He looked at me funny, but it got me on the bus. I headed straight back towards our usual seat, but there was a lady sitting there quietly knitting, so I took the empty spot in front of her.
We made it to the end of town in under 30 minutes. Now came the hard part: finding Thomas's home. The first house on the block was a tiny wooden shack, rotten and clearly unlived in, or so I thought, until I walked across the front lawn and the blinds in the window shot down so fast I might as well have been a terrorist. "Never mind then…" I muttered, and kept walking. The never next house I came to looked promising, but I had the same effect on the occupants when I walked by. What was going on here? I wasn't THAT out of place, was I?
I shuffled past dozens more houses where the same thing happened until I came to one of the nicer houses for the area, where the blinds weren't instantly slammed shut. I hauled myself carefully up the rickety old steps and banged on the door. I waited a minute, then two. After seeing a face in the window off to the right then hearing the chain being slid into place, the front door opened up a crack.
"What do you want?" An older boy with skin as dark as the night itself asked.
"Um is there a Thomas at this residence?" I asked politely. Suddenly he looked at me with renewed interest and said, "Yeah, why?"
"I'm…I'm a friend from school. I need to talk to him. It's kinda important." He looked around for a second, then replied, "Holdon a second." He shut the door.
I heard him sliding back the chain. "Come in, quickly!" Without a thought, I slipped inside Thomas's front door.
Hoep y'all like it, I apologize about the long wait last time, I'll try to be faster this time. Thanks everybody and as always, ENJOY!
-8Tickles
