BACK FOR MORE FUN! I hope
Next chapter is earlier than expected, thanks to my unusually lack of homework today
Ross's POV
''Can I have the last pancake, daddy?'' Austin looked at me with those big brown eyes he knew I couldn't ignore. Luckily he looked like me in every way, so he didn't unknowingly remind me of Kacey too much.
''Well, I don't know, little buddy. I think you gotta deserve that pancake. I made it and I should say, it's a pretty good pancake.'' I act out while raising one eyebrow. I slowly pick up the last pancake with my fork, while keeping my eyes on Austin the whole time. He follows the pancake with big, wide eyes and drool almost coming out of his mouth.
''But daddy-y-y…'' He wines, stretching out the y. I slowly put syrup all over the pancake and decorate it exactly the way I know he likes it. I make a smiley face with banana slices as eyes, make a trail of chocolate chips for the mouth and top it off with a big strawberry as nose. I turn the plate so the plate is facing him. He stares at the banana eyes like he's in love with it.
''So, what have you done to deserve this amazingly delicious, best-I've-ever-made pancake?'' I ask him with a serious face. He doesn't respond and keeps his eyes on the pancake.
''I guess you leave me no choice.'' I sigh and cut a little piece off. His eyes turn to me and he looks at me, begging me not to eat it. I raise the fork to my mouth, very slowly. ''I'm about to put it in my m-''
''I TALKED TO SOMEONE NEW IN CLASS YESTERDAY.'' He blurts out very quickly. My arm stops abruptly and the pancake stays only inches away from my open mouth. I raise my eyebrows and nod my head, as a sign to let him continue.
''There was a new girl in class yesterday and I was the first one to talk to her.'' He tells me proudly.
''We will definitely accept that one.'' I laugh and I put the fork in my mouth, enjoying the indeed delicious pancake. I see Austin's worried eyes, and I hand him over my fork and a knife to let him eat the rest of the pancake. He thankfully takes them and starts cutting the pancake in big pieces to stuff them into his mouth.
''So, tell me about this girl.'' I ask him hesitantly. Although I'm certain he's too young to be seriously interested in girls, I can't help but be curious about it.
''She's new in our class. She's so smart that she could skip her class and get into a higher one. I've never seen anyone that smart, I think she's a robot.'' He talks with his mouth so stuffed I can barely understand him.
I laugh out loud, rolling my eyes. There's nothing to be scared of. At this age, all the boys still thing the girls are robots and the girls avoid the boys, afraid of cooties.
''A pretty robot, though.'' I turn my head quickly in his direction again. He stares into nowhere with a smile on his face, with his cheeks full and round.
''Pretty, huh?'' I ask him nervously. He nods enthusiastically.
''Yeah! You know, as far as robots can be pretty. I gotta be careful, though, she might not be a good robot.'' He assures me, with a serious expression.
''Right.'' I smile at him. ''Finish up, little buddy, we're gonna be late for school.''
''Kay, daddy'' We stand up from the table, leaving it for now and walk to school.
''Have fun today at school, kay Austin?'' I kneel in front of him to fix his plaid shirt and his hair. I also use my thumb to wipe some syrup from the corner of his mouth. Austin moves his head backwards to avoid my thumb, embarrassed.
''Kay. Bye!'' And he runs towards the school doors, where the teacher stands to lead everyone inside. I watch him enter the building, when I someone stare at me from the side. I turn my head towards the direction and see the girl from yesterday looking at me with her head to the side, smiling, like she's adoring the scene she just witnessed. When she sees my eyes, hers widen and she quickly turns her head to the front gate. It looks like she doubts if she wants to go and talk to me, when she eventually turns her whole body to the gate and walks off the playground in a fast tempo.
When I leave the house, it's clouded, windy and much colder than I was used to in August. I put on the first jacket in three months, zipped it all the way up and headed to school. On my way I checked the oncoming weather and it told me it would stay dry for the next hour and at the moment it was 57 degrees with wind-force 5. I had to take Austin home before it got dangerous outdoors.
I was early today, 30 minutes before school would be over. I was the first one on the playground yet and I just sat on the bench near the gate, scrolling through my phone, searching for something to do to kill some time.
''Why are you… I can't believe you, you're such… you even bother…?''
I looked up when I heard someone yell behind me. Because of the strong wind most words got carried away, but it was clear it wasn't a friendly conversation. I stood up and looked over the small stone wall that surrounded the school playground.
Over the wall I saw a boy arguing with a girl in front of a black sports car. He brown haired girl seemed to be in charge of the conversation while the boy just stood there with an uninterested look in his eyes. Now that I saw them and paid attention, I could hear them more clearly.
''Did you change your mind suddenly? I don't need you anymore, Jason, I've figured it all out. You know what? I'm FINE without you; you were just an obstacle in my life. You never helped me with anything and I don't need you help now, I won't need it EVER.'' She shouted at him while making wild arm gestures. She was wearing a light brown trench coat and long, brown boots under it. She was probably wearing a skirt, since her legs were bare between the boots and the end of her trench coat.
''Jeez, Laura, chill out. I was only gone for two days. I'm here now, everything can go back the way it were.'' He told her calmly. He almost seemed bored and unimpressed by her rant as he put both of his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
''Can't you hear me? I don't need you! I never did, you only dragged me down. I think it's better if we don't see each other anymore.'' She stated and crossed her arms. I could see the panic in his eyes. He's a good looking boy, but with a very common face and empty eyes.
He's always had the good looks, lots of girlfriends in the past. He's not that smart, unemployed for the last three years or so. A jock on his high school, refused to do any school work, graduated with a 2.2, just on the edge. Since then he's been looking for women who could support him. Especially smart, naïve women, like Laura apparently. This was what he could see in his eyes and he wasn't surprised.
He suddenly realized who the girl was. Laura, the Laura knew from yesterday and who I caught staring this morning.
''But I love you, Laura.'' He said with a fake smile and no emotion whatsoever in his dark eyes.
''Get real, Jason. Do you even hear yourself? I want you to leave me alone, we're through.'' She told him without hesitation. I started walking towards the open gate, still watching the couple.
''Laura, I can't live without you! You're my one true love and think about Ally!'' He grabbed both of her hands with his and looked at her desperately. She took one look at their hands and pulls them loose. I hid behind the higher part of the wall next to the gate, not wanting to get into the fight but also not being able to ignore it.
''Don't you dare bringing Ally into this, we both know that you don't give one fuck about her!'' Laura yelled at Jason. She then looked around her and sighed, keeping her cool.
''Look, I just don't want to make a scene here. We can do this elsewhere, where there aren't any children or parents that could see us. Just know that we're done.''
Jason suddenly grabbed Laura by her upper arms tightly and his eyes got darker. I saw Laura freeze at this action and whimper as a sign that he's hurting her.
''Don't you dare do this to me, we both know you can't leave me. Just as good as we both know what will happen if you disobey me.'' He says in a soft, yet harsh tone. I hear Laura starting to breathe faster, panicking.
I step out of my hiding spot, run to Jason and push him off her.
''Hey, knock it off, you're hurting her!'' I yell at him, eying him with narrow eyes. I sense Laura stepping half behind me. As a reaction to it, I put my arm in front of her.
Jason inspects me openly and smirks. He lifts his head in arrogance and gets his hands into fists, like he's preparing for a fight.
''So this is your hero now, huh? Are you in need of a hero, Laura? Are you scared of me'' He widens his eyes at the word 'scared', which makes him look like a psychopath.
''Okay, no need to bother her anymore, dude. She was clear, she doesn't want to see you anymore.'' I tell him calmly, not wanting to cause a fight. Plus he looks like a freaking serial killer at the moment, while I'm here with no fighting experience.
Laura steps forward now, not behind me anymore. I look her in the eyes and give her a look that she has to be careful.
''Stop the bullshit, Jason. Get out of here before I call the cops.'' She threatens him. I take another step forward, wanting to protect her from any potential attack.
Jason leans forward to bring his mouth to her ear. ''You can call the cops all you want, but you can't prove anything. I will do anything to get Ally away from you.'' He whispers to her. I see Ally's eyes widen in fear.
''Don't even try to touch her! I'm serious, if you even look at her, I will kill you, you understand me? I will kill you!'' She yells at him, her eyes full of tears. He looks at her, smirking and turns around to get into his car. Laura walks after him, trying to stop him, but I stop her, grabbing her arm gently. Laura looks at me, then at her arm being hold by my hand and pulls it back.
Jason started his car and is now grabbing his dark sunglasses. He smirks at Laura again and winks before putting them on. That makes her furious. She runs after the car which is now riding away while she keeps screaming the word 'no!'. I run after her when she's about to run onto the road.
''Laura, stop! Don't… '' I yell at her just before putting my arms around her at her waist, pulling her back. One second later, a car speeds past us. We both breathe heavily while we stay in the same position; she, legs close to each other, wide eyes and her arms crossed in front of her chest. And I, spread legs, my arms around her waist and breathing next to her head.
''You could've been killed.'' I tell her softly while closing my eyes.
''I know. I'm sorry…For bringing you into this'' She answers after a while, realizing the position we're still in. She turns to me, looks me in the eyes and then turns her look to her feet. I put my hands on her shoulders which makes her look at me again.
''It's not your fault, I brought myself into it. But that guy looked dangerous, I couldn't leave you with him. What he said was not okay.'' She just shakes her head, not finding words to use.
I lead her to the bench on the playground and we sit down, facing each other.
''I'm Ross, by the way.'' I tell her smiling awkwardly. She laughs at this and answers;
''Laura.''
''I know.'' I admit. When she looks confused, I explain.
''I kinda heard everything. The whole scene.'' She looks shocked and I know exactly why.
''Oh my god I can't believe it.'' She puts her head in her hands, which are resting on her knees.
''Do you wanna talk about what he meant? I mean, if there's a reason to get the police, it's serious. Am I right?'' I try to get it out of her. I'm not sure if she trusts me enough to tell, but I know it will help her if she talks about it with someone.
''Can you keep a secret?'' She asks me, while looking at me with one eye, the rest of her face still covered by her hands. I nod slightly, wanting her to continue.
''Jason and I… Our relationship hasn't been running smoothly. I met him when I was 19 and got pregnant a year later. He was always happy that I was on a good college and when I got a very well-paying job. He wasn't too happy about Ally, though. He thought she was using all of our money and she got in the way of our love. He'd never had a steady job and went drinking whenever he could. Last year we got into a big fight and he hit me for the first time. After that I got scared of him, I couldn't leave him. Last week I caught him yelling at Ally and squeezing her arm. That's when I lost it and told all the things I had been holding up all that time. Two days later he left the note. And today he got back to pick up Ally. I told him we were over, but he kept insisting he wanted to see Ally. I will never let him come close to Ally again.''
I couldn't believe what I heard. That asshole abused Laura and Ally for years and nobody could help her. She was now crying openly and leaning her head against my shoulder. I looked down to see she closed her eyes and had her arms wrapped around my chest. I wrapped my arms around her small shoulder and used one hand to smoothen her hair.
''I'm really sorry, Laura. I can't believe this happened to you. I don't know what to say.'' I admit. ''But I'm honored that you would tell me.''
''Honored? Really, Ross?'' Laura asks me confused and slightly mad.
''You were kinda the only person I have in my life who even considers listening to me and who is above 18 years old. But, of course, no one can imagine what it feels like, which totally sucks, you know? I'm thankful for this, but sometimes I want a friend who can talk to me about my life.'' She sighs and sits straight.
''Believe me, I know what it's like.'' I say, more to myself than to her. She looks up surprised.
''You know what it's like? You mean you've been abused or that you-'' She looks at me scared and creates some space between us on the bench.
''No, Laura, you got it all wrong! I've never experienced any of that!'' I say quickly and scoot over to her, but she stands up, not wanting to touch me.
''So you don't know how it is.'' She laughs sarcastically. ''You know, all men are the same. They act like they know it so well, although they have no fucking idea what they're talking about! Ross, do everyone a favor, and don't try to act like you know, just to comfort me, cause it works in the complete opposite way.'' She shouts at me, now with tears from anger. After she wipes her tears away, she puts her hands on her hips and faces me again, smiling a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
''I'm sorry, Ross, I'm just a little messed up right now and I'd like you to leave me alone. It's not you, I just can't stand anyone right now, okay?'' She tells me with a shaky voice while backing up. I stand up from the bench and walk towards her.
''I understand, just let me talk to you, you shouldn't be alone now.'' I reach out to touch her upper arms and she backs up. Too late I realize that's where Jason hurt her.
''No! You've said enough. Thanks for the talk. Bye, Ross.'' And with that she turns around, runs toward the school doors and enters the building.
Damn, I messed up badly.
THAT WAS SO LONG. Probs the longest chapter I've ever written.
Took me all afternoon but YAY!
See ya next time shippers