Life As It Is

It had been two weeks since the couple became well... a couple. Billie Joe and Ella were together whenever they got the chance. They were practically inseparable.

Ella was having the time of her life those two weeks. Unfortunately, her home life was a mess. Her parents started coming home drunk and usually there was only beer and baking soda in the fridge. So much for a normal life...
She started sneaking out more to Billie Joe's house. It was the one place where she could eat a decent meal and feel safe.

"So...any plans for your birthday?" Ollie asked her son one afternoon.

"Birthday?" Ella asked looking directly at Billie Joe.

"Yeah... I thought I told you. It's February 17th." He said smiling.

Two things were going through Ella's mind at once. One was how fast it was already the second month of the year. The second thing was...what could she possibly get Billie Joe for his birthday?

"Yep, he's going to be our little 17 year old now." Ollie said proudly.

"You're 17?!" Ella practically exclaimed. "I thought you were a senior."

"Nope." Billie Joe said wondering if his girlfriend was going to overreact.

"Wow, I can't believe it. But I don't really care about age anyway." Ella shrugged.

When she got home, Ella looked at her calendar and marked February 17th. It was in two weeks. What could she get for Billie Joe in two weeks notice?

* * * * * *

"What are you getting him?" She asked Mike one day when Billie Joe wasn't around.

"A new amplifier. The one he has now is absolute shit."

Ella was trying to think more and more about what she could get her boyfriend until one day...

The couple was passing by a guitar store and like a caged puppy; Billie Joe looked at the front display of the store.

"Oh shit that Stratocaster looks awesome!" He exclaimed but then looked at the price. "Holy shit...that's expensive."

Bingo. That's what Ella could get him. Now all she had to do was get a job.
She lay in her bed that night wondering where she could find a job and if her parents were going to go ballistic that she was going to get a job.
Ella went downstairs as quickly as possible to order some pizza. Obviously these days her parents were basically passed out on the couch, spending every ounce of their money on booze.

When she got downstairs to use the phone, her mother saw her and tried to walk over to her.

"What the fuck is thiisss?" Her mother slurred. She was holding Billie Joe's sweatshirt.

Ella's eyes went wide. She had completely forgotten to hide it or at least give it back to Billie Joe.

"It's... nothing..." She stumbled over her words.

Ella's mother narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Don't fucking lie to me you little whore." She said and then smacked her in the face.

"Damn straight she is." Ella could hear her father saying as he then appeared, also smacking her.

She felt like the person she was just a month ago. Scared and alone. She couldn't meet their glances so she quickly and quietly went up to her room, hoping they wouldn't come after her.

Now she was hungry as hell. Ella sighed and decided to climb down her ladder to just sneak out.

Without even realizing it, she ended up at Billie Joe's house. She knocked the door and he came out.

"Hey..." Billie Joe said and noticed Ella's face. "What the fuck happened to you?" He said rworriedly.

"Can I come in and explain?" She said with her arms crossed.

Billie Joe let her in as she walked to the couch. She explained what had happened while he sat by her side, absorbing all of the information.

"Whoa." Billie Joe said when Ella was finished. "You need to tell someone or something."

"But what if they change back to what it used to be? They used to be better than this." Ella protested a little.

"There is no way they could ever be the same." He said softly.

She sighed and knew that Billie Joe was right. But what if they could go back to normal? Or at least somewhat normal.

Ella stayed at Billie Joe's for a while, hanging out as usual and forgetting her troubles. It wasn't until she went home when she remembered them.

When she arrived at her house, there was a police car outside. Had someone called the cops on her parents? Tons of questions were running through Ella's mind at once. She sighed and decided to go through the front door.

As she walked inside, there was a police officer talking to her parents. Her mother was obviously fake crying and her father was faking being upset.

"She...she just disappeared. She's been so troubled lately." Ella's mother said as she wept.

Now isn't that a load of bullshit?

"What's going on?" She asked as they all turned their heads.

"ELEANOR!" Her mother cried out coming out to hug her.

"Ok well I guess this mystery is solved." The police officer said, putting his little notebook into his pocket and leaving the house.

When the police car drove off, Ella's mom pushed her daughter down.

"Where were you, you little bitch!" Ella's dad asked her, his voice booming throughout the entire house.

"Out." Ella surprised herself by saying that.

"Who said you could go out?" Her mother kicked her down again.

"I can do what I want you know. You can't keep me in here forever!" She couldn't believe herself.

Ella's father picked her off the ground and held onto her ,"Listen you little bitch, don't be a little smartass. You're grounded." He dropped her down again.

"You can't do that...because I have a job!" Why did she lie?

"Do your stupid little job. You'll get punished even more." Ella's mother said as she and her husband left.

Ella went up to her room, now trying to think where she could actually find a job soon. But for now, she needed to hear someone's voice. She got out the house phone she had swiped before she went up to her room and dialed that person's number.

"Hey Billie..." She lay in bed starting to talk to him.