You're Not Alone

I quietly made my way through the backyard when we arrived at my house. Alex smoothly parked the car in its original spot in the driveway, bid me goodnight, and walked across the yard to his house.

I was angry at myself. Why had all of that spilled out so quickly? He didn’t need, or even want to know about me. My barrier was crumbling and I needed to build it back up.

I carefully climbed up the tree and onto my balcony. When I walked into my room, I faced a problem.

Greyson.

And he was pissed.

He stood up from my bed, face red and screaming.

“Where the fuck have you been?!” He yelled, “Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

“Well, unless my clock is wrong, it appears to be 2:30 in the morning.” I replied, completely calm. That didn’t seem to make the situation any better.

“Nevertheless, on a school night!”

“Oh whoop-de-doo who gives a shit?” I screamed, louder than him.

“You’re seventeen years old! You shouldn’t be out this late at night by yourself!”

“I was perfectly fine living the way I was without you.”

Greyson looked like he had just been slapped in the face. “Because that’s exactly how it looked when you were found on the streets. Wasted, high, and broke? As long as you’re living under my roof, you follow my rules.”

“Stop trying to act like you’re my father. Because the way I see it, you’re hardly even my brother.”

I seemed to have crossed the line. He had this look in his eyes, as if his stomach suddenly fell to his feet when he heard that. He stormed out of the room and slammed the door, making the floor shake. I had actually hurt him.



The next morning, Greyson was nowhere to be found as I got ready for school. The only thing I knew was that his car was missing from its spot in the driveway.

I locked the door behind me as I left the house and started walking down the sidewalk. I didn’t get too far before I heard a car horn next to me.

As you can probably guess, it was Alex.

His messy hair was hidden under a grey beanie and he wore a leather jacket with a grey hood. I had to admit, he looked good. “Need a ride?” I slowly nodded my head and opened the door to the passenger seat before he drove off. Blink-182 was softly playing from a CD and he sang along under his breath.

“Greyson caught me sneaking back in last night.” I told him. He quickly looked at me, then back at the rode.

“Was he mad?” He asked.

“Mad would be an understatement...” I laughed softly. “We got into this huge fight and then he was gone when I woke up.”

“I’m sorry.” He said. I gave him a strange look. “I feel like it’s my fault considering I drove you.”

“No I started it, don’t even blame yourself. It’s not even a big deal; he’ll be back when I get home.” The remaining time in the car was spent in a comfortable silence. When Alex stopped his car in the parking lot, I didn’t expect all of the glares I had received from basically every girl in the school. They looked jealous... of me? I tried to ignore them as we stepped out of the car.

“I’m guessing you want me to show you where the office is?” I looked at Alex and nodded. As we started walking, I turned to him.

“Can I ask you something?”

He laughed. “You just did.”

“You’re hilarious. But seriously, why are you so nice to someone like me?” I asked. I was completely serious.

His face showed clear confusion. “Why? Am I supposed to hate you?” I shook my head.

“No, just forget it.” I said, forcing a laugh. Alex gave me a stern look.

“Well, here’s the office. You just need to talk to the lady at the front desk and she’ll give you everything you need” he smiled. His smile was perfect. Shut up, Ash. You don’t feel this way.

“Thanks for the help. I…appreciate it.”

“Anytime, I’ll see you around.” And with a wave, he disappeared into the hallway.



The office had an awkward atmosphere to it, but maybe that was because it was so silent. I walked up to the counter where a short woman, possibly in her late forties, was standing behind. Her faded brown hair was thrown up in a messy bun and her reading classes were resting on the tip of her nose. She immediately looked up when I approached and welcomed me with a soft smile.

“Hello there dear! You must be Ashlyn Davis, am I correct?” I nodded. “Let me just grab your schedule…” she said as she searched through her messy pile of papers. “Aha! Here we are!” she said handing me a single yellow paper. “Your locker is number 254; your combination is at the top of the paper. You’ll get your books in each of your classes, so no need to worry about that. Also, give this,” she handed me a green slip, “to your homeroom teacher. That would be room 112, dear. Any questions?” she kept it straight to the point.

I shook my head. “No, I think I’m good. Thank you.” I said before walking out. The hallways were more crowded now, so I pushed my way through in search of my locker. The school is pretty small, so it wasn’t that hard to find. I fiddled with my lock, but it was almost impossible to open. As I was standing there, the person next to me easily opened theirs.

“Do you need help with your lock?” he said with a smile.

“That would be… great.” I said. I told him my combination and watched as he easily unlocked it. “Okay now I just feel stupid!” We both laughed.

“Well, I’m Rian. Are you new?” he asked.

“Is it really that obvious? I’m Ashlyn.” He had this look as if a light bulb just went off in his head.

“Ashlyn Davis? As in Alex’s neighbor?”

“You know him?” I asked. He nodded his head. As the bell rang, everyone around us started scattering.

“Do you need help finding your class?” he asked.

“Sure.” I said. I was relieved that Rian was so nice. Maybe today won’t be as bad as I thought.