On My Own

The whole class stopped working and stared at the four men in the doorway. I slumped in my seat. Stephanie’s eyes widened and she glanced at me. I looked at Matt and saw him stand up. “Can I help you?” Matt asked, walking around his desk.

“We need Adeline Armstrong to come with us. Well, I guess we should say Brittany Perkins,” one of the officers said.

“Fuck my life,” I muttered. Jeremy pushed past the officers and started looking around the room. I cringed; Jeremy looked awful. He had a full, blond beard and his eyes had dark circles underneath them. His eyes were bloodshot and hair looked dirty. I felt guilty and looked down. I heard his boots as he walked towards my desk. He stopped next to my desk and I sunk lower.

“Found you, Britty-Baby,” Jeremy whispered, crouching down so he was my height. He reached and took my glasses off. “You bought these at the store we went into the night before you ran away.”

“Go away, Jerbear,” I told him. “I’m not going back to Los Angeles and you can’t make me.”

“Miss Perkins, you need to come with us,” the other officer said.

“What exactly did I do?” I asked him, turning to face him. “I’m a legal adult, I can go wherever I want. My parents can’t force me to go to their house.” Matt took a few steps closer to me and Jeremy. I looked from him and Stephanie.

The two officers quietly talked to each other and the rest of my class stared at me. The bell rang, but none of them left. After a few minutes, the principal and Matt got everyone to leave. Matt convinced Mr. Johnson to allow Stephanie to stay. Jeremy was glaring at Matt. Stephanie was texting frantically on her phone.

“Should I call Riley and tell him we’re busy?” I asked Stephanie. Stephanie shook her head and gestured to her phone. I turned to Jeremy. “Why couldn’t you just give up?”

“What?” Jeremy asked. “You’re my best friend! You left my house and then ran away! I offered to get an apartment with you and you ran away!”

“Jerbear, I was going to run away anyways. Your offer had nothing to do with it!” I exclaimed. “I had everything planned for weeks!”

“Why couldn’t you tell somebody?” Jeremy demanded, standing up. I slid out of my desk and glared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because my parents would’ve eventually figured out whom I was with!” I told him. “They know we’re best friends!”

“We both could’ve changed our names,” he said. Jeremy and I were chest to chest and in each other’s faces. Both of us were glaring and I was clenching my fists. “I’ve been worried sick for weeks!”

“Don’t you dare try to make me feel guilty, Jer. I’m the one who ran away. I can guarantee I’ve had it worse than being worried. Want to know a secret Jerbear? I tried to kill myself!” I yelled. Jeremy grabbed my upper arms and stared me in the eyes.

“You what?” He growled.

“I tried killing myself! I wanted to be dead! Now let me the fuck go,” I snapped. Matt’s hands grabbed Jeremy’s hands and he pushed Jeremy away from me. “Jer, it was worse and running away to your house or Jessie’s or Megan’s wasn’t going to change that. I wanted to die.”

Tears ran down my cheeks. I felt Matt’s arm rub my back and Stephanie came and hugged me. “I wanted to die and when I couldn’t, I had to escape from Los Angeles.”

The room fell quiet. I wiped my eyes and sighed. My best friend slash sister held me while the final tears fell. My boyfriend kept a hand on my back, but kept his distance. My principal’s jaw was dropped. The two officers were looking at me with sympathy. But my best friend gave me a harsh look. And I knew what was coming.

“I thought I told you to stop taking pills,” he said.

“I figured you’d leave me alone once I was in hell,” I replied. The door opened and Dave came in with a woman. Stephanie gasped and she looked at the woman curiously.

“Mom?” She whispered. The woman smiled and nodded.

“Excuse me, who are you two?” One of the officers asked. Stephanie’s mom handed everyone a card.

“I’m Wendy Bevins, Miss Armstrong’s attorney,” she introduced. “This is my ex-husband, David Collins. Miss Armstrong lives in his house.” She handed two men a few papers. “Miss Armstrong is in the stages of getting her name changed. Under California law, Miss Armstrong is legally allowed to introduced herself as Adeline Marie Armstrong because of her name approval she has.

“And under California law, you cannot take her to the police station or Los Angeles. She may have run away as a minor, but as of the seventieth of September, she is an adult. Miss Armstrong has the right to live wherever she wants without her parents’ knowledge,” Wendy told the two officers. They nodded and apologized for wasting our time. Mr. Johnson escorted them out of the room.

“Go, Mom,” Stephanie whispered. I snickered and she went up to her parents. I looked at Matt and Jeremy and sighed.

“Jeremy, you should go,” I mumbled. “I’m not going to Los Angeles.”

“Brittany, please. Everyone misses you. Your parents-“

“Jeremy. I. Am. Not. Going.Back.” I sighed and put my fake glasses on. “I belong in Huntington Beach.” Jeremy glanced from me to Matt.

“It’s him, isn’t it? You’re fucking your teacher, Britt? Really?” Jeremy asked. Matt tensed, but I answered before he could snap.

“Jeremy, just know I’m happy and get out,” I whispered. “Tell the girls I miss them and…tell my parents I’m okay. Then, just pretend I’m dead because Brittany Perkins no longer exists.”

“I never thought you’d be the one to shut your friends that have been there for you through everything,” Jeremy spat before storming out of the classroom. I turned to Matt and just clung to him. I buried my face in his chest. I locked my arms around his middle. This was the only place I wanted to be.