The Rules of Life

I went over to Travis’s car and grabbed my cellphone from where it had fallen onto the floor. I had a few missed calls from him, a few from my dad, and two from Sophia. Sophia left me a voicemail.

“Hey, Kinley, where are you? We’re all kind of freaking out here. You took Travis’s car and he’s having a bitch fit. So, uh, call me back, please.”

There were three from Travis. “Kinley, where are you? Call me back, babe.” That one was still at the party. Probably not long after I left. The music still blared from the background and there was a lot of laughter. The time stamp was almost eleven o’clock. I couldn’t remember what time I left so I couldn’t say for sure when he called but god, could he have sounded any-fucking-more concerned? The second one was better.

“Kinley, where the fuck are you? Where’s my car? You’re high and probably drunk, and goddammit, do you have a fucking death wish? You’re going to get a lot of shit when I see you again.”

I glared at my phone. “Yeah, fuck you, too, asshole,” I mumbled.

The next one started. This one was timed at two am and it wasn’t as mean as the one before. Travis sounded considerably less drunk than the first and second one. Now he sounded scared and worried out of his mind. “Kinley, please, baby, pick up the phone. I’m freaking out here. You took my car and you’re wasted and oh god, all I can think about is that you could be wrapped around a tree trunk or—or in a ditch.” He sighed heavily and I could picture him running his hands through his hair. “Kinley, please. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I bet,” I mocked. I didn’t listen to the voicemail from my dad or check my text messages. All I wanted to do was see Travis so I could beat the shit out of him. He doesn’t know what he’d do if something happened to me? Well something already fucking happened and it was you! I grabbed the keys from the ignition and started towards Travis’s house. I didn’t have a license and my previous driving experience didn’t exactly leave me feeling all that great about getting behind the wheel again.

My phone was gripped tightly in my hands and my anger fueled my work. I was a block away from Travis’s house when he called me. I debated answering. If I did, then I’d probably scream at him here and he’d never leave me in. And I really wanted the satisfaction of hurting him just like he’d hurt me. I couldn’t believe I’d ever actually liked him. Why the fuck did I trust him? He’d fucking blackmailed me into dating him and guilted me into going on a second date. April Tanner could fucking have him. I wanted no part of Travis Elton ever, ever again.

If I didn’t answer the phone, Travis would probably start freaking out again and leave me even more messages. He might even call the police because Travis just over-reacts with everything. So I flipped open my phone and spat a “What?!” at him.

“Kinley, oh thank god,” he breathed. “I was so worried about you.”

I could see his house now. “Yeah, I bet. Listen, I’m almost at your house.”

“Are you in my car?”

“Nope.” Then I hung up because I couldn’t stand to listen to his voice anymore. I figured Travis would be waiting for me but he wasn’t. Then I realized that he knew that he’d drugged me and probably heard in my voice that I knew, too. This made me more mad. He couldn’t even face me like a man. I banged on the door and his mom answered.

“Oh, hello, McKinley,” she said, smiling at me.

I couldn’t even muster up a smile for her. I just barged in and stomped up the stairs. Travis was waiting for me in his room. The door was already open but I slammed it open even more. It hit the wall and bounced off. “Who the fuck do you think you are?!” I yelled. Travis jumped to his feet and pulled me farther in the room. Then he poked his head outside and looked down the hallway before closing the door and locking it. Maybe he hoped to diffuse the situation but oh boy, I was just getting started. “I trusted you, Travis. I fucking trusted you and you just fucked me over. How typical. Travis Elton gets bored of his toys and he’s got to spice things up again! And oh no, it can’t just be some fabulous sex, no, you have to go and ruin my life again!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Travis said, holding his hands up. I was shaking with my anger, shaking again. “What are you talking about? I didn’t do shit to you besides treat you right.”

I laughed. “Quit it with the bullshit, Travis,” I told him. “You took me to a party even though you knew what could happen there.”

“You said you’d go!” Travis exclaimed. I could see the anger rising in him. His fists were clenched and I wanted him to take a swing at me. If he did, then I could. And oh man, I wanted to break his fucking face.

“I don’t care if I said I’d go!” I yelled. I took a step closer to him. We’d been close before, hell, we’d had sex before. And every time, I felt a slight pull to him, and he’d always brush my hair away or kiss me but now, if he ever touched me again, I’d break all ten of his fucking fingers. The only thing between us was tension. “You know what happened the last time I went to a party! And instead of, oh I don’t know, making the party fucking enjoyable for me, you go and you get shitfaced and you get baked off your ass.” I shoved him, just like I’d shoved Matt. But Travis was expecting me and it was like shoving a wall.

Travis shoved my hands off him and glared at me. “You had some of the drugs, too, Kinley, so don’t fucking pin all this on me,” he said loudly. If the house didn’t hear me yelling, they were about to hear Travis.

“Yes, that’s exactly it! You made me take drugs! And do you happen to know what was in those drugs, Travis?” I said, my eyes widening. “Do you? Do you?! They were laced, Travis. They were fucking laced and it was just like last time!”

Now it was Travis’s turn to widen his eyes. “What are you talking about? It wasn’t laced, Kinley,” he said.

“Yes, yes, it fucking was. I started seeing things, Travis.” I stepped closer again. I was going to knock his brains in. Goodbye attractive Travis face. It’s a good thing that you have enough money so that you can get a nose job when I ruin it! “You fucking ruined my life once and goddammit, I swore that you wouldn’t do it again. And here you’ve gone and done it!”

Travis took a step closer to me and put his hands on my arms. I yanked myself out of his grip. “I swear, Kinley, I didn’t know,” he said. He looked like he was telling the truth but right now, I just wanted to make him pay.

I walked over to his desk and flung the mess onto the floor. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Travis!” I screeched at him. “How could you do this to me?! You know what happened last time and you did it again, you fucked up human being!”

He walked over to me. “Kinley, please, just calm down. I promise you, I didn’t know.” He was trying to reason with me which was stupid. Travis never reasoned with anyone. I smacked his chest. He grabbed my wrist. “Kinley, stop. Stop!” I balled up my hand and let ‘er rip. The pain was pretty bad but oh god, it was so satisfying. Travis dropped my wrist and groaned, stumbling back a few steps. “What the fuck, Kinley? Jesus Christ.”

“You’re such an ass, Travis,” I said. I walked over to his door and flung it open. Then I looked back at him. “And just so you know, I never loved you.” I slammed the door shut. Megan was standing there, looking really sad. I stared at her. She was blocking my way and I was still angry, so I wasn’t above just pushing past her but with the look she was giving me… she wanted to say something.

She rolled her hands in front of her. “I couldn’t help but overhear.” She gestured towards the door. “I know you’re angry at Travis but if he says he didn’t do it or—or whatever, he didn’t. Travis isn’t a liar.” Oh how sad was she that she still believed Travis, of all people, wasn’t a liar. That she still believed that he was perfect. Travis didn’t deserve this kind of trusting. Travis didn’t deserve shit. Megan took a step closer to me and placed her hand on my arm. It was all I could do not to pull away from her and just leave. “I hope you two work it out. I’ve never seen Travis like this before. You’re good for him.” She smiled at me then. I couldn’t take it anymore. I slipped past her and ran down the stairs. I had almost made it to the door when I spotted Carly.

She was decked out in pink footie pajamas, carrying a stuffed animal by the ears. “Kinny?” she said. “Why are you leaving?”

I bit my lip. This was too hard now. It was one thing to break up with Travis but it was another thing to break up with his family when they’d been so nice to me. I turned away and walked out the door.