Dance Colors Our Life and Makes It Bright Again

"So why were you walking home yesterday anyway? What happened with your car?" I shove a spoonful of McDonald's hot cakes in my mouth and look up at him. He sits on the other side of his bed, his eyes on the TV that's currently playing an old episode of Phineas and Ferb.

He shrugs "I had someone give me a ride there and decided to walk home after." He shrugs again and takes a bite out of his sausage mcmuffin. "Don't ask why, I just did." He chuckles as he balls up the empty wrapper and tosses it in the trash.

"So you wanna tell me what happened?" His playful features turn serious as he lays himself down beside me. His mattress, which I've noticed is a waterbed mattress, moves in waves beneath us until it starts to still. I sigh and push my now curly messy hair up and out of my face.

A deep sigh escapes my lips. "My dad has had a drinking problem ever since my mom died and even though I was only 8, in his hysteria, he'd expected me and Taylor to take her place. We had to clean and sometimes cook and watch after Sam and through out all this he took out his frustrations on me since I'm the splitting image on my mom.

Why he wants to hurt me for looking like my mom is beyond me, but after Taylor moved out and he lost his job, he got a little more crazy. He said that I was taking up all the money with my dance classes and that I'm a nuisance to the family. So I had to start working to be able to take my classes. Sam was doing football by this time but it was a lot cheaper than my lessons and my dad loved him more anyway--"

"Whoa, wait." Chase interrupts. He sits up from his laying position and looks me in the eyes. "Okay, so your dad was, like, abusing you for looking like your mom? Don't you think that's kinda weird?"

I shake my head. This isn't something I want to think about right now. "Like I said its beyond me. Plus I don't really wanna try to figure it out."

Chase rubs his arm and averts his eyes from me sheepishly. "I'm sorry, go on."

"I mean that was basically it." I shrug. There's not really much else I can add. "Like after that he started kicking me out for random things and Tay decided to take me in and take care of me."

"Well you still never told me why you got kicked out last night.."

I flip my hair over carefully and examine the few split ends I have. "I don't know he just got really upset about work so he was in a bad mood when he got home and I guess I forgot to do something after I got home from dance and he blew up on me and kicked me out.

"Okay. I think I'm starting to get it. But I'll let it go for now, deal?"

"Deal."