My Living Nightmare

After a while the sharp pain in my side subsided and I lay on the grass and stared up at the sky.
It was a beautifully clear night and the stars were just starting to appear in the sky.

I don’t know how long I had laid there just staring at the sky, and when I finally rose I was stiff all over.

Thankfully that annoying voice at the back of my head had shut up.

I grabbed my keys off the ground and walked back towards my car. Just as I unlocked the car and opened the door I heard my phone start to vibrate on the dashboard where I left it before. I looked at the screen and saw the caller ID. ‘Dad calling’ was flashing. I ignored it and got into the seat, closed the door and started up the engine.

I sat in the idling car thinking about what I was going to do now.

Where am I going to go? I don’t want to go to Sapphire’s and explain all this anymore and that’s probably what she will make me do. Going home is a bad idea, but I can’t exactly stay away forever.

Sapphire or home? Sapphire or home?

I sighed. I was a coward.

Home it is.

I pulled out of the parking lot and drove back home. Five minutes later and my phone was still vibrating. I pushed the Hands-Free button in annoyance.

“Yes?” I snapped tiredly.

“Alexandria!” my dad yelled. “Where are you? I want you home now. You have no idea of the amount of trouble you are in, young lady! Storming out like that! That is not the way we raised you.”

“Oh, give it a rest; dad, you and mom were barely there to do any raising. And I had right to ‘storm’ out like that. If you hadn’t noticed you seem intent on marrying me off to the biggest idiot ever, so don’t you judge me!” I ended the call. It was a low blow, and I felt guilty as hell for speaking to him like that, but…

“Are you okay-?”

“We’re so sorry about Sean’s behavior.”

“Where have you been? Have you any idea of how worried we’ve been?”

“I can’t believe you actually wanted to crash your car! I-” my mom would’ve droned on and on if I hadn’t interrupted her.

“Firstly, I had no intention whatsoever of crashing my car. Are you kidding me? I’d never do that to my baby! Secondly, I was serious about the coma thing. I think. Okay, if I had the guts I would’ve been. I mean really, it’s not like I have much of a life left anyway. Thirdly, I was where I was, and fourthly, I don’t care.”

There. That should have answered all of their questions.

The minute I walked in through the front door I immediately wished I hadn’t. I had been ambushed by two sets of parents. Thankfully, no Sean.

“So you’re telling us you care about your car more than yourself.”

I spoke to soon.

Evil incarnate- and by evil I mean Sean- stood leaning against the mahogany staircase banister.
I gave him my best death glare, and I’m telling you, if looks could kill he’d be lying in a pool of his own blood and I’d be under arrest and awaiting trial for homicide.

Whoa, I’m starting to become all morbid. I wonder whose fault that might be…

“I take that look as ‘none of your business’ ” Sean said.

“Wow, give the boy a cookie, he finally figured it out.”

With that I tried to stroll past the parents and head up to my room. Keyword; tried.

“Where do you think you’re going, young lady? Need I remind you of all the trouble you are in?” my father said as he grabbed hold of my wrist.

Oh no, he didn’t.

“Need I tell you I don’t give a damn?” I retorted while twisting my arm so that now I was gripping his wrist before letting go.

“Alexandria, please, we haven’t even explained what will be happening now that you are aware of the fact that you are engaged to Sean.”

Eww.

“Let me explain this really simply and slowly for those of you who seemed to have misunderstood my last few sentences. I. Do not. Care.”

“Alex, you really have to know this. Your father and I decided that it would be a brilliant idea if-” Phil started to say before Sean interjected.

“Stop trying to sugar-coat it dad, either way she’s going to blow up,” he turned to me. “Your parents have arranged for you to be move in with us. And you’ll be transferring to my school.”

There it was again, that word ‘arranged’.

Wait! What did he just say?

Moving in…

Transferring schools…

Arranged…

The words repeated themselves over and over in my head while all the blood in my body rushed towards my face.

Silence.

Everybody’s eyes were trained on me, waiting to see my reaction.

My heart seemed to skip a few beats. My hands balled into fists. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming. I tasted the acidic tang of blood in my mouth.

Still no one moved. No one spoke.

Arranged…
Moving… in… transferring schools… arranged…. Moving… in… transferring schools… arranged…. Moving… in… transferring schools.

Over and over the words ran through my mind, giving me the world’s largest headache.

Minutes seemed to pass by and yet still nobody moved and nobody spoke. The room seemed to have been frozen in time.

Sean seemed to regret having said anything and stared at me, eyes willing me to do something.

“Alexandria?” my father gingerly brought up a hand to touch my arm. I slapped it away.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” I snarled.

My dad flinched back, hurt flashing through his eyes.

Good.

“You leave tomorrow. The Rivera’s will be here by breakfast. I’m sorry,” my father said, defeated.

“You know where I’ll most likely be,” I said calmly. Inside though, I was screaming. I brushed past Sean on my way up the stairs. As I past him he looked up at me, eyes apologetic.

And he’d thought I’d blow up.

I ran up the rest of the stairs and to my room to see several suitcases by the foot of my closet.
How nice to know everyone was so prepared for this. Except me.

I chose a pair of black shorts and loose fitting white shirt out from the remaining clothes in my closet. Slipping off the dress and pulling into the clothes I gathered my hair into a messy bun and grabbed a pair of silver ballet flats. After I changed I made my way to the home gym for the second time today.