#ac193

[vidaliaraebanai]

Activity Check: 193

A soft sigh escaped scarlet painted lips as bright optics gazed around the bedroom – the mattress set currently situated on the floor, packed boxes stacked around in an unorganized mess, furniture situated in the placed it didn’t belong – this was the fresh start she wanted, right? Well, not exactly, but it was something, and it was better than nothing considering she couldn’t seem to escape Sloane. A fresh start. A new flat. Something different. Pushing a hand through her hair, she grabbed the bottle of wine that she had earlier set on top of a stack of boxes, carrying it through the apartment and into the living room. She inhaled deeply, considering dropping her weight onto the couch, glancing around once again before heading out to the balcony, the selling point of the entire space. Pushing outside, her bare feet hit the cool concrete as she brought the bottle of wine to her lips, taking a generous mouthful before pulling her phone out of her pocket, sliding the pad of her thumb across the slick screen to bring it to life. Staring at the screen for a lingering moment, she scrolled through her contacts, hesitating on the familiar name of her son’s father. It had been awhile since he had responded to her, and while she hadn’t stopped trying, the strong hope she was giving up on was beginning to feel worthless. Her teeth sank into her lower tier as she clicked out of her contacts, pulling up social media in an attempt to distract her mind. Another thing that proved to be worthless. She raised the bottle to her lips again, taking a long drink followed by another before she tucked it under her arm, thumbs now sliding across her screen as she typed out a text message, hitting send before a second thought could cross her mind. She needed to see her son, and she was going to continue to try.

[wxstedxyouthx]

The final bell of the day had finally rung and it was Friday. For some, Friday meant the weekend was started. For me, it meant there was a football game in a few hours. Why I played the game was all thanks to my father, even though I'd rather be elsewhere. The funny thing was that I was good, and yet I always got placed in the worst positions. Coach's son was on the team, and since he and I didn't get along well, you can see how that would play out. But it was Friday night, and we were about to play one of the most important games of the year. It was homecoming.

I sat in my chemistry classroom a while after the bell rang and just thought off for a while. I remember Miss Daniels asked me if I was okay a couple of times, and eventually I told her I was right before I left. She was always so worried about me playing games, said that I was going to get hurt and have some kind of irreversible damage. It was like she was the only person besides Vendella that actually seemed to care about me. Not my parents, not even my siblings. Man, I remember that homecoming game just like it was yesterday.

Fast forward to game time and I was in the locker room, tying up my shoes and pumping my own self up while the other guys were doing their thing. Coach Tucker had just informed me that I was to change positions because Brody Johnson got food poisoning from lunch. I knew that it was going to make Cody Tucker mad, but what else was I supposed to do? So, there I was, finishing up my shoes and I, of course, got approached by Cody and his closest friends. They were already so angry and I barely just got my shoes on.

Everything happened so quickly. The sound of being thrown against those metal lockers still loops in my head when I have a rough day sometimes. I knew I shouldn't have accepted Coach's new game plan and just said I would sit it out, but I really just wanted to make someone proud. Not for myself, not for my dad, just anyone. Cody and his friends took turns beating the shit out of me, and I did fight back, but there were too many of them. Five against one. This wasn't the only time I received a black eye and bruised ribs from Cody and his friends, but it's always a time I remember.

The force of my head being slammed so hard against the lockers caused me to blackout. Cody and his friends pulled me into the supply closet and told Coach that I had dipped out. Of course, I had no idea any of this occurred until hours after the game when I finally woke up. Everyone was celebrating the win, and no one even thought twice about me on that homecoming night. I remember my dad was so mad at me, for weeks, when he found out that I was kicked off the team, and yet, he never asked me what happened.

No one ever asked me what happened when things like this occurred, they just wrote me off, every single time.