Nothing but The Sheets

by Stacy McWilliams

  I woke up a few hours later, jerking awake as my mom and Don argued in the hallway. I stayed lying in bed listening to them, even though I desperately needed to go to the bathroom.

  “I don’t care what he’s going through. I’m not having him wreck things in my house. It’s not on. Not at all.” Don’s low voice was furious, and I lay there listening as he fumed at my mom.

  “I know dear, but he didn’t just lose his dad yesterday. He hero worshiped Sid. He could do no wrong in Blake’s eyes.”

  “He’ll need to clean it up. I mean it.” His low voice set my teeth on edge and I wanted to punch him again. What a complete dickhead. I’d just lost my dad and he was more concerned about a fucking broken mirror.

  “Yeah he will. I promise and I’ll pay for the damage.”

  “No, that’s okay dear. He can pay for it. It’s his damage after all.” He paused and I heard him shift. “Did you tell him about the funeral plans?”

  Funeral plans. What funeral plans? My heart began to race, I lifted my ear up to hear what she said next.

  “No. I didn’t get a chance last night. He’s angry with me and he’s going to be even angrier when I tell him that he has to stay here for five more days. That we are only flying out for the service and coming back on Tuesday.”

  Five more days. I collapsed back down onto my pillows. They wanted me to stay until Monday and come back on Tuesday.

  How was I supposed to see my friends?

  How was I supposed to spend time with Ollie and Kellie?

  I hadn’t spoken to Kellie in weeks, because she refused to even call me in case mom was near and that shit hurt. I checked my cell to see the time and saw it was seven-thirty. I’d managed about four hours sleep, if that. I dropped my cell back on the bed and tried to close my eyes again.

  “He has to go to school. I won’t have him sitting around the house all day. He could get high, drunk or anything. No, it’s best he goes to school and you can have a talk with him tonight about the destruction.”

  He gave my mom a kiss which I heard through the door. It made my stomach churn and my throat burn, as I tried to fight off the nausea. Mom came into the room a few moments later, I closed my eyes, trying hard to convince her I was sleeping, but she came over and stood for a moment watching me. It unnerved me so much that I sat up, stretching, and glared at her.

  “Come on, time for school. I have work and so does Don, so you have twenty minutes to get up and get dressed for school.”

  Her cold words and aloofness told me she hadn’t forgiven my outburst the previous day, but it wasn’t as if she didn’t know how I’d felt. I’d made enough noise back home, that she knew exactly why I was so hurt and angry with her. I wanted to say no. I wanted to stay home, call my sisters, my friends and Grandma, but school would distract me from the pain, and I could see Cara again. I wanted to thank her for her comfort the previous day and I owed her an apology that didn’t cover her in tears and snot. Mom watched me as I lay in the bed, contemplating what to do, before I nodded and sat up in the bed.

  “Fine. I’ll go to school, but I want to leave Saturday.”

  Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared as she took me in.

  “No, we’re leaving Monday.”

  Her voice was low and harsh, I sat up straighter, glaring at her.

  “You want me to go to school every day this week, then I leave Saturday. You can come out Monday and I’ll stay with Grandma and Gramps until you come out.” I argued with her. I wasn’t backing down from this. It was this or nothing.

  “No. I’ve already…” she began, and I quickly cut her off.

  “I don’t care mom. He was my dad; I want to go and support Kellie and Ollie and see my friends. I need this.”

  Anger wasn’t working, so I tried tears instead and she baulked.

  “Okay. I’ll call Kristina and see if you can stay there, but if she says no, then it’s a no and you come out Monday with me and stay over until Tuesday, flying back Tuesday night.”

  “Okay, thanks Mom.”

  She grinned down at me and touched her hand to my face. Her touch built my fury back up, but I managed to control it much better than before and she didn’t notice the tensing of my shoulders. Or the clenching of my fists and the snapping of my teeth together. After a second, she dropped her hand and turned away from me, heading for the door.

  “Oh, and Blake,” she smiled sweetly back at me and I met her gaze steadily.

  “Clean this mess up. You are a guest in this house, and we don’t destroy other people’s things. I raised you better than that.”

  That’s right I was a fucking guest. I didn’t belong in this stupid house with them and I didn’t want to stay here a fucking moment longer. Her voice was sickly sweet, and she sashayed out the door, leaving me wanting to punch something again. I climbed up from the bed, walked over to the dresser, where a dustpan and brush were set against the floor. I quickly scooped up the mess and dumped it all in the trash, before taking out a hooded sweatshirt, a light tee, and a pair of stonewash jeans. I tossed joggers and a loose tee onto the bed for practice and walked towards the bathroom to get dressed. My foot however, found the only piece of glass left on the floor and was stabbed by it.

  “Mother-fucking-fucker.” I hissed as I hobbled into the bathroom on the side of my foot, pulling a large slice of glass out and pressing some toilet paper to the cut. It eventually stopped bleeding, but I saw bloody footprints all the way out into the bedroom.

  I quickly dressed and took a washcloth, cleaning the floor, because I didn’t want to upset his Lordship with blood on his nice clean floors. I couldn’t believe mom said I was guest in the house, when a few days earlier she’d been trying to convince me that this was my home now and that I belonged here with her. I tried to shake it off as I pulled on my socks, shoved my feet into my kicks and threw my training gear into my backpack, along with another pair of sneakers. I didn’t have practice today, but coach told us he expected to see us in the gym, so I was planning to hit it for a bit, after school.

  I scooped up my cell from between my pillows and shoved it into my bag, as I wandered towards the door. I almost made it out before a crippling wave of grief had me doubled over. It was an innocent thought, but I’d thought about calling my dad and asking his advice on a play but, knowing I couldn’t, caused a wave of agony to wash over me. I almost made it to the stairs when I accidentally knocked into a fancy side table and knocked over a vase as I was walking past.

  Mom came upstairs upon hearing the crash and Don thundered around, glaring at me. Marty stepped out of his room, glanced between me and the broken vase on the floor, and my tearstained face and stepped forwards.

  “Shit, sorry, Lucille. I stumbled over my stupid lace and hit the vase.”

  “It was you,” Mom asked him suspiciously and Marty nodded at her.

  “I’ll buy another one, I swear.” He smiled at them and they both turned, and mom wandered back down the stairs.

  “Thanks.” I whispered and he nodded slowly at me, before brushing by me and going downstairs.

  “Clean it up,” he called back over his shoulder in a hard voice and I picked up the pieces, putting them into the trashcan at the bottom of the staircase.

  I made it downstairs and saw Marty, his dad, and my mom all speaking at the kitchen doorway. Marty was saying something to his dad, and he was nodding along, my mom was smiling at them. I didn’t know if she noticed that Marty’s hands were balled into fists, he didn’t unclench them until his dad and my mom walked away. Marty turned and came back towards me, smirking.

  “Got my car back. Fuck yeah.” He muttered and he rushed by me, running back upstairs.

  I watched him go and I wished, yet again, mom had let me bring my car with me. She’d refused and told me it had been taken to my grandparents because I wasn’t going to be able to bring it with me. I wasn’t happy about it and I couldn’t wait to get my own wheels again, but I’d already mapped out how long it would take me to d
rive back home.

  It was thirty-six hours, so before I could do that, I needed a job and a car. I went into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table, pulling a bagel towards me, and opening the peanut butter and jelly to spread on it. Mom watched me with pursed lips, as I slathered it on.

  Just as I brought it up to my mouth to eat, Marty appeared back in the kitchen. He’d changed his clothes and was now in leather pants, with a sweater vest and a grey shirt. He also had a leather jacket over his arm and was smiling wider than I’d ever seen him. His hair was now gelled back, and his eyes were lined darkly, with eyeliner.

  My mom’s eyes narrowed on him and I wondered how long it would be before she said something about his appearance. In three, two…

  “Marty is that really appropriate school wear?” she asked him sweetly and I saw him turn to stare daggers at her.

  “Yes, Lucille,” he put emphasis on her name, it sounded so sarcastic, that I almost choked on my bagel. “This is fine. I always dress like this for school.”

  Don was busy on his cell and my mom eyes turned glacial.

  “Well, I think that it’s not really what a boy your age should be wearing to school.” She was about to say something else, when Don held up his hand and stopped her.

  “It’s fine. There is absolutely no point arguing with him. This is how he dresses.”

  “Every day except Sunday, right dad?”

  Both Don and Marty shared a smile and my food turned to cardboard, as I realized that I’d never get to have another moment like that with my dad, ever again. It was all the little moments, the small insignificant things that you take for granted, that I was going to miss.

  My eyes stung with tears and mom watched as I chewed, swallowed robotically, even though the food was stuck in my throat. Eventually, I managed to finish the bite and I glanced around to see if there was any coffee. Mom hated coffee. She called it devil juice and hated it if I drank any, but I always found a way.

  “Blake, you can get a ride with Marty today.”

  Don muttered without looking up from his cell.

  “Does he have his license? He does, doesn’t he? We need to organize a car for him.”

  He enunciated every word and I glanced between him and my mom, without moving. Marty cleared his throat, nodded towards the garage door and I shoved my chair back, drinking the orange juice I’d poured myself, before I followed Marty out in the garage into a sleek, grey Corvette. It was a sweet ride and I appreciated the heck out of it, until we climbed in and Celine Dion assaulted my ears, singing how her heart would go on. I quickly turned the music down and leaned back on the leather seats, as he drove us to school in total silence.

  Chapter Twelve

  School Fun

  Cara

  I was dreading school. I didn’t want to go and if it wasn’t for mom’s persistent knocking at my door and Josh forcing me to go with him, then I’d have happily taken a sick day and hid at home. Harley had shared the video of the locker room incident with everyone and I wasn’t really ready to face the school again, when they’d given me detention for defending myself. Plus, I still didn’t have a bloody cell phone.

  My legs jiggled as I sat in the car on the way to school, nervous and with a stomach rolling around like a Catherine wheel on the fourth. As we pulled into the school car park, I saw a lot of eyes flit to me and then away. The guys were all smirking widely at me and some of the girls smiled at me, but some of the looks were hostile, especially from the cheer squad. Even Brianna, who I usually got on quite well with was glaring at me. I just wanted to melt into the seat and disappear, but Josh refused to let me.

  “Come on Cara. Straight and tall, like mom taught us.”

  I walked through the crowds and ended up staring at the ground until I was safely in school. No chance of being late today. Part of me wished I was, even though it would result in more detentions, but at least I wouldn’t have everyone looking at me while I walked in. Josh was beside himself at my side and a few times he glared between me and some of the people, who were lining the halls.

  “How do you do this every day?” I asked him in a low voice, as I shoved my textbooks into my locker. I’d managed to salvage two of them and I knew the library had a copy of my algebra textbook, so I’d need to pop in there and grab one when I could.

  “This isn’t normal. I’m guessing they were all surprised at your badass take down of the bully bitches.” Josh laughed as he was shoved to the side by Sarah and Sammy, from the track team.

  “Oh my God, Cara, you are like our hero this morning. I can’t believe you took down those bullying skanks all by yourself.” Sarah burst out and Sammy laughed, glancing around at all the people who were milling around by us.

  “Yeah, we just wanted to say well done.” Sammy tittered and gave me a brief hug, before moving away and waving back at me. I was standing frozen by my locker with my books in hand, when I was shoved from behind.

  Josh stepped around me and shoved Declan Fargood against his locker, hissing in his ear.

  “You touch my sister again, dickweasel and I’ll fucking end you, you hear?”

  He was furious and I could see a few onlookers staring at him in alarm, so I ignored my notes and textbooks and spun around, putting my arm on Josh’s chest.

  “Josh, let him go. He’s not even worth it.”

  He stepped back from him and hissed in a low, deadly voice,

  “Anyone who lays hands on my sister, will have me to deal with and if you think Cara is tough, try me. I dare you.”

  His anger fizzled out and he turned smirking to Brianna, who was passing by, giggling with her friends. I rolled my eyes and spun around to pick up my textbooks, when they were handed to me. My skin fizzled at the touch of the person and I lifted my eyes to see Blake standing there, holding the pages out to me.

  “I think these belong to you.”

  He smiled and I nodded at him, wanting to ask him how he was. Was he coping okay? Did he need anything, but his gaze hardened over my shoulder and he turned away from me, marching towards homeroom.

  “Cara,” a voice muttered from over my shoulder and I turned to see Klaire standing there with her mom beside her.

  “I’m sorry about what I did to you yesterday. Here’s a new cell, and I’ve ordered your textbooks. They’ll be delivered to you by the end of the week, but our algebra two textbook is back ordered.”

  She thrust an unopened iPhone into my chest and stepped back a little, continuing to talk in the same robotic, sounding voice.

  “My mom called your dad and got the details so it’s the same number. I hope this is it all over between us and we can move on from this and be friends.”

  Her voice was emotionless and as though she’d read the speech from a piece of paper. I glanced between her and her mom, as she reached her hand out towards me. I wanted to thrust the cell back at her, turn and run away, but there was nowhere to go, so I held my hand out and shook hers. She squeezed mine tightly as she shook it and crushed my hand, but I didn’t flinch. When we let go, her mom turned to me and smiled widely, although it didn’t quite meet her eyes, I knew she was only doing this to save face.

  “Here’s a voucher for some new clothes, to replace them and the shoes that Klaire ruined yesterday. I hope this is all over now.”

  Mrs. Harris thrust the note into my hand, then turned and stalked away, leaving a cloud of her Chanel perfume in her wake. Klaire waited until her mom was gone and then barged by me, making sure to knock into my shoulder as she passed me. I checked my watch and saw I had two minutes to get to homeroom, or it’d be another detention for me. So, I quickly took off and made it inside and into my seat, before the bell rang. Mr. Dennis was standing by his desk and as the tardy bell rang and he closed the door.

  “Okay class, today we are all going to swap seats and I’m going to choose a partner for you to sit beside.”

  My eyes darted around the room and I caught Marty’s eye. He grinned at me and I grinned back, thinking
how much fun it would be if we got to sit together, but Mr. Dennis quickly put paid to that idea.

  “I can see some of you catching your friend’s eyes, but I can assure you that you will not be sitting with a friend. In fact, you may even be sitting with someone you don’t even like, because this is senior year and you all need to learn how to act mature, away from your friends.” His eyes swept the room and he smiled an evil smile as he began separating us all into different seats.

  “Marty, sit beside Melanie.”

  Marty stood and slouched over beside Mel, who was furious. She hated gay people and made her feelings very well-known last year. He stood waiting for Greta to move away from beside her.

  “Darren, beside Yelena.”

  Darren stood and slouched over towards Yelena, who eyed him with her doe eyes and watched as he sat down. Her black dreadlocks clinking as she turned to eye Serena on the other side of her.

  And so, it went on and on. Until only Blake, Klaire, Cherise and I were left.

  “Blake beside Caralynn and Klaire and Cherise, sit here in front of me.”

  “Now for the next five minutes, I want you to learn one thing about your new desk partner to report back tomorrow. If you fail to tell, or fail to find something out, then I’ll be giving you detention. Five minutes starting now, folks.”

  Everyone in the class turned to their partner, and I turned to face Blake, only he was facing away from me. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t look at me for the whole five minutes and didn’t try to engage with me. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to touch his arm, but he just shrugged me off and continued staring morosely forward. As the bell rang, everyone stood and moved outside, I dawdled and tried to catch Blake’s eye, but he rushed out and I followed after him slowly. I went from class to class, thankful that he didn’t sit with me in AP English or in Math, but he was still my partner in History. We were all directed back to the library when we went to class. I followed behind, feeling more of a pariah than ever before.