Forever Love

by Jade Whitfield

  Forever

  Love

  Jade Whitfield

  Copyright © 2015 by Jade Whitfield

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Chapter 1

  Liv

  I slowly tiptoe through the dark room trying to avoid stepping on the discarded used condom from last night. I remember Mark throwing it after we'd finished and I really don't wanna be sticking my foot in it. I have no idea why guys feel the need to be so messy. As well as avoiding the rubber, I find myself constantly sidestepping anything that could cause him to wake up. I don’t need to hear his usual complaint about me running out on him. The guy just cannot seem to get it through his thick fucking skull that I'm not into relationships, hell I don’t think he even wants one himself, just a case of wanting what you can't have, well too fucking bad. All those airhead cheerleaders humping his leg at school's made the guy think he's some kind of adonis. Don’t get me wrong, Mark is a hottie and he looks a little like Liam Hemsworth which was what attracted me to him in the first place but he's the typical stereotype of a dumb jock. Luckily the activities I need him for don’t involve much talking, or thinking for that matter.

  I know hes gonna be pissed when he wakes up to me being gone but he should really be thankful that I've spent my last night in Atlanta fucking his dumb ass. I could have gone to any of the half decent guys round here but he just happened to be the nearest seeing as though I've gotta be back and ready to leave by eight. On that thought, I take a quick glance at my phone to check the time.

  Shit its half 7 and I have half an hour to get home and make sure I haven't left anything unpacked before I set out on the four hour drive to my Dad's house in Franklin. I know I should be excited to get away from my bitch of a Mother and I would be if Franklin wasn’t a shitty little town that doesn’t even have a Starbucks. Seriously, how the fuck am I gonna survive the next year living in the same house as my Dad's new wife and her two kids without a fucking Starbucks. I swear the big guy up there's got something against me.

  As I finally make it to the door, I take a quick look back to make sure Mark's still asleep and slip out. I feel like a ninja with all the moves I have to make to get downstairs and out the front door unnoticed. I can hear his Mom humming in the kitchen and I really don’t want another early morning chit chat about how nice it is to see Mark's girlfriend. The woman would probably have a heart attack if I told her how Marks purpose was to scratch an itch when I had one. I snicker at that thought and run across the front lawn to my Mini. I must be losing my touch leaving my car in full view of the house but who gives a fuck? I'll be out of here in an hour and fuck if I'm coming back.

  As I arrive at my Moms house, who I prefer to refer to as the Bitch, I get myself ready for the battle that’s sure to happen as soon as I walk through the door. You'd think she'd be fucking happy to see the back of me. It's not like she's any type of Mother. Of course she tells a completely different side of the story to my Dad, acting like she's worried and shit. The amount of times I've gotten a call from him first thing in the morning panicking because the Bitch has been on the phone with some bullshit about me not coming home when most of the time, she kicked me out the night before.

  As I walk through the front door, she's standing there at the foot of the stairs with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. I don’t know what the fuck shes waiting for, I'm only here to get the last of my stuff. Luckily my Dad drove down here last week and took most of it so I've only got the things that I kept behind to get me through the next week.

  I roll my eyes at her dramatics and walk around her to get up the stairs.

  "And where do you think you've been Olivia, probably whoring around as usual."

  Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I know I should be upset at the way she speaks to me but I've gotten used to it. She tells me regularly how much of a slut and a fuck up I am, Bitch doesn’t realize that she's just encouraging me.

  She continues ranting and raving as I go up the stairs, usually I'd argue back but I figure I'll let her have her say seeing as though I'll be gone soon. I slam my bedroom door shut and look around the room that’s been my sanctuary for as long as I can remember. It looks so bare now without any of my stuff in it. It doesn’t feel like my sanctuary anymore, just a room with a bed in it.

  I look in all the drawers and under the bed to make sure there's nothing I want that I missed packing. I don’t want to ever have to come back here for anything so if there's anything left behind then its staying here forever. I go to my suitcase and grab a hair tie out of the side pocket and grab my long blonde tresses and stick it in a loose bun on top of my head. My hair's about the only thing I have in common with the Bitch, it's also the only thing shes ever fucking given me. I get my bright blue eyes from my Dad. I'm always told how lucky I am for the way that I look. I'm not one of those big headed bitches that like to toot their own horn or anything but I know I look good.

  I grab the last of my stuff and drag it down the stairs. My arms are overloaded with bags but I really don’t want to have to make two trips. The Bitch is still waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I don’t even acknowledge her as I leave my childhood home for the last time. It's not like we have any type of mother daughter relationship, I don’t even offer a fucking wave goodbye to her as I load my car up and take off, not looking back. I'm ready for a new life, it's just a shame that new life happens to be in a shitty little town without a Starbucks.

  I only have one more pit stop to make before this new life can begin.

  ***

  I pull up outside my best friend Trina's house. It’s my idea of a perfect house. I know most people want a huge mansion but I'd be happy with a nice wraparound porch and huge fireplace. Its better than the Bitches house with its white everything. This is where I spend most of my time and Trina's Mom has practically brought me up all these years since my Dad fucked off. I met Trina in fifth grade when she moved here from Savannah and we've been best friends ever since. She's got a sassy attitude and I've never seen a girl cut a guy down as quick as she can. She's beautiful with her dark flawless skin and big afro and she's usually the loudest in a room which is what drew me to her in the first place. She stood in front of the class on her first day at a new school, completely unfazed and proceeded to tell the teacher how to do her job. I knew in that moment that she was gonna be my best friend for life.

  As I get out of my car, I see her sitting on her porch steps. I know me moving to Franklin has hit her hard but we have an unbreakable bond and as soon as senior year ends we'll be going to College together. I'm waiting for her to notice me and for the ranting to begin which has been a constant ever since she found out I was being sent away.

  She looks up at me and raises her eyebrow which makes me giggle, my girl's got spunk and she's as feisty as they come. I'm gonna miss her so fucking much, it's gonna be like losing my right arm. She gets up and starts striding towards me ready to unleash her feelings.

  "You know I have a good mind to go and show your Mama some of my kick ass Jackie Chan moves. I can't believe she's sending you away."

  Her hands are waving in the air as I try and hold back my laughter at her familiar actions. Trina and her family are the only people I'm gonna miss in Atlanta and if I could sneak them in my suitcase and take them with me I would.

  "Hey if you wanna go and kick the Bitch's ass, you know you won't get any complaints from me."

  "So how was Mark?"
Trina wiggles her eyebrows.

  "So, so. The guys got the biggest ego. When he took his shirt off, I thought he was gonna break into the Hercules pose."

  "As bad as muscle kissing guy?"

  A couple of months ago I'd hooked up with a college guy who right after we'd had sex had looked in the mirror and kissed his guns. It's safe to say I got out of there as fast as possible and there had never been a repeat performance. I don’t think I'd ever seen Trina laugh as hard as when I'd told her.

  "God no. Nobodys sense of self worth could ever compare to........James? Joe? Jo-"

  "Jarrod. It's pretty messed up that I can remember your various conquests names better than you can."

  "Yeah yeah, hey if I can't remember their names, they obviously weren't worth remembering."

  "I'm not judging but one of these days you're gonna meet a guy you're gonna wanna keep around. That day I'll be throwing the most kickass party and putting an announcement In the paper."

  I bark out a laugh at Trina's eternal optimism regarding my bedroom habits. Hey, if it helps her sleep soundly at night, I'm not complaining.

  "Where's your Mom? I can't leave without saying goodbye."

  "She's waiting inside. I still can't believe your leaving, it's just not gonna be the same around here without you. Man, your Mama is on my shitlist."

  I smile at her words. Id seen what eventually happened when Trina put someone on her shitlist and it wasn’t pretty.

  We make our way up the porch steps and inside. Her Mom, Ada, is sitting in her usual reclining chair in front of the huge TV. The front door leads straight into the large brightly colored living room. I feel more at the loss of this place than the Bitch's house. After my Dad left and everything had gone to shit, this is where I would escape to. I can't count how many times I've ended up here in all weathers, at all times of night after a confrontation with the Bitch. Ada has been more of a Mom to me than my own has and I'll never be able to repay her for all she's done for me.

  Trina is almost the carbon copy of her mother. Ada has a no bullshit attitude and is about as scary as they come when provoked. Hell, I've seen the woman chase a pushy window salesman with a broom. Her afro isn't as big as Trina's but she always wears a brightly colored head scarf or bandana to keep it at bay.

  I couldn’t leave the woman who has basically been a Mom to me without saying goodbye, not after how much she's done for me. Ada and Trina are the only ones I'm seeing this morning. I know I've got a bunch of texts and voicemails from people from school asking to see me before I go but I don’t feel any emotional connection to them. I like to think of myself as a good judge of character and I have no time for fake ass fuckers.

  After exchanging greetings with Ada we settle down for coffee at the breakfast bar.

  "So, Liv, when is your Daddy expecting you?" Ava asks carefully, obviously knowing I'm in no rush.

  "Some time this afternoon, I didn’t give him an exact time. He said they've got some crappy family dinner organized to welcome me."

  "And how do you feel about all this?"

  I've always thought that Ada's job as a pharmacist never suited her. She would have made an awesome therapist or guidance counselor.

  "I don’t care either way. It's only for the next year and then I'm outta there. I don’t see what all the effort is for though. My Dads acting like it's some great thing, me moving there when in reality I'm being ordered there for being, and this is his words exactly, out of control."

  Ada gives me a knowing look at my words. We both know that this the work of the Bitch, though I don’t suspect this was her ideal result. I smile thinking what her face must have been like when my Dad told her he was gonna have me live with him for my senior year. She was probably just expecting him to chew my ear off again, it seems that my Dad changed tactics though.

  "You haven't met his wife's kids, have you?" Trina adds in.

  "Nope, I was meant to meet her kids at the wedding but I didn’t go." I shrug. "One's like fourteen or fifteen, he's got some stupid name like Chase or Chad or whatever. The others the same age as me and some kind of football star at his school but I started blocking my Dad's voice out after that."

  "Same age?" Ada raises her eyebrows and I straight away know what she's alluding to. She obviously doesn’t know that I've taken a vow of abstinence from dumb fucking jocks. They're too much trouble and I haven't the time to be explaining shit to idiots like why I don’t want them to be my boyfriend and why if they ain't no good they ain't ever getting a repeat performance.

  "Yes." I draw the word out, waiting for the twenty questions but she just hums and turns around to put her cup in the sink and then walks out the room with a knowing smile while humming inconspicuously.

  "Oh I'm sure you'll have him eating out of your hand in no time."

  Trina looks way too excited with this turn of events, she loves drama, especially if it's not her own.

  "Well, I don’t really give a fuck. From now on I'm sticking to college boys, less clingy."

  Trina bursts out laughing, confusing me further.

  "There isn't a guy I know that hasn’t fallen head over heels for you, even the college ones. Hell, even that substitute teacher we had last year had the hots for you."

  I roll my eyes.

  "Don’t tell me you don’t know. Your like Miss fucking World and I've seen you pouting in the mirror, you know it. I'm pretty sure you've turned a few girls into swinging the other way as well. Hell if I was that way inclined, I'd do you. I just feel sorry for the guys in that shitty little town you're going to. They aint gonna know what's hit them" Trina says while raising an eyebrow.

  "Listen, I just know where my talents lie and I use them to my advantage. I don’t ever lead anybody on and everyone knows the score. And what the hell? Guys do it all the time and they get worshiped for it. I'm just bringing something back for the sisterhood. While all these dumb bitches out there are crying into their fucking pillows with their panda eyes and begging to give blowjobs to undeserving assholes, I am taking one for the team and getting my own back on behalf of women kind."

  Trina claps while laughing at the end of my speech as I shoot her a smirk. It’s the same speech I've been saying since I started this game of cat and mouse with the opposite sex two years ago after I'd lost my virginity, best not to touch on that subject though.

  I know that Trina, who despite her sassiness and attitude, is a born romantic, thinks that I'm fucked up and I probably am. I have no interest in relationships, not anymore anyway. I think there are a lucky few in life who get to meet their forever love and pop their cherry in a room full of candles and rose petals and then get married to the same dick and have lots of babies. Me, I'm just a bit more realistic. Sure there's a few people out there that get that, but I just don’t count myself as one them. Girls like me don’t get the happy endings with the nice guy and I'm ok with that. There isn't enough of me left to give myself to someone whole heartedly, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

  As I finish my drink, I stand up knowing the end is near and I'm going to have to leave soon. I look at Trina and for the first time since finding out I was being sent away to live with my Dad and his new family, I feel my eyes getting wet. I quickly dash away the ensuing tears, not wanting to set Trina off. Of course it's already too late as she's nearly sobbing as we look at each other and take every detail in.

  "I'm gonna miss you even though you’re a raging bitch at times." I whisper while trying to smile through my blurry vision.

  "I'm gonna miss you too boo, even if you’re a fucked up slut." Trina says causing me to laugh.

  That’s my girl, even at the worst of times she's got some biting remark to change the atmosphere. We hug it out as Ada walks back into the room.

  "Oh my days, girls will you knock it off. You're gonna see each other soon. Nobody's dying."

  We both giggle at that. We'd already organized to see each other next time Trina's at her grandmother's house in Savannah, which thankfully is o
nly an hours drive away from Franklin. It's still the longest we've gone without seeing each other in all our years of friendship.

  I bid Trina and Ada goodbye while giving myself a mental pep talk. I'm not sure if my tears are from leaving my best friend, hell my only friend or having to start again somewhere else. I hate Atlanta though, it's busy and hot and obviously the Bitch lives here, I've been counting down the days since my Dad left until college so that I get out of here. In Franklin it’s a total fresh page.

  My Dad and i aren't as close as we used to be, we haven't been close since he left. I don’t blame him for leaving, hell I don’t know how he lasted so long with the Bitch anyway. I'm certainly not some spoilt princess brat that’s gonna blame all her problems on Daddy issues. I know he's tried repeatedly over the last few years get our relationship back to what it was but I've pulled back. It pisses me off that he always believes the Bitches half assed stories she feeds him. The guy's lectures don’t bother me, my Dad is like the least scary person in the world, he's basically a pussy cat and its more comical than anything when he's angry but it still feels like betrayal. He's a good father overall though. He sends me a pretty hefty allowance every month despite having to fork out a fortune in child support and alimony to my money grabbing tramp of a Mother, he bought me my precious Mini and if I really needed him I know he'd be there. The problem is, he knows what the crazy Bitch is like and yet he still left me with her. He moved four hours away and the older I've gotten, the more questions have come up. Why did he have to move so far? Why didn’t he take me with him? Why couldn’t he have killed the Bitch and took off with me to Mexico or something? Ok maybe not that one but the point still stands. The guy owes me big time and if he thinks I'm moving in with him to play happy families with his new wife and her kids he's got another thing coming.

  Chapter 2

  Liv (Again)

  After an almost four hour drive, I'm ready to pass out not just from tiredness but boredom. The same Taylor Swift song is playing on the radio, I swear that shit's been on at least three times in the last hour. Franklin is a typical small town, it most probably only takes half hour to get from one end to the other. It’s a pretty town with hanging baskets outside every shop and trees lining the streets, I give it a week before I go stark raving mad.