“Hey kid.” Benny hugs me.
“Hey, Benny”
“It’s good to have you back” He looks back at my father. “I’m going to leave you two alone.”
Benny leaves while my father remains still staring at me. I can’t really tell what he’s thinking right now. I don’t even know what to do. We’ve never been huggers or talkative with each other. So yeah, I don’t know what to do.
Well it looks like I don’t have to think too hard about it because my dad is walking up to me right now. He cuffs my face into his hands and I think his eyes are watering up. I can’t observe too long because now he’s pulling me into a hug. This is weird. I wrap my arms around him in a very awkward way. I’m not trying to be an ass here, but it’s just unfamiliar. This type of affection from my father is new.
“It’s good to have you home, son” He says.
“Thanks, dad”
I don’t really know how to feel right now. I don’t know what to think. I just know that it doesn’t really feel like home here. Even though I have my family back, nothing is the same.
Claudia
“Julia?” I’m staring at my step mother who just so happens to be enjoying her fifth full glass of vodka and tonic.
Julia’s been drinking a lot. I can tell being a housewife to a man like my father is closing in on her. All she does is sit in here and drink. When she thinks I’m not looking, she adds vodka in her orange juice during breakfast. I think some of this behavior is due to my father and his late night activities. Yeah, sure my father is busy trying to get the bad guys, but sometimes he disappears for no reason on the weekends and late at night. Obviously Julia gets lonely and feels neglected. Her excessive drinking has been going on since my father lost his case against Pierce. Ever since then my father has been completely dedicated to his work. But does that have to involve the weekends?
“Yes, Claudia?” She asks after she takes a sip of her drink.
“Are you okay?” Well of course she isn’t. She is in an unhappy marriage with your father.
“Yes, of course.” Liar.
I walk into her room and lean against the dark, burgundy bed post, on their King sized bed.
“I just wanted to know because you’ve been really quiet lately and….”
“Drinking a lot?” I pause at Julia’s not so subtle question, but more of a response.
“Um, well, maybe you have been drinking a little bit.”
“No.” She glances down at her drink in her hand. “No, Claudia, I have been drinking a lot.” Okay, I guess we’re not sugarcoating today. “Claudia, I know you’re not blind. You know your father and I are having some difficulties.”
“Yeah, I guess you can say that. I just want you to know dad loves you.” I don’t even know if I believe that.
Julia walks toward me and places her hand on my cheek and smiles.
“Oh, sweetie, never change that about you.”
“Change what?” I ask her with a confused expression on my face.
“Your ability to hope.” What? What does she mean by that?
Well I guess I know. I hope about a lot of stuff, but everyday seeing the people around me causes me to lose that ability. I’m scared that one day I’m going to end up feeling the same way my father and Julia feel. I fear that I’m going to end up conforming to the lives of all the people around me, which is a life of being lonely and unhappy. Then again, I think I began conforming the day I started dating Eric. I settled.
Julia releases my chin and walks to the window, staring at it blankly. Sensing that this conversation is going nowhere, it’s time for me to leave.
“I’m going to bed.” I say to her.
“Okay, sweetie.” She says still looking out the window like a depressed zombie.
I’m so tired of all this. I just want to get away. I just want to get away from it all.
Donovan
I’m unpacking my duffel bag. I got the same stuff I left with. Four pairs of jeans and a whole bunch of shirts. My room is still the same. There are still unpacked boxes. Christian’s room is down the hall. I wonder if they changed anything.
I walk towards my brother’s room. The door is closed shut so I turn the door knob and slowly push it open. It’s still the exact same. There are empty boxes in the corner next to his desk from the unpacking and a few shirts on his bed. I remember him rummaging through those shirts, trying to figure out what he was wearing to the party that night.
I eye a few pictures scattered on his dresser. I walk and pick up the first one I see. It’s a picture of him, me, and dad. Christian looks like he’s eight and I look seven or six. We look happy. I’m on top of dad’s shoulders while he’s smiling with Christian in a head lock. We would always wrestle with dad. I miss that. It’s when we still had innocence. Before we knew what would come. I really miss Christian. I miss him so much.
“Mom and dad couldn’t bring themselves to change anything in here.” I turn to see Ella at the doorway. “You ready for school tomorrow?”
“No. Not really.” Not at all. I’m not ready to be stared at yet. To be known as the son of Roman Pierce, the son that’s still alive.
“Yeah, you’re going to love it there.” Ella says sarcastically.
“I’m guessing you’re not so popular amongst the Eastbrook elite.”
“No, I am popular.” She says in her conceited way with a smirk on her face. “I’m just mostly surrounded by fakes.”
“The usual, huh?”
“Yep, but now that you’re here, it will get better.” She pauses, staring at the picture in my hand. She starts glancing at the others. “You know it was real hard when you left.”
“I know. I’m sorry about that.”
“No, it’s okay. I understood why you left.” She looks at me. “I just kind of wish I could’ve gone too.”
Of course Ella feels that way. She lost her brother too. It was sad and awkward around here after that night and she didn’t have anyone to go to. In a letter she wrote me, she expressed how the first two months consisted of my mother crying constantly and my father drinking heavily. I’m still shocked they survived through it all. Ella told me how all they did was fight. She said it carried on until one day in the beginning of the year it just stopped. She came home and our parents were all over each other. I’m happy that my parents got through it. Regardless I’m Ella’s big brother. I should have been here for her.
“Well, I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” She says, walking away.
“Ella” She turns around towards me. “I really did miss you.”
She smiles. “Me too.”
Tomorrow is the start of a whole new life again. New people judging me without knowing me, and wait….. the girl. She goes to Eastbrook! She told me that. What if she’s still there? What if I get a second chance tomorrow?
Claudia
Great.
Another semester at this school, but it’s my last one so that is definitely something to look forward to.
I already see Jade with everyone else we hang out with on the school steps. I grab my bag and get out of my Range Rover. I start walking over to them when I see a face I do not want to see right now.
Shit. Eric just walked over there with Dean. Okay, maybe if I walk past them fast enough, he won’t notice me. Please don’t notice me. Please don’t notice me.
“Claudia!” Great, he noticed me.
I turn around to see my brown hair and hazel eyed ex staring at me with his sad puppy dog face. I hate that face. He always uses it when he is being a dick. His eyes are still dreamy though. Jade is behind him, giving him the green eyed monster stare. I love her. She always has my back.
He walks toward me in his North face winter coat, khaki pants, and brown boots. I think I got him those boots for his birthday?
“Can we talk?” He asks.
“Eric, I really have to get to my first period class.”
“It’s the first day of the new semester.” He says as he moves closer towards
me. “Besides, I really think we should talk, Claud.”
“Look, I have some things to do so maybe later.” I hurry off, before he continues to bother me.
That was close. I swear I can feel his eyes on me as I’m walking away.
“Hey.” I stop once I hear Jade. She runs up beside me. “So, what did he say?”
“Nothing, he wants to talk.”
“Really? Basically he wants to waste your time trying to make excuses for himself.”
“Yeah, I’m just gonna head to first period now”
“Wait.” She grabs my arm so I can stop speed walking. “Don’t you want to see him?”
“See who?”
“Roman Pierce’s other son?” I almost forgot another Pierce was coming to make my life a living hell.
“No way.” I snap. “I’ll see you after class”
No way. I don’t have time to waste on the Pierce family. All I want to do is go to first period. My teacher is Mr. Dugan. He’s a drunk. A smart drunk. I already know he’s going to come in with his coffee mug that has more than coffee in it, and give us a pop quiz. No matter what, he always has a pop quiz on Mondays. Therefore, I’m going to get a seat in the back of the room and lay my head down so I can mentally prepare myself.
Donovan
Already they’re staring at me. I haven’t even gotten out the car yet.
My morning has been fine so far. My mother surprised me with the keys to Christian’s car. She said dad and the guys fixed it up while I was gone. It was kind of therapy for my father. I was hesitant to accept at first, but then my mom said Christian would have wanted me to have it. So, I figure I might as well look after his prize possession. Once I entered the mustang all the memories came back. I was hesitant to turn on the ignition until Ella placed her hand on mine turning it for me. It’s funny. I use to be so annoyed by Ella, thinking she was my stupid and superficial little sister. Hey, maybe she was, but ever since Christian died, she’s changed … we all changed.
Now it sucks because of all these people. Well, Donovan, you might as well get out the car now. I step out and throw on my black winter coat. I grab my book bag, and begin looking around.
“Don’t worry you’ll get use to it.” Ella says.
I’m surprised I’m not use to it already.
We start heading towards the steps where a group of kids are standing. There are a group of hot girls staring at me like they want to jump me and guys glaring at me with disapproval.
“Hey, Donovan.” Dina comes out of nowhere and pulls me into a hug.
“Hey, Dina.”
Dina looks different. She got hotter. She has short black hair and wow! Her boobs got bigger.
“You didn’t call me back last night.” She whines to Ella.
“I was busy. Hello, my brother just got back.”
“True, but Once Upon A Time was on and I needed to call and rant about it.” I think Dina is talking about a TV show. “So, Donovan, did you know your sister is Queen B around here?”
“I’m not shocked by any of this.” I’m really not. Ella has always been the girl at school who was not to be messed with.
Ella punches me in the shoulder. It kind of hurts too. When did she get so strong?
“So, are you ready to attend high school hell?” Dina says as she looks around at everyone who is still gawking at us like a bunch of sheep.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I sigh out an answer.
“You sure you don’t want me to show you to your first class?” Ella asks.
“No, I’m cool. I’ll see you later.”
I start walking inside the school and I notice it’s very big. It’s probably bigger than my school back in Manhattan. But the good thing about this place is that we don’t have to wear any uniforms.
No one is staring at me now. It’s probably because I’m not with Ella which is why I didn’t want her to show me around. I just don’t like the staring because it’s annoying and it makes me want to punch people in the face. Besides, I’m trying to keep my anger in check.
But in all honesty my anger has surprisingly gone down. Ever since that night I have felt nothing. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s not anger, sadness, or depression. It’s pain. It’s a numbness of pain. A pain that I have become so tolerable of that it’s a part of me. Therefore, it’s nothing to me anymore.
“Yo! D!” I turn around to see familiar faces. It’s Emile and Jason. They run through the crowd, towards me.
“Man it’s been awhile.” Emile says.
I shake up with the guys and actually hug them. I missed Emile’s midget ass and scrawny cousin of mine, Jason.
“I know. It’s good to see you guys.”
“How you been doing?” Jason asks.
“I’m cool; I’m just trying to get use to things, you know?”
“You look different.” Emile says.
“That’s what everybody says. Listen, I have to go to class.”
“Nobody goes to first period early.” Jason says.
“Yeah, but I promised my mom I would start the semester right.”
“Alright man, find us if you need anything.” Emile says.
I start back on my journey to find my classroom. After passing three more rooms, I finally get to room 130. Here we go.
I walk right in to see only three people in class. Thank God. I don’t want to be the center of attention.
I glance at the clock over the white erase board and see there’s three minutes left until class starts. I see a girl with glasses sitting up straight in the front row with a line of four pencils on her desk. You can tell she’s ready to learn. I eye the desk at the very back. I walk over towards it and sit down.
I’m sitting between two people already. The guy on my left smells straight like weed; I wish I smoked something to mellow out my nerves. This girl on my left seems to feel like me, tired. She has her head on the desk with her arms folded, covering up her face. She has pretty hair. It’s the first thing I notice. Even a guy can tell when a girl puts too many product in her hair. It looks hard and gross. But this girl, her hair is long and looks soft and flowing. I guess that’s the word I’m looking for. It brings the creep out in me and makes me want to touch it. I can smell her perfume too. Its smells like, well something I don’t know, but it’s nice.
Kids are starting to walk in now along with the teacher. He looks scruffy and tired. His eyes are blood shot. Wow, he looks crazy. He has on a brown corduroy jacket and a green bow tie. He looks like a dork, a complete weirdo.
I feel the girl next to me sit up while I continue watching our teacher fumble with his papers. He barely can stand from what I’m seeing. Is he drunk?
I hear the girl next to me yawn. Its kind a cute if that is even possible… How does a yawn sound cute?
“God, I hate this place.” I hear her quietly say, but loud enough for me to hear.
I laugh to myself and turn around wondering what she looks like.
Holy shit.
Chapter
4
“The Hazards of Fate”
Claudia
You ever get the feeling your being watched?
Love and Hate (The Pierce Family Trilogy) Page 7