Page 56 of Mine

I stared out of my window into the street, the familiar fury rising within me. I punched the wall, hot white pain shooting up my arm.

“Fuck!”

The door opened behind me.

“Bro. What’s wrong?”

I turned to see Drake watching me warily from the doorway, his eyes filled with anxiety as he watched me rub my hand.

“As usual, fuckingeverything.”

I threw the letter at him as he unfolded his arms and read it quietly. He lifted his eyes to mine finally, heartache all over his face.

“We left you to it. You needed to live a normal life... but stealing your cousin’s girl wasn’t really the best idea, knowing what he knows about you.”

He attempted to smile, but it fades too quickly to be genuine. He closed the door behind him before he walked over to me. “I love you, even though you’ve fucked up quite a lot over the years. You know what I think?”

I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear what he had to say.

“Mom and Dad like it here. They’ve been through so much.” His voice was quiet. “I think we should leave. You and me.”

I whirled around to him, my eyes wide with anger.

He can’t be serious.

“What?”

Drake’s eyes fixed on mine. “Yeah. You heard me. Leave. I’ll come with you. Fuck school. Fuck the girl; if you care about her, then this is the best thing you can do for her. If anyone finds out you care for her, she is as good as dead anyway.”

Nausea swept through me.

How have all my shitty decisions led me to someone so fucking incredible, yet I can’t be with her?

“I can’t leave her, Drake. I’ve ruined her fucking life. She’ll be alone if I am not here.”

Drake sighed and searched the letter in his hand.

“You don’t seem to have much of a choice.”

Chapter Twenty

GRETCHEN

My parents had cooled down after a few days. They’d agreed I could have my phone back, but I remained grounded.

I scrolled through my social media idly, catching up on the events I had missed in such a brief space of time.

I hadn't heard from Cal, but I didn't know if that was because my parents had been extreme and blocked him on my phone, or whether he had simply tried not to contact me.

I pushed the thought out of my mind and got dressed for school.

I couldn't wait to see Cal, I just hoped that he would be at school today, if only to see me.

I swept my curls into a clip and slid on a faded blue t-shirt and jeans. I glanced in the mirror, relieved to see my eyes weren't so swollen from crying anymore.

I remembered Cal's preference for my hair down, so I took the clip out, letting the curls fall around my shoulders.

My phone pinged and I grabbed it excitedly; my heart sank a little when I saw it was from Rosie.