𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓
𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱
𝟓:𝟒𝟒 𝐚𝐦

Laura

    Tears brimmed in my electric blue eyes, trickling down my thin, pale cheeks. I wiped them away with the tips of fingers and pulled my comforter over my head, burying myself in a sea of blankets. My arms tightened around the plushy ensnared in my grip, clutching the toy close to my chest. I rolled onto my side for the hundredth time in bed, wide awake as ever.

    I couldn't fall asleep. I should've not been surprised; things hadn't been the same for a long time. Well...I'm not gonna sleep my troubles away any time soon. A weary groan escaped my lips, echoing throughout my bedroom. I freed myself from my cocoon of blankets and propped myself up in bed. Setting my plushy aside, I turned around and fished out a piece of paper that was safely tucked away within one of my pillows. I unfolded the two-year-old letter and perused through its wording once again, allowing my eyes to pore over my father's last words:

      Dear Laura,

      Guess what? Only seven days left and then I get to come back home! You have no idea how much I've been missing you and your mother lately. I can't wait to see you guys soon!

      Unfortunately, time isn't on my side today. We've received new orders for an upcoming mission, and now my team and I are currently getting ready to go. So this is gonna have to be short and sweet.

      I'm so sorry that I couldn't make it to your middle school graduation, kiddo. I want you to know how very proud I am of you and all of your hard-earned accomplishments.

      If there's anyone in this world that can reach high for the stars and accomplish the impossible, it's you, Laura.

      It won't be much longer until we'll be together as a family again. Love you, kiddo. See you soon!

Love,                    

                                              Dad           

    "I love you too, Dad..." I held the letter close to my chest before folding it up and slipping it back inside my pillow.

    My eyes landed back on my Dante plushy as I picked it back up with my hands. I caressed the younger son of Sparda's cheeks with my thumb, staring into his captivating, icy blue eyes. Oh Dante, just as handsome as ever. Aren't you? I combed my fingers through his fleecy head of hair, rearranging the messy, white strands—

    "Steal a soul for a second chance
      But you will never become a man
      My chosen torture makes me stronger
      In a life that craves the hunger
      A freedom and a quest for life
      Until the end the judgement night—"

    I turned off my alarm the moment I grabbed my phone off of the end table. "It's six o'clock already? Well, I gotta get up anyways."

    I idly got up and dragged myself over towards my closet. Once I've taken off my pajamas and tossed them into my hamper, I changed into a pair of admiral colored, skinny jeans, a raven colored t-shirt, and a pair of black socks. Turning around, I walked over towards my desk and picked up the necklace sitting on the desktop. I clutched ahold of the necklace charms with my fingertips, twirling the tarnished, silver feathers in my hand. In spite of everything, I could never part with this piece of jewelry. It was the only thing I had that used to belong to my birth mother. I never really knew why she had left it in my possession. As a parting gift maybe? The real reason remained unknown to this day.

    My eyes remained glued to the mirror hanging above the desk as I clipped the necklace around my neck, and once I was done adjusting it, I picked up the currant colored, leather jacket sitting on the coat rack on the wall. I slipped my slender arms through the sleeves as I put it on. Afterwards, I grabbed my hair brush off of the desktop, detangling my long, blonde, silky tresses of hair. I put it all up into a ponytail and tucked my bangs behind my ears; the short tendrils tickled the side of my neck. I glanced over myself in the mirror one last time before leaving my room and heading downstairs.

    I came to a halt at the bottom of the staircase upon looking up, eyeing the multitude of empty beer bottles that littered the dining room table and kitchen counters. The smell of alcohol filled my nostrils, overwhelming my senses. What a mess. Had my poor excuse of a mother become so intoxicated that she forgot how to clean up after herself last night? I let out an irked sigh, making my way into the kitchen and taking out a garbage bag and Clorox wipes from underneath the sink.

    Once I was done cleaning up my mother's mess, I put the wipes away and set the bottle-filled garbage bag beside the doorway. I re-entered the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fridge to quickly munch on for breakfast. A handful of bites later, I tossed the remainder of the delectable fruit into the trash can and hurried back upstairs into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and flossed them as quickly as I could, and as soon as that was done and over with, I went back into my bedroom to finish getting ready.

    After slipping on a pair of black leather boots and shoving my phone inside my jean pocket, I snatched ahold of one of the straps on my backpack, swinging the bag over my shoulder. Right when I was about to leave my room, I stopped at the doorway - something caught my eye. I turned around, looking over at the photograph sitting on top of my desk.

    I took slow, deliberate steps over toward my desk, picking up the picture frame. I couldn't help but stare into the shimmering eyes of my ten-year-old self, posing happily for the camera alongside her once lively parents. The photo was approximately five-years-old. It was taken during our trip to Silverwood Theme Park, back when my father was still alive and my mother wasn't a depressed, alcoholic.

    That reality was long gone.

    "I really miss you, Dad. It—" I paused for a second. Past memories of Dad came swarming back throughout my mind, overwhelming me to the point where I was on the verge of crying. Again. I took long, deep breaths in and out until I was able to push those memories aside, holding back the tears and calming myself down. "Cela n'a pas été le même sans vous," I mumbled to myself. I placed the picture back on the desk, and finally set out for the bus stop.

* * *

    The sounds of birds chirping in the air, tires moving along the highway, cars honking, and the lively chatter of individuals walking along the busy streets of Seattle resonated through the city. It was just another day in paradise for most of the metropolis residents, as for everyone else... not so much.

    I leaned back into my seat on the school bus, looking outside my window at the early morning scenery the city had to offer. I plugged in both earbuds into my ears, jamming out to Linkin Park in an attempt to disregard the animated chitter-chatter that had spread all throughout the bus like the Black Plague. Nothing but non-stop gossip about the cutest couples at school, the homecoming dance, and the upcoming cross-town football game between the Roosevelt Riders and our school's top rival, the Ballard Beavers, from Ballard high.

    It had been around four weeks since the end of summer break, and the beginning of my second year in high school. Unlike the vast majority of my fellow classmates, I actually did enjoy going to a public, educational institution where I could learn a variety of diverse subjects, sciences, even languages for free. No down payments, no weekly taxes, none of the classes offered didn't cost a single penny out of my pocket. If anything, indulging myself with my studies helped me forget about my everlasting troubles at home, even though it was only temporary.

    However, today was different. Not only because it was Friday, today was the opening day of the annual career fair. In other words, renowned corporations such as Google, Terra Save, NASA, the BSAA, Genizen Incorporated, along with other distinct companies will have public relations officers present at the fair to represent their specific establishment.

    In addition, there would also be doctors, nurses, engineers, authors, interior designers, therapists, and an array of other individuals standing in as spokespersons for their particular job field. Once lunch time comes to an end, everyone will be school sponsored for the last three class periods of the day to be able to go and check out the career fair. The central purpose of this was to mainly encourage students to explore a wide array of possible options to consider for their future career, as if that wasn't obvious enough.

    Unlike the majority of my sophomore class, I had somewhat of a plan lined out for my future. Not a definite one, but at least I had a good start on one. Once I graduated from high school, I intended on attending the University of Washington to study medical science. I haven't decided what specific field I wanted to focus my attention on; all I knew was that it was a four-way tie between epidemiology, biology, biochemistry, or nursing. As long as I maintained my straight A's in my current classes and throughout the next two years, the chances of getting accepted into my dream school would double, no, rather triple if I worked hard enough.

   If all goes according to plan, my future will indeed be a prosperous one. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of it. For whatever reason, it scared a part of me. It frightened me more that I didn't know why.

    The sounds of the bus coming to a stop pulled me from my thoughts. Mrs. Wilson, the bus driver, opened the doors with a shift of the lever, letting everyone out. With my backpack swung over my shoulder, I sat up from my seat, walking towards the exit along with everybody else.

    I pulled out one earbud, looking over to meet the bus driver's concerned gaze as I passed by her. "Thanks, Mrs. Wilson."

    "No problem, honey. Have a good day." I stepped off of the bus onto the sidewalk.

    "And Laura," I turned around to face her once more. "don't let anybody—and I mean no one—give you a hard time today, young lady. No matter what kind of crazy shit they're giving you, you hear me?" Her southern accent heavily dripped off of every single word that left her lips.

    I shook my head and smiled. "I won't, I promise. Have a good day as well." Mrs. Wilson closed the doors before taking off down the road.

    Bitter gusts of wind blew across the campus, causing goosebumps to protrude from the surface of my skin. My limbs began to shiver from the chilly, fall weather, in a vain attempt to stay warm. Resolved to escape from the bleak, frigid elements, I trekked along the cement pathway, heading towards the historical, brick building that represented Roosevelt high school.

    I'm not gonna lie, my morning didn't exactly start out on the bright side. Nevertheless, I didn't plan on letting it ruin my day. Not that easily. I just hope that I don't run into Catherine or her vicious minion, Shelby, today. Upon halting in front of the double doors, I grasped ahold of one of the door handles. I opened the door and let myself inside the building. My electric blue eyes wandered around the commons area, looking for my two best friends. Strolling around, I searched for them—

    "Laura! Over here!"

    I turned around, redirecting my gaze over towards my friends. Emilie's figure entered my range of view, waving her hand in the air to get my attention. Standing beside the ravenette was my other pal, Tyler; a smile curled onto the young man's lips. I began making my way towards my friends, and as soon I reached them, Em held out her arms and wrapped them around me when I hugged her.

    "Morning Em!" I let go of her and fist-bumped Tyler. "What's up, Tyler—?"

    "Where were you!?" The ravenette cut me off, raising her voice a bit. "We've been looking all over for you! I was starting to think that something bad could've happened to you."

    Over dramatic as usual I see...

    "Relax, Em. I was just running a bit late, that's all." It wasn't a complete lie. I wouldn't had to rush this morning if it weren't for the mess that was left behind in the kitchen. Both of them were more than aware about my mother's deteriorating mental state, except her alcoholism. They were the only ones that I brought it up with, and I planned on keeping it that way.

    "Anyways," I directed my gaze towards Tyler. "How have you been?"

    He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing much. Same old same old. What about you, Lari?"

    I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Same here, just tired though."

    Em's mocha eyes inspected the bags under my eyes. "How did you sleep last night?"

    I blinked a couple times before answering. "Crappy, as usual. Only got a couple hours of sleep last night."

    She took a step forward, tucking the stray tendrils of my hair behind my ear in a motherly fashion. "Nightmares again?"

    I nodded my head as she withdrew her hand. A weak smile decorated my lips. "Other than that, who's excited for the career fair? 'Cause I'm pumped for today!"

    "Make that two! For once, I won't have to listen to Ms. Benson bicker about her relationship issues when she should be lecturing about Julius Caesar during fifth period," Emilie added, with a relieved tone.

    "Agreed. There's nothing like skipping class just to hang out with your best pals." Tyler suddenly wrapped his muscular arms around our shoulders. He gave Em a noogie with his knuckles and tickled my side with his other hand. I erupted into a fit of laughter, trying to free myself from his grip.

    "No—! Tyler—!" I couldn't help but laugh. "Stop! Stop tickling me—you sneaky bastard—!'

    "And just when I thought you guys couldn't get any dorkier... Here you three are, just standing around and making utter fools of yourselves," Catherine interrupted, grabbing our attention then and there.

    Tyler, Emilie, and I turned around, three pairs of eyes landing on the school's top tyrant and drama queen. Her reign of terror over the entire sophomore class had earned her the nickname "Pussy Cat." Not only was she pampered like one, Catherine acted like one as well. My electric blue eyes widened right away, the corners of my mouth quirking down. You got to be fucking kidding me... What the hell does she want this time?

    Catherine's dark brown eyes stared daggers in my direction, her eyes burning with such an intense resentment that only hatred could foster. Shelby's pearl blue eyes were glued to me as well, gazing at me with the same ferocity that practically matched Catherine's.

    "What are you doing here?" Tyler demanded, glaring in their direction.

    "More importantly, how many times have we told you to leave us the hell alone?" Emilie chimed in. "Or are you two as deaf as a bat?"

    Catherine let out an amused chuckle, twirling a tendril of her long, frizzy, black hair between her fingertips. She ignored Emilie and met Tyler's annoyed gaze. "Well I'm sorry that I didn't hear you correctly, beefcake, that's because it's not you I came all this way here to talk to." Her eyes leered in my direction. "I'm here to see Miss Dim-wit about my research paper."

    I narrowed my eyes at her, letting out an irked groan. Again, with the goddamn paper. Why can't she just write it herself? "Sorry to disappoint you Pussy Cat, but I don't write research papers for anyone. Let alone for spoiled bitches with mommy issues, especially if they believe that they're better than everyone else just because their daddy owns one of the most piss-poor car companies on the western coast. So...be a good girl for once and do it yourself." It was a well-known fact that Catherine's mother left her and her Dad when she was only a baby. The real reason was still unknown, and that alone spurred up more gossip than the time a large number of students got food poisoning from the chicken teriyaki the lunch ladies used to serve last year.

    Her eyes slightly widened, flickering with nothing but repulsion. The corner of her mouth partially twitched for a brief moment, then her lips curled into an impish grin. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Laura." Catherine shook her head. "May I remind you what could happen if you choose to not comply, the consequences would be quite severe. I'm sure you remember that make-out session you had with Josh, don't you?"

    She dug out her smartphone, bringing up the video one of her friends had recorded for her. Catherine held up her phone in front of us; the video playing showed her drunk boyfriend pinning my arms above my head, sloppily brushing his alcohol tainted lips against mine in a locker room. Nothing but disgust clouded my features. Regardless of how many beers he had that day, I still found it hard to believe that he thought that I was his girlfriend. A few seconds later, I rapidly brought up my knee and kneed the asshole in the cojones. He immediately let go of me and collapsed onto the floor; I hurriedly ran out of the locker room before he could get back up. Joshua groaned out in pain, letting out a string of profanities as he clutched his privates. Catherine paused the video, her dark brown eyes gazing in my direction once again.

    "You might want to reconsider your decision, slut. If you choose not to, Cat will upload that video online of you having an affair with her boy toy, in a locker room of all places," Shelby threatened, taking a step forward. "Can you imagine what would happen if the entire school saw that? Or worse, everyone on the planet?" The redhead let out a pitiless chuckle. "The whole world will know how much a hooker Laura Rose truly is, then everyone will start calling you the "Rose Hooker." It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" A malicious grin decorated Shelby's lips.

    "I'm sure you don't want to throw away your chances of getting into any universities, right?"

    I remained silent, not saying a word. Catherine took a step forward, her stilettos clicking against the tiled flooring. "Right, Laura?"

    I still didn't say a word. She stepped forward once more, coming face to face with me. "RIGHT, you good-for-nothing bitch!"

    I slowly nodded my head. "Right..."

    A content smile decorated her plump lips. "Good." Cat took a couple steps back. "You have until three o'clock sharp next Monday to type out my paper in size eleven font, single spaced, describing the basics of evolution. So, I would recommend getting a good start on it right away." She turned on her heel, her back facing us as she started walking away. Catherine halted momentarily, looking back in our direction once more. "Oh, and one more thing. If Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum say a word about this to anyone, I won't hesitate to let Principal Anderson know about beefcake assaulting Josh for no damn reason." She smirked then finally left, with Shelby following behind her.

    I clenched my fists, digging my nails into the palm of my hand. Searing pain erupted from where a few of my nails pierced my skin, but I couldn't care less about the newly formed cuts. I hate her...I hate that bitch SO MUCH. If it were up to me, I'd strangle the very life out of her. Yes. Slowly, and painfully, until her windpipe—no Laura! Stop thinking that way! I closed my eyes and focused on taking deep breaths in and out to get ahold of myself. You're better than this. Giving in to your inner demons won't solve anything. You of all people know this better than anyone. Tyler loosened his grip and let go of us. I stepped away from them and examined the deep scratches on the palms of my hands.

    Emilie was the first to break the silence that had fallen over us. "Don't listen to her, Lari. She's only trying to use you."

    I lowered my hands, facing the palms away from my friends. I turned around to meet their worried gazes. "I'm well aware of that, Em. But if I don't comply, Cat will upload that video online."

    "Laura," Tyler walked forward, placing a bruised hand on my shoulder. "We both know that wasn't your fault. Josh was clearly drunk last week."

    "More like tipsy," Em interjected, her tone laced with repulsion.

    Tyler glanced back at Emilie, meeting her heartfelt gaze, and then directed his attention back to me. "Josh should've gotten more than just a good beating from me. No matter how intoxicated he was, you didn't deserve what that asshole did to you. None of this is even acceptable to begin with." His grip involuntarily tightened on my shoulder. We should be telling a teacher about this, not standing around and doing nothing—"

    "No Tyler, we can't," I abruptly cut him off. "You two know as well as I do what they're capable of. As much as I want the same thing as you do, I also don't want them to shame me in front of the entire school. I'm already an outcast as it is." I paused for a moment, thinking about what could happen if I didn't play my cards right. "Listen guys, I should get going." I glanced up at one of the clocks hanging on the wall, checking the time. "First period is gonna start soon, and I don't wanna be late to class." Tyler let go of me, his hazel eyes meeting my worried gaze. "See ya later, Tyler." I shifted my gaze over towards Em. "Emilie, I'll see you later in Algebra II." I turned around, walking away with one hand holding onto one of the backpack straps.

    Along the way to my first class of the day, French II, my eyes wandered around the hallway. My mind blanked, and I instinctively spaced out from the realm of reality to shut off the whirlwind of emotions that suffocated me in its wake—

   —I unknowingly bumped into someone's chiseled back; the collision caused him to drop the stack of flyers he was carrying. The papers flew everywhere, landing all over the tiled floor beneath us.

    "Shit—I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going. Here, let me help you with that." I kneeled down on the ground, avoiding eye contact as I picked up as many flyers as I could off the floor.

    The young man got down on his knees as well, gathering up the papers that had fallen out of his hands. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Let me—wait a minute. Is that you, Laura?"

    That voice... Why does it sound so familiar? It wasn't until he had spoken up that I looked up at him. A smile instantly decorated onto my lips. I recognize that cavalier attitude from anywhere!

    "Piers!" I dropped all of the flyers I was holding and launched myself at him, engulfing Tyler's older brother into a long-awaited hug.

    I gripped his white t-shirt for dear life, not wanting to let go of him. I looked up at him with tears brimming in my eyes, scanning him from head to toe before meeting his hazel orbs. I'm not dreaming. It's really him! I shifted my gaze away from his eyes, sneaking a peek at his blemishes. The right side of his well-defined face was covered with a number of old scars. Most of them surrounded his right eye and traveled down his neck, all the way along his right arm. The pockets of scar tissue served as a major reminder of his near death experience, his first encounter with the Grim Reaper himself during the Lanshiang bioterror attack two years ago.

    "Hey there, Laura. I missed you too." I finally let go of him after what seemed like an eternity. His features softened when he noticed the tears trickling down my cheeks. "Are you okay?"

    "I'm fine," I lied. "I just didn't expect to run into you this soon." I wiped away my tears with my fingertips, and once I had calmed down, I continued picking up the flyers I dropped off the floor. "What are you doing here? I thought that you were currently stationed up north near the Canadian border."

    "Since some of the higher ups needed some volunteers to come to your school for the career fair and act as representatives for the BSAA, our platoon volunteered to take up the job. My sudden visit was supposed to be a surprise. Well... Surprise!" Piers lifted his hands, acting out his best jazz hands impression.

    I giggled, briefly covering my mouth with the back of my hand. "Real cute, Piers."

    "Even cuter than Dean Winchester?" He remarked with a playful tone. The lieutenant winked at me as he helped with gathering up the remainder of the flyers on the floor.

    Of course he would bring up my number one crush...

    I stopped for a moment and punched his right shoulder. "Shush it, Nivans! Don't make me go all soulless Sam on you!" I threatened in a joking manner.

    Piers erupted into a fit of laughter, clearly amused. When we were done with picking up all of the papers, the two of us stood up off the ground. The bell began ringing throughout the hallway out of the blue, indicating that class would start in less than five minutes.

    "And that's my cue to leave." I handed him the last of the flyers. "See you around, Lieutenant Nivans."

    Piers shook his head and smiled. "See ya later then, Briar Rose." The two of us went our separate ways, walking away in the opposite direction of one another.

    I cringed, laughing to myself. I can't believe he still remembers my childhood nickname. I guess that some things never change...