Page 1 of Twisted Hunger

One

"I love you, Daddy. See you tonight." I kiss my father as I leave the breakfast table in a hurry.

My father chuckles. "I love you too, baby girl. Where's the fire?"

"Dad! Today is the last day of summer before we start high school. Pretty much the whole class is going to the lake. I've only been talking about it all week." I roll my eyes at him.

"Oh, is that today? Well, be careful and keep your phone on you at all times," my father says in a stern voice while giving me his warning look. Neither the voice nor the look frightens me, though.

I come back over and hug him from behind. "I will, Daddy, I promise."

"Okay, kiddo. Have fun and tell Bite-Size I said hello." He grins at his nickname for my best friend.

"Liv is going to kick your ass one of these days if you keep calling her that." I remind him of her threats.

"Language, young lady!" he warns, but I ignore it and continue.

"Now that we are entering high school, she doesn't want nicknames. She thinks they are too babyish."

My dad sighs, "Fine, I will try to contain myself, but I'm not making any promises."

I shake my head and walk away, grinning. My best friend Liv, short for Olive, is only five-foot-two, so she gets a lot of grief about her size. My Dad doesn't do it to be mean. Liv is like an adoptive child to my parents; we've been best friends since elementary school. She even calls my parents Mom and Dad.

My mom's a nurse, so she had already left for her shift before my butt was even out of bed this morning. She and my dad were high school sweethearts, and they are as much in love now as they were back then. Unfortunately, they were only blessed with one child, so you can say I'm a daddy's girl.

Liv's mom pulls up and honks the horn, telling me to hurry my butt up. Meeting my dad at the bottom of the stairs on his way out, I give him one more hug before we both leave. Had I known it would be the last time I saw him, I would have stayed home and begged him to do the same.

That day was the beginning of the end for me, or so I thought. Losing a parent so young, especially one you thought hung the moon, does something to you. It did me, anyway. My father's death destroyed my mother as well, but she was able to bounce back with therapy and a hell of a lot of wine. As for me, it started with rebellious behavior, then came the promiscuity, and lastly…the drugs. Anything to help numb the pain.

Let me just say that I haven't gone all the way with a guy, but I have done things I'm not proud of in order to get a fix. With my mother always working, she doesn't have time to notice how fucked up her daughter really is. Three years is a long time to not pay attention to your kid. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm so fucked up.

"Yo, Ryan. My parents will be back soon; you have to go." Brock, my supplier and pretty much the only friend I have left, nudges my naked thigh.

"Oh God, what time is it?" I ask as I roll over and focus on my shaggy-haired friend.

"It's nine-thirty, their movie will be getting over anytime. If they catch you here again with no supervision, I'll never hear the end of it. And I'm sorry, but unless you're giving it all up, I'm not going to listen to them bitch." Brock snickers as he looks me over.

I'm lying here in my underwear and bra. I try not to get completely naked, that would just be too tempting, but sometimes it's necessary with Brock. Even though I'm usually high as a kite, my V-card is the one thing I want to do right. That, and finish high school. It's what my dad always wanted for me. At least keeping my V-card is easier than staying in school.

I moan, "Damn, what was in that X? I can't seem to stay awake."

"It's the same shit I always get. I feel fine." Brock starts throwing my clothes at me. "But seriously, Ry, you have to go."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going." I stumble through putting my clothes on, and Brock helps me to the door.

"Maybe I should call you an Uber or something." He looks at me worriedly.

"Nah, I'll be fine. The fresh air will do me good, and I'm only six blocks away. I'll be fine," I tell him.

I never drive when I come to Brock's to get high. After a drunk driver killed my dad, I swore I would never drive while under the influence. It's not a long walk to my house, but for some reason, I still feel pretty high, which isn't good. I trust Brock, so I'm not sure why I feel as I do because I know he didn't give me bad shit. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten anything since lunch. I keep going, concentrating on every sign and looking both ways multiple times before crossing the street.

I try not to stumble because the last thing I need is to get picked up for being under the influence. I don't need my mother coming to bail me out of jail. That's if she would come. We barely talk when we do see each other, and even then, I can see the disappointment in her eyes. She knows I get high, yet she does nothing about it.

So, it is no surprise that when I stagger into the house, she glances up from the book she's reading with a glass of red wine beside her. Looking me over, she sighs and says, "Go to bed, Ryan. You have school in the morning."

Oh yes, school. That is a whole other shit show on its own. Not the school itself, but its students, or should I say one particular student who thinks he's God's gift to women. Beau Huntley has been a thorn in my side ever since I started high school. I'm now a Junior, and he's a Senior, yet he still torments me daily. Thank God school is almost over for the summer; with that, Beau will graduate.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little miss cokehead herself…"

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