Page 4 of Toxic Wishes

I shake my head as I roll my eyes. “That would be all you got out of what I said.”

“No, that makes sense. My last girlfriend was a Scorpio.”

“What? You dated?” My voice rises up an octave as the words spill out of my mouth.

“Ya, I'm sixteen.”

“Still, how do you get your parents to agree to that?”

“They don’t give a shit, and my brother just got a new girlfriend who has the biggest tits I’ve ever seen, so he’s got his hands full.” He moves his hips up and down, imitating sex movements, and my eyes widen at the sight.

“And he’s in college, about to go pro, so I don’t have much supervision at home, which is fine with me.”

I stare at him, still trying to process his parents’ decision to let him date. When the word pro defers my thoughts in another direction, I ask, “Pro what? Douchebag.”

Blake smiles, a ghost of one, but it’s there.

“No football. You haven’t heard of Colt Killian?”

“I hate football. It’s not my thing. So no, never heard of the guy.”

“Everyone here worships football, especially in this state. How have you survived high school not attending any football games?”

“By staying away from people.”

He laughs, a real laugh this time. “That may not be such a bad idea.” He stares into space briefly before saying, “Anyway, he’s pretty much the icon for OU state.”

“Good for him,” I say as I count the calories I’ve had for the day in my head.

“Back to the girl I dated, who was a Scorpio. She was a freak in the sheets. I mean, like freaky-freaky, And she once told me Scorpio’s power spot was their pussy or some shit like that. She was into yoga and astrology but nothing like you.”

I try not to show my shock at how we are the same age and go to the same school, but he’s already had sex. I haven’t even kissed a boy.

“Are all Scorpios sexual like that?” He flashes me a wink and then gives me a once-over.

“Of course, that’s all you could remember about your ex-girlfriend,” I say, turning my attention back to the television on the wall and mindlessly watching it.

“Hey, remembering is remembering.’ He says.

“I suppose,” I murmur.

“Oh, I got an idea. If we ever get out of this place, that is.”

“What?” I flicked my gaze to meet his.

“Next year, if we are both alive, we should make a wish at 11:11.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. After you told me it’s the best time to make a wish, I might increase my chances of getting a new family—maybe a whole new life if I’m lucky.”

The door opens, and it’s my mom who comes barging in this time. “Okay, I got you a medium-sized pizza. They got it wrong the first time.” She places the pizza on the table across from me, muttering, “Idiots.” Then, she sets her purse on the chair beside it. “So I had to wait an extra ten minutes.” She turns back around and stops mid-sentence when she notices Blake.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had company in the room now, Abigail. They better cut the price in half for that.”

Blake looks at me, and I know what he is thinking. Is that your mom? If so, how could she be talking about money at a time like this?

That is my mom, alright, and she could talk about it because she loved her precious green paper. Actually, no, she loved not doing a damn thing and being lazy, living off her husband, who cheats on her left and right. I love my mom to death, but I couldn't stand how all the women in our family were so lazy, and they would rather settle for a man who took care of them financially and sacrificed their mental health and freedom so that they didn’t have to go to work.

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