Page 100 of Bending Under Pressure

Keelan takes a deep breath, it tickles my neck as strands of my hair moves against it. “I came here to see you and not think about it.”

“Tell me,” I beg in a soft voice. “Did you tell your mom what happened with Natalie? Is that it?”

He’s quiet while he probably debates whether to answer me. Eventually, he does. “Yeah, and Mom told me why they went to jail. I’m not telling you. Ignorance is bliss, Hales.”

“So, it’s bad?”

“Yeah,” he says with a humorless laugh. “It’s worse than I thought it could be. I want to go back to before she contacted me, so I wouldn’t know all this crap.”

“But then you wouldn’t know Kiera,” I point out. “Or your aunt.”

“True. Do you want to talk about what happened with your dad?”

Guess that’s the end of us discussing him and his problems. I want to sigh, but I think it would hurt too much to do it. “There’s nothing to talk about. He’s changed, not for the better, and I’m tired of trying. I won’t ignore him, but I’m not going to be calling him either.”

“I think that sounds like a good plan.”

Me too. Hopefully, I can hold myself to my decision. Mom enters my room, eyeing us with narrowed eyes, but she doesn’t say anything about it. She sits on the edge of the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but fine.”

She nods, her eyes moving to Keelan. “It could be a while before we can get her another car. If you and your parents are okay with it, I was wondering if you could take her to school. I can take her while I’m sick, but once I have to go to work, I’ll need someone else to get her there. Maybe Jess could bring you home since he has practice?” Mom finishes to me.

“We’ll be happy to get her to and from school, Mrs. Rita,” Keelan answers for himself and Jess.

“Thank you. You should head home, Keelan; I want to talk to my daughter for a while.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I move slowly, so Keelan can get out of my bed. He slips his shoes on and turns to kiss my cheek, which makes me smile. I would be getting a different kind of kiss if my mom weren’t in the room.

“I’ll text you later, Hales.”

“Bye.” Mom and I are quiet as he walks out of the room, hearing the front door close moments later. “What did you want to talk about?” I ask.

“How are you really doing with everything? Keelan told Walter about the wedding and Walter told me, so I already know what happened.”

I shrug, wishing I could forget about it already. “I’m fine.” Part of me wants to ask if Dad tried to come, but I don’t ask. “I don’t want anything to do with him anymore. For real this time.” Tears well in my eyes. “I don’t understand why he’s being this way, and I’m tired of him hurting me. I need to accept that he just isn’t a good dad anymore.”

Mom reaches over to rest a hand on my knee. “You need to accept that you deserve better, Haley. If that’s what you want, I’ll make sure that any future phone calls come through me, okay? I don’t want you hurting either. I certainly don’t want you doing something stupid because you were upset. And it was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”

“I know,” I interrupt weakly. She doesn’t have to kick me while I’m down.

She softens her voice, losing the touch of anger that was there a moment ago. “We’re not going to punish you. Walter and I discussed it and decided you getting hurt is enough. You will, however, need to get a part-time job if you want another car. I paid for your last one and I’m not going to pay for another one. Once we’re all feeling better, we’ll work out some sort of arrangement because it’ll be easier on everyone if you have your own car. I just wanted to let you know you’re going to have to work for it. Maybe Mrs. Elsie could use another waitress.”

A job? The window to see Keelan away from school seems to close more and more. Arguing isn’t an option though. I don’t want to fight with her, and it’s my fault I need another car anyway.

Everyone has heard about my accident by Monday morning. They probably knew yesterday, but one look at me spurs the conversations and whispers. Keelan carries my bag for me, for which I’m grateful. My body is still aching. I’m not sure I could handle a heavy bag on one shoulder for very long. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to get through this. One arm is completely out of commission because it’s broken.

I groan and wish I could sink into my seat when the morning announcements are done. Toward the end, the principal says, “On a more serious note, one of our students was in a car accident this weekend. We’re glad that Haley Summers is doing okay. Please remember to drive carefully and responsibly, kids.”

Why?

Why does that need to be part of the announcements? It’s embarrassing and makes it sound as if I’m a terrible, reckless driver. I guess I am reckless. That’s what my ticket says.

“Let me know if you need help with anything,” my teacher tells me before starting class.

---