Page 7 of Valentine Dare

5

Jenny

I stood anxiouslyby their car, and took a peek through the window. It was so damn neat. The only reason Kurt’s was clean was because he had cleaners, me too. But I did tend to do a quick clean before they cleaned it.

Cleaners.

My life then, and what it was now. I looked at the white backless dress which hung on me, with eyeliner and mascara all over it, thinking this was the only dress I possessed, and it was messed up. Just like my life.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Trent called out as he approached me.

He didn’t want to know because I could do with a penny or even a dollar. I knew the $100 Summer gave me wouldn’t get too far. I didn’t know when I would have money again because I had no idea what was going to happen to me. I was eighteen, nearly penniless, homeless and parentless. I had to face the fact my parents didn’t give a shit either. Something which had never crossed my mind until now. No one came to look for me at the country club, or even bothered to find out what was going on with me.

No one.

I saw on Twitter, Mom’s now with my aunt. But only Mom, not I.

“Right, let’s get you to JC Penny or something to get some clothes, then afterward we’ll head to the office.”

“Office?”

“Yeah, mom said that she’ll see if maybe she can help you. She’ll see if she can get you some clothes and hopefully things. Sure, the FBI have frozen your account, but it doesn’t mean that you should be left out in the street.”

“Sure.”

I didn’t know what to say as the doors were unlocked and I opened the car. I stepped in the passenger side while Trent popped the trunk and stuffed his bag inside, then he came into the driver’s seat, then slammed the door shut.

“What does your mom do?”

I realized I knew nothing about him. Well, not since that fateful night five years ago when his dad died in the car accident.

“She’s a lawyer.”

He started the engine, and we were on our way as he started to pull back. I remembered I’d been sitting here and hadn’t even put on my belt. I could refuse his offer of going shopping and say it would be alright, but I knew I would be lying to not only him, but myself too.

“You sounded surprised when I said mom was a lawyer.” He smiled as he looked at me. We finally left the parking lot and the place where my nightmare, the one I’d never forget, had begun.

“It’s only three. Who would have thought within two hours our lives would change so much?”

He didn’t say a word but cleared his throat and changed the station on the radio.

“It’s just that we lost touch after the accident. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up,” I whispered breaking the silence. I didn’t know why I said it, but regretted it the moment the words left my mouth.

“It’s fine. It felt like forever now you brought it up. One minute no one wanted to talk about it, then after a while, it was clear none of us was coping with Dad’s accident, so we had to talk about it with a therapist. Mom was a housewife, but she met dad in law school, so she’d passed the bar and everything, but with triplets it was hard to keep a full-time job and be a mom at the same time.”

He turned down the radio while we were talking, encouraging the conversation to continue. I thought about what I’d just gone through, and it was nothing in comparison to him and his family.

“Anyway, when he died she used the insurance money to get a house, with no home loan, and we’re doing alright. Not great. But alright.”

Why did I ever listen to Kurt?

The family picture Kurt painted of them was different to the one Trent was talking about right now. He said they were poor, dirt poor, and his mom was a slut. God, I never believed him, but never questioned why he called her names.

“Why, what did Kurt say to you?”

“How did you know?”

I wondered if I’d accidentally let it slip? But then I couldn’t have, because my lips were sealed tight as he spoke.

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