Page 3 of Fight for Me

I kneel in the dirt next to her and start weeding. The smell of fresh soil instantly brings me comfort. “School was a stupid waste of time, as usual. But Claire and I started to hang out with a new group of people, so you could say I’m making new friends.”

“Oh, please do tell me more. Does there happen to be a boy that you like in said group?” my mom teases.

I scoff and roll my eyes at her. “Boys are fucking useless. They’re only good for one thing.”

“First of all, language. And second of all, that’s not true. I’m sure one day you’ll meet a nice young man. Just like I met your father,” she replies with a dreamy sigh.

“Like hell I am,” I respond sarcastically, not even commenting on how delusional my mother always is when it comes to her husband.

We work in silence for some time, and when I can feel my mother’s eyes on me, I look at her quizzically.

“Jenny, you should probably go clean up before David gets home. I don’t know what mood he’ll be in. We had a disagreement this morning and I wouldn’t want you to get in his way,” Mom states matter-of-factly and in moments like this, I hate her even more than him.

I nod and after giving her a barely there kiss on her tender cheek, I get up and get in the house. After helping around the garden, I’m all sweaty and feel my stomach rumbling, notifying me of how unhappy it is with me forgetting to eat again. I take a quick shower and then make a sandwich, listening for the approaching car the whole time.

When I'm safely hidden in my room behind locked doors, I finally relax on my bed and grab a book to pass the time.

––––––––

AT SOME POINT, I MUST’VE nodded off because I startle suddenly when I hear rhythmic tapping on my window. The sun is already setting, the beams creating moving shadows in my room. I grab my phone and am surprised when I see it’s almost seven. My attention shifts back to the window as the tapping continues. When I get up, my mattress squeaks loudly, and I freeze glancing at my door, but when I don’t hear any movements in the house, I rush to check it out.

I curse when I see Claire’s eager face plastered to my window.

“Bitch, what the fuck? You know, I’m not allowed any guests,” I hiss as I open the window.

Claire climbs through the gap and gracefully lands on the carpet, no sound made.

“Calm down, Jenny. You said yourself that your stuck-up daddy never comes to check on you. And I just saw him pull away, so don’t get your panties in a twist,” she mutters.

“I don’t...” I scratch my forehead and breath out, trying to calm my racing heart. “You should’ve called, is all. You surprised me.”

“Well, I did try calling you when I was close to your house. You didn’t pick up, so when I saw your dad driving away, I decided to see what was taking you so long.” Claire throws her hands up, like she’s got enough of my bullshit. “I don’t understand why it’s always such a big deal about me coming here anyway. Our dads know each other and on paper I’m the one being reputable out of us two. So, it should be my dad worrying about hanging out with you. Not the other way around.”

“Fuck off. And don’t come here unannounced again, I could get grounded again,” I say faking annoyance, when in reality Claire just scared the shit out of me.

Claire jumps on my bed and crosses her arms. “Fine. Jesus. Can you get a move on now? We were supposed to be there thirty minutes ago. You wouldn’t want to keep Marcus waiting,” she teases and wiggles her eyebrows.

I scoff but turn around to reach into my closet. “Marcus can wait. I don’t give a damn, honestly. I just hope he got us some weed.”

“You still haven’t told me what happened last week when you two went upstairs.”

“What do you think happened?” I mutter distractedly as I take out one of my long-sleeved shirts from the closet. “We talked a bit, and then we fucked.”

Claire snorts from behind me. “Shit, Jenny. First, you lose your virginity to...” She snaps her fingers, trying to remember.

I glance at her and throw, “Derek?”

“Yes! Derek, whatever. And now you’re sleeping with guys after talking for five minutes?”

I shrug, not really bothered by it. Like I said before, those dumbasses are only good for one thing.

“So, what? I’ve been called a slut even before I touched a guy in my life. Might as well live up to it. And Marcus is nice on the eyes, polite and can provide me with the good stuff. What’s the big deal?”

Claire hums in her throat but doesn’t answer as I change into the new set of clothes.

I glance critically at my reflection and sigh. I’m probably not the ugliest person in the world, but I’m far from good-looking. I’m tall for a girl and skinny as all hell with untamable frizzy dark brown hair always flowing wildly around my head. My big eyes complete my whole appearance, overall making me look like a malnourished scarecrow. But I guess my weirdness is not off-putting to most of the idiots at school, since I never had a problem finding someone interested.

Giving up on taming my hair and not bothering with makeup, I quickly put on my tennis shoes before jumping on the bed next to Claire, who looks troubled.

---