The New Girl

ROSELYNN

Once I made it home, I pulled my car into the garage and got out, a sense of dread settling in my stomach.

I locked the car doors after grabbing my school bag out of the back. As I walked into the house, I knew my father was awake from the light in the kitchen.

I didn’t even bother trying to sneak past him. I had nothing to hide, so I wasn’t going to.

I walked into the kitchen with my arms crossed and stared at my father. He looked at me with anger clear on his face.

“Where have you been?” he snapped.

“Playing in my school’s softball game,” I said in an even tone.

“Softball? Since when have you been on the softball team?” he hissed through clenched teeth.

“I made it a while ago.” I knew what he would ask next. This wasn’t the first time we’d had this argument.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered, hurt clouding his voice.

“I tried. And your exact response was, ‘It’s not important’.”

I let my arms drop to my sides and tried to walk away, wanting this conversation to be over because I didn’t want to hear what he would say next.

“I’m so sorry, Rose.” He sighed. “Look, I’ll come to your next game. And I’ll try to get help for my drinking, too. I promise.”

I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Whatever you say, Dad. I’ll let you know when the next game is.” Then I walked into my room and shut my door.

It was always the same thing. “I promise, I’ll get help.”

That’s always what he said. The first time he promised, I’d believed him. The second time he promised, I’d believed him again.

Then there was a third time, then a fourth time. I’d stopped getting my hopes up after the fifth, and stopped counting after the sixth.

I glanced at my school bag. I couldn’t remember if I had any assignments or homework, but it couldn’t hurt to look.

Plus, it would get my mind off of my dad, and the dark path those thoughts would lead me down.

After confirming that I had no homework, I decided to spend a few hours studying.

Much later, when I glanced at the clock, I saw that it was one in the morning.

I’d heard my dad go into his bedroom an hour earlier, so I supposed it was time for me to go to sleep myself.

I sighed before standing and stretching. After taking a long shower, I crawled into bed, hoping my nightmares wouldn’t visit me tonight.

***

I woke up the next morning to my ringtone. I sat up and picked up the phone.

“Hello?” I yawned into the phone.

“Are you just now waking up?” Aisha’s surprised voice came through the phone. I squinted at my alarm clock, reading the bright letters.

“Yeah, it’s only nine in the morning. On a Saturday,” I grumbled. I didn’t want to tell her that the reason I’d slept in until nine was because of my father’s drinking problem.

“Well, get up!” she said. “We’re going to go have a girls’ day.”

Now it was my turn to huff. “You woke me up at nine to tell me that we are having a girls’ day?”

“Yes. Be at my house in thirty minutes,” she ordered.

“Fine, fine. On one condition. We have to go pick up Ramona. I’m positive that she is going to like you. I also have to ask my dad.” I laid back down in my bed and stared at the ceiling.

“Okay, hurry up and ask. And who’s Ramona?” Aisha asked.

“I told you about Ramona, didn’t I? Well, anyway, she lives one town over; she’s one of my best friends.”

“That hurts,” I could almost see Aisha trying to act offended, and rolled my eyes.

“You’re right there next to her, don’t worry. Anyway, I’ll call Ramona and ask my dad. I’ll text you and let you know what they say.”

“Alright. Bye!” She ended the call and I tossed my phone back on the bed.

I walked into the hall and saw the light on in my dad’s office. I walked in and saw my dad looking at his computer, his glasses resting on his nose.

He looked up at me and took his glasses off. “Is there something you need, Rose?”

“Can I go out with my friends? It will just be Aisha, Ramona, and myself. We’re having a girls’ day.” I mumbled the last part.

“Of course. Here, take this. But don’t spend too much,” he said, pulling out his wallet and shoving a plastic card into my hand.

I stared at the credit card. This was his way of apologizing in advance for not being able to keep his promise.

When we first began arguing about his drinking, he would end every fight with promising to get help. Then, the next day he would get me a gift.

First, it was Whiskey, then Lucky, then the car. Now he just gave me money with a three hundred dollar spending limit whenever I wanted to go out.

I remembered the first time he’d promised to get help. I had gone to school the next day, so happy that I convinced my dad to stop drinking.

When I came home there was Whiskey, with a small little bow on his collar, looking up at me with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Dad told me it was because he was sorry for fighting with me. And I’d been as happy as any twelve-year-old could be.

The next day, however, when I came home, there he’d been, passed out on the couch with bottles of alcohol all around him.

I was devastated. He’d done the same thing when he brought Lucky home from a pound that was about to kill her.

Then it happened with the car, too.

I quickly shut these thoughts down and locked them away. “Of course. Thanks, Dad.”

I went back into my room and quickly called Ramona. After she agreed to come with us, I texted Aisha and let her know.

Then I pulled on a pair of jeans and a large sweatshirt before pulling my hair into a high ponytail.

I brushed my teeth, then slipped the credit card into my wallet and grabbed my phone and keys. I walked out of my room and into the kitchen.

“Hey, babe,” I patted Whiskey’s head before dumping some food into his bowl. He licked my hand, then began eating.

“Lucky!” I called, shaking the small cup of food and hearing her running across the floor from wherever she was hiding.

She sat by her food bowl and looked up at me, then meowed and brushed up against my arm as I poured her some food.

“Enjoy, you two,” I whispered before grabbing a water bottle and getting into my car.

Once I pulled into Aisha’s driveway, I barely had to wait two seconds before she was in the car.

“How far away does Ramona live?” Aisha asked as she buckled her seat belt.

“About forty-five minutes away. Her house is actually on the way to the mall. It’s like a ten-minute detour.” I shrugged and backed out of her driveway.

“Sounds good,” Aisha mumbled as she played with the radio.

***

I couldn’t even get the car in park before Ramona was running out of her house, yelling goodbye to her mom over her shoulder. As she jumped into the backseat, she glared at me.

“What?” I asked, making eye contact with her in the mirror.

“What took so long? I had to listen to my mom warn me of the dangers of the human population for fifty minutes. Fifty!”

She threw her hands into the air and fell back into her seat dramatically.

“Oh, I’m so sorry that your mother is so cynical and worried about her child,” I said just as dramatically. She glared at me and I rolled my eyes, smiling at her.

“Aisha, the overly dramatic person in the back is Ramona. Ramona, the person who is sitting in the passenger seat awkwardly is Aisha,” I said as I pulled out of the driveway.

Ramona’s mood instantly changed. “Hiya!” she chirped. “Nice to meet you, Aisha.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Aisha smiled as she turned around in the seat to talk to Ramona.

***

Two hours. Two. Whole. Hours.

That is how long Ramona and Aisha dragged me from store to store. I didn’t mind, so long as they didn’t force me into anything I didn’t like. Like a micro skirt.

I shuddered at the thought of that small piece of fabric, that somehow fell into the “skirt” category even though it looked more like a headband.

“Come on,” Ramona cried as she pushed me towards a lingerie shop.

I quickly pulled out my phone and searched through my ringtones before finding the one I was looking for.

“Hell nah. To the nah, nah, nah. Helllll to the nah.” Bishop Bullwinkle’s voice came out of my phone over and over again.

I matched Ramona’s glare and ignored the stares of the people that walked by.

Aisha burst out laughing and clutched her sides. Eventually, Ramona’s glare weakened and she started laughing, too. A moment later, I joined in.

“That was rich,” Aisha wheezed out as she sat on a bench, taking deep breaths.

I grinned as I shoved my phone back into my pocket, about to say something when I caught sight of a familiar trio.

“Son of a…” I trailed off as I watched them walking towards us. They didn’t seem to have seen us yet.

“What?” Ramona asked, looking around as she sat down beside Aisha on the bench.

I glanced at her before looking back at the three boys.

“Nothing,” I whispered. Then I watched as Ryder began to act weird.

He grabbed his brother’s arm and began looking around frantically, then paused as his head snapped toward us.

He made eye contact with me, then his eyes cut to Ramona, who had just stood up from the bench.

Felix and Ryker were also looking our way. Then Ryder began walking toward us, with Felix and Ryker following behind him.

I knew there was no point in running, but the way Ryder was looking at Ramona scared me.

I stepped closer to my two friends as they approached and quickly gripped my keys in my hand. Just in case I had to stab someone. Self-defense 101.

“Roselynn,” Ryker said. He tried to run up to me, but Felix grabbed him by his collar and whispered something in his ear that made him go pale and sober up.

I quickly took a step back, keeping an eye on Ryder. He was still looking at Ramona, a fierce possessiveness rolling off of him in waves.

“Hey, guys,” Aisha chirped as she stood up. Ramona glanced at me with worry in her eyes. She took a few steps towards me so she was standing beside me.

“Hello. Roselynn, are you going to introduce us to your friend?” Felix asked, a smile on his face as he glanced at Ramona then turned back to face me.

“Yeee-aaah,” I drew out the word before continuing. “Sure. Ramona, this is Felix, Ryker, and Ryder. Guys, this is one of my best friends, Ramona.”

I pointed to each of them in turn, making eye contact with Ryder as I said Ramona’s name and noticing how his eyes darkened.

I quickly put my hand on Ramona’s shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze before letting it rest there. I could feel both Felix and Ryder staring at my hand.

Ramona and I had developed our own way of warning each other of danger—we could communicate through something as simple as touching a hand.

She would know what I meant when I squeezed her shoulder.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, but my mom is expecting me home,” Ramona said, easily coming up with a reason as to why we needed to leave.

Aisha, who seemed oblivious to the awkward tension in the air, stood up with a pout before grabbing her bags and making her way towards the exit.

“Bye, Roselynn.” Felix smiled down at me, eyes shining. I waved goodbye and followed behind Ramona.

Once we got in the car, Ramona looked at me as Aisha got into the car. I shrugged my shoulders at her and waited until everyone was buckled before pulling out of the parking spot.

***

After we dropped Ramona off at her house, Aisha leaned towards me.

“Can I spend the night at your house?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t care, but I have to ask my dad first.” I quickly called him before leaving Ramona’s driveway.

After getting his approval, I told Aisha that she could stay the night.

That night, Aisha and I watched movies, although I had to bribe her with a gallon of ice cream to watch The Lion King.

I still cried when Mufasa died. Like I always did, every single time I watched the movie.

We fell asleep around five that morning and didn’t wake up until one that afternoon.

My dad had left the house again and had left a note saying that he’d gone out with some friends from work.

I knew what was going to happen next.

I didn’t want Aisha to see my father a drunken mess, so I told her that he wanted me to take her home early. I felt bad for lying, but I didn’t want to burden Aisha with my dad’s issues.

After getting back home from dropping her off, I could smell the stench of alcohol coming from my dad.

I looked into the living room and saw that he was watching a football game—with a bottle of bourbon in one hand and the remote in the other.

I quickly walked up the steps and went into my room, shutting the door behind me before sliding down the wood to sit on the floor.

I didn’t care how many times he went back to drinking after promising not to. It still hurt to see him with this addiction.

I supposed it was better than what my mother was addicted to, though.

I tilted my head back and let the tears that clouded my eyes fall down the sides of my face.

“Why can you never keep your promises?” I whispered.

I wasn’t expecting an answer. I’d known this was what was going to happen.

It always did.