Exposure by Askew Kim

Author:Askew, Kim [Askew, Kim; Helmes, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4405-5262-5
Publisher: Merit Press
Published: 2013-09-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Screw Your Courage to the Sticking Place

I WOKE UP ON MY BED, FULLY DRESSED, still in my boots. The alarm clock on my nightstand glowed twelve-thirteen. My pillow was totally damp from where I’d been crying. There was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep. Remembering the awful conversation with my parents, I wondered why all this was happening. I’d been staring at a refrigerator magnet of a cartoon tooth when my mom had broken the news. The tooth had a smiley face and the number of our family dentist on it. It was stuck on the fridge holding up a “Buy one, get one free” coupon for Kraft Singles. Weird the things you notice when your world is crashing down around you.

I sighed deeply. My chest ached like someone had been sitting on it. My face felt hot and my eyelids were puffy. What was going to happen now? Would Mom move into her skeevy-jerk boyfriend’s house? Would Dad have to rent a crummy apartment on the other side of town? Could they even afford to get divorced? Was this the death knell for my chances of going away to college? I knew it was selfish to think that way, but goddammit, they were the selfish ones! You don’t just tear a family apart on a whim; you find a way to make it work. Why did they even have Ollie in the first place if they were “falling out of love” or whatever bullshit they’re claiming?

The thoughts running through my head felt like a physical, tangible pain. I was desperate to make it go away. But where could I escape to in the dead of night? Nowhere. I wasn’t close enough with Cat or Kaya or Tess to dump this on them. Besides, they were probably all asleep. I turned on my nightstand and retrieved my journal from my messenger bag, along with a Bic pen, thinking writing might help. But my eyes were too blurred with tears to even see the lines on the notebook paper. Besides, I felt more like stabbing the pen through my thigh than actually using it for its intended purpose.

I chucked the pen and the journal across the room and eyed my cell sitting on the nightstand. I couldn’t. I mean, I definitely, DEFINITELY shouldn’t. This was one of those you’ll-hate-yourself-in-the-morning moments, on par with drunk-dialing an ex-boyfriend. But even though we technically weren’t on speaking terms, Craig was the closest thing to a true confidante I’d ever had. He’d been at the Hurlyburly when I left, so he might still be awake. It was only a little past midnight, after all. My brain was screaming “bad idea!” as I grabbed my cell and started to punch in the numbers, but then I remembered his cell hidden deep in my closet. He might have a different number now. The chance that I’d get a “We’re sorry,” recording from the phone company gave me nerve enough to hit the call button.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.