Reading Online Novel

Safe and Sound(15)



“I like to write.”

Jack reared back. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Why is that so hard to believe?”

“What, like, sappy love stories?”

She felt her face heat up. “No. Like, poems, and stuff.” Lola waited for his laughter. It never came.

“Can I read one sometime?”

Lola froze. No one had ever asked to read her work; no one had ever read her work. Lola didn’t even know if anyone knew she liked to write.

“If I can see one of your drawings.”

It was Jack’s turn to go still. “Uh…”

Lola nudged his shoulder. “Fair is fair.”

After a moment, he blew out a breath. “Okay.”

“But it can’t be one of those creepy ones you always draw.”

One side his mouth quirked up. “Example?”

She shifted, the rock digging into her sensitive flesh. “You know, like demons and zombies and whatever else you draw at school.”

“So you’re a fan, are you?”

“Not exactly.”

“Yet you know my work. Must be a fan.”

“Whatever.”

He leaned back and propped his head with his arms. Lola did the same. They watched the stars and an occasional plane fly overhead in the sky. It was a comfortable quiet and Lola felt more at ease than she had in months.

She didn’t have to pretend everything was okay; she didn’t have to be on guard. Lola could just…be. Though he’d never asked about her life at home, Lola still felt like he knew, and accepted, and didn’t judge.

“You can come here whenever you need to, Lola. I’ll be here,” Jack said after a long silence.

Those words warmed her. She didn’t say anything, but a small smile took hold of her lips. Lola didn’t feel so alone anymore.





4



Lola bolted upright in her bed. Her eyes shot to the clock and she moaned. She’d overslept. Lola rushed around the room, throwing on a blue shirt and jeans. She quickly brushed her hair and teeth.

She paced outside her mother’s bedroom door. If she didn’t get a ride, she would be late. She had her driver’s license, but there was only one vehicle and it was Bob’s. No way would he let her take it.

Lola couldn’t believe the luck she’d had last night. She’d heard Bob snoring away in the bedroom when she’d gotten home after midnight.

Now, because of her sleeping late, Lola was going to stir the beast before the beast was ready to stir, which would make it so much worse.

You should have known.

She chewed her lip as she stared at the cracked white paint of the door. There was one rule she knew better than to break: never disturb them when the door was closed. But Lola couldn’t afford another detention the very next day after getting her first ever.

Lola swallowed and hesitantly knocked on the door. There was no response so she knocked again. She heard Bob curse and the door flung open.

He glared at her. His thin hair stuck up in tufts and he had on a pair of boxers. Lola recoiled from the sight and smell of him.

“What?” he snapped, hands gripping either side of the door frame.

“I…I overslept and…” Lola gestured with her hands, avoiding his gaze. “I’m going to be late if I don’t get a ride. Can I please get a ride to school?”

Bob moved so fast Lola had no time to react. He shoved her into the hallway. “You little moron! Can’t even get your ass to school on time. God damn it!”

Lola stumbled and fell against the wall. “I’m sorry,” she got out through lips numb with fear.

Spittle flew from his mouth as he yelled, “You’re gonna be sorry!”

Lola flinched back, but she wasn’t fast enough. The crack of his hand against her face jerked her head to the side. She fell against the wall and put a hand to her face, the coolness of her palm at odds with the burning flesh.

Her breath left her in short gasps and she stared at the brown carpet, her body trembling. She stayed like that, waiting.

“Get your ass to the car.” He kicked the door open wider and went inside the bedroom.

Lola briefly closed her eyes. She grabbed her backpack from the floor. She didn’t look into the bedroom, didn’t check to see if her mother was awake and had witnessed what had just happened. She was sure she had.

She hurried down the hallway with her head lowered. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Lola carefully shut the front door behind her, the cool air stinging her already tender flesh. She forced her legs to keep moving though they wanted nothing more than to collapse beneath her.

Her hands shook and she didn’t get the black Buick’s door open until the second try. She gingerly sat on the dirty seat. Fast food wrappers and soda cans crumpled under her feet. It smelled like body odor and Lola put a hand over her nose and mouth.