My Life on Rosewood

A teenage outcast goes above and beyond to get noticed. What will happen?

My Life on Rosewood

 

            If you saw me walking down the street you’d probably think I was your typical 15-year-old girl. One that locks herself in her room and blasts her favorite pop artist. A girl that goes to the local mall with five of her closest friends. Well, that’s kind of right. My name is Lauren Parker. And I do, do those things, just a little differently. Instead of pop, I listen to rock, AC/DC to be exact. And I only go out with my best friend, Bonnie. We go way back, farther than I can remember. Not that that’s a long time, I have a horrible memory. Once when I was five, I told my oldest sister that I had short-term memory loss and I couldn’t go to school. As you would’ve guessed, that crap didn’t work. Now, back to me. As far as school goes, I’m an outcast. No one likes me, every cool person thinks of me as the same way, one word, LOSER. If I could have anything, I just want to be popular. Give me one day of popularity and I’ll be happy.

            Everyday I dreaded to walk up the front door steps of my house on Rosewood Drive. I was walking straight into hell. Maybe now’s the time to give you a little background about me. I’m the youngest of five kids, which absolutely sucks. I live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I’ve lived here all my life. Born and raised. My oldest sister, Janice was born in Japan, the same place my mother was born. Jason, my one and only brother was born in sunny California, as well as my two other sisters Marie and Jess. Everything seemed to go in their favor. Everything. My father is from Harrisburg too. Me and him have a lot in common, we’ve had a great connection from the start. He’s my other half. I have something with him that my other siblings don’t. But that’s only one thing that goes in my favor. Everything else was all about them.

            As I turned the key to the door I saw a beast emerge from a dark corner. Bum. Bum. Bum. Just kidding, it was my golden retriever, Shelley. I leaned down to scratch her ears. Her dirty paws made mud smears on my white pants. “Yuck.” I remarked, as I pushed her away and walked into the house. “Gosh, get off of me you jerk!” I heard Jess yell. “Oh, come on.” Jason said in return. I walked into the living room where there were. Jason wanted Jess to be his dummy while he practiced his new karate moves. I threw my backpack at his face with force. “Go away, leave her alone.” I mumbled quietly. He left, throwing my backpack on the floor. “Thanks,” Jess said in relief. “How was your day?” “It sucked.” I said unenthusiastically. “Why?” she asked in concern. I didn’t answer. Its not like she ever cared before. I left for the kitchen. There, my mother was cooking dinner. I saw dried tears on her face. “Hello.” She said. “Hi.” I said quietly. “Would you like some bread?” We hardly ever had food. “No,” I replied. She looked at me weirdly and asked what was wrong. “Nothing!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. I headed to the front door. I couldn’t deal with this anymore. No one went after me, I guess they were used to it. I slammed the door. Feeling hot tears roll down my cheek, I began to run to Bonnie’s house. She lived a couple blocks down, and the fastest way to get there was to cut through everyone’s backyard. I knew I was almost there because I heard the song Hell’s Bells by AC/DC playing. I reached her bedroom window on the first floor. She saw me before I knocked. She knew the drill. She opened her window silently so no one could hear, then went to turn off her stereo. “Hey.” She said. “Hi, do you mind if I stay?” I asked politely. “Yeah its okay, family problems?” “As always,” I said with a tight smile. “You going to that party tonight?” “Uh, yeah! You?” she asked. “I’ll sneak out, come by my window to pick me up.” “Gotcha.” She said without hesitating. We talked for a while and I decided to stay until her family had dinner. “Well, I got to eat dinner, then finish that English paper.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Okay.” I stumbled out her window.

            This was going to be it. No more “shy” girl. After the party, everyone was going to know my name. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. I’d probably just get trashed and pass out on the bathroom floor. Then, it hit me. I was going to bring my own drinks to show them I wasn’t a stupid, loser that knew absolutely nothing about partying. Not to mention that all these guys would be there. Maybe even my boyfriend, Patrick. All he’s known for is being the bad boy at school. He just spent a year in juvie, so I haven’t seen him in a long time. We met at the last party at Johnny Mayfield’s house. I was just sitting around with Bonnie. He came up to me and we talked a little bit, mostly flirted. Before I knew it we were in Johnny’s parents’ bedroom. I really like him, but he’s hurt me a time or two. Nothing serious, just some bruises. No big deal.

            I took the long way home, I had no intention of getting there in a hurry. I walked up the steps and right as I was opening the door, Marie thrust it open in disgust. I saw the look on her face. She took me by my hair and dragged me into the living room. “You think you can just walk out and stay gone for that long?” She yelled, still tugging at my hair. I said nothing. “Huh?” Still nothing. “Don’t want to talk? I’ll make you talk.” Before I knew it, Marie lunged at me, tackling me to the ground. I tried to fight her off but I couldn’t. I began to black out, she was choking me. When I thought, I was dead meat, the pressure was relieved. I saw Jason with his arms grasped around Marie. I swiftly got up and ran to my room. I slammed my door, in determination to get away from that incident. The bed looked like a good place to be so I sprinted and hopped on it, faster than ever. I felt the sting of tears I felt just hours before I left the house. I was so sick of this. I was always being picked on and being played. They all hated me. They all did, besides my dad. But, he was all the way in Virginia working with my uncle Frank on their new business. I never really knew why they picked on me, but it was just cruel. I was just their little rag doll. But, not after tonight. I knew Marie, Jason and Jess were going grocery shopping tonight and I knew I could get past my mother easily. But, until then, I laid on my bed and stared intensely at the ceiling. I looked up to see the clock read 9:00 p.m. I dozed off. The party would start in thirty minutes. I sprang up and dashed to the bathroom to apply my makeup and retie my messy bun. I then, slipped on my pink All Stars. I quickly tip toed to the kitchen and got some beers then went into the cabinet for the good stuff. In the back was a bottle of Vodka and Tequila. “Hmm.. Vodka or Tequila?” I thought.  Both. I shoved them in my black, leather tote. Then, I heard a familiar rap on my window. I opened it up and wiggled myself out. “Whoa, you look nice!” Bonnie said in amazement. “Thanks.” I said, blushing a little. We quickly made it to the Mayfield’s house. It was just as it was when I saw it last, yellow, with pearly white shingles. Me and Bonnie skipped inside in enjoyment. It seemed like everyone stopped and stared. You know, like in the movies? Everyone just stops what they are doing and stares at you, and that certain music plays. I quickly opened my tote and took out the tequila, trying to look as bad as I could. I handed the Vodka to Bonnie. Some people smiled and everyone turned back to what they were doing. Not much longer after that, my boyfriend, Patrick stumbled over to me. I saw Bonnie flinch. Honestly, I did too. There was still something about him that scared me. He was dangerous, and I liked that. “Come with me.” He said. I followed, looking back at Bonnie whose face was indescribable. Patrick just kept giving me drinks after I finished my Tequila. I didn’t want to drink anymore, I wanted to go home. But, I saw everyone’s face. They thought I was cool. Both of my predictions came true: 1. No one would look at me the same way again and 2. I would end up passed out on the bathroom floor. I barely felt Patrick pick me up and drop me in his car. Before I knew it, I was at his house on his bed. I didn’t want to be there, I wanted to be at home where I was comfortable.. and safe. “You’ve been in and out for a while now.” He said calmly. Now, I started to remember some blurry images. I was okay now, it had been two hours since we left at 11 p.m. I got up to go but he blocked my way and pushed me back on the bed. “No!” It came out muffled because he put his hand over my mouth. “Stop!” I managed to get out. He smacked me. It stung so bad that I could feel my face turn a bright shade of red. He loosened his grip on me so I pushed him off and made a run for the door. He jumped up and shut it and locked it, slowly. He took my wrists with one hand and raised them above my head. I tried to squirm, but then he kneed my stomach with force. He released my wrist and I fell to the ground, grasping my stomach. “All I want is you,” he said semi sweetly. “Get up!” he demanded. I didn’t respond, I was still dazed. “Okay then.” He spat, then took a handful of my hair and shoved me into his window. Pieces of broken glass shattered everywhere. That was it, I was out cold.

            It seemed like weeks when I woke up into a cold sweat. My face was still stained with fear and the look that Patrick had on his face was photo shopped in my head. Then I realized that Jess was on the edge of my bed. I jumped a little when I saw her. She must have heard me. “Are you okay?” she asked with a very serious look on her face. “Yeah.” My answer wasn’t good enough for Jess.  “You should go to the hospital.” “No!” I yelled, the shriek hurt my ears as those words brought back what happened earlier that night. “You should really thank that Patrick guy.” I gulped when I heard his name. “You got trampled at that honor party you were at, he took care of you and then brought you here.” Now it all came back. Every emotion I felt that night. That “honor” party was the worst night of my life, hands down. I couldn’t tell Jess what really happened. No one could know. “You need sleep.” Jess whispered. The bed creaked as Jess scampered out my room.

            The first day back. As I walked through Harrisburg High’s double doors, everyone stopped and stared. But this time, in greatness. A boy with spiked, blonde hair started a clap, in which everyone joined, yelled and went wild. I was popular. This is what I wanted. A girl by the name of Clara walked up to me and smiled. “Come have a smoke with us.” She said playfully. I went off with her and the rest of her group. “Eww, that’s what you’re wearing?” Clara asked. The spiked, blonde haired boy named Eric passed out the cigarettes. He lit mine with a smirk. “You don’t like my outfit?” I asked softly. Clara raised her eyebrows and rolled up my jean skirt until it was high above my knees, then rolled up my halter-top until my belly button was fully shown. “Much better.” After we finished the smoke we skipped out on class to go to the movies. That same thing happened for about two months. Meanwhile, Bonnie was ignoring me.

            My stomach had been bothering me for a long time. I got horrible cramps every night. At first, I thought it was the cigarettes but my conscious told me it was something worse. I’ve been eating like a pig and it felt like my stomach was growing bigger by day. I tried to forget about it. But two weeks later, I realized I missed my period. My conscious was right after all. I ran to the closest drug store in town to buy a pregnancy test. The cashier just stared at me for a while with curious eyes but scanned it. As soon as I got home I tried it out. Pregnant. I closed my eyes for a good minute then went to call Bonnie. I couldn’t trust anyone else but her. “Hello?” she said. “Hey, Bonnie. It’s Lauren.” “Oh hi.” She said not too happy. “Look I have to tell you something-“ “Why don’t you tell your new friends?” she snapped, cutting me off. “Because they aren’t my best friends, you are. Look, I know you’re mad at me and you have every right to be. But please listen to me for one second.” I begged. “Okay, what?” she said after a sigh. “I’m pregnant.” “What?!” she screamed in concern, I told Bonnie everything that happened the night of the party. She promised to be at my house in five minutes. As always, she didn’t disappoint. She held me in her arms for what seemed like a lifetime.

            I quit hanging out with Clara and her gang and went back to Bonnie. Now the whole school hated me again and I went back to being a loser. I didn’t care though, I had my moment of popularity. Patrick kept calling my phone. I was afraid to answer. I saw him everywhere I went, every store, and every restaurant. He was stalking me. Me and Bonnie were at the library one afternoon after school. All she had to do was return a book, so I just waited outside. Then I saw him viciously hop out of his car and head in my direction. I ran inside the library and hid behind a book cart by the main window, praying he didn’t see me. Then, I heard a tap, I peered up and it was him. He pointed his finger at me in a “Come here,” motion. I went to find Bonnie but I stopped myself. I couldn’t get her involved and worse get hurt. Instead I nervously went outside. “Hey, haven’t been answering my calls, huh?” he questioned with integrity. All I managed to get out was an “Uhh..” He grabbed me by my neck to pull me closer.  “I think we need to talk.” He said with an evil, devilish stretched across his face. I spit in his face and made a run for it. I had every back route memorized in the back of my head. I could trick him. I made it to Rosewood in a short matter of time. I ran into my house and locked every door and sealed every window. He’d come, I knew it. I sat on the couch and buried my face in the palms of my hands. Right when I was about to burst, I heard something slam on the front door. It made my heart pound out of my chest. The banging made the tears spring out of my eyes. They crawled down my face until I wiped them off with my rattling hand. It stopped. Then there was a horrible screech at the living room window. He was grinding his nails into the glass. I saw him grasp a rock from our flowerbed. He started smashing it against the window. I ran to my mother’s room to get the cordless phone. I almost tripped as I ran back. I dialed 911 while my hands were trembling with fear. “911, what’s your emergency?” a lady said. “Uh, yeah, someone’s trying to break into my house and hurt me” I slurred my words as I let out the truth. “What’s your address?” she asked patiently. “121 Rosewood Drive” “Okay listen, stay calm-“ I dropped the phone in terror. The rock was about to break the glass. I hid in the coat closet. In the back of my mind I knew he was close to getting in. I just sat there with my arms around my legs. Scared, helpless, alone. Right when I thought I was calmed, the closet door swung open. “Don’t hurt me!” I begged. “Everything’s alright, we got him,” the police officer said. I went out the front door to see Jess get out of her car. “What the –“ I ran to her and just blurted out everything with no hesitation, right then and there. Everything from the party, to the pregnancy, to the stalking. Her mad expression on her face turned to concern, which turned to love. I was not alone. After that day we decided to move with my father in Virginia.
            I might never forget what happened the night of the party, but I would never forget the day I realized I was not alone.

 

Reviews

[Here's What I Say]

Idiot question: what happened with the pregnancy? Just a curious one. Because in the scope of things, it doesn't matter; the story isn't about her teenage pregnancy; it's about the realization that her perceived isolation is just that: perceived. Not known. Not confirmed.

Everything that a teenager hates about their lives are rolled into one story. Family problems, peer pressure, abusive boyfriends, the need to be accepted...it's all here. And I thought the major threat was going to be the family; I realized something was very off about the boyfriend, but I didn't realize he was going to be the one to really make things spin out of control before things would get better. Turns out living in Rosewood wasn't the major problem but only a symbol of all the problems she had gone through. Moving to Virginia doesn't make everything ok; moving to Virginia is only a sign that she's ready to get her life in order. A moving piece. And damn I'm glad my teenage years were nothing like that.

[Gypsy_Moon]

Nice read you have penned here, expressed well....could real feel the emotions. Found it a joy to read. Look forward to reading more of your writes. Gypsy_Moon

[Sharpdeath]

WHOAH!
Amazing.

[Drew Wade]

Hi, just stopping by. Since you asked for reviews, I guess I'll throw my two cents in. When people are having a dialogue, each person saying something usually starts its own paragraph. I mean, you certainly can keep the whole conversation in one paragraph if you want, it's up to you, and it might be what you're going for conceptually, but it helps make things less confusing.

Nice being friends with you. Talk to you later.

[Scott Free]

Hmmm...seems to me like a well-thought out story. It really made me think, and that's a sign of real talent. But I know you wouldn't like it if I only said that, so I'll offer some advice.
Throughout the piece, there are some questions the reader will inevitably ask and you haven't quite answered those in this. The questions;
Why does Marie attack and harass Lauren? I could probably draw a conclusion for this myself, but it's not very apparent why she hates Lauren in this story...you might want to clear that up.
You also say that they all hate her...and I'm guessing that means her siblings. But Jess I'm sure doesn't hate her and Jason saves her from Marie, so I don't see how this makes sense other than with Marie. Is it just Lauren's mind saying that?
Also I ask why in the world Patrick is harassing Lauren and hurting her like this. It's like it comes from nowhere...we need to know a reason, and you haven't put down one little inkling of one.
But anyway, I did like it a lot...though it's a little depressing. The end was happy, of course, so that's good. Good job! Keep writing.

[Cherryblossom]

Your'e never alone, not even you're darkest hour. It just takes a while to realize it. This unfortunately is something that does happen, a lot. But that doesn't mean you have to keep it bottleled inside. This was a very unfortunate piece great job. and welcome to the cafe.