chapter 2

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CHAPTER 2

            By the time I got home, the storm had seceded and the sun was coming back out for the remainder of the evening. I barged through the carved mahogany front door of the house that I have lived in all of my life, and bounded up the stairs. I stripped out of my graduation dress, a high priced number hand made in New York, that my father insisted upon, and let it fall to the floor in a pile. It was just the start of my rebellion. I rummaged through my closet and found a pair of faded, ripped up American Eagle jeans and slipped them on, along with a plain white camisole and a pink racerback tank top, slipped on my brown Rainbow flip-flops and called it good enough. I was walking to my en suite bathroom when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I didn’t even know anyone was here.

            “Come in.”

            “Hey baby, how was graduation?” my father, Charles Robinson said, coming in the room.

            “You’d know if you had shown up,” I said, looking at the floor, refusing to look him in the eye.

            “I tried, baby, I did. I got in about an hour ago and saw that it would have already been over with.”

            “Dad, you have known about graduation for months. You could have scheduled to be here earlier.”

            “We had an important vote today and I couldn’t miss it.”

            “It’s called an absentee vote, DAD!” I shouted, and picked up my waiting suitcases, make-up and toiletry bag and started for the door. I was finished trying to talk to him. It seemed like being in the Senate was more important than being a daddy to me.

            “Just where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

            “Over to Hil’s.”

            “With all of that?”

            “Yes. I’m leaving for Mobile in the morning.”

            “Why so soon? I thought you’d want to spend your last summer before college at home?”

            “Why? So I can come home to an empty house every day and every night? I think not. I’m done. I’m leaving Cary and I probably won’t be back, ever.”

            “Harleigh Caroline, if you walk out that door right now, you will never see another dime from me. Your college won’t be paid for and you will be flat on your a*s in a town you don’t know and you will be begging to come back home.”

            “Screw. You,” I said through clenched teeth and ran down the stairs and back out the front door.

I got into the black Chevrolet Z-71 Tahoe that my grandparents gave me as my sixteenth birthday present, and left, speeding down the road to Hillary’s house. By the time I got there I was crying hysterically.

            I walked in to see Madison and Hillary eating Arby’s at the coffee table. Their jaws dropped when they saw me come through the door.

            “What happened, Harleigh?” Madison asked.

            “I got into it with my dad. I jumped his a*s about missing graduation and he fed me his infamous ‘I had an important vote’ line and I just lost it and told him I was leaving for Alabama tomorrow and he cut me off. He’s not paying for my college, either. Good thing I got that scholarship that I didn’t tell him about,” I said, looking in the brown paper sack for my sandwich and fries.

            “Are you alright? Do I have to go over there and kick him in the balls?” Hillary asked with a straight face.

            “No, Hil, I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said, laughing. Hillary cussed like a sailor, drank the guys under the table, and always knows what to say to make me feel better when I’m down. I love this girl and will miss her dearly.

            We finished our food and went upstairs to Hillary’s room to get ready for the party.

            “How about a pre-party beer?” Hillary asked, opening up the mini fridge she had sitting in her room.

            “Sure,” Madison and I said in unison. Hillary tossed us each a can of Miller Lite and cracked one open for herself.

            “Bottoms up!” she said, and chugged most of her beer in one sitting. She always was the rebel.

            “My hair is a wreck and I don’t have time to wash it. Up it goes, I guess. That’s how it’ll end up anyway,” I said, standing in front of Hillary’s full-length mirror. I flipped my head down and pulled my long, brown hair up into a messy bun on top of my head. I already had a good tan, so I only put on a little bit of eye liner and mascara and it made my green eyes pop. I sprayed my favorite perfume, Clinique Happy, and was ready. I flopped down on the bed and finished my beer, waiting on Hillary and Madison to finish getting ready.

            “Who is going to drive us?” I asked, knowing we would be drinking quite a bit tonight.

            “My dad. He is going to take us and he told me to call him, no matter what time, to come and pick us up,” Hillary said, looking in the mirror, turning from side to side.

            “He’s here?” I asked. “I didn’t see him.”

            “He’s down in the ‘man cave’.  Do I look okay?” Hillary asked, knowing damn good and well she looked better than okay. She had on short white shorts, showing off her long tanned legs, a hot pink camisole underneath a black, off-the-shoulder t-shirt. Her long blonde hair was flowing and pin straight, her bright blue eyes shining with excitement. She was gorgeous and didn’t have an ounce of make-up on.

            “You look great, Hil,” I said. “You always do.”

            “Thank you, Harleigh, you look pretty hot, too!” Hillary said. “I wish Maddie would hurry up and get her a*s out of the bathroom. I am ready to go.”

            “I’m coming!” Madison said, walking into the bedroom. Her curly red hair was piled up on her head, with little tendrils falling here and there, her ice blue eyes had just a touch of mascara on them and she looked cute and comfy in an ankle length aqua blue sundress, her fair skin glowing from what little tan her body can muster, left over from pre-prom tanning sessions.

            “I love that dress!” I said. “I would say I want to borrow it, but who knows when I will be back up here after tonight.”

            “Don’t remind me,” Madison said. “Are you sure you have to leave in the morning? This summer is going to be epic!”

            “I’m sure. I have to get away from here and start my life, out from the shadows of my father. I’m done. Y’all can come visit me and I will visit y’all at ECU. But for now, let’s just go and enjoy our graduation night,” I said, smiling.

            We ran downstairs and Hillary hollered down the basement to her dad, and we went out and waited in his car.

            “I’m so proud of you girls,” Joe Sanders said, backing out of the driveway. “It seems like just yesterday you were little girls in pigtails and now you’re all grown up and getting ready to fly off into the world.”

            “Daddy…”Hillary said, rolling her eyes.

            “I know, I know, I’m not supposed to do this,” Joe said, holding up his hands in defeat. “I’m just supposed to be the driver tonight.”

            “Thank you, daddy,” Hillary said, leaning forward from the backseat and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

            Joe drove us the ten minutes down the road to Colt Black’s family farmland and stopped just outside the gate.

            “Call when you are ready to go and I will come and get you. Have a good night, girls!”

            “We will!” we said as we got out of the car and ran up and opened the gate. We could already hear our classmates laughing and shouting, music blaring and see smoke from the bonfire. It was going to be a very good night. In the words of Madison, it was going to be epic. 

Reviews

[Justin]

another awesome chapter, everything is falling into place nice and neat!!!! :) :) :)

[Tabitha Easling Blanks]

thank you, Justin!

[Justin]

your welcome tabitha!!! so far the books is really good, it something young girls can relate too!!!