Him (Chris Sturniolo)

Thirteen

Madison Blake

My thoughts consisted of him and only him.

How can someone be so cruel?  How could someone look at me like I had to act as if I wasn't dirt on their shoe? The adrenaline that pumped through my body when I slammed the office door was crazy.

But the amount of disappointment afterwards was worse.

When I walked back to the apartment alone, I wanted to see the girls. But, nobody was there. They already went to the party without me.

And after suffering the degrading of Chris Sturniolo, I had no desire to go to a party full of guys like him.

I grabbed a glass of water, kicked off my shoes and headed to my room to sit on my bed.

I never felt insecure about the way I was brought up. I had no time to because I learned from a young age that I needed to grow up and learn how to swim before I drown.

I stared at the pictures of my grandparents on my wall.

They did the best they could and I'd be damned if anyone tried to belittle me for not being as rich as them. I had to go the public school, I had to sell candy and candles to go on school trips, and I didn't even have a car until I could afford one

I built who I was today. I prove my dad wrong everyday, and my Mom too. I always end up with the short stick and I was tired of it.

I lifted my feet up and lay on my bed, grabbing my phone and dialling my grandpa because they were the only people who understood my life.

"Hello?" My grandpa answered.

I cleared my throat. "Hi, grandpa"

"Hi, honey. How was your day? We watched the game, it was great"

"I'm good. I just wanted to hear your voice..." I felt the lump grow in my throat and my eyes started to well up.

"Turn that Tv down, sweetheart. Something is wrong with Madison" He yelled through the phone to my grandmother.

I laughed. "Nothing is wrong. I had a long day. It's hard being away from you guys"

"I know it's hard, but you deserve to have this and be carefree" My grandma spoke. "We miss you so much, but you just went back. You're an adult. You have so much of the world to conquer and it's your time to shine"

"I know. It's just hard. I went from being a loner in high school to being thrown into the world of fifty thousand students. How's Molly?"

Molly was my cat.

"When it gets hard, you need to keep pushing. Molly is good, the old girl got into my pasta sauce today" Grandpa said and we all laughed.

Suddenly my phone buzzed. "I'm getting another call. I love you both, thanks for cheering me up"

"We love you" they said and we hung up, pressing the accept button, answering the call from Olivia.

"Hello?" I spoke, and the loud music blasted through the speaker.

"Where are you?" Josh's voice ran through the phone.

"At the apartment. I didn't feel like coming"

"Okay, well get ready or I'm dragging you to the house. Don't hide away, I know how you are"

I laughed and he continued. "I mean it, Madison. I need my drinking partner"

"Okay! I'll be there in ten"

I threw back on my shoes and my jacket, and I swore I was off to that party I swore I wasn't going to. I wasn't going to let Chris interfere with me because I had to depend on him for a good grade.