Something There

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Setting the bags down on the ground by her feet, my mother turns around to slam the door shut before spinning around to look at Bryce and I.

I feel Bryce's palm drop from my waist and I let our hands slip apart, taking a hurried step away from him.

"Why aren't you two at school? And what is going on here? I shouldn't come home from work to find my daughter getting touchy with some boy!" she snaps, her eyes wide and topped with a sharp wing of jet black eyeliner.

I'm unsure of how to respond, wishing I could have just let Bryce go home when he had planned to, but Bryce is brave enough to interject straight away.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Brooks. It was my idea. Please don't blame Lexi," he says defensively and I turn back to look at him.

I give him a thankful smile, but then when I see my mother's expression, I know exactly what she's focused on.

Bryce's tattoos.

"Does your father know that you've ruined your body like that?" she spits, her eyes scanning Bryce's arm.

I notice his jaw tense in response, and he takes a heavy breath before responding.

"Yes, ma'am, he does know," he responds calmly, holding his ground.

My mother looks surprised that he's remained so collected even though she's being so unreasonably judgmental towards him.

I step in front of Bryce, wedging myself in between the two of them before she says something else nasty towards him.

"He's not just 'some boy', mother," I say quietly, and her jaw drops open a little.

"Oh, you've gotten yourself a boyfriend, I see. Of course you have. You're never satisfied with yourself. You always need more attention. Have you considered that perhaps if you changed the way you dressed you wouldn't get yourself in those unfortunate situations?" she asks, and all I see is fire.

She's instilled a new rage within me, and it sets of something that I didn't know I even had inside.

"Really? You're going to blame me for what happened? Those people are sick and are going to rot in hell. It's not my fault at all. And believe me; I've blamed myself for what happened for far too long. But I finally realized something, mother," I start, taking a fierce step towards her.

Her eyes have narrowed to thin slits, and her hands are on her hips.

"I've realized that there is always going to be another girl out there wearing less clothes than me. There will always be another girl who's in a more vulnerable situation than me, whether it be because she's alone or because she's drunk. So I've finally figured that there's no point in telling myself off, because if all I do is protect myself, another girl falls in the line of danger. That doesn't seem fair, does it?" I ask, and I recognize the way my mother's lower lip is quivering.

Breathing deeply, I finish my thought. "I've come to terms that I'm not the problem. Instead we should be focusing on stopping the predators, not forcing girls to live differently."

My mother is staring at me intently, and that's when I catch the faintest sign of tears beginning to develop in her eyes.

Oh no. Did I take it too far? I just felt like I finally had the courage to tell my truth. After so much time spent living in denial, ignoring the fact that my life almost changed so drastically and certainly for the worse, I just finally had built up the courage.

I'm so damn proud of myself for finally putting my feelings into words, and when I feel Bryce's hand reach for mine I know that no matter what, he'll always have my back when it comes to these things.