Chapter 115

It’s Wednesday 27th February meaning it’s exactly a month today since I’ve been grounded, and yes, I have been counting down. Originally it was 2 weeks but after being caught sneaking out of my room to see Jack, they changed it to a month.

I haven’t even bothered talking to them. I’ve just been in my room drawing and watching telly to pass time, going downstairs every once in a while for food and some more paper to draw on. On the plus side, my drawing skills have improved a lot. I’ve also been doing daily work outs meaning my body’s in much better shape than it was a month ago. It wasn’t bad last month but I certainly wasn’t fit. I doubt I’ll be keeping up this ‘fit’ lifestyle though. I only did it because I was desperate for entertainment.

My parents work till 9pm every night except on Saturday’s and Sunday’s, meaning I could go out without them finding out, but I just can’t be bothered. No one’s in the mood for going out anymore. I still FaceTime Eleanor, Jack and some of the group every now and then to pass a bit of time though. Eleanor calls me every now and then with a new piece of advice she’s found on Twitter which doesn’t usually help me but it’s nice to know she cares.

And as for Conor, he’s still meeting up with Zac. We don’t even make eye contact in school anymore. Well, if he’s passing me I’ll quickly glance at him but we’re still not talking. I’m still not over him. I still cry because of everything that’s happened between us but I’m used to it now. I just feel numb to the pain. He doesn’t even walk to and from school with us anymore. He’s late every morning for school for some unknown reason, and he meets up with Zac as soon as school finishes rather than walking home with us.

Jack tells me that Conor does stay at his own house every night except weekends. Conor still talks to Anna and his Mum every now and then but Angela’s still upset with him. Anna doesn’t really know what’s going on. Jack and Conor still aren’t talking and if they do, it’s just another explosive argument. Everything’s just stopped. Alex is the only person that still talks to Conor. They meet up every now and then after school but Zac’s never with them when they do. Alex hates Zac but isn’t going to stop seeing Conor just because Conor and Zac are mates again. Jack also told me that Conor’s uploaded 2 more covers onto YouTube but I just don’t want to watch them to be honest. I’m surprised he’s actually still doing them to be honest. I’m happy he is. He shouldn’t let his voice go to waste.

Anyway... I got my phone back after a week because they knew how upset I was about the situation with Conor, so Dad thought it was best that I should at least get to call Eleanor. Mum didn’t fully agree with it because I’d get to see my friends at school but Dad somehow persuaded her which is why I don’t hate Dad as much as I hate Mum. I don’t hate them, I just dislike what they’re doing. I understand that Mum was just caring about me when she was trying to call me at Jack’s, and I might have taken things a bit too far but everything was just piling up which is why I took my anger out on her.

I’m assuming Mum and Dad get the day off work today seeing as they were at home when I came back from school. I haven’t asked them about it but they’ve either had the day off or they finished early.

When I was walking back from school with Jack and Lois earlier, Jack said I should go round to his seeing as I don’t have to stay locked up in my room anymore so that’s exactly what I’m going to do after I’ve called Eleanor. We talk almost every day which I love. I almost packed my bags and got the train to go and live with Eleanor for a week but school got in the way and I’m coming up to my final exams now so I need to get as much school time as possible, which is why I’m trying to not let the Conor situation get in the way too much. I mean, exams are in May.

“Hey Lucy. How’s it going?” Eleanor answers the phone, enthusiastic as always.

“We’re getting there” I laugh as I change out of my school shirt and throw on a plain black top.

“At least you’re ungrounded now” she remembers.

“Finally” I sigh. “I’m going to Jack’s house in a bit”

“Oh good” she says. “Well, I found some more advice on Twitter for you”

“Oh God. Go on” I chuckle.

“Eating a banana while suffering from depression can relieve emotional stress by over eighty percent” she tells me. I can tell she’s reading from the screen. There’s no way she can remember that.

“Eleanor, I’m not depressed!” I gasp.

“Of course you aren’t” she says monotonously. I roll my eyes, hanging up my skirt and pulling out some black jeans from my wardrobe. I’m guessing I’m going all black today. “Anyway, how are you feeling?”

“My life’s about a five out of ten at the moment” I tell her truthfully.

“Well considering last month you were a one, we’re getting there” she teases, making me laugh. “Hang on, I have more advice. Get your snorkel on because this one’s going to be deep”

“Okay” I chuckle. I’ve been receiving all sorts of advice pictures from Twitter that she’s sent me over text.

“It’s okay. It’s okay to want someone you can’t have. It’s okay to want something more. It’s okay to cry when you’re hurt, and it’s okay to stay mad at someone who hurt you. Believe it or not, it’s always going to be okay. That’s just how it works. Sometimes things don’t work out how you want them to, and most of the time, it seems like they never will. But eventually, everything is going to iron out some way or another. You just have to believe, keep your faith, and move on” she reads out.

“Deep” I frown.

“I told ya”

I think that’s one of the best advice quote things that she’s sent me. It actually related to the situation I’m in.

“Can you send me that over text? I’ve forgotten it” I lie. I just want to read it again.

“Yeah, I will when we come off the phone”

“Thanks” I smile slightly.

“When are you going to Jack’s anyway?” she asks. I place my phone on the table and put her on speaker so I can pull up my jeans.

“When we come off the phone, I guess” I tell her, pulling my jeans over my butt and fastening them.

“Oh right. Well I’ll leave you to it” she says, a smile to her voice.

“Okay, thanks for your advice” I chuckle, walking over to my phone.

“Anytime! Send Jack my love” she teases.

I tut, “Get gone”

She laughs, “Bye. And remember, it’s okay”

“Bye!” I laugh, ending the call. I put my phone in my jeans pocket and throw on my leather jacket. I quickly put on my converse and text Jack saying I’m on my way before running downstairs and heading to the front door.

“Lucy?” I hear Mum call. Here we go... I stay silent and wait for her to come and see me. “Come here” she says questioningly. I roll my eyes and walk into the living room where her and Dad are sat watching telly on the sofa.

“Yes?” I snap.

“Where are you going?” she frowns, pausing her TV show.

“To Jack’s house” I nod.

“But you’re grounded” she looks at me as if I’m stupid.

“But it’s exactly a month today since you grounded me” I give her the same look as she just gave me. I glance over at Dad to see him smiling at me as if he’s finding it interesting that I’ve kept up to date with all this. I smirk slightly before looking back at my Mum who’s shocked into silence. “Can I go now?” I frown at her.

“Um, yeah go on then” she nods hesitantly. Today also means I get my laptop back which I’m excited for. It’s a good day.

I head out of the door and make my way to Jack’s house where I’m greeted with the enthusiastic smile he always gives me whenever I come round. It feels weird being here after a month.

“Lucy!” he says once he’s swung the door open. He pulls me into a hug and leads me into his house. “How are you?”

“Yeah, I’m good” I nod, following him up to his room. “And you?”

He shrugs, “Yeah”

“Good” I smile weakly, sitting on his bed.

“Are you alright?” he frowns, concerned about my behaviour. Coming here’s just made me miss Conor more.

“I miss him” I shrug, looking to the floor.

“Lucy” he sighs, sitting next to me and pulling me in for a hug. A tear rolls down my cheek so I quickly wipe it away. “Why?”

“I don’t know, just being here’s brought back memories and stuff” I sniffle, failing to hold in my tears. Jack pulls away from the hug and wipes away my tears.

“Like what?” he smirks.

“Like when me and you were watching Paranormal Activity and he came in screaming about a spider” I chuckle slightly making Jack roll his head back in laughter.

“Good times” he smiles. “But you need to move on because you’re just hurting yourself by holding on”

“I know, but I can’t. Literally all I think about is him. Everything reminds me of him” I moan.

“It’s going to be hard to get over him, I get that. Just think about now though, Lucy. He’s such a dickhead” he frowns, shaking his head. I nod in slight agreement although I know the only reason he’s a dickhead is because he’s with Zac. If Zac wasn’t with him, I bet he’d still just be the same old Conor. “Lucy, you deserve a guy who’s good and who doesn’t lie to you. And you should never settle for less than that”

“Thanks, Jack” I smile slightly. “I just want the old Conor back”

“We all do” he huffs, pulling me in for another hug. “Now how about we have loads of ice cream and pizza?” he smiles widely when we pull away. We only order pizza when we can’t be bothered waiting for a decent Chinese takeaway to deliver. The pizza guy’s well quick on his deliveries.

“Hell yeah” my eyes light up. My mood changes almost instantly and I shoot up from the bed making Jack burst out laughing.

Whilst Jack orders pizza on the phone, my phone buzzes in my pocket and from previous experience, I’ve learnt to answer my phone whenever it buzzes and not ignore it.

From - Eleanor: Someone who truly loves you, sees what a mess you can be, how moody you can get, and how hard you can be to handle, but still wants you

To - Eleanor: is this supposed to be advice?

From - Eleanor: No, just something deep I thought you might like

To - Eleanor: I don’t like

From - Eleanor: Okay:(( You better have sent Jack my love

To - Eleanor: I have, calm down

“Eleanor told me to send you her love” I tell Jack before I forget. The pizza guy’s left him on hold for a couple of seconds so I grab the opportunity whilst I can.

“Aw, my baby” he coos before the pizza guy comes back on the phone and Jack goes all serious and manly.

From - Eleanor: good :D

I slip my phone back in my jeans pocket when Jack comes off the phone.

“Half an hour” he tells me so I nod.

It gets to 8:30pm and I decide it’s time to go home. My stomach hurts from eating so much junk food and from laughing too hard in the past four hours. Jack’s definitely cheered me up again but I’m worried that as soon as I get home, I’m going to be miserable again.

“If you’re upset when you get home, call me or something. Don’t take it out on your parents again” he warns me, making me chuckle slightly.

“I won’t” I roll my eyes.

“You can stay at mine this weekend if you like” he shrugs and I nod enthusiastically. He mirrors my action making me burst into fits of laughter.

“Please stop making me laugh. My stomach hurts so bad” I moan, making him laugh harder. “I’m going before you set me off again” I wave, holding my stomach and walking down his path.

“See you later” he laughs. I turn around and chuckle slightly before walking home.

As soon as I get inside, I sit down on the stairs and untie my shoes as an excuse to sit down as soon as possible. My knees feel weak.

“Lucy?” Dad calls me into the living room. I drag myself up from my place on the stairs and follow his voice. They’re in the same place I left them. My eyes immediately turn to the hideous plant sat on the table. It looks dead.

“Have you been nicking plants from people’s gardens or something” I frown in general confusion.

“Don’t be so immature, Lucy” Mum frowns, genuinely looking offended. I almost smile at the looks she’s giving me.

“Bit of grave robbing then?” I smirk, proud of my comeback.

“Your spaghetti’s in the pan” she huffs.

“We ordered pizza at Jack’s” I say monotonously.

“Well you could’ve told me before I made you something” she frowns, annoyed at me for ‘wasting her food’. I look at my Dad who’s just giving me a look as if to say ‘ignore her’. I look back to my Mum and storm upstairs before I explode. Not from the serious amount of food I’ve eaten, but from anger. Maybe I’m overreacting but there’s no need to snap at me like that for not telling her I was eating elsewhere.

I slam my bedroom door and just sit on my bed, immediately pulling my phone out to call Jack until I notice my laptop’s back in my room. I smile slightly before sitting at my desk and turning it on.

“Lucy” Dad says from behind me, making me jump slightly. I don’t turn around. He might be being nice to me but if it wasn’t for him, Conor and I would still be together. “Lucy” he snaps.

“What?” I say monotonously.

“Can we talk?” he asks, closing my bedroom door.

“Do I have a choice?” I frown, still not turning around.

“Yeah”

“Then no, we can’t talk” I lean my elbow on the table and rest my head in my hand, waiting for my computer to start up.

“You need to lose your attitude, Lucy. I’m your Dad” he snaps so I roll my eyes and swing around to face him on my chair. I give him a bored look and wait for him to lecture me again.

“What do you need to talk to me about then?” I ask when he doesn’t speak.

“The way you’re speaking to your Mum. It’s unfair. She’s trying to make effort with you and you’re just throwing it back in her face” he frowns, disappointed in my actions.

“Let me remind you that if it wasn’t for her, I’d still be with Conor” I huff. “The only reason I’m speaking to you is because you’re not being strict with me. Mum’s taking it way too far”

“No, you’re taking it way too far. Whatever theory you have that your Mum and I have split you up with Conor is one, pathetic, and two, something you need to talk about with us. You can’t keep storming up to your bedroom and not talking to us about things. It’s only going to make us angrier with you, and it’ll make you more miserable” he snaps, making me stunned to silence. “Look, I’m guessing you’ve sorted things out with Jack seeing as you went round to his house, so why can’t you have the decency to talk to us? You can’t expect people to always make the effort with you, especially when they don’t know what they’ve done wrong”

“Yeah” I simply say. I don’t really know what to say to be honest. The thought of making up with my Mum scares me slightly seeing as I’ve not had a proper conversation with her for a month now.

“I think you should get an early night’s sleep and we’ll talk tomorrow” he sighs and I nod.

“I’ll be asleep be time you get home. Don’t expect me to stay up for something I don’t even want to do” I shrug, pushing it slightly.

“Well it’s your lucky day because your Mum and I have the rest of the week off now” he smirks slightly.

“Why?” I frown in curiosity.

“Our office is moving to another department so some of us have nowhere to work until Monday” he explains. I swear this has happened before.

“Oh right” I nod, turning to face the window.

“Well we’ll talk when you come back from school but I want you to think about your decisions. Okay?” he says sternly so I just nod, still facing the window.

As soon as I hear the door shut, I turn back to my laptop that’s now booted up, and log into practically every social media sight, watching all the YouTube video’s I’m subscribed to that I struggled watching on my phone, and avoiding Conor’s two videos.