Rebellion Project

by Sara Schoen

  I spent the day reading, relaxing, and I even started typing a story on my computer in the utter boredom of being home. It was better than being at school and under the scrutiny of my peers. It was nice being away from their nasty comments. When I thought about having to walk through the halls listening to their remarks I was thankful my mom had been so understanding.

  During my day off my phone had rang a few times, but I didn’t answer it. While my mom said she would be there for me if I needed her today, I knew it wasn’t my mother calling to check on me. Somehow Kayden had gotten my number, and had been trying to call me all day. He even tried to talk to me every day since as if talking to him in person would be more likely than over the phone. The first time he called he left a message saying that he’d gotten my number off of Parker’s phone in science class. I remember cursing Parker for letting him get my phone number before he said Parker didn’t know he got the number from her. He must have been looking every time she typed in the passcode to her phone so he could figure it out. To anyone on the outside, it might look like he cared about me, but honestly he couldn’t care less. He just didn’t want everyone in school to think he was a jerk for airing my family’s dirty laundry. He didn’t need to worry about that though, everyone in school thought he was fantastic. They would never turn on him, they would only turn on me for something I didn’t do.

  Every chance he got, he tried to explain that he thought everyone already knew. I never answered his phone calls, or responded to him when he found me in school, but I had turned to him once and told him he still shouldn’t have said it out loud. He agreed quickly and said that it wasn’t his business and he shouldn’t have gotten involved. I told him he was right, giving him a minute of hope that I had forgiven him, but then I added it wasn’t his business and he should have stayed out of it.

  I’d walked away without another word.

  Since then he’d given up contacting me, but I knew he’d eventually try again. Guys like Kayden couldn’t have a blemish on their reputation. He would try to make it up to me, but it would be impossible. There was nothing he had that I needed. I would never forgive him, and if I never saw him again I would be happy. I just wish I knew why he had chosen me to pick on. He could have chosen anyone else to make their life a living hell. What made me so special?

  I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts, trying to focus on the lesson my math teacher was teaching, but I couldn’t focus. I knew Kayden would try to apologize again. I was sick of thinking about Kayden and his stupid mistake, as he called it, I knew he did it on purpose. I wanted to move on, and move past high school. I prayed the rest of the year would go by quickly so I could leave them all behind and go to college. Parker slammed her math textbook shut and stood up to leave. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was later than when she normally left class. I guess she let me stay lost in my memories for a while, which I was thankful for and at the same time I wish she had snapped me out of it sooner. I had to make dinner tonight.

  “I’m going to head home now. Try to have a good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow for school. Don’t forget to pick me up tomorrow,” she teased with a light smile. We had agreed that I give her a ride tomorrow while her car was in the shop. Her automatic steering had gone out. Honestly, this was the least I could do since she took me home the day Kayden blurted out my family drama.

  “I won’t forget, I promise,” I said, leading her to the door. “I’ll be there at seven sharp so don’t be late.” I pointed my finger at her perfectly done hair and makeup, knowing that took at least an hour to do every morning. Who had that kind of time?

  “I can’t promise I’ll be ready at exactly seven. It takes time to look this perfect,” she said as she waved good bye, and then shut the door behind her.

  I instinctively locked it and went to make dinner for my mom and me. She told me she was going to be late because she had to complete a few things at the office before she could come home. I offered to cook so she didn’t have to worry about rushing home and having to make dinner after a long day of work. It was strange having the freedom to make dinner for us, and be trusted not to burn the house down in the process.

  After dinner was finished cooking I was sure Mom would come home soon, but I waited for her for three hours. I even set the table in anticipation for her return, but she never came. She was normally home by now even if she was running a little bit late. Anything longer than an hour and she would normally call to let me know she was okay. Needless to say, I was getting worried.

  My nerves were on edge. I called her phone multiple times, and each time I was sent to voicemail after letting the phone ring repeatedly. She never answered no matter how many times I called. Something was wrong, I could feel it, but I hoped I was wrong. I didn’t want anything to be wrong with her, but why else would she be late? Could there be traffic? Wouldn’t she answer her phone if it was just traffic? I was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, trying to get in touch with her, when a knock sounded loudly on the door causing me to jump.

  “Mom?” I asked as I took tentative steps toward the door. I wasn’t supposed to answer the door when nobody else was home, but what if Mom just needed my help with something? She should have her key though. Wouldn’t she just come in and ask me to help her?

  “Are you Lauren Scott, daughter of Karen Scott?” a deep male voice asked through the door.

  “Yes, sir. What can I help you with?” I asked as I stood on my tiptoes to look through the peephole. I saw two uniformed officers on the other side of the door looking at me as if they could see me through the door.

  “We have to wait for your father to come, but we some bad news.”

  I fell flat footed and opened the door cautiously as I saw their expression turn grim. There was a sudden pressure in my chest as I started to connect the dots. Something had gone wrong. Why else would police be at my door? I glanced between the two of them, a skinny tall tanned officer and his rotund pale partner.

  “What happened? Please tell me what happened.” They looked at me and then to each other as if to ask who had the unfortunate luck to tell me the news. Thankfully for them, my father pulled into the driveway at that moment and rushed to me.

  “Lauren, I’m so sorry,” he cried as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “Dad, what happened? They didn’t tell me anything.”

  “She’s gone, Lauren. She’s gone.” His words were difficult to understand through his tears, but I understood the gist of it once he said gone.

  Gone.

  She’s gone.

  Tears sprang to my eyes as my chest heaved and my lungs fought for a full breath. I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. I couldn’t breathe, my heart felt as though it was being crushed, and I couldn’t fight back the tears. My mom was gone just like that. I felt as though a part of me had been taken with her.

  I hugged my father back and cried on his chest. How could she be gone? I had just seen her this morning, and in a snap she had been taken from me. Tears rushed down my cheeks as the information sank in, staining my dad’s shirt. I’d never see her again.

  Chapter 7

  No Going Back

  I sat in the lawyer’s office with my dad for an hour while waiting for the attorney to show up and read my mom’s will and testament. It was tense since my father and I were reunited a few nights ago. I unwillingly moved back into our old house, and since then we hadn’t spoken much to each other. What could we say? Nothing would bring her back or make us feel anything other than loss and despair. We couldn’t make each other feel better so we chose not to say anything at all. We didn’t even say hello when we saw each other in the mornings. He didn’t go to work and I didn’t go to school. It was very awkward, and I had a feeling this meeting wasn’t going to make it any easier for us.

  When the attorney finally showed up, he didn’t say anything to my father or me until he had the will in his hands. To me it looked like it pained him to actually be at this meeting. It may have
been a Sunday, but he still had work, he should know that death didn’t respect normal work hours. It didn’t even respect age. Tears welled up in my eyes as the time my mom should have had hit me once again. I should have had at least twenty more years with her by my side. Now I’d never be able to hear her say she loved me again. I cried slightly as the attorney began reading.

  “I, Karen Scott, being in sound mind and body, declare this to be my last will and testament,” Mr. Caldwell stated as he read over the document in a monotone voice.

  I could see my dad sitting in the chair. He looked as if he would rather be anywhere but here. He had recently learned that my mother had filed for divorce months before I had caught him cheating. She apparently had seen the woman once before and told her to get out of their lives. I guess the woman thought she was joking, and if Dad heard it he didn’t take the threat to heart either. He just got sneakier, and a few months later he did it again. Sometimes I wondered if he actually missed her, or if he was relived she was gone.

  He was forced to sign the papers out of shame. I didn’t know exactly how she got him to sign them, but she did, and thanks to her need for control she had filed early, allowing enough time for the initial petition to be filed and for my father to mess up again, and then served my father soon after we left the house. I guess it came in handy to be a little pushy, but we both had to be here for the reading, although my father was agitated because he didn’t want to be here in the first place. He probably had to meet up with the home wrecker. My anger flared, wrestling with the sheer depression I had felt the last few days. It made me feel alive, awake, but my tears dimmed the fire quickly each time.

  “I devise, bequeath, and give all my possessions to my daughter, Lauren Scott. I also give her all the settlements from my recent divorce, so that she may live the life she pleases,” he stated as the attorney looked above the paper to look me in the eyes. “You must be Lauren. I’ve been waiting to meet you, but I hoped it would be under better circumstances. My condolences.”

  “Thank you,” I said awkwardly, as I felt my father’s eyes on me.

  “Well, I’m sorry for the circumstances, but you now own your mother’s possessions. Well, once you turn eighteen. For now it will stay with your grandmother, Lottie, and then they will be given to you on your eighteenth birthday.”

  “Karen can’t do that. Lauren is a minor! She has no idea what to do with any of the stuff left to her. She can’t have the house or the car―”

  “Sir, according to your wife’s will, this is what she wanted. Your mother-in-law will control everything until Lauren is old enough. I would appreciate it if you did not have another outburst like that again,” Mr. Caldwell said with a short eye roll as he picked up a manila envelope from his desk and turned back to me. “As your grandmother is in a nursing home, I will be handling the sale of your mother’s estate, and will send your grandmother a check as soon as the sale closes, which will go into your account as she sees fit.”

  “She doesn’t even have her own bank account!” my father cried as the attorney tried to hand me the envelope.

  “Actually she does. In that packet I provided you with, Lauren, there is an account number. Go to the bank, tell them the number, and they will unfreeze the funds your mother has already put into the account. You will also find a debit card, which will act as your connection to the account. They will provide you with deposit slips and everything you need once you open it. Everything has already been worked out for you.”

  “Wow, th-that’s so much,” I stuttered, completely taken off guard by what my mom had done for me without knowing how soon her work would come in handy.

  “It is. I guess I won’t have to pay for you to go to college now,” my father remarked as he leaned back in the chair, clearly offended by the turn of events.

  “It is a lot, and her only stipulation to the will is that you remain with your father while you finish school. He is also in a legal contract to take care of you, which includes college and housing prior to then,” the attorney growled as he glared at my father. “If he gives you any trouble, please contact me. His lawyer and I have an understanding and I will make sure you are cared for through college.” He handed me his card and motioned for us to leave. My father took the order to heart and raced out of the room while I lingered for a few more moments, staring at the card and trying to process everything he just said.

  “Thank you.” I hesitated as I glanced at the card in my hands. I’d have to keep it with me just in case. “It was a pleasure to meet you today,” I said politely before I exited the office.

  “Lauren,” Mr. Caldwell said, stopping me at the door. “If your father gives you any trouble about what’s legally yours, please call me.”

  “I will,” I promised again before I went to meet my father outside. I could hear him grumbling to himself as I approached, but he quickly stopped once he saw me. He didn’t say a word as he got up to lead me out of the office.

  The walk was painfully silent as my father vented to himself about what occurred in the attorney’s office. I slid into the car as he muttered to himself. He was acting as if I wasn’t in the car while he complained that he had been weaseled out of everything. He was asking how I could be the sole benefactor and how was it legal. He was acting as if she planned this.

  Didn’t he listen when the police told us that she was in a head-on collision with an eighteen-wheeler truck? It had been raining and the truck lost traction on the road. It started to spin as the tires hydroplaned and the driver could no longer control it. Mom tried to dodge him as he crossed over into her lane, but she couldn’t. The sudden turn had caused her car to flip over. The truck slammed into her car, and she was killed in the collision.

  “She takes you away from me, and for what? To get killed in an accident two months later?” he cried out, breaking me from my trance as we pulled into the driveway.

  “Dad, just stop! She’s dead. She did this for me, not to spite you,” I screamed as I turned in my seat to face him, tears in my eyes from frustration and grief. I felt the fire burning in me once again, and this time I wouldn’t let my tears wash it away. I’d stand up for us both now. “Just shut up! I’m sick of hearing you bad mouth Mom because she gave everything to me. You cheated on her and hid it from us. I’m sick of hearing you complain. You don’t get to do that after what you did to us.”

  “You can’t speak to me that way, young lady,” my father stated as he locked the car doors so I couldn’t get out.

  “I’m only here because Mom wants me to be, not because I want to be. She’s gone, and you don’t get to ruin her memory. You can’t take back what you did, and you’re not even sorry about it. I don’t care what you say, or what you complain about, because it’s falling on deaf ears. You don’t control me anymore,” I replied, letting my words drip with venom as I disengaged the door’s lock and got out of the car. I made sure to slam the door behind me and make a show of walking away. He had lost the obedient girl, the one who followed every order he gave. He didn’t deserve her, and he wouldn’t get her back.

  I could hear my father screaming at me as I walked into the house and headed for my room. I knew eventually my grief would win over my anger again and I’d crumple. The sadness always won and if I didn’t have my anger to encourage me to fight, then there wasn’t a good reason to stay and argue. At least not until I saw a female figure sitting at our kitchen table. I stopped dead in my tracks as I recognized the tanned female from my parents’ bedroom. My anger flared again, stronger than before, and took over my body. Without any hesitation, I walked up to her and just stared at her until she realized I was standing there.

  “Hello, Lauren, it’s good to see you again. I’m sorry to hear about your mother, it’s simply tragic,” she said with a sullen tone as she looked into her tea, but never at me.

  “I’m sure you are, since you broke up this family anyway, and now you have the audacity to sit in this kitchen like you live here. Why are you here, anyway? I don�
��t want you here, and you shouldn’t want to be here.”

  “Lauren!” Dad yelled as he walked into the house. I guess he didn’t like how I talked to his girlfriend, but I didn’t stop.

  “You’re the reason we left. You’re the reason Mom had to take a different way home from work, and as far as I’m concerned,” I paused as I leaned into her. With each word I had gotten closer and closer to her, but she didn’t flinch until I finished speaking. “You’re the reason she’s dead.”

  “Lauren Elizabeth Scott!” Dad shouted as I straightened up and glared daggers at his lover. If she had the courage to look at me, then she’d never willingly come into this house again. She shouldn’t even be here now, but I’m sure Dad had been letting her shack up here while Mom and I were gone. “Go to your room!”

  “Fine, but don’t be mad at me when she leaves you too. It’s not my fault you can’t be faithful,” I responded with a deadpan expression as I walked past him. I felt proud as I left them both staring after me in disbelief as I walked upstairs. I knew Dad would come upstairs to order me to bed, but I had a phone call to make before I did. I had a plan, but I needed help and I could think of only one person who would be willing to help me through this. I just hoped Parker was up for what I needed to have done.

  I sat on my bed and typed in the passcode for my phone. Once open, I scrolled through the contacts. There weren’t many, as I didn’t have many friends, but the one friend I needed would always be there for me. I felt a power rush over me as I replayed what just happened in my head. I took control and I wasn’t going to let it slip away. I dialed the all too familiar number and waited patiently until Parker answered the phone.