3 LEXIE

3 LEXIE

The moment I park in front of the house, I can hear the yelling.

It's louder than the sound of my music.

It's louder than the sound of my own thoughts.

I take a deep breath before turning my car off and getting out.

As I near the front door, the screaming begins to pierce my ears.

“Im going to be late for work now because of you, you fucking bitch!” Jeremy Coyle, my moms sleazy boyfriend, screams at her.

Fuck, i thought he would be gone by now. 

He's usually gone by two o’clock. 

My graduation had ended at one, but I had gone to the graveyard afterwards to visit my fathers grave.

His name is, or was, Jorge Velez. He was the most important person to me, the only one who never let me down. If he hadn't died four years ago, he would have been at my graduation.

He would have cheered me on as I walked across the stage.

I wanted to avoid seeing Jeremy, so I had stayed at the graveyard for an hour and a half. 

Ever since I turned eighteen in May, Jeremy has made several advances towards me.

He claimed that my mom was not enough for him anymore.

I do too much for you guys. He had said, despite not contributing a fucking dime towards the household.

She's too high to notice, to care.

Hes not fucking wrong.

I've spent the entire month and a half staying out of the house as much as possible to avoid him and his wandering hands.

I worked as much as possible at the donut shop down the street. 

I stayed at the library after school.

I left the house early, before either of them woke up.

But I can't avoid him now. 

He's already coming towards the door by the sound of his footsteps.

I step back just in time for him to throw the door open.

His face lights up as soon as he spots me.

“Lexie! Now, how's my favorite graduate doing?” he steps forward and wraps his arms around me tightly, one hand immediately sliding down towards my ass.

“Get off of me you pig!” I scream, pushing him away from me.

“You bitch! How dare you put your hands on me? I was just trying to give you a fucking hug.” he steadies himself and walks near me again.

He leans down to my ear and whispers quietly. “You're lucky I'm already late for work, Lexie. Otherwise, I would tear that dress off of you right now. I'll have to wait until tonight I guess.” 

Disgusted, I push him away from my ear. “In your fucking dreams, you creep.”

He chuckles, a smirk crossing his dirty face. “Always, lexie. Now, I just hope you're ready to spend your summer with me.”

Turning to face away from him, I practically run into the house and slam the door behind me.

I lean back against the front door and take a few deep breaths, feeling the panic rise in my throat.

I'm finally free.

I'm finally going to be away from this creep.

When I feel my nerves finally calm, I walk towards the living room. My mom, Sarah Franks, is sitting on the couch. Her small frame is leaned back, her head hanging off of the top of the couch. She has a cigarette in her hand, and the room is full of smoke. Her once bright red hair is now dark black. She looks like a shell of the woman she used to be, and that thought makes me want to burst out in tears.

When my father was still alive, he had his own small convenience store. It was right on the corner of our street, and was extremely successful. 

He was killed during my freshman year.

An armed man had gone into the store, and had killed my father. All he got was fifty dollars, since my dad had only just opened and always did bank drops throughout the day.

The man took my dads life for fifty dollars.

He was never found, either.

My mom broke after he died. 

She stopped working, which was okay at first since we had money from selling my dads convenience store.

But soon I was the one working to pay the bills.

I never held it over her, either. 

Not until she started dating Jeremy a year ago.

They were old friends, and he had known my dad in school. He was a creep from the get go, looking at me despite being a minor. And my mom had no care in the world.

Thank god he hadn't been able to actually do anything to me.

“Hey mom.”

She turns to face me and simply nods her head in acknowledgement before taking a drag from her cigarette.