Durant's destiny

CHAPTER ONE Bobbie's mouth twisted in outrage, the words spilling out of her mother's mouth were decidedly unkind but she didn't think her mother cared.No, summer Myers had never cared if her words were painful and cutting while drunk. Bobbie was more than certain that once the alcohol wears off, summer would come back to her sobbing depressed as hell self. It wasn't the first time this had happened and it definitely wasn't going to be the last. Bobbie stared at the peeling paint at the bottom of the trailer with disgust. 'God, she hated this place with passion, but she had to be patient' she would be eighteen in a few months, and once she came of age she was outta there. Her mother be damned. "You filthy dirty w***e, wish I had strangled you when I had a chance...child of woe" her words were becoming too slurry for Bobbie to discern fast, but she got the gist of it. Summer was still screaming about how Bobbie was the cause of all her problems and how much of a w***e she was. At this point, summer had come so close to her face that she could see her entire mouth, her weak teeth, that were brown and ruined from too much alcohol consumption, the little bulging tissues and blood follicles stretched as if there would burst any minute. Bobbie almost told her to be careful with the screaming, a little scared that the bulging vein on her temple might burst. What if it burst and summer's entire face spills out in a bloody goo, nah, that wouldn't be pretty, that would be terrifyingly good and revolting, and Bobbie almost wished that it would, but who was gonna clean up the mess? Definitely not her, and besides she wasn't a murderer and she wouldn't wish death on her mother just because she was a f*****g cunt who liked to take out her frustrations on innocent Bobbie. She didn't think she was a shitty person like her mother and she most certainly didn't deserve what she was getting but she was right in the middle of the mess and so her only hope was to turn eighteen and scram. Bobbie was going to move so far away from f*****g Dunking, Tennessee. Even the town's name was corny, she dreamed of starting out in a place like New York, I mean everyone liked New York right? It was the place of big opportunities, a place where your dreams came true, or maybe she could go to LA and be an actress, that was her plan b, she would be so rich and popular that all the Dunking people would see and regret how they had treated her. Oh! They would definitely regret it, right then she wouldn't be the butt of their jokes, she would no longer be "Bobbie, child of woe" with a snicker and a sneer on their face, she would definitely not be "Bobbie, the daughter of the drunk w***e who lives at the trailer up in Donovan's square". She would be "Bobbie, the popular, rich and famous actress " they would be so green with envy, that their faces will remain permanently sour, especially Carolyn Tank, head cheerleader and Dunking highschool's most popular, also Bobbie's nemesis. It was crazy how everyone fawned over Carolyn when she was the worst b***h that ever lived, aside from Bobbie's mom obviously, Carolyn was mean, dreadful and unstable. She was a f*****g bully and her favourite victim was Bobbie. And no one really cared how mean and hurtful she was, they all smiled and shook their heads at her antics. Even Mr Simon whom Bobbie had thought was on her side, had only rolled his eyes and told Carolyn not to use derogatory words in his class when Carolyn at fourteen had called her and her mom ' f*****g whores who f****d for shillings' the words had stopped Bobbie halfway and chilled her to her bones, she had been in the middle of solving a rather difficult math problem on the board, and the words, so carelessly flung out had taken her by surprise, and the shock rendered her immobile, the class laughing had woken her to the nightmare, and with her shoulders bent very low she had walked slowly back to her desk, almost like a zombie, she definitely felt like one, a zombie with hurt feelings. CHAPTER TWO " Rotten spawn of Satan... You no good bitch...u're a curse, you hear me witch, u're a damned curse, curse on my life, curse on my family!" the words being shrieked at her face brought Bobbie back to the present and into fresh hell, summer was revving up for the next phase of her drunkenness and this always came with pain, physically, the pain was bearable but emotionally, it was soul crunching. The first slap to Bobbie's face came almost immediately, the second one was expected. At this point she always just stood still for summer to have her fill, it was easier and faster that way. Soon they would be the crying and begging with summer fleeing to the only other room on the trailer,and Bobbie could lie down a bit and imagine life as a famous actress. It was basically the best part of her life, her little escape from reality. It was the balm to her soul. Summers hands finally stilled after one too many blows and she crumpled on the floor in a sobbing heap, words unintelligible, Bobbie's mouth was full of blood, she was sure she had cut her tongue with her teeth, her mother was too weak and frail from drinking constantly and eating even less for her blows to do much damage. Bobby wished she could go to the bathroom to assess the damage but moving was going to startle summer, and then they would be the next episode she would rather die than relieve. The broken, sobbing and begging woman, the summer who would grab and cling to her feet in fear that Bobbie was going to leave even though Bobbie would be trying to let her understand that she was only trying to go to the bathroom. She stood still and watched as summer still clinging to Bobbie' s legs sobbed till she passed out and then gingerly Bobbie crossed over her and Went to the tiny bathroom, if it could even be called that. The bathroom was so tiny that one person was enough to fill up the space. Fuck, she was honestly so tired of this entire f*****g thing, she needed to leave now, today if possible, high school diploma be damned, her mother be damned, the entire f*****g town of Dunking be damned. Hell the entire f*****g state of Tennessee be damned. She had no more f***s to give. She was out. The damage to her jaw was minimal, the only tell was the blood already gathering in her left eye and the redness of her cheek. Some ice would do the trick for her cheek but her eye was going to be a problem. Come morning it was going be be too visible, a testament to what had transpired. A neon sign of her abuse. Bobbie spat out the almost congealed blood she had been holding in her mouth for God knew how long until summer had finally fallen asleep. Splashing water on her face, she looked at her tired red eyes in the mirror. She was leaving today, it wasn't the plan but, plans change. She couldn't endure a single second of this any longer. It was time. Moving out of the bathroom, she trudged tiredly to the fridge and grabbed a pack of peas that was probably months old and pressed it to her left cheek which had taken more of the hits. Icing her cheek with one hand, Bobbie opened her bag and brought out a couple of aspirin, the last time she had forgotten to take some after her mother had had a crazy episode, she had woken up feeling like a walking corpse, so she was prepared and besides she was leaving tonight, so it was best she took care of the pain now before it became a problem later. Swallowing the pills dry, Bobbie headed to the kitchen, it was really just a tiny partition that held a couple of tiny carbinets and a couple of aged burners, a bursted microwave that was touch and go, they did not own an oven so Bobbie never baked. And besides they had no need for an oven, summer Myers was a terrible baker and an even worse cook. She couldn't cook to save her life. Bobbie had survived mainly on junk and cheap takeouts. The free food at the shelters helped too, she had had to figure it out on her own when she was just seven and nearly crippled with hunger, first it had been the dumpsters behind the canteens where she had salvaged for food, sometimes she was lucky if she raided the mall's trash, she would come home with slightly mouldy bread and a couple of overipe fruit, but the days were she struck gold were always her favourite. On favourable days, she could return home with slightly bad meat and cans of expired soup, beans, meat, peas and other assortments. On days like that, Bobbie ate like a princess, even though her cooking was bad and sometimes the meat was burnt or undercooked. She still loved it. The house was always empty , Bobbie was used to summer leaving for days on end and coming back smelling acrid like weeks old tobacco smoke. CHAPTER THREE Eddie big foot, the homeless guy who had taken up residence in front of the mall had introduced her to the homeless shelters. On a rainy night, Bobbie had been so hungry, she hadn't gone out for days because she had gotten the flu and all her accumulated supplies were depleted. Who knew a nine year old could eat so much when sick, it was as if the bowels of her stomach had opened. On that night she had been almost rabid with hunger, she hadn't eaten all day and the contents of the mall's trash was lucking deathly empty of anything edible, they were no cans of anything at all, and the fruits were all rotten, she got a few apples with good areas where she took a bite but that wouldn't fill anyone up, especially someone as hungry as her. Out of frustration and disappointment, she had kicked the trash can so hard she hurt her foo and screamed, that's when Eddie big foot had emerged from his little makeshift home of cardboard and leather. At first she was scared cos it was dark, and Eddie seemed so big, a large man by nature, but he was gentle, an army vet who had fallen into bad times, the gangrene on his leg had made his leg so swollen up that he had been tagged Eddie big foot by children. Eddie had shuffled over slowly, as Bobbie stood very still in fright, she couldn't move a muscle, it was as if he held her immobile with unseen powers " Little girl, what'cha doing Huh?" His voice was rough, like wood over sandpaper but kind. It was a mix of quiet and deep. It soothed something deep inside of her, although she was still scared, but she wasn't as terrified as she was earlier. When she didn't say a word, Eddie shuffled closer, Bobbie's instincts were to take a step back but she didn't, too curious about what was next, she had seen Eddie a couple of times as she slid into the alley to forage for food, he always stared but never moved or said a word to her, but tonight was different. " I done seen ya every night them for years" his accent was strange, she couldn't place it and she didn't care " You hungry?" Even in the dark his eyes were a bit glittery, when she nodded, flinging common sense out the window, she followed when he nodded for her to do so, she knew the risks, she had watched movies of strange men luring children into dark corners and murdering them, but at this point she didn't care, she was so hungry she wasn't thinking straight, as long as he fed her before murdering her she guessed it was okay. Anything to end this deep hunger. When he motioned her to seat, she did, inside his makeshift home it was warm, warmer than the trailer, mom had forgotten this month, so the heater wasn't working, on months like this Bobbie wore almost her entire wardrobe just to ward out the cold. But Eddie's home was warm and toasty, he had a fire going inside the space, and Bobbie liked it, she wondered if Eddie would let her spend the night here, she knew she wouldn't ask but she wondered if he would Bobbie startled when he placed a warm paper plate on her hand, she has been so deep in thought that she hadn't seen him move closer even though the space was really small. Looking down at the plate, it was two big hotdogs, the biggest she had ever eaten, she had seen big hotdogs like this inside the supermarket but never eaten one before, and beside the hot dog was a heap of sweet smelling beans. Bobbie's mouth watered immediately and in the next second she was shoveling food so fast I to her mouth that Eddie chuckled in alarm " Slow do'n child, food ain't running'way..eat 'em slow and u'se gonna get more, hmmm?" He smiled kindly, his words running into each other. The crinkled skin at the corners of his mouth more pronounced. Finally Bobbie relented and chewed slower although still faster than she normally did. That night Eddie had given her a second helping and she had been full for the first time in her life and from her, Eddie had taken her to all the soup kitchens in Dunking and even outside of Dunking whenever his foot permitted, they always rode a bus, Steve the African American bus driver always gave them free rides cos Eddie and his daddy, that's the bus drivers daddy served in the army together. They were both marines, at the time, Bobbie had been fascinated by the stories Steve told, of Eddie and his daddy's time in the army " Mind you Bobbie, this here man is a hero, my daddy, bless his good heart, done told me things about him.. great things Bobbie" from there he would regale Bobbie with stories about the war that his father had told him, he was always so excited that Bobbie let him yap on and on as everyone on the bus oohed and ahhed and bemoaned the government for not taking responsibility for it's heroes. Eddie would always just smile mysteriously. It was always a relief when they reached the next town, the stories were nice and distracting and for those few hours, Bobbie lived the normal life of an unbullied kid whose mother was a w***e. The whole town knew. It was as if wherever she went she carried a stigma, everyone knew her mother had men over at the trailer, and she always sent Bobbie out when men came over but Bobbie didn't care as long as she got to spend time with Eddie. She had Eddie and they both had the soup kitchens. They were both going to be fine. But then Eddie died when she was thirteen and from then on things only took a turn for the worse, her mother became more drunk and high, and more violent too. The drinker she got the more violent she became. The was no escaping her as Bobbie didn't have a single friend. No one would play or talk to her in school, the teachers barely tolerated her, no one wanted to associate with the daughter of the w***e whose father or family member had potentially f****d. She was cool...it was life but it wasn't f*****g fair. It was times like this she missed Eddie badly. It had been years since Eddie died but she wished he hadn't. Life was f****d up unfair, it had taken the one person who had been on her side, who had treated her like a decent human being, like a normal person. Even her mother believed she was a curse. Summer blamed Bobbie for all her life problems, for getting kicked out by her parents when she had become pregnant at sixteen, for her boyfriend, Bobbie father whom she had never met running out on her, and for her shitty life and the things she had to do to survive. She blamed Bobbie. It was unfair, Bobbie didn't ask for this life and she definitely didn't ask to be born. Especially not to someone like summer. But all of that ends tonight, she was leaving, she had no one to miss and no one would miss her, save maybe for the shelter and the soup kitchens. They would probably heave a sigh of relieve once they discover she would no longer be coming around. She noticed that she made them a little uncomfortable. The volunteers. Especially the women, from the quick little glances they gave their spouses, it was indicative that they thought she probably might jump their bones. Bobbie sniffed in disgust, she had no interest in tawdry old men, she had no interest in men period. Not after what her mother had gone through. And what she was still going through. Men f****d summer Myers and left her, they used her and dropped a few pennies that weren't even enough to feed one mouth much less two and beside the only feeding summer was doing was alcohol to numb the pain of misery and disgust she felt each time she f****d a man for money. So no thank you, Bobbie wasn't interested. Taking a sip of tap water to wash down the aspirin, Bobbie moved over to the side table beside the couch and began gathering her small belongings into her backpack, she grabbed a couple of jeans, her notebooks, she was a little tempted to leave them but she had bought them with her own money and beside she might have a need for them eventually. She grabbed some other odds and bits and stuffed everything together. Sliding the backback under the couch for later she went back to icing her cheek, by this time it was a vivid red colour. Feeling for her eye, she winced at the tender feel of it. What the f**k was wrong with her mother, why the f**k couldn't she change a bit. Bobbie was leaving and she was never coming back. Resting her back on the sofa, Bobbie relaxed and dozed off to wake by night for the next chapter of her life. The chapter in Dunking, Tennessee had closed. It was over. Finally, she couldn't wait. CHAPTER FOUR It was really dark when Bobbie stumbled awake, staring at the trailer floor and trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness, she saw summers dark silhouette still fast asleep. Bobbie stepped gingerly across and headed straight to her bedroom. She needed to freshen up a bit before leaving. Her mouth tasted like she had sucked something rotten, her hair was wet and stuck out in tufts, that wouldn't do. She was running away from home, it didn't mean she had to look like a homeless hobo for that to happen. Bobbie cursed into the darkness when the bathroom door that she had opened squeaked loudly in the silence. Exactly, what she needed, for summer to wake up. Tiptoeing slowly, summer entered the barely spacious bathroom and splashed a few handfuls of chilly tap water on her face, looking at her face in the mirror, Bobbie sighed in exasperation. The bruises on her cheeks had gotten darker quickly. She looked like she had been mauled by a bear cub. Her eyes were so red they looked bloodshot. Bobbie knew she looked a mess but she couldn't help it. It was what it was. No hard feelings. Adding a little bit of toothpaste, Bobbie hurriedly brushed and splashed some more water on her face as she hurried to the couch and grabbed the backpack she had stashed there. Giving one last cursory look at the little room where she had spent her entire life, Bobbie took a deep breath and stepped out into the cold night. Time for a new beginning "Focus Bobbie, we have to focus, this is what we wanted, what we need...we are better off out there on our own. It's gonna be okay" repeating this words to herself Bobbie kept going. Her breath was choppy like she had run a marathon and her voice kept getting weirder and weirder the farther she got from the house. It was a little strange that she felt a compulsion to return and not leave but she knew it was fear, fear of the unknown, but it was expected. Fear was necessary. Fear was caution. Bobbie almost stumbled when she felt wetness on her cheeks. She had been crying silently without realising it. The tears were stronger now, her choppy breaths were actually her gasping for air and struggling with herself not to cry out loud. It was ridiculous that she was mourning a place where she had never felt like she belonged, a place where she had felt invincible, unseen all her life. It was strange and sad and a little crazy all at once. She didn't miss it, and she definitely wouldn't miss her mother. She never would. Dunking was behind her now, this life was over. She was free. Finally free to be who she was meant to be. She was fairly certain that this was her destiny. That they was something better waiting for her somewhere out there. Something special. As Bobbie walked faster, cars zipped by, their lights flashing, lighting her path. Still Bobbie walked and walked, she felt a little reluctant to flag down any vehicle. She had been studying routes from Tennessee to New York. And although she was confident that she was on the right path, she was still a little doubtful. She wasn't that good with maps or directions in general. As she walked by the side of the road, a little red Buick illuminated by an oncoming vehicle from the other lane, slowed down and honked, summer held tight to her backpack and walked faster, at this point she was doing a rather fast troth but the car kept pace, honking still and trying to grab her attention. Ignoring the car, Bobbie sped up but the Buick revved and stopped right in front of her, startling to a stop, Bobbie waited, she had learned early that in situations like this, running was no use, staying and weathering whatever storm was coming was always the best policy. It was how she had survived years of abuse. The window of the little Buick rolled down and Bobbie almost exhaled in relief but held off at the last minute, because the driver looked like your everyday harmless librarian, did not mean that the situation wasn't dangerous. Besides harmless people did not try to flag off young girls walking alone at night. " You 'kay love? Wer you headed love?" her voice was light but a little throaty like she had been an ardent smoker but finally quit. Boobie was almost tempted to ask if she had smoked in her youth but she kept mute. The person behind the wheel was a woman, she looked kinda strange with her big framed glasses and her light brown hair styled in a fringe. Bobbie could map out her features, her nose was sharp and a little pointy which fit perfectly with the absurd glasses, as she smiled, tiny crows feet appeared at the corners of her eyes, she looked like your everyday quirky middle aged librarian. The crazy lady was smiling so wide that Bobbie saw the red lipstick stain on her front teeth.' who wore lipstick at night anyways '. Overall she was attractive but not overly so. From Bobbie's vantage point she could see the her clothes were some flowery print. A crisscross of flowers illuminated by the light. Whoever this woman was, she looked exotic, like a multicoloured bird. "D'you need a ride somewhere? I'm headed to Bowen, been eyeing up this musty concert. Iron rage... Know them? I'm an absolute sucker... wouldn't miss it for the world. Although they keep setting up in ridiculous places and obviously this year, lord knows why they decided perform in the middle of f*****g nowhere Tennessee. Pardon my language "she sounded so put out that I giggled without realising it which caused a smile to bloom on her face "Grace Durant" I stared blankly at her and she pointed at herself, it was as if she had taken my unresponsiveness as me being slow "Bobbie... Bobbie Myers" my voice cracked as I voiced out my name, it was more than strange that I was on a sidewalk in the dead of night trying to have a conversation with an obviously crazy stranger. The night was getting stranger and stranger " Pleasure to make your acquaintance Bobbie Myers" her grin was so wide and open that it mad her entire face look so sincere that I was actually considering staying a while to talk. But I had to move, and soon. No matter how tempting it was to stay and converse. This crazy stranger was the first person in a while to actually treat Bobbie decently, it was as if Bobbie was a totally different person. It was as if she was a normal everyday girl, the kind of girl people had conversations with all the time, not the type who always had her head bent and was too scared to raise her eyes too high to avoid the ugly sneers that always accompanied people's expressions when they looked at her. " Sorry love, I always come off too strong, but you gotta take them bulls by the horns if you really wanna do something, otherwise it all just goes to shit...so I'm a little lost, although I know exactly where I'm going which is Bowen alright , but I'm a tiny bit confused about what route to f*****g take, I could give you a ride if your heading that way and perhaps you can help me out too...I don't wanna drive in circles...besides its cold out and walking isn't really good for you" It was amazing that someone who looked like this, like modesty personified with her rimmed glasses and tightly drawn back ponytail could cuss so much. " Don't worry, I'm not an axe murderer" her words were accompanied by a throaty chuckle " definitely too weak to be able to murder you" she was grinning as she flapped her slim arms. Her blouse was some flowery piece with bell arms slit from the elbow, overall she was middle aged and youthful, a mix of the old and new. It was an interesting combination. " You don't talk much do you?" her face was scrunched up as she asked. Bobbie had gotten so used to never replying and engaging that she was lagging in the conversation, it was even more difficult for her as she kept studying her trying to understand the need for this conversation. Ofcourse Grace Durant was a city type, a crazy city type but she was cool, Eddie had been cool too, anyone who spoke to Bobbie without being condescending was really cool in Bobbie's book. " I can take you to Bowen, and yes I know iron rage, I'm a fan..." As Bobbie spoke, the sweetest smile she had ever seen crept slowly across grace Donnelly's face. It was a smile of pure satisfaction. Grace Durant was delighted and she was delighted because Bobbie, a total stranger had decided to help even though it was very risky to get into a strangers car, bad things could happen. Very bad things but just to be graced with that sweet smile Bobbie decided that she would do it again and again " Hop on then my fellow denizen, onward we drive to Bowen" with a Shy smile Bobbie hopped into the car. Trusting that fate had brought them together and hoping to see what came next.