Unapologetically Me

Chapter Eighteen

I waited for her call from jail for hours. I sat in my room, staring down at my phone, anxiety crippling me. I was scared sh*tless. What in the hell would I do without her? How long was she going to be in jail? What she did was stupid, but would she be there long? It was her own property. Did she do something else that would make her stay longer? I looked up her name on the jail's database over and over again, refreshing every few minutes to see everything she was being charged with and nothing popped up.

Finally at about three in the morning I got the call from the jail and answered it immediately.

"Kelly. Get me the f*ck out of here! I can't stay in here. Post my bail. My purse is hidden under the clothes in my closet by the shoes. I need a f*cking cigarette."

"What did you do?"

"I don't need stupid questions right now. Just bail me out and come pick me up."

"How do I do that?"

"God, why did I have such an i***t for a daughter? Look up a bail bondsman and pay what they ask you. I have to go. Get me out."

I swallowed the knot in my throat and listened to air as I held the phone in my hand. Even when she needed me she was treating me like sh*t. I took a deep, shaky breath and began searching for a bail bondsman. I called the first person I found that was open twenty-four hours.

When they answered I asked about how to bail my mom out and they asked a

her name. I waited as they searched her and then the lady on the other line took a deep breath.

"Unfortunately, they haven't set bail. She is being charged with assault and battery of an officer, along with a few other things. Like drunken disorderly conduct."

"So, she won't be able to get out of jail?"

" I would call a lawyer. "

We hung up and I laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling. She hit an officer. I snorted. And she called me an i***t. If I was an i***t, I inherited it from her. I wiped my hands over my face and screamed. I screamed and threw sh*t around my room and stomped around like a two year old. I deserved it. This was ridiculous!

Who in the hell could put up with all of this? Who in the hell wanted to? After my giant tantrum I set my alarm and went to sleep. I would have to call a lawyer in the morning.

The next morning rolled around and I sat at the kitchen island looking for lawyers. I didn't even know what the first thing was to ask them. Like, I wasn't even here when it happened.

I was stressing so badly that I didn't even hear the doorbell ring. I only startled when my phone began to ring in my hand. James. Embarrassment flooded me as I remembered that he had been there with me to witness my mom going jail. Everyday he was learning more and more about my sh*tshow of a life.

I answered and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Hey, I'm here to pick you up for school." I almost snorted at the thought that I could even go to school right now.

"I'm not going. I have some stuff to take care of. I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier."

"What else happened?"

I swallowed and took a deep shaky breath. "F*ck, James. I think maybe you should just...leave me alone. I have so much f*cking problems and I really don't think you need to get mixed in with all of this." I wiped the tears from my face and stared out into the hallway that lead to the front door.

He was quiet on his end and I wondered for a second if he had hung up. I wouldn't blame him if he did. This was way too much for anyone to handle and dragging him into it wouldn't be right.

"Kelly, open the door."

I took a deep shaky breath and laid my head on the counter. "You need to go. Go to school. Just let me deal with my own problems."

"Just open the f*cking door, Kelly. I'm not leaving."

The steeliness in his voice surprised me. I sighed and walked to the front door. I opened it and he hung the phone up and wrapped me in his arms. I hugged him back tightly and felt myself relax against him.I inhaled his cologne and cinnamon smell and sighed. I should still make him leave, but a hug wouldn't hurt.

"What's going on? What else happened?"

"She f*cking hit a cop.They aren't posting bail because she hit a cop. I don't know what to do. The bail lady said to call her lawyer. I don't even know if we have a lawyer. I've been up since six this morning trying to find a lawyer but I don't even know what to ask. My mom's right, I'm a f*cking idiot."

"You're not an i***t, Kelly. What about your uncle? Isn't he like the senator of California? Can't he help?"

It dawned on me that I hadn't even thought of that. I looked up at him and banged my head against his chest. I was so stupid for not even consy him.

I picked my phone up and found his number quickly. I dialed and he answered after the first couple of rings.

"Kelly? What's going on? Everything okay?"

"Mom hit an officer last night and got thrown in jail. They aren't setting a bail. The bail lady told me that last night."

"She hit an officer? Why? How?"

"She got mad and started trashing dad's car last night. I guess the neighbors called and she must have hit one of them and that's all I know. I wasn't here when it happened."

He sighed heavily over the phone and I could practically see him run his hand through his thinning hair.

"Okay, well let me take care of it. Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I was, but I kind of felt like I needed to try to get her out first."

"Your mom's f*ck ups aren't your problem, Kelly. Go to school, get good grades and don't drink or do drugs and you won't have any of the problems your mom is having."

I grit my teeth and nodded. "Yes sir. I'm sorry to bother you. I know you're busy."

"You're family, Kelly. I'm never too busy for family. Go to school. I'll call you this afternoon if I can get something figured out. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you!"

We hung up and I looked back at James. He raised his eyebrows. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

I tilted my head at him and gave him a shaky smile. "Can you give me a minute to get dressed?"

"Yeah. Take your time. I'll wait here."

I nodded and hugged him again and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I ran up the stairs and threw on a pair of leggings, a t-shirt and a pair of flats. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and didn't bother with makeup. I didn't want to make us later than we probably already were.

We left in a hurry, only pausing for a second to look at the damage my mom did to my dad's Porsche. In the car I checked myself out in the mirror in his car and frowned. I looked like complete crap, but after the night I had, I couldn't have done better.

I held James' hand and when we got to school I really didn't want to go in. I was exhausted and was still worried about my mom, despite my uncle saying he would take care of it.

I took a deep breath and we went inside. I thanked him quickly with a peck on the cheek and ran to my first class.

By the time lunchtime rolled around I was dead on my feet. Chloe tried asking me what was wrong but everything was so embarrassing to even tell her so I just told her that I stayed up late doing homework and left it at that. Usually for lunch I would got out with Chloe, but since she thought I had ditched this morning, she had made lunch plans with her boyfriend, so I was stuck at school. I walked to my locker because I knew I hadn't brought money to buy any lunch and put my books away and then wandered down the halls to pass the time.

I had no idea what to do when I didn't go out for lunch. It hardly ever happened. If I had my car here, I would have sat in my car but that was ruined. I could have brought my mom's Range Rover, but I didn't want to piss her off more.

I needed to get the money out of her purse before she got out though. Now that I knew where she had hidden it, I could get in there and start paying our bills.

I thought about all of this and didn't realize where I was at until I looked around the courtyard and saw people milling around, eating and laughing.

I walked to an empty table and laid my head down. I was so exhausted. I should have stayed at home. It wasn't long before I felt someone shake my shoulder gently and I looked up. Michael and James stood with Pink Streak and Art Blonde beside my table.

I looked up at James and he gestured to the seats. "Can we sit?"

"Oh! Yeah. Here." I stood up to move and James pushed me back down gently.

"You can stay. We can sit with you. Where's your food?" He sat down next to me and Michael sat on my other side. Both Art Blonde and Pink Streak sat next to each of their guys and dropped their fast food bags on the table in front of them.

"Not hungry." I mumbled. I wrapped my arms around my middle and laid my head back down on the table. I really didn't want to sit here and pretend to be nice to his friends.

"Are you sure? I have extra. It's a big, juicy, greasy burger." I grit my teeth, remembering our conversation from just yesterday and smiled to myself.

"I'm sure. You guys eat. I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when lunch is over."

"I have extra fries if you want them." Pink Streak said from across the table. "I still haven't thanked you for last Friday night."

"No, thank you. And it was no big deal."

"I puked in your car."

"You puked in her car?"

"Yeah. I don't remember much, but I remember that."

Art Blonde laughed and Michael made a gagging sound. Next to me, James reached under the table and grabbed my knee and squeezed it.

"It's clean now, so really, it's okay." I glanced up and smiled at her. She smiled back and started talking to Art Blonde about some project they were working on. Michael jumped in on the conversation and James kept giving me looks as he ate. Near the end of lunch he leaned down and squeezed my thigh again.

"You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry." I whispered to him. I had started thinking of my mom and was trying not to look up because I had started crying again.

He placed his hand tentatively on my back and leaned down close to my face. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"No. I'll be okay." I wiped my nose and sniffled.

"Is she crying?" I wasn't sure if it was Art Blonde or Pink Streak, but I stiffened and clenched my fists against my side.

"Her dog died." James lied for me. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"Aww...I'm sorry, Kelly. What was its name?"

I glanced up at James since he made up the lie and he chewed on his lip, trying not to smile.

"Not sure. What was its name, Kelly?"

I glared at him and took a deep breath. "Gordon."

"Gordon! Aww what breed was he?"

"Chihuahua." Michael said with a sad look on his face. I turned to him and realized he was playing along.

"Aw! My aunt had a pet Chihuahua named Stinky. He was so adorable. Can I ask how he died?"

"The f*cker was suicidal." Michael said. James choked on his drink and I was trying my hardest not to laugh. I laid my head back on the table and felt my shoulders start shaking. They thought I was crying. I heard Art Blonde scold Pink Streak for asking that question.

"I just want to know what he means by that."

"He would run outside anytime the door would open and tried to attack a Corgi. The Corgi mauled him to death." James pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes sad. I bit on my lip and gasped from holding in my laugh. Both of the girls apologized to me and then the bell rang to signify that lunch was over.

After they left, I smacked both of them on their sides and we all busted out laughing. I felt better, even though my fictional dog had died and thanked the both of them for helping me out.

"No problem. You owe me though." Michael winked and I fluttered my eyelashes at him.

"Lunch on me tomorrow then?"

"Deal."

The rest of the day proved to be uneventful until James took me home from school. I was wary about going home because I wasn't sure if anything had made headway with my mom, but the house was relatively quiet.

I was able to convince James to go home by telling him I was just going to take a nap and then I'd give him a call. He was satisfied with that. First thing I did though was run upstairs to my mom's bedroom and dig through her closet for her purse.

As soon as I found it wrapped up in some old, dirty t-shirt, I grabbed her entire wallet. In her bedroom her cellphone was on the charger and I picked it up, hoping I still remembered her passcode and that she didn't change it.

I got to work immediately, looking at the bank app and the credit card ones. My dad had always used the same password for everything so it was easy to access and when I saw the amount of money sitting in the bank account, I felt relief for the first time in a long time, about our bills.

I used my mom's card and paid up on everything that needed to be paid and slipped her bank card into my wallet.

After all of that, I laid down in my bedroom and passed out, feeling a little bit better that one of my stresses had been fixed.