Alone together

    Prologue ~     I still remember the day I decided I was done, the day I was over everyone's bull s**t. Five days after my fathers death we held a funeral. People I didn't even know showed up giving their regards. They would claim to be my 5th cousin or my fathers best friend from college, funny that he never mentioned a single one of them. I remember that all of our guests brought food and piled it into the kitchen. They would all come up to me and embrace me, fueling their own pride because they could say they helped the daughter of a dead man. All of these people would lie straight to my face suggesting that they loved my dad, and that they believed him to be a great man. My father was a terrible man. Later in the night my aunt Sandra walked up to me, gave me a hug, cried into my shoulder and whispered     “He didn't deserve this.” He did deserve it. He was a shitty father. Ten minutes later I overheard her, she was gossiping about him. “He was an ungrateful bastard anyways.” Throughout the night I paid more attention to the people who would fake their sorrow around me. That was the night I decided that no one actually cared about me, so why should I give two f***s about them.      My family has always had its problems, dad was a drinker, mom was a smoker and my brother well he was more into drugs. My parents were never really together, they didn't even try and fake it, they didn't try at all. My mom would always be in her room and when she came out it was like god just let loose a new demon. My dad was mostly a quiet guy. Unless he was mad or drunk, then he was the loudest man on earth. I never liked alcohol or any of that, so I never did it. Because of the amount of things it has screwed up in my life I decided to swear never to take a sip. I would like a future and when I get one I will take my sister River and we will run. She's only seven, she doesn't deserve this s**t, nobody does. For now all I can do is work. I have a job at this sushi restaurant down the street. It pays decently, but not enough. I'm in all advanced placement classes in school and I'm working towards scholarships.     “LACEY!” my brother Henry screams down the hallway for me. It's only been two week since my dad died, so we're all in a pretty shitty mood.      “What?!” Henry grunts in annoyance before tossing a letter into my hand and returning to his TV. I hold the white envelope in my hand like its gold and read the labeling. To Lacey Janson and From Westmount Boarding school for the elite class. I run to my room and tear open the letter,     Dear Lacey Janson,     We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected from hundreds of students around the world to be given a full ride scholarship to Westmount Boarding school. Your high academic achievements and grades put you on our radar. If you would like to accept please respond to the email placed on the bottom of this letter. You have until Sunday to decide. All additional information will be given after you accept.     A gasp, escape my lips and I freeze. They want me to go to their school. I can't, I just can't accept it. I would have to leave River here and mom wouldn't be able to make enough money by herself to keep the house. I can't be selfish right now. But no matter how many times I go over it in my head I still want to leave. s**t.      “What are you doing?” I hear a mutter from the doorway and find Henry looking at me as though I was standing on my head. That's when I realize how dumb I must look right now. I'm standing in the middle of the room holding a tight grip on a piece of paper and staring at the wall in front of me. I should have close the f*****g door.     “No, uh nothing.” I hesitated. He raised an eyebrow at me and stomped into the room. Before I could argue he yanked the paper from my hands.     “Hey!” I tried to reach out for it but I was too slow, he ran out of the room trailing his eyes over the paper.      “HENRY STOP!” He finished reading it and stared back at me with his jaw hanging wide open.      “Lacey.” I shrunk, and felt like a child being accused of something. “You have to go.” My utter shook must have shown on my face because he started chuckling. “I can take care of mom and River, you need to go.” I rolled my eyes at him.     “You?” I scoffed at the idea. “You can barely take care of yourself, let alone two other people?” “I'll figure it out Lacey, this is huge. You can get out of this dumb of a town!” He countered my words. I could finally leave this place. Maybe I could allow myself to be selfish.      "Ok."