Chapter 3 （The Argument）
I looked up at Leah as she glared down at me.
I can't believe she's so fricking tall now.
Why do I have to be so short. I mean even Seth is taller than me and he's 2 years younger than me.
Well 1.5 years, but that's not the point.
How come I got the short end of the stick when it comes to our gene pool.
I guess the middle child will alway get picked on for something.
Heh. Oh right, Leah's angry. Nothing new there.
But I should probably still pay attention, I guess.
"Where were you!?" Leah demanded.
"Detention" I replied quietly.
"For almost 4 hours! What the hell are you doing to get a 4 hour detention Pearl?!" She shouted.
"The detention was actually only for 2 hours, I just stayed out a little later. Didn't think anyone would notice."
"Well I fucking noticed! What the hell have you been doing? Causing problems for mum and me, we've got enough going on as it is without your shit being piled on top!" Leah screamed. She is physically shaking at this point. What gives her the right to be this angry?
This is pissing me off. Who does she think she is yelling at me about this.
I've had a crap day, and I don't need her drama making it worse.
"I'm not having this conversation with you.
" I stormed past her and ran upstairs to my room.
I didn't realise just how fast Leah is though.
Cause she was right on my heels and yanked me back by the hood of my hoodie.
"OH NO! You are not running away. Pearl you're acting like a spoilt brat! Get your fucking shit together and stop this attention seeking bullshit!" Leah shouted out.
Brat? brAT! Are you kidding me?! "Fuck you Leah!
You don't talk to me for months and act like I don't exist!
And then you call me a brat! What the hell!
My English teacher was being a bitch and gave me double detention for no reason!
I don't need your whole mightier than thou attitude right now!
" I screamed in her face, before yanking my hoodie out of her grip and booking it to my room.
I must have stunned her with my outburst cause I made it inside and was able to slam the door shut without her stopping me. So yeah. Win for me.
The whole frozen big sister didn't last long though. Not even a minute later, Leah was pounding on my door, I can practically feel the rage seeping off of her.
"How dare you talk to me like that! I'm older than you Pearl, your acting like a little brat and I deserve some fucking respect! I have so much going on in my life right now, that you couldn't even begin to comprehend! So stop acting like nothing else matters aside from your own poor feelings!"
"Well I could try to understand if you'd just talk to me and give me a chance! Instead of acting like I don't fucking exist all the time!" I shouted back through the door. Why can't she just leave me alone?!
"I don't talk to you cause your not worth the time! Your too young and too emotional! It would be like trying to talk to a crying infant! I have nothing to gain from conversing with you! And trying to cope with your stupid feelings isn't my problem!"
I could hear Seth briefly, it sounds like he is outside of my door trying to talk to Leah. I can't hear what he's saying though and right now I don't care enough to try. If Leah wants to shout at me, let's fucking go! It's been a long time coming.
"My feelings! My feelings are long dead! Just like my entire family! You don't give a shit! You only care right now cause I've done something to make you angry. Right?!" I don't care anymore. I want to hurt them. I want them to feel my pain.
"Ever since dad died you changed! It's like you died with him!
Your never here anymore! What's so important that you have to leave for days at a time!
What kind of job did you get that didn't even allow you to grieve with me and mum at dads funeral?
! Why did you both disappear?! Your not the only ones who lost dad you know!
I lost him too!" Tears are streaming down my face, I can't get them to stop.
But they haven't heard this yet. I never got the chance to yell at them before, so I'm putting it all out there.
"Yeah I've changed! Figured I'd shed the dead weight!
Dads dead! He's gone! He's not coming back!
So you need to just get over it! Dads death didn't hit you nearly as hard as it hit me and Seth!
So your right! I couldn't care a less how your feeling right now!
So sit down and shut up! Stop being such a fucking nuisance! " Leah exclaimed.
"So what, acting like I don't exist isn't good enough for you now?! You want me to disappear entirely! Will that make you happy! Getting rid of 'the dead weight' permanently!" I screamed out. My body is trembling Leah's never spoken like this to me before, I'm scared. I just want this over with.
"No..." Seth whimpered out. I barely heard him over the banging on the door. I opened my mouth to respond to Seth but Leah beat me to it.
"That's right! You not being here would be a blessing!
You're always in the way, interrupting us and asking stupid questions about our new job!
Which is stressful enough as it is! You make this whole thing ten times worse!
If you disappeared we'd all be a hell of a lot happier!
" I heard Leah storm off after that. She thundered down the stairs and slammed the front door shut.
I wouldn't be surprised if the door came off of its hinges.
I slid down the door and hugged my knees, as I cried.
It was to much. This was all to much. I listened out for Seth.
Hoping he would do something. Say something.
That hope was dashed when I heard him leave out the front door.
He must be following Leah. Why am I not surprised.
Of course he would. My sobs grew louder and became choked cries.
Did she really mean that?Yeah ...she did.
She wouldn't say it if she didn't mean it.
I haven't cried like this since dads funeral.
It's somewhat cathartic actually. My head is empty.
Like my mind has cleared up. I don't know how long I was crying for but when I finally calmed my self down and checked the clock it was 8:32pm.
No one had entered the house, so I guess they were all eating dinner somewhere else.
At least I have time to think, without the possibility of any interruptions.
Would they really be better off if I wasn't here?
If I'm hurting them by staying, then surely it would be better if I left.
Seth didn't exactly disagree with Leah, so that's as close as an agreement I'm gonna get from him.
He'd never say it out loud. He be to worried about hurting someone's feelings.
But then again, I don't really recognise them anymore so who knows what he'd do.
I wonder who's side mum would be on if she witnessed the fight.
Who am I kidding? She'd side with Leah. Leah's her precious daughter, of course she'd side with her.
They really want me gone? I know I compare my family to a family of three instead of a family of four. But I didn't truly believe that. I didn't think they viewed me as an outsider. But... I guess they do. I don't have a place here. This isn't my home anymore.
Getting up from my spot on the floor and grabbing my bag, I emptied out all of its contents onto my bed.
Going to my closet and grabbing a couple of hoodies, T-shirts and pants, I stuffed them into my now empty bag.
I grabbed some money I had saved up, along with one of my sketchbooks and a couple of art supplies and placed them into my bag then zipped it up.
I decided to change clothes so I put on my favourite black hoodie and paired it with some black leggings I have, then grabbed the keys to my bike on the way out of my room.
I'm not taking my helmet, I hardly wear it anyway. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I walked out of my family's home. I headed round back to my motorcycle and got situated, turning the key causing the engine to roar to life. I peeled out of the driveway at high rates of speed.
Where should I go? I need to get out of the reservation.
I can't stay in Forks, people could recognise me.
So that leaves the road to Seattle. It's a bit of a drive.
Almost 2 hours long at speed limit. But Seattle sounds like a good pit stop.
I could find a place to stay for the night then head off in a new direction in the morning.
That sounds like a plan so I'm gonna get to it.
Pearl joined the road heading to Seattle and started her journey.
It's been a while since I left home. Not sure how long it's been though.
The road is quiet, peaceful. Although it's a bit too dark for comfort.
I'm getting tired, there shouldn't be too long left to go until I reach Seattle, so I'll manage.
The trees on either side of me look kinda ominous.
I can't see much beyond them, it's just pitch black.
The only thing lighting up the area is my bikes headlight and that's pretty small.
Not like a helicopters spotlight, so unfortunately my vision is limited.
I've taken the road to Seattle many times before.
I didn't think it took this long. Maybe it's the night playing tricks on me, after all a lot has happened today.
I like this feeling. Being alone. Nothing but the wind in my face and my own thoughts to occupy me. It's great.
From the corner of my eye I see a flash of red coming towards me. It happened so fast. I didn't have any time to react.