Chapter 8: To kill a mocking bird
"I'm telling you, Layla, it was gigantic!" I exaggerate as I describe to her the mouse we saw yesterday.

I'm an animal lover of course but I'm saying animal, not rodent. Well, rodents are animals...but that's not the point. The only reason I was being dramatic was that mice were my worst fear, I do remember a whole ago when my mom bought me a pet mouse, she thought it would teach me to be petite and curious as a lady. How would mice even teach me that? Anyway, I ended up losing the mice in the middle of the night and went on a hunt for it only to come back home and see a bite on my ankle. My mother gave me rabies-infected mice, quite a delightful gift.

Other than that it felt good to talk to Layla, I missed being around the only person who made me feel like me. Layla was like my other half, without her I would be like pizza without the cheese, pb&j without the jelly, chicken without the seasoning...you get the point. As much as I hated showing affection towards people it was easy to be affectionate to her.

"Gross! But was it hot?" she asks through the phone as I hear a grunt.

I quickly took her off speakerphone, sit up straight in my seat, and put down the ring that I'm designing. I've to buy cheap rings and design them, it's kind of my new style.

"Was what hot?" I ask as I stuff a pita chip in my mouth that I put to the side of my working table for a snack. The flavor those chips held was extraordinary, it was like a plain addictive chip.

"Was it hot when Aiden picked the mouse up!" she yelled annoyed by my stupidity, I could even feel like her eyes were rolling through the screen.

A disgusted reaction uplifted in my face that I know she cannot see. I slightly choke on my pita chip trying to remember Aiden picking up the mouse.

I cough for a while before responding to her extremely uncomfortable question, "Seriously? You're asking me if a dude holding a mouse was hot? God, you're insane." I say laughing as I walk over to my bed and plop down on the soft mattress, my feet swing back and forth and my body laid sideways.

"Whatever, you didn't say no. Anyway, I gotta go, my moms making me go to Gucci with her!" she complains before quickly hanging up the phone.

I look at the phone shocked after she hung up and stood back up from the comfy bed that I urged to take a nap on.

Layla was rich, all money and all that. I didn't grow up rich but then I also didn't grow up in poverty so I appreciated where I was at in life. My mom made our family seem more royal, she was always dressed the best out of all of us and made her look to compliment her structure. But, complaining about going to Gucci was a surprise to me, I wasn't a big fan of the brand name stores but I knew Layla loved them.

For a while now I haven't been able to get a hold of my mom or dad, every time I saw them they were either getting ready to go out to a place they wouldn't tell me or they were just simply more invested in their television shows. I did want to talk to my mom about this trip, I mean I'm well-grown and safe to raise myself in our house. If dad dropped me back home I could stay there... I put on my slides excitedly and ran down the long stairs, tiredness filling me every step. I walked to my parent's room downstairs that was farther from the living room and closer to the kitchen.

I walked over to their white-painted room door and rested my hand on the gold knob as I quickly turned it, I open the door with excitement in my and quickly rethink my action. Mom was dressed in red detailed lingerie that clung tightly onto her small body, her hair was put in a nice bun and she had a.. is that a whip in her hand? Dad was laying in bed shirtless, a bright smile lifted on his face as he watched my mom closely. When I tell you I felt the pizza come up my throat from lunch...I wasn't kidding.

"MY EYES NO!" I yelled as I cover my eyes and quickly shut the door.

I hear them both gasp in complete shock and shuffle around a little. I quickly walk away still covering my eyes and trying to recover from the sight I just saw.

When did she have time to buy that?

Before I know it I hit something hard and feel the little air that I had tried to manage from the interaction with my parents quickly leave me, I felt myself get thrown back and my butt hit the hardwood floor, "Owww!" I groaned as I slightly shifted on the floor in pain and opened my eyes.

"God, how many times are you going to bump into me?" a familiar voice asked in an annoyed tone.

I looked up to see Aiden standing in front of me. His sharp blue eyes filled with anger as he stared at me on the floor, his messy black hair slightly in his face as usual and he was wearing a t-shirt that bad nothing but the color of navy blue on it.

Talk about style.

"How many times are you going to walk when I walk!" I yelled at him.

Yeah, that didn't sound smart.

He gritted his perfectly straight teeth and wiped his mouth angrily with his hand as he breathed in, "Says the one who had her eyes closed," he replied with a scowl as he glared at me.

"Exactly!" I say back as I shuffle my way off the hardwood floor, "I had my eyes closed! How come you weren't looking where you were going!" I replied while standing up and slowly cracking my injured back.

He stood there thinking of a reply, his blue eyes playing competition with mine. Before he could reply I noticed he was holding something behind his back.

"What's that?" I asked with a raised brow as I peek my head behind him to see what he was hiding.

"None of your business" he answered quickly as he dodged away from me. His hands still hidden firmly behind his back and his face looking slightly irritated.

"THE STOVE IS ON FIRE!" I yelled pointing towards the kitchen behind him.

He quickly turned around with confusion in his eyes and I grabbed the item from his loose hands.

"You read books?" I asked surprised as I held the thick book in my hands. I didn't mean it rudely but not many "bad boys" read books.

"Give it back!" he growled annoyed as he realized I was only telling a fib, he reached out trying to grab the book from my arms, since he was more muscular and bigger it was hard for me to make sure he didn't snatch it.

"To kill a mocking bird" I read aloud as I fight away from his grip and slightly tilt the book higher above my height.

Before I could continue he snatched the book out of my hand effortlessly and reminded me that he is way taller than I am.

"I heard that book was good," I told him noticing the anger in his face, trying my best to not get killed.

"It is," he said calming down slightly as he clenched his perfectly formed jaw and gripped the book tighter making the pages slightly crumble.

I am about to speak in the daring silence we stood in before I heard my mothers voice, "Honey! I'm so sorry did you want to talk to us?" she said walking over to me in a yellow silk gown robe, my dad beside her with a look of guilt on his face as he rubbed his bald head back and forth.

Suddenly the image I discovered earlier came back in my head and I quickly shut my eyes again, trying my best to think of something happier and not disgusting.

I reopen my eyes and try my best to not look at dad or mom, "NO! NO! It's fine, it's fine." I fake chuckle as I slowly walk backward separating myself from them, I feel myself bump into Aiden's hard chest...again.

"Sorry," I whisper as I turn around to see his face become more irritated, "I'm just gonna..." I say as I point my thumbs to the stairs that lead back to my room, awkwardly chuckling.

They all look at me and I quickly turn around and start to walk up the long stairs.

I need to wash my eyes, a million times.

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