CHAPTER FIVE

Kicked Out.

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After a few hours of watching Charlie mess around on the small playground, Harlan decided it was time to head home. Ashley was probably pissed off at him for not coming home in time for her dinner. Dinner that usually consisted of Harlan sitting at the end of the table, away from his little sister, Ashley, and his father. Most of the time he spaced out and slowly drifted off into his own little world.

A nice, perfect world that consisted of himself skateboarding all day everyday. That was all he wanted. To skate. He lifted up his left arm and shook his head at the sight of the bright pink cast. Not only did he want to skate – he wanted to skate without the fucking pink light savour covering his wrist.

Pushing open his front door, Harlan stepped out of his sneakers and made his way into the dining room, where his family were spread out around the large table, their plates all stacked high with mountains of potatoes and some type of meat – well except for Ashley, who was picking away at her dry salad.

“You’re late,” Ethan, his father said dully as he dug into his dinner.

Harlan shrugged. “I was busy.”

“With Charlie I assume?”

He grabbed a plate from the head of the table and took a seat at his regular spot next to Emily. “Yah.”

It was silent as everyone focused on their food. Usually the dinners were pretty quiet – with Harlan drifting off into this own little world, Emily always trying to sneak in a second helping, Ashley cutting her food into the smallest size possible, and well… Ethan was rarely home due to work. It was very rare that the father figure was home for a nice family dinner.

Ever since Brianna, Harlan’s mother, passed away Ethan took on more and more shifts at work, sometimes leaving at four in the morning and not walking into the house until the wee hours of the night.

It was a surprise that Ashley even stuck around – but money caused people to do crazy things. If she was married to Ethan for more than a year she would get a large chunk of money when she decided that it was finally time for her to disappear.

“So Harlan, how is Charlie’s mother? She hasn’t came around in forever!” Ashley laughed to herself as she shook her head slightly.

Charlie’s mom used to be a regular in her gossip crew, but even since she had overheard Ashley talking about how her ass had grown three sizes in the past few months, she started making her appearance scarce. Only coming over when it was absolutely necessary.

“She hates you because you said she had a fat ass,” He replied simply.

She scoffed and looked over at Ethan, an embarrassed smile appearing. And popped a small piece of carrot into her mouth. “I most certainly did not call her bottom fat. I would never say that about anyone.”

Now it was Harlan’s turn to laugh. “Of course you wont,” He chuckled. Lies. She was full of nothing but lies.

A few minutes passed, and Harlan watched out of the corner of his eye as his little sister reached for the pot of potatoes. Quickly, Ashley’s bony arm shot out and she placed her hand on top of Emily’s wrist.

“Emily,” She warned. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Her voice was sugary sweet.

Emily yanked back her arm, and placed it next to her plate defeated.

Harlan pushed his chair back – he had had enough. “I’m going to Charlie’s.”

“What about helping your father with the basement? You said you were going to help with the second coat of paint.”

“Changed my mind – later,” He strode towards the front door where his tattered skateboard was lying. Grabbing it, he walked out the front door and dropped it to the ground.

Ever dinner was the same. Nothing ever changed – it was as if they had fallen into a pattern, a reoccurring rut.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his scratched up cell phone.

“Hey, Tiffany?” He paused, and blew out a breath causing his long bangs to fly up and fall back into place next to his bright blue eye. “Yeah it’s Harlan. You want to hang out tonight?”

There was a giddy laugh, and finally she replied. Harlan flipped his phone shut and jumped onto his skateboard; pushing his way over to the girl he had vowed never to hang out with. Usually the only time he had anything to do with the girl was when Charlie told him to. When he told him to walk her to her locker, or to go to a party with her. If he had told Harlan to make-out with her in the middle of the skate park, he wouldn’t doubt that he would do it. Harlan did whatever his best friend told him to. It was just something that happened, even if he didn’t want it to. Charlie was the puppeteer, and Harlan was the puppet.

•°•

The front door flew open as he pushed his way up the drive way, and out came Tiffany who was sporting a large grin. She had on a navy American Eagle shirt, and a pair of tight low rise jeans. Her feet were bare, as she rushed up to him. “Harlan!”

She engulfed him in a hug and swayed from side to side before releasing him. All the while, Harlan stood as stiff as a board with his arms tight against his side.

“Uh, hey Tiffany.”

She stepped back a foot. “Gosh, I was so worried about you last night! I thought something happened to you, when I couldn’t find you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, completely uncomfortable. “You know what?” He said, more as a statement than a question. “I think I’m gonna go – Ashley wants me home for some… cat thing.”

Tiffany’s face dropped as she crossed her arms across her chest. “What?”

“Yeah I uh… have to help her with the dog.”

“You just said cat?”

“I meant dog! Dog, cat, same thing right?”

She shook her head, a look of disappointment washing over her face. “No.”

Placing his foot back up on top of the skateboard he pushed himself down the driveway, lifting a hand and waving goodbye. “See you at school on Monday,” He called over his shoulder.

In the distance Tiffany shouted, “Jackass!”

He smiled for the first time in awhile, and laughed. Jackass indeed.

At home, his fathers’ car was out of the driveway and Emily’s bike was missing from its usual place beside the house.

Inside, Ashley was standing in front of the television, which was turned to Oprah, doing leg squats.

“Harlan,” She puffed. “Grab me a water bottle from the fridge.”

Instead of opening the fridge he grabbed a cookie from the box and sat down at the counter, watching his step mom work off as much calories as possible.

“Would you like a diet water? Or just a regular?”

She paused, her blonde bangs plastered to her forehead. “Charming. Grab it, now.”

“Nah, I think I’m going to go kick some Halo ass instead,” He stood up from the chair and smirked.

Her face was reddening, and not from the workout. He knew that look. The look of death she sent you, right before she was going to explode. Or, throw a plate at your head.

“Excuse me?”

Feeling a sudden rush, he squared his shoulders and looked her square in the eye. “Did I stutter?”

Harlan knew he was pushing it. She would blow up any second now. Ashley was the type of person who was very easy to upset. Her temper was like a ticking time bomb, you just never knew when it was going to explode.

“Ok that’s it Harlan. Get out – now. For good,” Surprisingly, her tone was calm as she crossed her arms over top of her chest.

He laughed sarcastically. “Are you really in any position to do that? I mean, did you actually pay for this house?” He paused. “Wait… have you ever paid for anything? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dime from you now that I think about it.”

“Har-”

He kept going. He was on a roll. Finally he was getting everything off of his chest. Finally it was all coming out, and everyone would now know just how he felt. About everything.

“You’re just a typical gold digging, blonde bimbo, gossip whore!” His voice rising, until it was a full on shout.

If it were possible for steam to emerge from someone’s ears, Ashley would be steaming as much as a steam shower.

“Don’t you dare talk to me that way you inconsiderate, self absorbed, naive, little bastard,” Her cool was breaking, crumbling just like the porcelain plate she had chucked at his head just yesterday. “Now I said get out. Get out now! And do not step foot back into this house until I say so. If I so much as see you in this neighbourhood I will call the cops.

“No-”

“Try me,” She challenged, narrowing her eyes at him. “Now get the fuck out.”

Never in the amount of time that Ashley had been living here, had Harlan ever seen her this angry. Usually all she did was flip out, throw something at him, and then kick him out for the day. She had never threatened to call the cops on him.

“Don’t worry; as long as you’re here I’ll never be back. Dad can only put up with you for so long – once he realizes what you did he’ll kick you out on your fat ass.”

And with that, Harlan turned around, grabbed his skateboard and stormed out of the house, furious.

Now where the hell was he supposed to go? It was going to be getting dark at any moment, which meant that he would be sleeping out on the streets. But there was a chance Ashley wasn’t serious. She could have just been pissed off from gaining a few pounds.

Now that he thought about it, Harlan had noticed her getting bigger. Maybe she’d finally realized that looking like a skeleton wasn’t attractive.

Reaching into his hoodie pocket Harlan grabbed his cell and punched in Charlie’s message, but was automatically reconnected to his voicemail.

“Dammit,” He mumbled. Now what was he going to do?

There was the option of skating around town until dark, but that would only waste a few hours. What was he supposed to do when the sun went down? Sleep in the skate park?

His heart lurched.

Laken.

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