hours passed since their little "hangout" and Miles was once again left alone in his dark bedroom. He laid on his back thinking about what life would be like after high school. He sighed, turning on his side as his phone buzzed with a text from his mother.
"working late, dont stay up for me. tell dad to reheat the leftovers"
nothing new, miles had grown used to his mother's constant excuses to hide her little affair with her colleague, John. Dont get miles wrong, john was a great guy from what he had seen when he bumped into him once or twice. But that's what made it worse, why wasn't miles and his father enough for her? What did nice guy John have? The answer was simple, nothing. The texts didn't surprise him anymore, but that didn't make them easier to read. John this, john that. He couldn't hate the guy but he sure as hell wanted to.
Miles dragged himself out of bed and walked down the stairs into the kitchen where his father was already sitting at the dining room table, reading the newspaper while the smell of cigarettes and alcohol practically radiated off of him. Miles scrunched his nose up slightly as he sat across from his old man. His father, james, looked up from the newspaper and gave Miles a tight lipped smile. It was ironic how his father always gave him a hard time when he failed his classes, and yet here he was - practically drowning in his own self pity and cheap alcohol.
"alcohol and cigarettes aren't gonna make mum wanna stay with us, you're just digging your own grave" Miles stated bluntly as he stared at the older man whose smile had flattened slightly by the time the words left his son's lips.
"i dont need advice from a fifteen year old" his father replied bitterly as he lit his 6th cigarette for that day. He took a long, deep drag, exhaling the smoke through his nose while he stared up at the hard wood ceiling.
"it wasn't advice, it was my opinion. Big difference plus why would i give advice to someone who cant even take his own advice?" Miles asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared back at his father. "and im fourteen not fifteen, you'd know that if you bothered to actually spend time with me instead of running after mum like a goddamn puppy while she has an affair right infront of your face" he added, now looking away as his father's jaw clenched.
His father clenched his jaw so hard that he was scared it might break. He relaxed his face, taking another long drag from the cigarette as he stared at Miles, his hardened expression not flattening.
"you need to learn to shut your mouth or atleast be respectful, boy." his father finally said, his annoyance and anger a stark difference from the softer expression he wore on his wrinkly face moments earlier.
"Hard to respect a man who forgot his own son's birthday. You're supposed to be my dad but you care more about mum and that guy to even remember something as simple as my birthday" miles retorted, his voice starting to rise along with the frustration and anger at his parents. He stood up, the creak of the old chair seemed to be almost mocking the boy as he tried calming his emotions. He turned to leave the room and stopped just as he reached the bottom of the old staircase. He looked over his shoulder and muttered to his father, who was still in shock from his sudden out burst. "your wife said you should reheat the leftovers" and once the last word was spoken, he was back to walking to his bedroom. Miles slammed the bedroom door shut and threw himself onto the soft bed, he stared up at the ceiling and he could feel the tears brimming in his eyes already.
---
Leia turned her spare key in the lock as quietly as she could. The door creaked anyway - it always did and she could feel the pit already forming in her stomach. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what's to come. The living room light was off but the sound from the tv was a clear sign. That meant her stepmother, jessica was home. Which also meant her father wasn't far away and it meant trouble for leia if either of them were drinking.
She slowly took off her shoes to make sure she went unnoticed and silently stuffed her pink notebook in her backpack. The house smelt of weed and something burnt, again.
"you're late" Jessica's annoying voice echoed through the small house as she took a sip of beer. She didn't bother looking at leia, instead her gaze trained on some old soapie playing on channel 3. Leia nodded as she turned off the oven and removed the burnt food. As usual, she had to clean up after grown adults who could easily do it themselves but they were too lazy and drugged.
"i had an assignment to finish with mia, its due tomorrow so we had to do the finishing touches" leia explained calmly. She was telling the truth, as she always did. She didn't need to look at jessica to tell that the older woman had rolled her eyes already.
"thats funny, cause my friend told me she saw you with that smith boy" jessica said mockingly as she turned to finally look at leia.
"yeah he walked me to Mia's house, it's not exactly safe for a fourteen year old girl to walk alone in a dangerous area" leia answered calmly once again. She was trying really hard to keep her emotions in check as she looked back at her stepmother.
"you sure that's all that happened?" jessica pressed on and leia just pretended not to hear the question.
Leia passed the living room and made her way to her bedroom where she quietly shut the door and she sat with her back against the white wooden door. She unlocked her phone, just to stare at the picture that saved as her home screen. A picture of miles and her sitting on the oak tree back when they were 12. She took a deep, shaky breath as she finally let her tears flow after a long, stressful day at school. Her only motivation was the hope of a future with Miles far, far away from this place they were forced to call home.