On Saturday I wake up and see that it is 10:30. I don't usually sleep this late but this week has been stressful from dealing with Travis! He won't leave me alone. Especially since Kade had been suspended.

    Today is my first day working for Mr. Mathews! He offered me $7 an hour. It may not seem like much but for a first job its good.

    I stretch and get out of bed. Dad says I can go to the gym to workout with him. He goes around noon every Saturday. So I head downstairs for a granola bar and some water. Dad is there. He smiles at me.
     "Today is your big day!"
     "Daaaaddd!" I sigh and roll my eyes.
     "You gonna go to the gym today?"
     "Yes! I was about to go get dressed." I tell him as I bite into my granola bar.
     "Dress appropriately.... I don't want perves looking at you." Again I roll my eyes and finish my bar.
     "I'll be fine dad. I'm not gonna dress in short shorts or a skimpy bra!!"

    He laughs and nods heading to his room to get dressed. I do the same and pull out my phone. There is a text from Travis yet again and it says.
'Hope you get hot and sweaty today.' How does he know I'm gonna work out with dad?

    As I'm shaking and looking at the text when a text from Candy comes through.
Candy: Hey do you want to go to the mall later today? I need some fall clothes that aren't monochromatic!
Me: Maybe I have to work today and I have to collect my allowance! 👽
Candy: Okay text me if you can. When do you get off?
Me: IdK this is my first day.

    I head down to the living room where Laura is sitting on the recliner.
     "Hey whats up?" I ask.
     "Sick. Being pregnant is not fun." She groans.
     "My mom says that once the first trimester is over the morning sickness gets better." I tell her.
     "Oh well knowing the history of pregnancy in my family, I'll be sick all the way through." She says.
     "Try some water and saltine crackers. They say salt calms a upset stomach." I say and thats when dad comes down.

    I turn to Laura and give her a quick hug. She smiles and rolls to her side to sleep a little more. I turn to dad and we head out to his truck. It's an old red, beat up, and rusted Chevy.
     "Ready to roll?"
     "When am I not!??"
He laughs and hands me the keys and jumps in the passenger side.

    I'm not old enough to drive but where we are driving the roads are dead. Dad let me drive in Boston before he left but now he's a cop and he still lets me. I laugh and run to the driver side. Hopping in I rev the engine and we roll dad giving me directions.
* * * *
    When we pull in I see a familier car.
     "Uhhh dad, Travis is here." I say as a shiver goes through me at the thought of his text.
     "He texted me again to. He said 'hope you get hot and sweaty'."
     "Okay well then you just stick close to me and we will make this a quick run." He tells me.

    So with a sigh of resignation I head in sticking like glue to dad's side. He has a personal trainer so I guess I'll be doing dad's workout.

    I just want to do cardio but dad says.
     "Why don't you lift some weights with me?"
     "Okay lets go!"

    We get to the weight room and to my horror Travis is in there. I stop and shake my head no.
     "Honey its okay. He won't mess with you while I'm here." Dad whispers to me. I nod and stick close to dad not daring to look at Travis.

    I meet dad's trainer. His name is Brock, he is 6'2 and built like a cow. In some ways he is intimidating but he's a big sweet heart when you talk to him.
     "What are your fitness goals?" He asks me as I do weighted lunges between the machines.
     "I want to stay lean but still develop muscle." I say smiling.
     "You do know your way around a gym! Do you workout often?" He asks me.
     "I do more running. Occasionally I'll go to the gym but I like running more."
     "Well keep it up, you look great!" At that dad steps in and gives him the 'don't look at my daughter that way' look and I blush.

     "Can I go to the Treadmills?"
     "Yeah." Dad says shortly and I head off as fast as I can. The sound of the mills whiring is calling to me. I walk as fast as I can and get one just as Travis sits down behind it.

    Ignoring him I plug my earbuds in and pull up some AC/DC and start the running. Its been forever so I start slow and build up speed. As I get faster I start smiling, it feels good to run. My problems leave for the moment and I run flat out.

    After 20 mins I am exhausted and turn to find Travis smirking at me.
    "You can run but you can't hide from your problems." I didn't answer just walked past him and headed back to dad. He'd seen the exchange and was smiling.
     "Good job. If you just ignore him he'll leave you alone."
     "Well I'll try anything at this point!"  I exclaim and then rush back to Travis.

    He doesn't see me coming. Anger comes over me and so I act on it. I slap him in the face and knee him where the sun don't shine. Dad rushes to me and pulls me back.
     "Whoa there Annie Oakley!" I'm panting and completly tired. Tears are rolling down my face and dad sees this.

     He picks me up as silent sobs rock my body and carries me to the car.
     "I-I-I'm-m-m sorr-ry." I mumble as he puts me into the car.
     "It's okay. He deserved it. What he does and did to you is not right!"

    I sigh and roll into the window resting my eyes as we head down the road. I feel my eyes close and that's the last thing I remember before I'm being wakened in our driveway.
* * * *
    The time Kade and his Dad come to get me comes quickly. I have put on a grunge outfit, one that is suitable for ranch life.
     "Hey." I say shyly to Kade since its been like three days since I've seen him.
     "Hey how are you?"
     "Pretty good. I saw Travis at the gym a few minutes ago and he got some smacks to the face." I laugh. Kade gives me a smile and turns to his dad.
     "I think we are ready to go."

    The ride to the ranch is pretty awkward. Me and Kade were quiet, I didn't know what to say to him. His dad is quiet because he can sense the tension between us.

    When we get to the ranch it's lunch time and so we head and sit down with the rest of the hands. There is Jerry, the old foreman and uncle of Kade. There is Louise, the biggest player on the ranch. And finally, there is Jada, Kade's sister.

    The lunch is awkward and silent. The hostility between Kade and his sister is obvious and Jerry keeps making comments and making Jada mad. So all together the family isn't getting along.

    After the Lunch Mr. Mathews calls me to his office.
     "So Kara what jobs do you not want?"
     "I really don't want to help round-up, or brand the cows. I'm good with anything besides those." I tell him.
     "Okay.... I understand you're a vegetarian?"
     "Yeah, so if you thought about making me kill the cows, I can't." I state.
     "We don't kill them here. We raise them and sell them to the killers or other ranchers who want to grow their herd." He laughs.
     "So what will I be doing?" I ask.
     "You can do anything from clean stalls and feed the cows to helping Rosita in the Kitchen."

    The day progresses and I end up helping feed and clean the horses. I get to hang with Kade and he sees my joy.
     "How are you liking it so far?"
     "It's pretty good. I like being around the horses, they are calming!"
     "That's good. Maybe on Friday we can go horse back riding!?" He asks.
     "Sure!" I say as we head back to the house.
     "Hey I have to go. I'm going shopping with Candy and need to get a shower and dressed." I tell him as my dad pulls up.
* * * *
      Later after I've showered and dad gave me my allowance I'm searching for an outfit. I pull out my 'Jerk Repellent' shirt and my light wash skinny jeans. Along with my white combat boots and my hair waving down my back; I look okay.

    Candy's mom pulls up at 6 and I rush out pulling on a jacket. I have $60 to spend. This is my two week allowance and I plan to make the most of it.
     "Hey girl!" Candy calls as I hop in the car.
     "Hey! Hey Darlean!" I say to them.

    Darlean is a sweet lady. She is Candy's mom and well Candy gets her disposition from her.
     "Hey sweety! Where to today?"
     "I don't know. I need sweaters and some cardigans." I tell her.
     "Well we could go to some thrift stores and some department stores." She tells us.
     "So how was your first day on the job?" Candy asks.
     "Pretty good. Kade asked me to go horse back riding next Friday!" I squeal.

    She smiles and then turns up the radio. We jam to some of her favorite soul music. Things like 'Back to Black' by Amy Winehouse. Her and her mom are jamming when I get the text.
Travis: You will be sorry you ever came to this town.
And thus they don't hear my gasp. I forward it to Kade and my dad and then act like I'm not shaken to my core.
* * * *
    We get to a Goodwill that is right outside of town 20 minutes later. The place is pretty much empty and it has a big selection. We go to the sweater section and I find a couple.

    Candy who is on her mission to become un-monochromatic heads to the jeans section. Her mom turns to me and asks.
     "Have you noticed anything different about her lately?"
     "No not really. I haven't known Candy that long and so I don't know anything by what she is now." I tell her a little worriedly.
     "She has been evasive and a little rebellious." She tells me.
     "Well I'll look for signs of distress." I say as I pull out an Olive Green Cardigan. It is very worn but looks cool.

    By the and of Goodwill I have two cardigans. My Olive Green one and a black one.

    We head to another thrift store called Green Street Boutique. They have a lot of things that are in major style. We pull out option after option. This may be my new place to shop. I find a Hot Chille Peppers t-shirt, and a black sweater. The sweater is super soft and looks great on me.

    Next we head to Ross's a great discount store. They are super busy and have some great shirts. I find a sky blue t-shirt, a grey t-shirt, an Olive Green pull over, a tan, white, and black sweater and a pair of cute black biker boots.

Finally to the Vans store in the mall. I get a cute blue and pink Vans shirt.

    At the end of the day I have $2 left. We head home and I fall asleep on the way there. Its been a long day.
* * * * 
    As I lay in bed I feel contentment wash over me. I have a great life. Mom is doing okay and Dad is good to me. We aren't together as a family, but at least I have both of them. I need go call mom and Lacie. We haven't even texted in a while. I miss them both so much.

Thanks for reading this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long to get out but school is hectic. High school is the worse. I hate not being able to write but this is the way it will be for a while.
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Follow these people because they follow me. Please like this chapter if you like it and comment tell me what you think!
                                                   --TBJ2004