At 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning, I was woken up by my phone's ringtone. Chad's name appeared on the screen. I was kind of pissed off about it because I always hated being woken up from a good sleep.

Remembering what he did at the party caused my anxiety levels to shoot through the ceiling. 'Could this be considered as harassment?' I asked myself. I was so indecisive about answering his call that I mindlessly watched my thumb hover over the 'decline' button. I let the phone ring for a while before finally making a decision.

"Hello."
"Hey cutie. Do you mind if I crash in your backyard for the night?" He asked, sounding highly intoxicated.
"What?" I hissed. "Are you crazy? Where the hell is Trent?" I added.

I tried my best to avoid waking up my parents. My room was pitch black and I did not have the energy to argue with Chad. If my parents had caught me that night, I would have been wide awake with adrenaline tickling every nerve in my body and I am almost positive that I would've stayed awake with wide eyes staring straight up at the plain white ceiling.
But instead, I was very relaxed.

"Oh yeah, we got into a fight at the party, ain't that crazy?" he asked laughing.
"Whatever," I yawned. "You can sleep in the back, but don't you dare touch my gym equipment. You heard?"
"Ok boss," he says with amusement.
"And you better get your ass out before my parent's find you. If they do, don't tell them what school you go to," I add.
"Got it shawty," he says.
"Don't call me that," I hissed before hanging up.

I laid in my bed for a while trying to figure out what Chad and Trent could have possibly fought for. 'Had Trent heard about what happened in the dark room between me and Chad? Was it an argument? Do they usually fight then make up the next day? Was it because they were both drunk?' While lost in my thoughts I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Sometimes the smallest change can have a great impact and for many, my first 'wild night' may be perceived as innocent, or nothing serious but every action had a reaction. Either my integrity was followed by rewards, or my sins had consequences.

I woke up hours later; 6 a.m. to be more precise. Sunlight shone on my face and gradually warmed the room. I sat upright rubbing my head in a daze. I would often get migraines when I was a teenager. I considered them to be the occasional reminders of my life still enduring.

I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, washed my faced and changed into gym clothes. Every Saturday, dad and I would go out for a quick jog. My casual Saturday routine was falling into place perfectly.
Until I got outside.

I remember my heart constantly thumping as I tipped-toed downstairs, hoping and praying that Chad Blake was out of my backyard. I retrieved the house keys from the top draw in the kitchen. I jammed the key in the keyhole and giggled it vigorously hoping that Chad would get the message and skedaddle. I grabbed the handle after turning the key and pulled the door open. I went out and scouted around the yard.

'It's like he's trying to get me into shit.' I thought to myself as I stared at our outside bench. The 'hangover shades' was a clear sign that Chad was there. It was enough evidence to get me grounded for five months, I guess. Of course, I might have been a little too dramatic at the time because I'm almost certain that my dad would have never sniffed the pair of glasses and immediately knew that they belonged to a boy  whom I associated myself with. 'But I'd rather be safe than sorry.'

I scanned my surroundings hoping that the sunglasses were the only piece of evidence that he had left behind and that he was nowhere to be seen. "You ready?" A gruff voice startled me. I almost jumped out of my skin assuming that it was Chad messing around.
"Are you okay?"

I didn't expect him to be ready that early.
"Yes," I answered stern. "I just need to get a pair of sneakers. Be right back." I ran up to my room with Chad's shades in hand which I then threw into my school backpack. I grabbed the oldest, scruffiest pair of sneakers I could find to run in then went down to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. My heart rate escalated slightly, and my mouth became dry. Having Chad's shades in my possession was as good as having a bloody knife. Even though I was stressed out by the thought of getting caught, I knew that going for a run would take my mind off of everything.

My father and I were like 'fitness addicts'.
Well, I still am a fitness addict, dad's just a little old now. We used to go for a jog to the nearest park every Saturday morning. When he and my mother were house hunting in Belden, he made sure that they found a house with a park nearby. Out in the back, I found my father doing his 'stretches'.

'Dad,why?' was what I was tempted to ask but I didn't because I already knew the answer. "Always stretch before you use your muscles," was what he would tell me. And so, I joined him.

Thereafter we started a slow jog and talked along the way. From a distance I spotted a familiar face. A familiar, bruised face. Chad's bruised face. 'What the crap happened to Chad?' I asked myself. 'Was their fight that serious? Did Trent do that or was Chad so drunk that he walked into several poles on his way to my house?'

With my dad around, I couldn't go up to Chad and get the answers that I was looking for, so I tried to ignore it and I continued jogging. "Race?" I asked my dad. "Challenge accepted." We both picked up the pace and raced each other to the park. Being younger than him was an advantage because I always won every race. Focusing more on my pace and breathing started to clear my mind and the only thing that I could think of at the time was winning.

After beating him to the park, I stopped at the nearest drinking fountain. The park was filled with early birds; also known as people of the fitness world.
And a few teenagers who desperately needed to get out of the house.

The cool water hit the back of my dry throat. It was refreshing and cooled me instantly. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "If it isn't the life of a party." Startled by the familiar voice, I choked on the water. 'Do I really need this now?' I asked myself.
"Slow down, the water may be running but it's not going anywhere else," he chuckled. I looked around the park to make sure that my dad was still out of sight. "Isn't too early for you to be annoying?" I snapped. I wiped my chin dry then turned off the tap
"Oh. so, you think I'm annoying?" "You can be from time to time," I answered, sounding full of myself.
"Well excuse me Miss."

I gradually became annoyed with him, and I wanted to get straight to the point, so I dragged him by the shoulder to a tree. Not for us to sit in, but to hide behind in case my father picked up the pace and reached the park. "You're the one who yanks people by the shoulder and somehow I'm the annoying one?"
"What happened between you and Chad last night?"
"Woah feisty for a beautiful Saturday morning don't you think?" He asked with wit.
"I'm serious Trent. Tell me what happened. Now."
"Okay relax."

Never ask a female to relax. For me, it was always an ironic situation because the words 'calm down' and 'relax' always triggered a sense of panic. I clenched my jaw then folded my arms while scoping the area. He noticed that that I was growing infuriated and tried to get my attention.

"Look at me," he demanded. We both regained patience as we made eye contact. "Don't worry about it. We just got into a small fight like we usually do nothing extreme," he explained.
"Nothing extreme? Did you see the guy's face after you maimed it?"
"How do you know about this anyways?"
"He spent the night in my backyard! What was the fight about?"
"It was about you."
"Is this about when he pulled me into that dark, empty room?"
I should have never described it that way.
"What?" he asks, baffled.

I didn't want to have to bring it up, but then again, I had to make sure that he didn't hear a twisted version of the story. "I was pissed off too, but nothing happened. I would never tr-"
"Son of a-" he paused. Trent clenched his fists. I almost thought that he was going to the tree next to us. Because younger Kourtney was a little too dramatic. Trent held in his breath for a few seconds then let out a heavy sigh as if he was meditating. "Well, it wasn't about that, but I guess that explains his attitude last night."

He cuffs he's hands behind his neck while I just stand there in silence. His brown curls move along with the cool, gentle breeze." Oh Kourtney," he said in very condescending manner. "Chad thought that I persuaded you to be my date that's all. I had to put him in his place. No big deal."

'But me? Why me?' was probably what I asked my insecure self at the time. Insecure little me wouldn't expect two teenage boys to fight over me because it was implausible for attractive guys to fuss over unattractive girls.
The truth is ...Chad wasn't only drunk on alcohol. He was also drunk on jealousy.

I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "Okay well if it wasn't such a 'big deal' then why did you hit him?" I snap. "Come on Kourt, what are you? A private investigator?" He asked, slowly losing his patients again. 'Oh. But when he asks questions then it's okay?'

"Kourt?"
I thought I was so smart; hiding behind a tree and assuming that it's big enough to hide me from my father. Never mind the fact that he had the ability to walk around the tree just like every other human.

"Hello sir." Unexpectedly, Trent greeted my father. Literally had the guts to simply say 'hello sir'. My father deliberately ignored Trent. I remember the look on my father's face, and it was not good. "Kourtney, what did I say about this kid?"
"We're just talking dad." I started to get nervous. My father was capable of anything. I've been in  similar situations before and from what I can remember; those situations have never ended well.

Trent just stood there while I wished he would just walk away and the longer he stood in front of me, the angrier my father got. "Do you want to say goodbye?" My father asked sarcastically. With that being said my temper escalated.
'What crime am I committing by talking to this boy?' I wondered.

"Sir, we're not doing anything wrong. I just saw Kourtney and stopped to say hi."
"Not doing anything wrong? She knows I don't want her to hang around guys like you!"

And then... I snapped.
"Oh my God! You know what?"

Driven by fury, I deliberately threw my arms around Trent to further provoke my father. It was a little embarrassing because Trent didn't know that I was coming in for a hug and therefore it kind of seemed like I was forcing a hug out of him.
That wasn't the completely humiliating part.

"Bye Trent. See you on Monday."
I turned around and continued jogging. I started to see it all. I started to understand that my life was going to be completely different. Something that I've feared for most of my life, was not knowing what would happen next and that day was the start of every unknown possibility.

There were times when he used to get worked up for now reason and it was infuriating to a point where it was almost asfixiating. Driven by rage, I ran all the way home.

It was a good thing that I didn't have to cross the road on my way back because if I did, then no doubt about it; I would've been hit by a car. He tried to keep up with me, but I made sure I avoided him, knowing that our conversation wouldn't end well.

I know that he meant well, they both did but how can they mean well when their words and actions push you? Push you a little too far over the edge. There were times where I felt as if I was on the edge of a high cliff, hanging on for dear life. My teenage years were so fragile and the slightest things made me want to let go.

Once I reached home I ran straight to the kitchen to get snacks for myself and three bottles of water for the rest of the day. My mother was in the kitchen making breakfast like she usually did on a Saturday morning. She was surprised to see me back home so soon but when she noticed my ungraceful movements she already sensed that there was tention between my father and I.

I couldn't see how the day was going to progress nor could I foresee how it was going to end but I told myself; 'calm down and regain a levelled mind before you regret it.'