chapter thirty two

"You can take my dignity, but you can never take my lankiness."

_____________________

picture: practically emily on crutches

WHO LIKES THE NEW COVER? I FREAKING LOVE IT LIKE OMFG IT IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT.

thanks for the mass votes and comments last chapter, love you long time ladies and gentlemen xoxo

_____________________

It was only two days later that I found myself leaving the hospital with Emily by my side, sitting in a wheelchair with her left leg plastered. The bruises and cuts started to heal, but where still there - the scars being a permanent reminder of what really happened.

Things had started to look up for Emily. She was going to live with me for the next few weeks while lawyers figured out where she would live, as her mother is in jail and her father is long gone. Emily had told me that she might be living with her Aunt - after the weeks she will be staying with me - who lives only half an hour away, so she can still attend Octavia High.

I'm just grateful that she isn't going to do the whole 'disappearing act' like some kids do when their parents are not in custody of them.

"You know, I always thought wheelchairs were so cool," Emily comments as I push her out of the hospital, waiting for Tyler to drive his car around to pick us up. But they aren't. They suck, Nova. I feel like I have no freedom."

I hold back a laugh, "Two minutes and you're already feeling like this?" Emily is stuck with crutches until her cast comes off, even then she will have to wait until her leg is strong enough to walk on. The doctors said the cast would be on for the next three to four weeks, which is fair enough for a fractured ankle. "And I thought Nate was the sook in our group of friends."

"Ha," she replies dryly, "When you're in as much pain as I am, remind me to kick you where it hurts most and then see how you feel."

"Touché." Poor Emily is not in good condition at the moment, and by the looks of her 'pill bag' she is going to be up in the clouds. I'm pretty sure Austin is going to ask her to slip a painkiller in his mashed potato. "Where is he?" I growl. Tyler was supposed to be here waiting for me, yet his car isn't even in sight.

"I don't know," Emily shrugs, "He's your pain in the ass boyfriend."

"Hey, he bought you KFC, I'd watch your words if I were you," I resist the temptation to click my fingers with all the sass I have in me, but shove my hand in my hoodie's pocket to stop me from doing so. Actually, its Tyler's hoodie. I stole it the other night when I was over helping him study for our Chemistry exam since he tripped and spilled freezing cold water over my sweater.

He's that clumsy he'd probably trip on the way up to get his certificate of graduation and wonder why where that extra step came from.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Emily gushes sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "For the love of KFC, please forgive me for I have sinned. I'm joking, that boy is so crazy with you he forgets practically everything anyone tells him when you're around."

I think back to last week, holding back a bark of laughter. Tyler had absentmindedly agreed to a competition of 'Who Can Eat The Most Shit In One Minute' because he was consumed with ogling at me eating my sandwich like a normal person would.

"Well hey, I'm pretty irresistible," Emily looks at me with disbelief. "Oh, shut up. Let me dream for once."

I hear the sound of a cars engine revving nearby, turning my head to see Tyler driving towards us. I put my hand on my hip, turning on my whole 'bitch please' mode.

"What took you so long?" I interrogated, "Poor Emily is suffering out here."

He smirks, rolling his eyes. "Poor Emily, I'm sure she's enjoying being pushed around like a baby." Emily glares at him harshly, causing Tyler to put his hands up in defense.

"So you're coming back to school tomorrow, right?" I ask Emily once we are all in the car, Emily sitting in the back and me in the passenger seat. The doctors had collected the wheelchair; meaning Emily is stuck with crutches for the next few weeks. I've only had crutches once, but long enough to know that they hurt like a bitch after a while. They give you nasty bruises under your arms and they get so exhausting you nearly fall ass over.

"Unfortunately," she scowls at me through the rear view mirror, "I don't exactly want to sit at your house like a Debby Downer eating all your food. That actually sounds like a good idea." She thinks about it for a second, "Nah, I may as well come. I'd rather be around people that can help me than by myself where I can fall over and not be able to get up for hours."

She has a good point, because nobody would be home to help her up the stairs or to the toilet. I've already had to help her to the toilet and it wasn't pretty.

"True," I agree, watching as Tyler pulls into goddamn McDonalds. I look at him with a confused look, and he smiles sheepishly back at me.

"I'm hungry!" He yelps. "I need food or else I'll starve to death."

I roll my eyes at him, telling him I want an ice cream. He grumbles something under his breath that sounds like 'I aint' your bloody ATM', making me slap him over the back of his head.

"You fight like an old married couple," Emily cries out from the backseat - where she belongs. I glare at her - effectively making her shut the poop up.

Tyler helps Emily out of the car and hands her the crutches the hospital gave her while I scoop up the cup of ice cream in my palm, observing from a distance. An easier way to put it would be that I'm being lazy. Being lazy is perfectly normal though, its natural and you should embrace it; cause it really gets you place in life.

I mean, look. I have a boyfriend to be my slave.

Kidding.

Not.

"Welcome to my humble abode," I open the door with widespread arms for Emily. "No eating my food, and definitely no breathing allowed." I smirk slightly, blocking my nose with my fingers and pretending to pass out.

"Jesus you're extra sassy today," Emily hits me with her crutch. I yelp at the impact, gingerly prodding the spot where she hit me. "That's for not getting me an ice cream!"

"You didn't ask me," I whine, but Emily has already taken off at lightning fast speed.

Well, as fast as a girl on crutches can go.

"Slow down," I chase after her, "Where did you get all this upper body strength? I play volleyball and my arms aren't even that strong."

"That's cause' you're a freaking lanky stick," she yells as she practically leaps with the crutches. I remotely hear Tyler yelling at Emily to slow down but I block him out, too busy trying to catch my bastard of a best friend. "Get some meat on your goddamn bones! More nuggets! More ice cream! I'm going to fatten you up while I'm staying with you."

"Noooooo," I slump to the floor, pretending to cry. "You can take my dignity, but you can never take my lankiness."

"Nova, what are you doing on the floor?"

My body becomes rigid, I freeze instantly. Why is my mother here? She isn't supposed to be home until after dinner.

"Um," I don't know how to reply. I see Emily stop her marathon in the distance, looking at my mother with confusion. Even she knows that my mother is barely ever home. It is always just good ole' Austin and I. "Hi?" I squeak, getting up from the floor. "What are you doing home so early?"

My mother looks nervous, something I am definitely not used to. My mother is the equivalent of a carefree hippie - well, she tries to be carefree, but with the messed up family we have its kind of hard to. "Yeah ... that." She gulps, "Show Emily to her room and meet me in the living room with Austin, we need to talk about things."

You know something is wrong when your mother says that. I wonder who its about? My father? Or is it about Austin being in the movie? A million possibilities run through my head, but I just can't shake my head off the fact that its got to be about my reckless father.

I nod, slumping my shoulders as I walk towards Emily who has an awkward look on her face. "Man, something is up," she whispers as Tyler and I help her up the stairs. "I've never seen your mum so serious, and I barely ever see her either!"

"Yeah," I wince, "I'm really worried."

"Do you think it's about...?" Tyler trails off, looking at me with concern etched over his features. I nod reluctantly, because I can't escape the truth. "I'll stay with Emily while we wait for you to come back," he hugs me tightly once we are finished helping Emily up. "Everything's going to be fine," he whispers in my ear.

No, it won't. But, with Tyler saying that, it sparks a tinge of determination within my veins.

"Thanks."

"It's no-"

"For everything," I emphasize my point, clutching onto Tyler's shirt, "I better go now, I have a bit of chocolate stashed in my top draw, and you can give Emily one."

Tyler grins cheekily, "Isn't that your underwear draw?"

I slap his chest, laughing lightly. "You've been perving haven't you?"

"Pssh," he rolls his eyes, "Never."

I know I should be angry that he's been looking through my panties and bra draw, but this is Tyler we are talking about. He's so nonchalant about things like that, and I have practically nothing to stress about.

Austin frowns at me when I tell him we have to go downstairs to have a talk with our mom. He asks me why the hell she would want to have a deep conversation with us when she barely even utters hello to us most of the time, too consumed with work.

True to my mother's word, she is waiting in the living room, but she's not alone. My father is next to her, lounging on the couch watching some reality show on the television. I hold my glare, taking a seat in the two-seater with Austin sitting beside me.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Austin interrogates the two of them, but my father could care less as he is too consumed in the 'hilarious' show. Yeah, right.

"Well," my mother's fingers tangle on her lap, a sign that she is nervous. I may not spend a lot of time with her, but she's still my mother and she raised me to be the fabulous child I am today - just with a messed up family. I still love my mother - and dare I say it, my father - but they just get on my nerves with their devotion to work and the fact that one is cheating and the other doesn't want to acknowledge it.

"Your father and I have come to an agreement," her brown hair sways slightly as she turns to look at my pig of a dad who still isn't looking at her, "That we are filing for divorce."

My jaw drops.

Divorce?

My stomach drops to the pit of my stomach. What does this mean? What's going to happen now? All these unanswered questions mess with my head to the point where I think I'm giving myself a headache.

"Divorce," Austin echoes.

"That's right," mom doesn't look happy nor sad, she looks emotionless in fact. It was surprising to see such a void expression on her face. "Ryan," she sternly acknowledges her soon to be ex husband, "Tell them now."

Tell us what?

He yawns slightly, thinking about it before looking at Austin and I. "I'm not fighting for custody," he shrugs it off like its nothing. Heck, he can't even have the guts to fight for his own children. His flesh and blood. "My work has too big of commitments and I can't handle having two brats eating all the food and making more of a mess than I need in my life."

I bite back the chain of insults that I just want to yell at him. How dare he? How dare he call us brats? I am the one who puts food on everyone's plates. I'm the one who does the groceries, the chores, the washing; I cook the food for god's sake. They're the brats that run around eating and making a mess - not us.

But, as always, I hold back what I really want to say because I know that it's going to cause more trouble than good.

I see in my peripherals Austin looking like he wants to murder him. I don't want Austin doing something irrational - and I know for a fact that if someone tempts him he will, even at only sixteen years old - so I put my hand on his chest and push him back from the position he was in. "Don't bother," I mumble.

"So we are staying with mom?" I conclude from his stupid little remarks. "And I'm guessing you're moving in with Laura?"

My dad clicks his tongue, "Smart girl we have here, Natalie."

"What's the catch?" I demand an answer, "There's got to be a catch."

"Wow, you are on a roll November," he claps. Wow, he can remember my name but he can't remember Austin's. How disgusting. "You don't think I would just leave without getting half of my money back, would you? I wanted to sell the house and get half the profit, but Natalie over here wouldn't have a bar of that. So, basically, I get the summer house and half of our savings," he smiles greedily.

I wish I could rip all of those stupid teeth out of his gums.

"Okay," I grit my teeth. "Is that all?"

"Unfortunately," he says piggish-ly.

I leave before I cause a whole hell of a lot of destruction. I force Austin to come with me as well, even though he is lining up his fist with our fathers face, no doubt. I drag him up the stairs and into my room where Tyler and Emily are pigging out on all of my chocolates.

"I thought I said one," I grumbled, locking the door so that the parentals wouldn't intrude. I snatch a Kit Kate off the bed, sitting next to Tyler with my head resting against the bed head.

Austin slumps to the floor with a sullen look on his face. His fists are clenched and I can tell that if I didn't force him upstairs he would have made a mess downstairs.

And I'm not talking about furniture.

"Well, they're getting a divorce," I wince as the thoughts flood back to me, "Dad isn't fighting for custody, only taking half of the savings and the summer house."

"Isn't that good?" Emily cocks an eyebrow.

I mull it over in my head. There are a lot of cons, but there are also a lot of advantages.

Advantages:

1) I won't have to put up with my father anymore.

2) My mother might actually spend more time at home.

3) I won't have to cook as much food anymore.

Cons:

1) The bastard is taking the savings for my college funds.

2) I will have to work more so that all the bills can be paid.

The advantages overrule the cons, which is beneficial. I just think it's so sudden that they're divorcing. I've always said that I wanted them to, but I never really thought it over properly. I didn't even scratch the surface of how painful divorces really are.

I thoroughly dislike my father, but regardless of that, he's still my dad.

He's still the dad who was my best friend when I was younger. He was still the one who taught me all about the stars, and painted my ceiling with them.

It's hard to think that everything that used to happen can all be thrown out of the window without a second thought, crushed and shattered to pieces, only the scars and memories left behind.

Tyler squeezes my hand with his.

Right now, I shouldn't be thinking about all this crap.

I should be thinking about my friends, my boyfriend and how I'm only chugging along through school.

"You know what," I turn to look at Austin, "Fuck him. Fuck him and his annoying personality, our life will be so much better without him anyway."

Austin laughs lightly. "Yeah. It really will, wont it?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," I wink.

"Are you guys finished the mushy talk yet? I'm starving."

Trust Emily to interrupt us, and I thought Tyler was the one with the stomach that can never seem to be filled.

_____________________

Sorry if this has weird spacing, I wrote it on my sisters macbook. I hate mac's and I don't know why. They have a weird keyboard and her caps lock is crapped.

OH AND PLAYING MATCHMAKER HIT #39 IN TEEN FICTION I LEGIT HAD A LITTLE HEART ATTACK OMFG THIS IS AMAZING I'M SO PROUD.

this chapter is not one of my best, sorry about that peoples! I kinda rushed it because I really wanted an update to come out

goals:

510 votes

170 chapters

thanks for reading nuggachos, love you long time xoxoxo