Two weeks later

I hurry towards the front door, a bag filled with my bathing suit and towel in hand as the sound of incessant honking rings out from outside.

"Wait Miss," A voice calls out from behind me. I turn and see Loraine standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway, a guilty expression adorning her face. She beckons me to follow her, quickly leading me into the kitchen.

"Oh," I say, looking down at one of my dad's favourite and most expensive vases smashed on the floor. "I don't know what happened I was sweeping and it just feel over," She stutters, getting upset.

"I really need this job and you know how your father is," She sighs, a pained expression forming on her face. She's right, my dad has fired maids for much less.

"Erm just sweep it up into a bag and chuck it in a bin far away from the house," I rush out, distracted by the beeping outside intensifying. "And if he asks deny deny deny," I tell her as I speed walk back out into the foyer.

I open the front door, immediately being hit with the coldness of the brisk November morning. "Damn girl you took your time," Dex says, his head sticking out of the backseat window.

"Sorry," I smile sheepishly, climbing into the passenger seat.

For the past two weeks me, Carter and his friends have been getting closer. They convinced me to rejoin the project which I eventually agreed to after hours of them reminding me that it's half of our grade, so we've pretty much spent every hour of the past two weeks together.

In reality I didn't agree to do the project because of the nagging, it's not like I'll need the good grade when I'm dead. I'm only doing it as a thank you to Carter for arranging this waterpark trip for me, god knows they need the extra hand. 

Although the project is due after winter break we wanted to finish it beforehand so we could actually relax, which is why we have enough time for this trip.

Since it's freezing we obviously can't go to an outdoor waterpark so we're driving three hours to the closest indoor one with Dexter, Jayden and Sylus cramped in the back while Carter drives.

"Jules," Sylus beckons, handing me a bag of Cheetos from the backseat as the car drives off down the road.

A secret smile pulls at my lips as I watch the house getting smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror.

I know as soon as I get home I'm going to be in so much trouble, dad will return from work and realise I'm not there, he'll check the outdoor security cameras and see who picked me up and I will pay for my disobedience.

For some reason the fear I used to feel when I thought about returning to him isn't there. I just simply do not care anymore.

The thought of leaving this earth with no positive memories is much scarier than anything he could do to me.

The car journey is filled with endless chatter and laughter as we talk about anything and everything. The freedom I have makes me feel light and carefree which reflects in how energetic and talkative I currently am.

"You hungry? I can take this turn" Carter asks as we approach a turn into McDonalds. "Yes," Dex groans from the backseat.

"I wasn't asking you," Carter deadpans. "Yeah if we stopped every time you got hungry we'd never get anywhere," Sylus scoffs.

"I could go for some food," I interrupt their bickering, not really being hungry but just wanting to make Dex happy.

Carter immediately takes the left turn, pulling into the drive through.

"You're the best," Dex grins as we exit with the food spread across all our laps. "Yeah thanks Jules," Jayden adds, thankful that I payed for all their food.

"Thanks," Carter grunts, causing me to laugh at his stubbornness. He's still angry because he refused to let me pay but I quickly tapped my card down before he got the chance.

I look down at the monstrous amount of food on my lap, there's two large fries, a burger, mozzarella sticks and a cookie.

I used to obsessively count every calorie I consumed, terrified the paparazzi would take one bad picture of me and I'd be ridiculed on the internet for all to see but that fear just seems silly and irrational now.

The rest of the drive goes quickly, with us mostly just poorly singing along to Dex's playlist while Carter speeds down highway after highway.

"How much were they?" Sylus asks as I return to the group with the tickets. "Only a fiver don't worry," I lie, knowing they were thirty each.

We enter and spilt up, heading to our respective locker rooms. I go into a changing cubical and change into my pastel orange bikini before folding up my baggy jeans and my crocheted top and putting them into my locker.

I walk out the changing room to the area me and the boys agreed to meet, adjusting my scrunchies and numerous bracelets to cover my scars as I do so.

"You ready?" I question as I stand in front of the boys, confused as to why they're all just looking at me in silence.

"Urm yeah," Carter clears his throat, adjusting his shorts before walking down the hall.

We spend the entire day at the waterpark and it's just as fun as I'd always imagined. Me and Carter are the only ones who had enough balls to go on all the biggest slides, the rest chickening out as soon as we got to the top.

"You scared?" I smirk at Carter as we stand at the top of the tallest slide in the whole park. He doesn't reply, instead diving into it at full speed. I scoff before doing the same thing, my body shooting down and landing in the little pool at the bottom.

"Took you long enough," He teases. "Bitch please I came down like two seconds after you," I roll my eyes, splashing him in the face.

He husks out a laugh before extending his hand to help me out of the pool. "You know those pools are filled with piss right," Jayden, who's tried to remain as dry as possible today remarks while chomping down on a hotdog.

Carter backhand slaps him before pushing past and heading towards the changing rooms where Dex and Sylus are already drying off.

"Meet here in five," Carter orders, walking through the doors of the boys changing room.

"What the fuck," I exclaim to myself, standing in front of my pried open locker which is now completely empty. I rush out the room, my feet pattering on the wet tile as I make my way to the boy's door.

"Carter!" I shout, my voice coming out panicked. Seconds later the door is opened and he's in front of me, holding a towel around his waist as he looks at me worriedly. "What's wrong?" He questions.

"Someone broke into my locker," I tell him, the situation now stressing me out. "Fucks sake," He groans. "Give me a minute," He says, heading back into the locker room.

He returns moments later, his jeans now on and his black t shirt clinging to his chest due to the rushed job he did at drying himself. "Here," He says, extending his arm and offering me his flannel.

I wrap it around myself as I watch him angrily storm off in search of a worker. He returns not two minutes later with a women employee who immediately ushers me into the changing room.

'It was this one," I tell her, showing her the locker and my key. "Well unfortunately there's nothing we can do, there's no cameras in here so it would be impossible to know who took your stuff," She says insincerely after a few silent moments, as if this whole situation is inconveniencing her.

I don't feel the need to argue with her because even though my clothes and my phone were in there it doesn't really matter, it's not like I'll need them soon enough.

I'm just thankful I had to use another locker for my shoes since they couldn't fit in the first one.

"Okay," I state, grabbing my shoes and handing her the key before walking out. "There's nothing they can do," I shrug at the boys who are all waiting outside for me.

"What? Wait here I'll go and-" Carter starts to ramble angrily but I cut him off. "It's okay," I calm him. "I don't care," I tell him honestly, heading towards the exit.

"Rich people," I hear Dex mumble as he follows me out towards the car.

"Are you sure Kingston? I can go in there and demand the camera footage," Carter says, sounding determined. "It's alright," I chuckle at his seriousness.

The drive home is much more calmer than the drive up. I stare out the window, soft music reverberating throughout the car as I admire the orange glow of the setting sun.

"Here we are," Carter states, pulling me out of my daydream. I blink a couple times before realising I'm back outside my house.

"Thanks, I had a good time," I smile, placing my hand on his arm. "Bye guys," I wave before climbing out of the car and heading towards the house. Still buzzing from the good day I had, I open the front door with a huge smile on my face.

But that smile quickly drops when I spot my dad, sitting on the staircase waiting for me.