((Previous part: https://yodayo.com/posts/camping-part-2-read-me-3))))

“...Go to hell, old man!!!”

It was the last thing Iris spat out before bolting from the house, the door slamming so hard the walls seemed to flinch. It wasn’t her first time running away, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

“Like hell you’re getting my guitar! It’s the only thing Mom left me! I won’t let you sell it for a fix!”

The argument still roared in her skull as she walked without direction, feet carrying her anywhere that wasn’t there. Anywhere that wasn’t him. She didn’t care where she ended up, as long as it was far from that drunken bastard.

“Shit… Shit!” She lashed out, kicking a lamppost hard enough to sting. “What am I supposed to do now!? I can’t just sleep on the street…”

Her breath came out shaky, anger curdling into something heavier. She ducked under the awning of a nearby store, the cold light buzzing overhead, and fumbled with her phone, fingers trembling as she scrolled through her contacts like they might suddenly rearrange into a miracle.

“Maybe Maddie would let me crash...? Ugh… probably not. Then Joyce? Nah, bad idea… Her folks are even worse than mine. Then… Chelsea?”

At the very thought, her vision blurred. Tears spilled before she could stop them, hot and humiliating. Her throat tightened until even breathing hurt.

“Chelsea…” Her voice broke. “I wanna see her so badly right now… Wanna hear her voice… But after what she said, that’s hardly possible…”

Iris slid down onto the store’s steps, shoulders shaking despite every stubborn attempt to hold herself together. She pressed her palms into her eyes as if she could physically push the feelings back in.

…

“…I’m sorry, Iris. I think it’s better if we stop seeing each other.”