It didn't take long to find a willing seller. That part of the town was where all the bad happened after all. It would be an irony if I couldn't find any seller of weeds and drugs within a five-mile radius.

Just as I was about to negotiate on the price and walk away with my key to temporary normalcy, I heard a voice I never would have expected.

"Duke, you've got to help him stop." the voice I recognized said.

"Why? He brings money." the Duke guy said.

It was Dwayne. Dwayne was here in the dark parts of Bloomville. How did he even find it? Shit! He can't see me here buying weeds. What would I tell him? He would get curious and getting curious leads to questions and questions require answers I cannot give. Mother would kill me if word about this gets out, I don't need to give her another reason to make my life unbearable!

I was starting to panic as I looked around for ways I could escape without Dwayne noticing me. The alley I was presently in was a dark narrow one, open at both sides. The only way I could get out without him seeing me was if the darkness of the alley worked in my favor and concealed me.

The seller must have noticed my frantic and anxious movement as he spoke.

"You alright, miss?" his decaying teeth and beady eyes smiled at me. I fought the urge to cringe at the disgusting sight. What was I thinking? How could I have had a close relapse with weeds after what happened? I had to get out of there.

I made way to run, the revolting seller's calls ringing throughout the alley. Any hopes of not getting seen by Dwayne was now thrown in the trash, he and the person he was with would have noticed me by now. Stupid disgusting weed seller.

I ran and ran, unconsciously taking note of my surrounding. I rounded one more corner before I came to the side of the apartment complex where I had hidden my car. Quickly, I removed the car cover and entered the car. From the side mirror, I saw some approaching figures and one of them very much looked like Dwayne. Shit.

I put the car in drive and zoomed off not for once looking back. I'll be dammed if I let them catch a good look at my face. I only calmed down when I got out of there. I let out a big tired sigh as I tried to calm my nerves.

Okay Mona, breathe, just breathe. Let's gather up the fact first. You saw Dwayne the new guy, there, which shouldn't be possible as he is new in town and doesn't have any business there. He was also talking to a guy named Duke who is probably a drug dealer guessing from the line of their discussion. Dwayne also must have seen her and if not, her 'one of a kind limited edition' as mother liked to put it lemon green car gave her away. Well done, Mona, you just had to bring the car to see Willow.

Its official, I screwed. If Dwayne had recognized me, he would confront me about it in school. Even if I bring up the topic of his presence there as blackmail, he would have the upper hand as he has nothing to lose unlike me. I can imagine that as a headline.

'Miss Monalisa Del Lana seen in the darker parts of town, not so perfect are we?'

'Local celebrity family daughter caught buying weeds, rebellious or addicted?'

Mother would be on a rage roll for weeks. This was my entire fault. I never should have gone there; I promised him I would never go back to weeds. That I wouldn't let it get to me and destroy my life as it did to his no matter how hard things were.

That was the whole point of the rehabilitation I went to, I was so determined to not end up like him but in the end, I blew it. I went back.

Without bothering to turn on the trafficator, I swerved off the road and cried my eyes out. I hate my life.

=======================

The sound of my heels clicking on the tiled floor rang to me as I walked across the hall to Mrs. Bracket's office to print out some papers for my Literature essay. I heard another sound and turned to look. It sounded like someone in heels was running after me. True to my thought, I saw Jasmine rushing towards me, panting, and her minions not far behind.

"Mona." I heard her call. She had already seen me see her and so it would be extremely rude to ignore her and we can't have that, can we? I turned and plastered a smile so fake anyone smart enough would notice but apparently, Jasmine didn't fall into that category.

"Yes?" I responded as politely as I could. Jasmine paused in front of me and shot me a genuine smile that made me feel guilty. It wasn't her fault she wasn't as smart as others or spoilt and annoying. Okay, maybe the last two were partially her fault, but still, she probably can't help who she is. At least she wasn't as bitchy as Mel. I have enough bitchy attitudes from that girl in a day; I don't need a bitchy Jasmine to add to it.

"I heard you got an A in Geography test. As you have already guessed, I failed and so Mr. Peter said I have to retake the test by next week," she explained, her minions wearing a gloomy expression and I'm just wondering what was going on.

"Umm.....ok?" I asked. I was honestly confused at this point. I couldn't figure out where she was going with her sad sob story and it was getting harder to keep the smile on my face and the polite tone in my voice. The thought of screaming at her and flipping her off was quite comforting. My mood wasn't helping matters too. I had been on the edge since morning.

I hadn't seen Dwayne and I was starting to get nervous. I mean, I can't avoid someone if I don't know where they are, can I? Maybe he didn't see me that night? Ha! Yeah right.

"So I was thinking-" Oh no! "Will you tutor me?" she asked, her expression taking a pleading turn, I'm guessing. For a full minute, I looked at her dumbfounded. I can't teach her. She is close to being not teachable. It's not that she is dumb, she just has the attention span of a housefly and it is not that great.

Right now, her attention was on her golden locks. I restrained myself from groaning and started to think of a way to politely decline her offer when I saw Dwayne rounding the corner. He seemed to have seen me as he stopped for a moment before walking towards me.

Shit!

Jasmine must have noticed him too as she started giggling non-stop, her minions batting their lashes at pretty boy coming our way. I had to get away fast. I made move to run away but Jasmine noticed and held my hand fast. I raised my eyebrows in surprise; the girl had a really strong grip.

"You haven't given me an answer yet," she said her grip tightening. How is that possible? I looked at the incoming figure and the distance he seemed to be covering even if he was striding lazily towards me. That's what long legs do for you.

Jasmine was adamant about not letting me go till I gave her an answer and so out of panic and urgency of the situation, I agreed. Her determined expression changed to that of pure happiness as she gave me time and venue and strutted towards Dwayne, her minions, as usual, in tow.

Oh no! What have I done?

My horror-stricken face traced Jasmine to see she was flirting with Dwayne. Her advances slowed him down and while he was busy trying to fend himself against Jasmine, I ran.

I didn't stop till I was sure there was no sign of Dwayne anywhere. I leaned against the wall holding my long-forgotten folder and trying to catch my breath. Running in heels is a very bad idea; my legs were killing me. I can still remember the looks I got as I basically bolted as fast as I could down the hallway.

If the principal or hall monitor guy had seen me, it would have been a straight ticket to detention which would furthermore lead to taint in my perfect records and mother's wrath. It seems since Dwayne arrived, I have been in positions that could end with me facing mother's rage.

"Are you avoiding me, Lisa?" a voice very close to me asked. I almost died of shock when I saw Dwayne standing very close to me, smirking. His strong laughter followed my frightened state.

After a few calming breaths, I regained my composure and glared at him. The annoying jerk was still laughing at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and stood straight.

"No," I answered his question and began to walk away.

This, Dwayne noticed and started to follow me. He was now wearing a smug look and kept glancing at me.

"Well, Lisa, I think you are." he persisted. I drowned the groan that wanted to come out at the last moment. I was so not prepared for this.

"I'm not," I answered curtly and increased my pace, leaving him a few feet behind. I was almost happy he wasn't following till I heard him shout, not loud enough for people to hear but loud enough for me to hear.

"Is it because I saw you there?" he asked vaguely but I knew enough to know he was talking about last Friday.

So he did see me, I'm screwed. His question was enough to stop me walking any further. I stood in my exact spot for a few minutes as I continued to weigh my options. I could deny his allegations blindly or I could accept it and attempt to blackmail him with the fact I had also seen him there.

Both options were good, but the second had a flaw; I had more to lose than Dwayne. The whole school and the public media would eat it up greedily, especially those who think I'm a fake, which I am.

Option number one it is then. I turned to face Dwayne who still had that smug smile on his face. For a moment, I considered walking up to him and slapping it off but then I snapped out of it.

My life became more complicated since the moment I gave him a tour of the school. I'm still questioning my decision of being the school welcome committee's head. I wore the perfect look of confusion on my face as I spoke to him.

"Where?"

He obviously wasn't expecting a blatant denial like that as his smile faltered a little, but he was quick to fix it back into its place.

"You know what I'm talking about, Lisa," he said. I gave him a small smile as I answered with my new favorite word.

"No, I don't. Now, if you excuse me, I have a class to attend to." as the warning bell just finished ringing.

This time, Dwayne's smile completely dissolved, in its place, a curious frown, as I turned back and started walking. Curious was bad but I didn't have the strength to worry about that now. A relieved smile was on my face as I made way to class. I had managed to get out of that one; I needed to strengthen my avoiding strategies.

After that encounter with Dwayne, I didn't see him again for the rest of the day.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

"I'm home," I called expecting the house to be empty but to my disappointment, mother was around. I smelt her before I heard her.

She wobbled from the dark corner in the room, empty bottles around her, half-full one in her hands, and her red eyes squinting at the light from outside. When she got close enough to see who it was, she sneered at me and threw the bottle in her hands at me. Thankfully, I quickly ducked out of the way, but not fast enough as one of the shards of the glass pierced my skin and drew a bit of blood.

Hissing in slight pain, I clutched my stinging arm and turned to look at her. For a moment, I considered screaming at her, but I knew better. Drunken mother was unstable and unpredictable. You never know what she could do and not do.

"It's the spawn of the devil." she spat and wobbled to the nearest couch where another crate of alcohol was awaiting her. She grabbed a bottle, opened it, and gobbled down half of its content.

"Hello, mother." I greeted and made a move to go to my room, but the crashing sound stopped me. Mother had thrown the bottle she was drinking on the spot I once was.

"You know, ever since you and that boy came into my life, my life took a turn for the worse. I had the perfect husband with perfect body shape and had time for myself. It was just me, beautiful perfect me. My plan was marvelous being unfolded.

But then, you two came and I had to become a mother, a freaking mother. I tried to make you two like me, perfect and without blemish but where did that lead me? A dead boy and a girl with a personality disorder. I should have known, I should have known from the beginning that both of you were messed up and would only destroy my life and all I have worked for".

"Stop," I begged feebly but she continued anyway.

"The number of opportunities I have lost because of both of you. Abe has left me, my marriage is crumbling, I'm sick and tired of your face and your pathetic whiny attitude, do you know why? It's because it's your entire fault. I hate you. Why did you have to come to me? Why?" she attacked mercilessly.

I ran out of the house when I couldn't take it any longer, Mother's harsh words following me out and into my car. The tinted window was up and so I was safe from the neighbors peeping eyes. With no actual direction in mind, I started the car and drove off.

I was driving on the road before I took a familiar turn. I realized my body was unconsciously taking me to the place I could always feel at ease, where most of my tears were usually shed. I pulled up at the local cemetery and got of the car taking my things along with me including an old face cap I saw.

I nodded at the cemetery guards and I entered, the cap tipped low covering my face to prevent the guard and visitors from seeing me. I continued my way down, I knew the way like the back of my hand. Getting to my destination, I stopped and finally allowed half of my face to see the light.

Before me laid a headstone, grey and cracked, leaves already growing around it. It was forgotten with not a single flower at its feet. It had surely seen better days. No one visited, no one cared. I mean, who would want to lay flowers at the grave of an accused druggie.

I resisted the urge to cry as I dropped on the ground in front of the grave. On it was inscribed "Here lies Ezra". It was as simple as that. Not a single surname or other words of recognition. The roughly scribbled word on the headstone following the simple claim of ownership took me back to the day of the funeral. No one came, not even mother, only I and father and under a disguise as per mother's insistence. Father later had to leave, it was just him and me and it broke my heart.

Seeing the description on the headstone had angered me furthermore and in my rage and grief, I had taken a sharp stone and written the words "Del Lana" behind his name. It wasn't bold enough to be seen without taking a close look but at least he had an identity other than just Ezra.

At the end of the day, it was useless as mother had made sure to erase his records and his existence in my life and the Del Lana family the moment he fell into a depressed state. Can you imagine that? Mother, instead of finding ways to help her son chose to disown him as her child and a Del Lana member to save her public image. How selfish!

I could feel the building hysteria in me as I started laughing loudly. The visitors far behind me were startled as my laugh ran out loud and wild. It must have been a strange sight, the cemetery known for its weeping visitors having a hysterical one for the first time. My mind must have had enough as I switched from laughing uncontrollably to suddenly crying my eyes out.

We had such a sad and pitiful life, him and I. The only difference was that he was too exhausted to continue and I was too tired to stop. Looking at the headstone, I kept on wondering if like him, I would be erased from the records. Wipe away any blemish, anything that could taint the Del Lana family and mother?

Would I lay six feet below the ground, slowly turning to dust but quickly being forgotten by the ones above?

And then I thought if it would be better that way. I wouldn't have to pretend anymore, I would be at peace. Peace, I can't find that back at home with mother and father acting like a ticking time bomb all the time.

My phone brightened due to notification and I got a glimpse of the date. I let out a bitter chuckle. It was the 29th of February, 2020. Even on this day, his two years death anniversary, there was not a single soul here to see him and it tore my heart into two.

Wiping my tears, I ripped off the plants growing over his headstone and used my sleeved to wipe off the dirt. I reached into my bag to bring out the sunflower I had gotten from the cemetery gate and placed it on the grave. I wasn't sure if they were real or not, but I had no choice, the visit was unplanned. I just needed a safe place and strangely this place was it.

Strangely, sunflowers were his favorite. He loved the flowers more than anything and now that I think about it, it suited him well. For a long time, he was my sun in my dark dark world. But now I had to be my own light and so I also grew a love for the flower.

"Happy birthday, Ezra. Sleep tight" I whispered, my tears soaking the ground below me.