Decay by J. F. Jenkins Page A

to cut back on all the junk food. I know you were out sneaking around so you could eat. Probably with a boy too. I don't know how you have all these boyfriends when you're fat, but I guess some guys are into that.”
    â€œI'm going to bed,” Nia said stiffly.
    There was no point in trying to argue, especially when her mother was drunk. The woman believed whatever she wanted to. In her world, Nia slept around, and her husband was having an affair instead of working two jobs to support the family. Because her mother only ate organic food, that obviously meant that Nia stuffed her face with processed junk food. In all actuality, Nia was petrified of the stuff because if she did gain so much as a pound, her mother would notice. So she maintained her weight and worked hard at eating as healthy as possible.
    She was petite in size, just barely over five-feet-tall, and well-toned from all of her working out. Exercise she made sure to be diligent with, so she could be in shape for whatever her alien boss decided to throw her way. The physical activity also gave her a release from stress, and sometimes it was the only thing to keep her mother from screaming at her. If she was caught doing crunches instead of playing a video game, chances were she'd be left alone for a while.
    Shutting the door quietly, Nia leaned back against it and counted quietly to ten. Please stay on the couch. Please. She had more than enough to deal with without her mother getting up and causing problems for no reason. When a minute passed and nothing happened, she relaxed and lay on her bed. Closing her eyes, she took in a few deep breaths. Tomorrow is the day. If I can get Orlando to agree to help me, then soon everything will be perfect.
    As soon as Dallas was back to being alive, she was going to run away from home.

 
Chapter Nine
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    JD's heart broke as Cadence continued to huff angrily in the car. He'd gotten her to agree to let him give her a ride back home, but she didn't say anything. Not like he wanted to talk anyway. Everything he had to say, he'd already said, and if she didn't want to believe him, then that was her problem – not his.
    He parked in front of her apartment building. She silently unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
    â€œCadence...” he said.
    â€œWe'll talk at school on Monday. I have a lot to think about,” she said in barely more than a whisper.
    â€œOkay,” he mumbled. As much as he wanted to force her to talk things out with him, he knew he couldn't. If she needed time to think, he had to respect that. I'll make it up to her on Monday anyway. She'll see everything I feel then. He'd prove to her just how special she was to him.
    He waited until she was inside safely before pulling out of his parking spot and heading back out onto the street. I screwed up bad. But in his defense, he hadn't anticipated Cadence being so insecure. That wasn't like her at all, so he couldn't help but wonder what else was going through her head. She's bugging out over something else and not telling me what. Which is so immature of her. If she's not upfront with me, how am I going to know what I'm doing wrong?
    The last thing JD was, was perfect. He'd known as much for a long time. But he liked to think he was open to fixing his problems instead of shutting down. When it came to Cadence, he'd do anything for her. Changing would be difficult, but he'd do it if it meant her happiness. Of course, he also had to know what she wanted him to change.
    When he got back home, the whole family was there, being as loud as ever. His four-year-old twin siblings were running around the house yelling, his dad was searching through the job section in the newspaper, his twelve-year-old brother Lucas was playing a video game in the living room, Angela was on the couch painting her nails watching him, and his mother was nowhere to be found. Probably hiding. She has the right idea. JD went straight to his room for an attempt at