Read Following You (The By You Series) Online
Authors: Kelly Harper
"If you repeat this to anyone..." Billie threatened.
"I won't," Sarah promised.
Billie's eyes narrowed, but she nodded her head, and began her story.
"My whole life my mom had to be in control of every little thing. She told me what to do, what to wear, and what to think. She always said she knew what was best for me, and that if I didn't do things her way, I would never amount to anything." Billie's head sunk down, and she wouldn't look at Sarah while she talked. "The few friends I had wouldn't even hang out with me because they couldn't stand being around her. Of course, I was never allowed to hang out with them, anyway. I never got to go to school stuff, or parties, or anything. One time, when I was in fifth grade, she even threatened to call the police because I missed the bus and got a ride home from a friend's mom. She said they'd take me off to jail if I missed the bus, again, but I was too young to know she was full of shit.
"Eventually, I got sick and tired of feeling like I was a good-for-nothing pile of shit--her words, not mine. There's only so much a person can take, and I knew that if I didn't do something for myself, then no one would."
"What did you do?" Sarah asked.
She grinned, deviously. "I did what any sixteen year old would do," she lifted her shirt and pointed to a tiny scar just above her belly button, "I got a piercing." She let out a wild laugh. "I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw it. She screamed so much you'd have thought I was main-lining heroin while having sex with my cousin." Sarah cringed at the image. "She told me either the piercing had to go, or I had to go." Billie let out another laugh. "She used to say that about everything she didn't like. Well, this time, I decided to do what
I
wanted. And, I've gone by Billie ever since."
"And she just let you leave? She didn't try to stop you?"
"Let me leave? Hell, she probably threw a party as soon as I was gone. The only person she ever cared about was herself--I was just something to be tolerated."
Sarah couldn't even imagine trying to make it on her own--not without her family. She wondered where she would have ended up if she'd done what Billie did.
"That's awful," Sarah said. "How'd you manage make it into Franklin?"
Billie sat on the edge of the bed next to Sarah.
"That's exactly the point I'm making," she said. "You can't let someone else dictate how you're going to live your life. You can do anything you want--you just have to go out and actually
do
it."
Sarah understood what Billie meant. By running back home to Green Falls, she was letting Huck win.
"But, it's not the same," Sarah said. "I only came here because of Huck. Why should I stick around without him?"
Billie looked at her like she was a crazy person.
"If you need me to tell you why going to one of the best private schools in the country is a good idea, then you're more hopeless than I thought."
Sarah winced. "I never really considered it like that. I've only ever been here because of him."
"Well, it's time to start thinking about what's best for
you
." Billie jabbed her with a finger, emphasizing her point. "Now...I have some Party Girl stuff to be getting to."
Billie hopped off the bed and walked over to her pile of clothes sitting in the corner of the room. She started picking through them, but then said, "Fuck it, if I freeze, I freeze." When she turned for the door Sarah thought of something.
"Hey, Billie," she called out. Billie held the door open with one hand, but turned back to face her. "One question--if you left home because of the belly button piercing, why did you take it out?"
Billie's lips peeled back in a lopsided grin.
"Because I do whatever the fuck I want," she said. "And to hell with anyone who tries to tell me otherwise." She turned toward the door, then hesitated and turned back. "I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I actually hope you'll still be around when I get back."
With that, she was gone.
Sarah sat on her bed for a long time. Billie had surprised her, and had given her a lot to think about. She had a decision to make, one that would affect the rest of her life.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the picture of her and Maggie sitting on the desk. Then, she looked down at the suitcase, bulging with the clothes she'd crammed into it.
"Well, I better get started," she said, to herself. "It's not going to unpack itself."
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"Following Me" is expected to be published in January 2014.
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Books by Kelly Harper
Ruined By You (Maggie & Haden)
Following You
Following Me (Available January 2014)