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"I guess I'm just the worst mom in the world!" Slurred Jace's mom drunkenly. They'd gotten into another shouting match, and Jace felt her face heat up in anger at the guilt tripping. "I mean you said it, not me." She spat. Her mom scowled before schooling the bitter expression into something sickeningly sweet, stepping towards Jace and resting a hand on her scarred cheek. "Sue me for wanting my beautiful daughter to wear a pretty dress to her aunt's wedding..." Jace pushed her mom's hand away and stood up. "I told you, I'm not wearing a dress! My aunt won't care!" He mom glared once again. "You'll make a fool out of me you spoiled brat!" She screeched. Jace was already halfway out the front door when she turned around. "It's not even your fucking wedding." She kept an even voice.
"Language like that is unbecoming of a lady. And where the hell do you think you're going? It's 10:30 at night!" Jace tightened her ponytail. "None of your business. I'll be back."
And with that she left her mom standing drunkenly in the foyer. She speedwalked down the street, her face illuminated against the night sky by the glow of her phone as she messaged Annie.
hey can you meet me at the abandoned baseball field
yeah ofc whats up? another fight?
yeah she's drunk again
oh man i'm sorry. i'll be there in 10
Jace pushed open the creaky dugout gate, taking in the familiar sight of the dark area. Their shoes crunched against old sunflower seeds as they walked through the dugout, sitting down on the bench. A few minutes later they heard footsteps against gravel coming towards them. They looked up to see Annie, holding two Monsters. Annie sat next to them, holding out a can. Jace took it with a smile. "Mango Loco. You know me so well." Annie opened her own with a click. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, taking occasional sips from their drinks.
Jace felt a shiver go up their spine as wind blew through the dugout. Annie wordlessly pulled them closer, planting a kiss on their forehead. "I love you..." Mumbled Jace solemnly. Annie began to rub their back. "I love you to... do you wanna talk about what happened?" Jace sighed. "Not really... same old same old, I guess. I should be used to it, but-" Annie shook her head. "No, no you shouldn't have to be used to that." Jace nodded, their expression defeated. "Your mom sucks." That brought a chuckle out of Jace. Their freckled cheeks heated up as Annie kissed their forehead again.
They resumed sitting in silence, looking up at the moon through the chain link fence. They must've sat there and cuddled in the grassy dugout for a good half hour before Jace yawned. Annie chuckled, rubbing their shoulder. "Tired?" Jace nodded. "Yeah. And I gotta piss. Damn Monster..." Annie smiled, standing up and pulling Jace up with them. "C'mon. I'll call one of my moms to pick us up, you can stay over." Jace rubbed the back of their neck. "You sure they'd be okay with that?" Annie smiled and nodded, already pulling out her phone. "Oh yeah, you know how understanding they are. In fact, they'd probably let Zephyr stay over as well if I asked."
A few minutes later, they stood on the curb near the field. Jace was shifting side to side, Annie was rubbing their shoulder. Pretty soon a car pulled up and the girls climbed in. The woman up front smiled in the rearview mirror. "Hi Jace honey, how are you doing?" Jace smiled back. "Could be better. Sorry for this..." The woman shook her head as she began driving. "Oh don't you worry about it. Me and the wife are always happy to have you over."
When they got to Annie's, Jace was met with a hug from her other mom. Annie rolled her eyes lovingly and dragged Jace to her room. "You go to the bathroom, I'll call Zephyr." Jace shot her a thumbs up, already entering Annie's connecting bathroom. When they came out, Annie had hung up the phone and was changing into pajamas. "Can I borrow some of your pajamas?" Jace asked. Annie shrugged a loose shirt on and nodded, digging through her drawers until she found some plaid pajama pants and an oversized Smiling Friends t shirt, tossing them at Jace, who had already begun to change.
Jace groaned as they removed their shirt, grimacing. Annie frowned worriedly. "Jace, how long have you been binding today?" Jace sighed, already moving to sit in front of Annie. "7 hours... I know, too long..." Annie tutted as she removed Jace's binder, emitting a relieved sigh from the redhead. Annie gingerly rubbed Jace's back, kissing their broad shoulders. Soon, they heard the doorbell ring. Jace put a shirt on and they both hurried to the door to see one of Annie's moms already chatting joyfully with Zephyr, who was clutching his skateboard.
When Zephyr saw Annie and Jace he was immediately pulled into a group hug. He chuckled warmly. “Hey guys…” After he pulled away he placed his free hand on Jace’s shoulder. “Doing okay?” Jace nodded. “Better now.”
They all headed back to Annie’s room, where Annie opened up a bag of chips and put on Smiling Friends. As the three of them watched, they all got cozy in Annie’s bed, chatting idly with each other, the show becoming background noise. Jace’s phone buzzed from Annie’s nightstand and they glanced at the caller id, groaning at their mom’s name.
Jace picked up the phone and put it on speaker. Annie and Zephyr quieted down so they could listen in case anything happened.
“Hey mom… I’m with Annie and Zephyr right now.” Jace mumbled. A drunken sob came from the other end.
”Oh Jaclyn… I miss you baby, the house is so lonely… why don’t you come home?”
Jace frowned. “I’ll be home tomorrow morning, mom, you’ve spent plenty of nights without me. I’m not leaving my friends.”
“You ungrateful little brat, you have no idea what I go through to put this roof over your head and you don’t even appreciate it. You’re such a disgraceful kid and-“
Jace hung up, running a hand through their hair, their thumb brushing the scar on their cheek. Zephyr and Annie gave them pitying looks. “You okay, Jace?” Zephyr asked quietly. “Yeah, yeah, I just… I’m just sick of it, is all.” Annie and Zephyr huddled close to Jace. They all cuddled up together. This was nice.
Annie turned on her purple LED lights, and the three fell asleep surrounded by warmth and a purple hue that drowned out the rest of the world.