The Four days

The next morning I woke up and officially met his family.  His mom was downstairs.  She looked like she was in her late sixties with white white hair that was pulled back in a bun.  She talked really fast and anytime you said something she would say "Mhm Mhm Mhm Mhm" over and over while she listened.  There was something wrong with her hip that caused her to have to rock her body back and forth with each step, as if her ankles were bonded together.  She seemed very confused about her spiritual beliefs, as if she took bits and pieces from each one.  Every now and then she would burn some sort of incense bag around the house.  Lance said it was something Indians used to do.

Lances dad had died about 6 years ago from being an alcoholic.  Lance didn't really tell me a whole lot about him, and if he did it made him sad, so I never really asked.  Neil was his younger brother, twenty four at the time.  He was dating a girl named Carly who was the same age as me.  Neil was really smart and didn't look quite as puerto rican as Lance.  Although Neil was obviously intelligent, he was extremely lazy.  In fact, all him and Carly did most of the time was smoke weed and watch tv or play video games.  They were both a little over weight and ate most of the food in the house, but I liked their laid back personalities and found out later that I really enjoyed their company.

After the introductions, we left and went to all the different malls.  Im usually not a big shopper but it was fun to see what the malls were like there.  There was a store that sold nothing but M&M's in every color, and another that had a wave pool in the store.  There were also a lot of skate parks inside the malls, which I thought was interesting. Then we went and got some food.  Lance wasn't really that bad of a guy but it was strange talking to him.  Even though he was so much older than me, sometimes I felt as if i were talking to a child or something.  Lets just say he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. 

The next few days were kinda the same, and to be honest I had a pretty good time.  We just went around to all the different places in Orlando.  He bought me a necklace and some new lip rings and always paid for whatever we ate.  It really seemed like he wasn't that bad of a guy after all.

The four days actually went by quickly and by the time I was supposed to leave, I didn't want to go.  Yeah the set up sucked, and Im positive I was not as into Lance as he was into me, but it still seemed so much better than my situation at home.  We drove to the airport and I couldn't help but feel like I wasn't supposed to go back.  Maybe it was just me wanting to run away from my troubles, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was supposed to stay there.  I was late for my flight, but it was okay because everything was delayed.  I found out later that my connecting flight was going to be delayed a whole day so wherever i went, I was going to be stuck a whole 24 hours due to snow.  I thought about it for a while, but as they called my section to start seating the flight, I couldn't help but just sit there and watch.  My heart was beating out of my chest and my mind was spinning out of control.  I must have looked panicked, because a woman next to me asked if I was alright and I just stared at her for a second and finally replied "Oh yes, Im wonderful" and walked off.  

My heart was still going crazy as I called my parents to tell them I wasn't coming home.  My mom answered first.  I told her the situation with the flights and then told her that I had decided to stay for a while, and I wasn't sure when I would be back.  At first she thought I was joking and laughed  and then it was just silent for a moment. "Chelsea, are you out of your fucking mind??" She yelled, breaking the silence. "maybe" I said " but I've been thinking about it, and its what Im going to do. Im sorry"  She started yelling about how dumb I was and that she couldn't believe I would do something like this to them.  Then she put my father on the phone. "What the fuck is going on??" He yelled into the receiver. "Have I completely failed you as a parent or what??"   I didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything and just waited for him to start again.  "You better catch another flight home or you can just say goodbye to being a part of this family, we won't have anything to do with you if you go through with this."  His voice was very cold and angry.  It hurt bad to hear him say those things but I had made up my mind.  I just couldn't go back there. I couldn't.  I told him that I was sorry and that I loved them and hung up the phone.  Then I called my friend Vicki.  I tried to explain what had happened and it really hurt to hear how sad she was that I was doing this.  I begged her to pack up my stuff so that my parents wouldn't take it, because I was afraid they would sell it or keep it from me, and I was hoping to have her send me my stuff in the mail later.  After a lot of pleading, she finally agreed and it made me sad because I realized how great a friend she was, and that I was really going to miss her.  

I finally called Lance to pick me up and sat one the benches in the airport while I waited.  Then out of no where it seemed I just started sobbing.  I didn't really care that much that people were looking, and even if I did care, I doubt there was anything I could do to stop.  I was really scared all the sudden.  If something happened, I had no where to go.  My parents had basically disowned me, and I didn't know anyone around here to go to if I needed them. I was completely alone, and I had no idea what I was doing.