Crushing on the Enemy

Alyssa pulled into the driveway still smiling. Cheer practice always made her feel better, even on the worst days, but today was going to be the second best day of her life. It was only second best, because tomorrow was full of the promise to be much better. After spending the bulk of her high school career crushing on Ryan Matthers he had finally asked her out! When he had asked her to be his date for dinner after tomorrow's game, Alyssa had barely been able to contain the squeals of joy that threatened to bubble over from her belly. Things were finally falling into place.

She sat in her car for a few minutes just enjoying the quiet of the sunset. Once inside, the world would turn to a battlefield. Alyssa would be forced to sit through dinner with her mother and step-father, Cody, whom since their marriage three years ago had been the cause of most of the drama that seemed to plague Alyssa's life. The problem was simple. Cody wanted to act as if he was her father, and he wasn't. Her father had died after a long battle with cancer six years ago and no one would ever take his place.

Her stomach growled and Alyssa knew that if she were going to get to bed on time she had to go inside. Sighing she turned off the engine and grabbed her backpack. Its heavy weight reminded her of the math homework and the book report that was due on Monday. She hadn't enjoyed school since her father died, but Alyssa forced herself to keep her grades up so she wouldn't be cut from the cheer squad. The hours of her life it consumed, was a small price to pay to keep the one activity that brought her overwhelming joy.

As she walked up the driveway, she thought about the promise she made to her father. The preteen Alyssa had promised him that she would go to college, and it was still in her plans. She had already secured one scholarship to the state university and would receive others if she could keep her perfect grade point average up for the rest of the year. Alyssa's mother had told her time and again that she would help her pay whatever the scholarships didn't, but with Cody in the picture she didn't trust her mother to keep the promise. After all, hadn't she promised to love her father forever? Well, forever wasn't over and Cody sitting in her father's spot at the kitchen table provided proof that her mother wasn’t keeping her word.

She took her backpack to her room and kicked off her shoes before joining them at the dinner table.

“You're late again,” Cody said.

Alyssa shrugged, choosing not to answer him vocally. She wasn't in the mood to argue with him tonight. As she filled her plate, Alyssa tried to focus on how Ryan's eyes had lit up when she agreed to go on a date with him. She could see their future. He'd be a great husband and she'd be a loyal wife. She prayed he wouldn't leave her like her father had, but even if he did, she wouldn't remarry, especially to a jerk like Cody.

“You didn't answer Cody, Alyssa,” her mother said scowling at her as she filled her plate with broccoli.

“It is none of his concern why I am late,” she said trying to stay calm and look nonchalant about the conversation that was unfolding.

“We've been through this before, Alyssa,” her mother sighed, “Cody worries about you just as much as I do.”

“That's a nice sentiment, but it's not true,” Alyssa sighed and tried to focus on eating.

Her stomach was growling, but mentally the food was losing its appeal. Anger had always had a way of killing Alyssa's appetite.

“Why can't you just come home on time?” Cody asked, “Don't you know how to pick up a phone and call if you're going to be late?”

Once again Alyssa ignored him. Her anger was threatening to boil over and get the best of her, but she wouldn't let them see how much they hurt her. She would answer the same questions Cody asked, if only her mother would ask her. It frustrated Alyssa that her mother left it up to Cody, because he would never be her father.

“Answer him, Alyssa,” her mother said.

The tone in her mother's voice hurt Alyssa, because it let her know that once again her mother was choosing Cody's side. Sighing, she pushed her plate away and stood up. For a moment she looked longingly at the meatloaf and broccoli, but decided it wasn't worth it. Her hungry stomach would just have to wait until breakfast.

“Where are you going?” her mother asked sounding more frustrated than ever.

“To my room,” Alyssa said and ran up the stairs.

Once inside the safety of her room, she locked the door and quickly undressed. She was thankful that she had her own bathroom, complete with a shower to take refuge in. As she stood under the water trying to relax her sore muscles, Alyssa tried to contain the tears that threatened to fall, but she wasn't strong enough.

Her tears fell freely as she showered. Even over the water she could hear the shouting from downstairs. They were arguing about her again. Trying to decide what to do with her. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? If her mother didn't care enough to ask the questions herself, at least she could leave her be.

Alyssa's only solace was one simple truth and she clung to it, more than anything. This was her senior year of high school. If she played her cards right and worked her butt off, she'd be at university next fall. Then she'd be free from her mother and Cody, and they'd be free from her as well. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she wanted to obtain enough scholarship money not to have to ask her mom for help. If she could make it on her own, she could leave behind the woman who married the man who had made her miserable.

After her shower, Alyssa dressed in her favorite soft pink pajamas and settled down with her math book. The joy she felt earlier had diminished, but she forced herself to press on. Tomorrow was the first football game of the season and she had to be in tip-top shape. Hopefully, seeing Ryan at school tomorrow would make her smile and look more like she was filled with school spirit.

After she finished her math homework, Alyssa signed online and wrote up her morning announcements. As head cheerleader it was her job to do the pledge and make the morning announcements. The principal assured her that it kept school spirit high, but Alyssa wondered if it really worked. Sure, lots of her fellow students showed up to every game, but she wondered how many of them were there for the game and how many of them were there to escape their parents?

For her, it was both. She loved her school and her friends. She adored cheering on the boys as they defeated the opposing team. To her, football season was like a war, where only one 'tribe' could be victorious, and for the last seven years it had been her tribe. Her school held the state championship title for nearly the last decade, and the thought of adding another year to their count made her smile.

When she was finished writing up the announcements, she printed them and put them into her backpack to ensure she wouldn't forget them in her morning rush to get out of the house. Her mom and Cody were still arguing so Alyssa gave up hope of getting to bed early and sat on her window seat and looked out at the stars.

It was a clear night and the moon was almost full. The sight of its nearly full belly made her grin. Amongst the girls on the squad was a superstition that said if the moon was full, their boys would have an easy victory. The calendar told her that tomorrow night was indeed the full moon. The Panthers would crush the Rattlesnakes beneath their feet once again. The Rattlesnakes hadn't taken a state championship since the late sixties, so Alyssa decided they must be used to losing. Besides, in order for some people to be winners others had to live their lives in defeat.

Alyssa curled up on the window seat and waited for the angry voices to stop, but they were still going strong when exhaustion finally overtook her and pulled her into a deep sleep. When she woke for a moment, she couldn't remember why she felt so horrible, but then as always memories of the previous night’s fight came back to her. She glanced at her alarm clock, it was only five o'clock. She had fifteen minutes to work out before her mad morning rush to get to the game day breakfast.

Jake killed his truck engine and gathered up the fast food bags that littered the floorboard. He didn't like when the guys left their trash in the truck, but it was easy enough to cleanup. The sun had sat long ago and his dad should have already been asleep, but the kitchen light was still on. Jake sighed when he spotted his father sitting at the kitchen table with his head in hands.

“Looks like I'm in for another long night,” he sighed as he grabbed his stuff and headed into the house.

“Where were you?” his father asked as soon as the door opened.

Jake shut the door and locked it before turning to answer. He took a deep breath in preparation for being called a liar.

“The guys and I went to see the new slasher flick that opened last night,” he said.

“You and the guys, huh? You sure it wasn't you and Betty? I've seen how she looks at you,” his father said, crossing his arms.

To most it would sound like his father was teasing him about a girl having a crush on him, but to Jake it was like an interrogation. He had spent the last four years being told again and again to stay away from girls until he was done with college. That a girl would only get in the way of his dreams and put his life in the gutter.

Jake had followed his father advice even if it left him feeling like the odd man out. He was the only guy on the team that hadn't had a girlfriend. His teammates knew the reasons behind his actions, but it still annoyed Jake.

Ever since his mother had left the summer before his freshman year in high school, his father had changed. He was angrier and easily irritated. Jake was never sure how to handle him, but he tried his best. After all, once he got the football scholarship to the state university, the only one that would be left to listen to his lectures of the evil of relationships would be, Cally, the German Shepard.

“There were no girls there, Dad,” Jake sighed, trying not to let his dad know how annoyed he was.

“It's your life you're throwing away, Jake,” his father sighed.

“Yes, Dad,” he said as he made his way to his room.

Jake had to fight the urge to slam the door. It would be an easy way to take out his frustrations, but it would only lead to shouting. Besides, Jake didn't want to turn into an angry jerk like his father.

“One more year,” he told his reflection as he glanced in the mirror.

He ran his hands through his blonde hair before flopping onto his bed. He pulled his IPod from his pocket and put in the earphones. Music instantly filled his ears and allowed him to ignore his father's angry pacing.

“That anger's going to kill you, old man,” he thought as he skipped to a louder song.

Jake had been told by several of his friends to tell his dad to butt out of his life, but Jake wasn't raised to be rude to his parents. He knew his dad thought he was doing the best thing for him, but it was hard to deal with. It sucked that his dad couldn't see that he had to live his own life, but the situation was only for one more year.

After dozing off for a few minutes, he kicked his shoes off and headed into the kitchen for a snack. His stomach was growling and it wasn't going to be patient enough to wait for morning. He crept out of his room silently praying that his father was in bed. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he entered the empty kitchen.

He poured himself a glass of milk and grabbed a banana. Jake switched on the light above the stove and sat down at the table. He frowned when he discovered his photo album laying open on the table. His dad must have been looking through its ancient pages again. Jake tried to keep the album hidden, because he didn't think obsessing on the past was good for his father.

He opened the album and began to flip through its pages. His eyes grew wide and he dropped his banana into the unfinished glass of milk when he realized his dad had cut his mother out of every photo inside.