[to da MAX]: 462.A Clear Day

A Clear Day



There it is, that same old, grungy, and water marked ceiling. I hate this house; it has gone from vaguely alcohol smelling to now, where every inch of most every thing is saturated with its redolence. Rolling upright, I am aware of why I woke up in the first place. My parents are fighting in a booze-induced lethargy, yet again. I sit there for ten minutes, just letting the sleep drizzle out of my mind and body. My first day as a senior, I thought. At Heights, downtown, pretty much anything goes. It’s one of the schools they make movies about, where there aren’t enough chairs, books, and teachers, and fights break out every five minutes. I pull off my huge Michigan State t-shirt, and then pull on a tight dark green shirt with darkish pink hearts and stars strewn across it. Then I pull on a pair of grey skinny jeans and do my hair and makeup. I check myself out in the mirror and pull the window open; the last thing I want to have to deal with today is my alcoholic parents.
I walk the block to the subway station. It’s a chilly morning but the sky was smogless and clear. You could even see the planes that flew over every fifteen minutes. I feel cute in my tight jeans, big fluffy coat, and bright colored scarf. The air was crisp and it smelled like, I don’t know, cold. The air smelled like cold.
The subway is bursting with people, all of which are trying to be the first on. I shove and maneuver my way through them and squeeze between the doors just before they hiss to a close. I sit down opposite a little girl. She looks about seven or eight, but her eyes looked older than mine. This little girl had seen more gut tearing situations than I could even begin to imagine. Rustling to my left muscles my gaze away from the little girl. My eyes meet with the rustler and I am struck, because I have never seen eyes as green as mine before. He, it’s a he, smiles, and I smile back. His smile is cute, not like a million dollar smile, but one that is honest and open, one that makes you feel safe.
“ I’m Twitch,” he says. “ I’m a senior at Heights.” His eyes never leave mine as he introduces himself
“ Jjacks. I’m a senior at Heights too. My first day.” I shrug as I say this last part and smile, a nervous smile. It doesn’t put him off or make him uncomfortable; he just keeps staring into my eyes.
“ It’s not as bad as you may think, you just have to ignore all of the BS people give you.” He smiles again, still staring into my eyes.
The thing is, when you stare a person in the eyes for a really long time you can start to figure out what exactly it is that this person thinks about you, or anything else for that matter. Especially when their eyes are this expressive, it’s insane. I know this will sound corny, but it is like talking with feelings instead of words. If you saw eyes like these you would know what it is I am talking about.
“ Your eyes look like mine.” He whispered. I look back at the little girl, suddenly wanting to run away.
“ Yeah. I noticed when we were staring at each other.” Now he is as uncomfortable as me because I pointed out that we were staring at each other.
“ Sorry,” he uttered, “ Its just that I thought I was the only one with eyes like that.” He smiled again, not quite as sure of himself but still interested in talking to me.
“ I know!” I all but yelled at him. “ It always made me feel better to think that I was the only one with eyes that green.” I smiled at him, for the first time.
“ Your smile is pretty.” He said while staring at me. And I stared back at him. His eyes were wonderful to look at, but so was his hair, it was long, straight, and dark, so brown it was almost black. His face was very cute, not big and blocky or small and skinny. His nose swooped a little to the right, but I’m pretty sure I might be the only one who had studied his face enough to notice. His right eyebrow was pierced; you could barely see it through his hair. He was wearing a bright blue shirt that fit closely, but not tightly. He was wearing skinny blue jeans and a zipper hoodie that had Aquaman printed on it. We sat in silence studying each other and waited for our stop.
We got off and walked a block to the school. It is huge. There is a wide sidewalk leading up to the front where there are about twenty or so steps up to the school. The school itself is old, three stories tall and about a half a block wide. The old bricks were crumbling around the bottom and it looked as if the right end of the school had sunk a foot or so into the ground.
“ We’ll wait on the steps for my crew.” He said. And so we waited. The students around us were acting like the complete and total unintelligent people they were. One group was setting some kids backpack on fire, yet another was rooting on a chick fight.
He stood up as an elderly station wagon parked at the curb. There were about eight people in it only three of which were girls. One of the girls was driving, and I watched as her expression changed from indifference; at seeing all of the students, happiness: at seeing Twitch, and then blind hatred and jealousy at seeing me. He saw it too.
“ Ignore her and anything she says, does, or acts like doing. Just ignore anything and everything that slips out of her venomous mouth.” He smiled reassuringly as all of the guys came running from the car, whooping and hollering. He was looking at me again when the five guys tackled him.
They stood up and did the stupid guy talk like, “ Dude.” and “ Hey man!” And then there were the murmurings of “ Who is she?” and “ Whoa! Where did she come from?” and “ Dude, are you dating her cause if not…” and so on and so forth until the girls got here and gave Twitch warm hugs and then took what looked like rehearsed places behind him.
“ Every one, this is Jjacks. Jjacks, this is Minnie, Rex, Sammie, C.J., Mitch, Lox, Rich, and Vikki.” They all smiled after Twitch’s introductions accept for Vikki, I am going to call her Venom Girl though.
We walked in. I was at the front of the group with Twitch to the dismay of Venom Girl. The crowded halls weren’t that hard to navigate because everyone stood to the side and stared at us passing by. We dropped everyone off at their classes and then he and I walked to the office.
Inside there was an unconcerned secretary filing her yellow toenails. He cleared his throat drawing her attention away from digging the unhygienic substances from under the mustard colored spikes on her toes. She looked up, and in that instance she looked somewhat like a trapped toad.
“ I’ am a new student here and would like to know which classes I have.” I said in a almost self righteous tone. I don’t know if it was the woman’s unhealthy and apparent obsession with her toenails, or that she just had an air of disrespect around her, what ever it was it made me no like the woman. She gave a sarcastic smile and grumbled to a position that looked like she might be standing. She hobbled over to a file cabinet and asked me what my name was in an overly polite tone.
“ Jacquelyn Cyprit.” I said in the same overly polite fashion. She hobbled back with a piece of paper and flicked it out to me. A snached it, turned on my heel and walked out of the office.
“ Don’t tell anyone that that’s my name, please?” I pretty much begged him. He just smiled and nodded. “Thanks,” I said, “ I just don’t like it very much. It sounds too, I don’t know, not me.”
“ I know what you mean. I know yours so you might as well know mine.” He looked down and whispered “ Its Quinton.” He looked back up and looked me in the eyes, “ Don’t tell anyone, especially Vikki.” His eyes looked, I don’t know somehow different when he talked about her, like a wall goes up in his mind, not allowing him to show the feelings caused by the thought of her.
“ Can I tell you something in confidence?” I asked smirking. He nodded so I continued. “ I call her Venom Girl.” His laugh filled the hallway. It was thick and exultant, and it filled every inch of air with it’s deep rolling tones. “ I like your laugh.” I said. It died out and he smiled.
“ You should feel lucky.” He teased. “ Not many people get to hear me laugh. Lets go. I am your official Heights High School guide, now if you will follow me this way to your first hour of learning.” He said in an aristocratic way. We walked down the halls and he pointed out where my locker is and which hours have easy teachers, and where the cafeteria is. The late bell rings as we step up to my first hour.
“ Sorry I made you late.” I whispered. He double-checked that that this was the right room and looked back at me.
“ Its okay, I don’t mind, my first hour is art, and that teacher never takes roll. We’ve got the same lunch so I will see you then.”  He squeezes my arm reassuringly and walks away.
I turn to the door and reach for the handle. I pull it open and walk in. The teacher and class are staring at me. I take my pass to the teacher and turn to sit down.
“ Class, it looks as if we have a new student.” The teacher said. “ Why don’t you tell us about yourself Mrs. …” she looked at the card for my name, “ Mrs. Cyprit.” There were several snickers at my name. I turned back to the teacher and walked up to the mid front of the room and faced the class.
“ Hello, my name is Jjacks Cyprit and I have lived here my whole life, but I convinced my parents to let me go to Heights for my year. I like music and I don’t like stupidity. And Jjacks is a nickname. I really, don’t care what any of you think. So yeah.” And with this I went to the back of the room for my first hour of my first day of my senior year. I stood there with probably thirteen other students and waited for class to resume again.
*     *     *
Lunch is scary, every one is pushing and shoving to get the food they want. I have a new student pass so I get to go whenever I want and get what ever I want. I get a slice of pizza, two breadsticks, and bottled water. I sit down at an empty table and keep an eye out for Twitch as I nibble on piece of pizza. A tap on my shoulder turns my head around and there he is. He gestured for me to follow him and I did, I grabbed my food and caught up with him as he walked through door.
“ This is a privilege, so don’t like blow our cover so that we have to sit in there with every one else.” He said in earnest. I nodded in understanding and continued following him. We stopped at an unmarked door. He looked down the hallway, checking for people, then looked the other way. “ Coast is clear.” he whispered as he pulled the door open quietly. “ Give me your hand he whispered as we came into a small dark room with a winding metal staircase in it. I grasped his hand and smiled in the dark. He pulled me up the stairs and onto a sort of landing. He pulled me to the left past pipes and vents and heating ducts. We ducked under a ventilation shaft and came to a door. He pulled it open and let go of my hand.
“ We’re here.” He said to everyone as we stepped onto the roof of the school. I sat down in the circle between Twitch and Lox, I think. I drank my water and talked with the guys and Minnie. Minnie was adorable she was a little shorter than me and just as skinny. She was wearing red tights and a black skirt. Her shirt had the Cheshire cat on it. Her eyes were blue and her hair was red. She didn’t seem to be as close to Venom Girl as Sammie was. She shoved Lox over and sat beside me.
“ So? What dya think of our school?” she asked politely. I gave her a look that said everything and she laughed. Her laugh was light and airy, almost fluffy. We talked more and I found out that two of my classes would be with her. We exchanged phone numbers and got up to leave.
“ Where are you two going?” Twitch asked, he looked at me, smiled, and nodded. Minnie and I left. Right before the door shut, I heard Venom Girl ask Twitch “what just happened” and Lox say, “Man, do I want her number”. Minnie and got down to the door and opened it so that I tiny shard of light came from the crack in the door. No sound came from the hall beyond the door and we didn’t see anyone from our vantage point. We scurried out and walked down the hall.
*     *     *
By the end of the day Minnie and I were really tight. She offered me a ride and I accepted because I really didn’t want to take the train alone. We waited outside for everyone. Once the last of us, C.J., showed up we all made our way down to the station wagon. There were only eight seats, and Venom Girl was driving so she got to assign them pretty much, only Twitch or Sammie could sit in the front passenger seat, and Twitch was sitting in the back. Everyone piled in accept for me.
“ You can sit on my lap.” Lox said playfully, but Vikki flashed him a look and he quickly shut up.
“ Just lay across every one.” Twitch said. So I climbed in and lay across every one in the front seat. I was in a semi-comfortable position, close to laying down, except my knees were bent and my back was curved up so my head was leaning up against the window. My head and upper back were on Twitch. My lower back and butt were on Minnie, and my legs were laying on C.J. and Lox. Mitch, Rex, and Rich were in the back seat.
Venom Girl drove off and declared that “ that one new girl” was getting dropped off. I hardly heard her because Twitch and I were staring again. I don’t know its almost like his eyes draw yours to his. Does that make sense? I vanished into his eyes; they just made me feel safe and content, like those eyes were the only things that I needed. He smiled, I could tell because he got little wrinkles at the outside corners of his eyes. I smiled back and closed my eyes. I opened them abruptly and started laughing because Lox had started tickling my knee. I sat up and pushed his hand away from my knee.
“ Sorry,” he said “ but that’s the only way I could get your attention because you were, like, on another planet.” He smiled, he had a great smile, and his teeth were white and straight. I smiled back.
“ It’s okay, I was just, um, zoning out, you could say.” I smiled as I said this last part, and leaned back to kind of lying down again. He smiled and asked me where I lived. I told him and just lay there. Minnie shoved something in my purse, but when I started to get up to see what it was, Twitch gave me a look of warning. They obviously did not want me to draw Venom Girls attention.
*     *     *
Venom Girl came to a screeching halt in front of my run down house. I climbed off of everyone and said goodbye to all of the people in the back. I went up to the front passenger window to say thanks for the ride but as I leaned down, Venom Girls lips curled up in a smirk, she revved the engine and sped off. I shrugged and walked up to the front of my house. I stepped carefully to avoid any of the creaky boards on the porch. I reached the front door and stopped. I didn’t hear anything, so my parents were probably passed out. I had work later and would rather not go with a black eye. I deemed it safe to enter the house. I grasp the cool, clammy handle and turn it carefully. I push the door open very slowly. No one is in the living room, so I step in quickly and turn my back to the door. I learned to do this the hard way. I was five and had just come home from kindergarten. I guess I made to much noise coming in the front door, because my dad was standing over me in a blind rage. I did not go to school for the next week because the bruises on my face. I closed the door by backing up slowly. I listen again. Nothing. I let my guard down a tiny bit and slide over to the closet to throw my jacket in. I think twice and decide to take it to my room with me. I step away from the door and move stealthily into the kitchen. I pull the fridge open slowly and grab a bottle of water. I close it just as I opened it and turn around.
I stop short. My dad is standing there, not a foot from me. How could I not of heard him? I take a step back but the fury boiling over in my father’s eyes made me think twice before taking a second.
“ Who were them kids.” He asked in slurred and broken English. I open my mouth to speak but it’s to late. This is where time seems to slow down and I can see everything in excruciating detail. He has already begun to pull back for the punch. I start to back away but I am moving just as slow as everything around me. His fist is moving fast even though everything is slow. I’m looking into his eyes as his fist makes contact with the lower part of the left side of my ribs. I feel the jarring from my ribs breaking before the pain shoots out in all directions. He pulls his fist back and I crumple over clutching my ribs with my arms. I see my notebook and purse still moving from just being dropped. I am brought to my knees by an elbow between my shoulder blades. I am screaming now, which only feeds his hateful rage. He removes his elbow and steps back. 
His strong knobby hands clutch my shoulders, hoisting me to my feet. I grab all of my stuff before it gets out of reach and stand there in front of him. My mouth tastes strange, and I realize it’s only my blood. I can feel it trickling from the corner of my mouth. He smiles when he sees the blood. There is no hope now. Mom has quit trying to make him stop, she gets beaten enough. He pulls back again, and muscled his fist forward. He hits me square in the stomach this time. I am leaning forward, our faces are inches apart, and he smiles when he realizes I cant breath. More blood spills from my mouth. It seems like ages before I hear the soft and thick splashes on the ground. I step back and try to take a deep breath. All that I can manage is a spluttered sucking of air. I try again and relish as the cool air fills my vacant lungs. I gather my thoughts. I need to get to my room.
He sees that I am going try to run for it, he lunges forward. I side step him and run around the island in the kitchen. I sprint for my room; I turn down my hall past my parent’s room, and bathroom. I hear my dad run into the wall behind me because, in his alcoholic trance, his ability to move precisely is greatly diminished. I turn to my room grab my key, but fumble at the lock on the door. He’s standing up again and collecting himself. He sees me and takes a determined step forward, then springs into a run. I get the key into the lock and turn it. I push the door open and run inside. I throw my stuff down and fling the door shut. I lean up against it and lock it, and then I lock the deadbolt I installed. I hear my father clutch the handle and try to turn it. When he finds it locked he immediately starts pummeling my door. I sigh in relief; I slide down the door and start sobbing. I quickly stop because crying makes the pain emitting from my ribs spike throughout my whole chest. I hurry to my window and lock it. Next, I move to my mirror and lift my shirt. The bruising has already started, purple and blackness has already begun to creep down my stomach. At least two of my ribs are broken. Their bruising is huge; it is almost up to my armpit. I get undressed and grab a hand mirror to use with my standing mirror. I turn around so my back is facing the mirror and raise the one in my hand. Looking up at the mirror in my hand, I see a purple bruise blossoming between my shoulder blades. I drop my arm to my side and put the hand mirror back in my bathroom.
I glance at the clock to find that I have an hour to collect my self so I can go to work. The bed looks comfy, but I need to get to college some how. I grab my work shirt and throw it on my bed. Pulling my hair up, I wash my face to get rid of the makeup runs going down my cheeks and the trickle of blood creeping down my chin and neck. I put on my Starbucks shirt and pull on a pair of tight black pants. Rummaging through my shoes I find my pair of black stilettos. They slip onto my feet and fit comfortably. I check myself out in the mirror and put on a little eyeliner. I grab my purse and sneak out the window for the second time that day.
*     *     *
Waking up the next day is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I can hardly roll up to a sitting position. I hobble to the bathroom and grad the ibuprofen, take four and throw them in my purse. Sudden awareness takes me as I realize that the house is completely quiet. Mornings like this are eerie; they seem to drag on forever. I throw on some clothes and do my makeup. My hair looks okay so I leave it alone. I gather my stuff and creep to the door. Glancing around my room, I see my window is unlocked. I hurry over and lock it then return to the door. I unlock both locks and open the door slowly. I creep out, close the door, and lock it. I turn around and walk down the hallway; I pass my parents room and hold my breath. For one reason, I really don’t want to get beat up before I go to school; and another reason, the smell is demoralizing. The smell of vomit, moldy beer, blood, and who knows what else hangs around the open door. Inside their room I see my dad passed out, half on the bed, and half on the floor. I hurry past and hope the smell doesn’t follow me to school. I go to the kitchen and grab another bottle of water. I don’t know why but I like water. My mom is sitting by the front door. My path goes that way so I might as well talk to her.
“ Hi mom.” I say quietly. She smiles and stares at me. She has started looking better ever since I told her that they didn’t completely mess up my childhood. I told her this, but it’s a lie. I am a not a mentally healthy human being
“ Your father said you got a ride home yesterday from a bunch of guys.” She said evenly. “ Is this true?” I nodded and turned to walk out the door. “ How bad did he get you this time?” She asked in a quavering and thin voice. I lowered my head.
“ I have at least two broken ribs, maybe, and a bruise that covers, pretty much my whole belly region.” I say in quiet but barely controlled voice. She starts crying as I walk out the door.
I almost start crying myself. My mom still cares about me, I thought she hated me as much as my father hated me. Even though I am in a lot of pain, I think today is going to be the best day I have had in a while.
Twitch gets on the train right after me, but I don’t know he’s there. He sees me sit down weird and sits down next to me.
“ Are you okay?” He asks with an anxious tone. I try to smile but the ibuprofen hasn’t kicked in yet. I shake my head back and forth and sigh heavily. My breath catches as pain spikes up lacing through my left lung. I grind my teeth and lean forward letting the pain die off. Before I know what has happened I am up and walking there is a hand around my waist, supporting me. We pass through several cars until we come to the last one, which is mostly empty.
He sits me down carefully, never letting me support more than half of my weight until I am sitting down.  He looks at me and smiles in the worried but happy to see me kind of way.
“ Now tell me what is wrong with you. You look bad and you cant even breathe without cringing.” He said. He had obviously been watching me for more than the few minutes we have been on the train. I gathered my thoughts and breathed calmly.
“ I’m fine I just hurt myself at work, strained a muscle in my back I think.” I said. I couldn’t look him in the eye. He shuffled his weight around so he would be looking me straight in the face.
“ You’re lying.” He stated. “ Look me in the eyes and say that. I looked into his eyes silently, and I could tell he saw my pain through my eyes. I turned away. “ I wont tell anyone what you tell me, I know how to keep a secret.” He said as I looked back at him. I know he’s telling the truth, because I know how to keep secrets too, except if I tell him what happened, I would be spilling the biggest secret ever. I lean over to rest my head on his shoulder, and I just sit there. He puts his arms around me and gives a gentle squeeze.
I scream in pain as the ribs pinch together and grind apart. Pain floods my mind and I push away from him. I can’t see or hear, the only things in the whole world are the pain and I. I look around frantically. Then my face is in front of his, and he’s looking into my eyes, dousing the flames of pain with the cool green of his eyes. His hands are holding my head in place so I cant get away. He is speaking but I don’t hear it, now it’s just me and his eyes. He blinks and life floods back, the rattling of the train, the words spilling from his mouth.
“ What happened?” Twitch was almost screaming. “ Jjacks are, are you okay? I’m so sorry whatever I did, I’m so, so, sorry.” I smiled and he stopped talking and stared at me. “ Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded.
“ I am now.” He smiled when I said this but then got serious; he wanted to know what was going on.
“ What is wrong with you?” he asked concerned, his stern face had melted away and was replaced by, just him. I looked into his eyes. That’s it, I will just tell him. He smiled reassuringly. I smiled back.
“ Well,” I stuttered, “ I have at least two broken ribs and massive bruising on my stomach. It hurts to breathe and walk. There are you happy now.” I turned straight forward and waited for him to start prying and trying to find out how it happened. But the prying and trying didn’t come.
“ You are not going to school today, you and I are going to the hospital. You can’t go to school and expect to last the day with broken ribs. That is final, I will kidnap you to get you there.” He smiled smugly after his little speech and I smiled back. The hospital was the next stop so we sat there content with the silence.
The receptionist was nice but uninterested until we told her I had two broken ribs. Then she became much more human-like. She directed us to the emergency room, where we were told to wait.
We had been waiting for about an hour when my name was called and we were taken to a room number thirty-two. We waited another thirty minutes for the doctor. He came in while still talking to someone else outside the door.
“ Get her in the O.R. now, because I really don’t care if Dr. Leiman is on break.” He snarled at the nurse in front of him. He turned and looked at us. He sat down in front of me, waiting. He wanted a story.
“ Hi, well, I was, um, outside walking to school, listening to my iPod, when I guess I walked into a game of baseball on the street, I walked right in to the backswing of the batter.” I lied. He gave me a look that said whatever; I just need to get you fixed.
“ Okay,” he said as he wrote everything down, “ I am going to have to have a look. And he can’t be in here unless he’s family.” My eyes shot to his. Understanding passed between us.
“ He’s my step brother, and the one who brought me here.” I hate lying but sometimes it is necessary, and I do not trust doctors.
“ Okay then, lift your shirt and we’ll see haw bad it is.” He and Twitch were both in front of me so I couldn’t hide it from Twitch. I grasped the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up so that it stopped right before my bra showed. Twitch’s jaw dropped as he saw the bruise that wrapped around my gut and up to the bottom of my left ribs. The doctor let out a low whistle and leaned down, he stated that his prodding may hurt, and he was right beyond a doubt. He poked around my ribs and the center of the bruise on my stomach.
“ It hurts.” I whispered in a strained voice as tears seeped from my tightly closed eyes. The pain was starting to give me a headache. I took a step back and was told to hold still. He stood up and shook his head.
“ These bruises look like they are more than a few hours old.” He said suspiciously. I gulped and nodded.
“ It happened last night while I was walking to night school.” I lied through grinding teeth. I swayed, but was caught by Twitch. He sat me down on the examination bed thing and pulled my shirt back down.
“ Well, your not going to need surgery, but the breakage is extensive. Your bottom rib is broken all the way through but the three above it have only large fractures. We’ll wrap you up and I will give you a prescription for painkillers. You will need to keep your ribs wrapped up for at least two and a half weeks so they can knit back together and start the healing process.” He walked over to a drawer and pulled out a cotton wrap that was at least eight inches wide. He tossed it to Twitch. “ This will protect the ribs while they heal and help to keep them in place while they start knitting together.” The doctor then leaned over and scrawled a prescription on a sheet of paper. 
“ This is good for a week, if you don’t go to the pharmacy before then, you will be in a lot of pain, and you only get one refill, so use it wisely.” He headed to the door, but turned. “ By the way, I am Dr. Johnson, and this room needs to be empty in ten minutes.” He turned and left, closing the door with a quick snap behind him. 
“ Give that here and I will wrap myself up.” I told Twitch after a moment. He just kept staring at me. I wiggled my outstretched arm a little trying to get his attention.
“ Hello? Any one there?” I practically yelled at him. Still no response. He just kept staring at me.
“ How did that happen to you?” He whispered at me. I shook my head and got up. Would not telling him be unbelievably mean now that he had seen it? “ Would you answer me, or are you just going to ignore me. Answer me!” He demanded. I rounded on him and walked straight up in front of him. Our faces were only inches apart.
“ I made to much noise going in the house yesterday after school,” I hissed at him “so, my dad caught me, grilling me about who you guys were. Then he punched me in the ribs, elbowed me in the back, and punched me in the stomach. That is what happened. Is there anything else you need to know about my alcoholic parents or is that it.” I screamed this last part. Then I was crying even though it hurt and I was in his arms.
“ I’m… I’m sorry.” He whispered in my ear. I hugged him and he hugged me back as I cried. “ Here,” he said softly, “ let me wrap you up.” I shook my head saying I could do it, but he insisted. I lifted up my shirt so that it stopped right before my bra showed. He unrolled the cloth and brought his hands together behind my back. He pulled it around on my left side. “ It needs to be tight.” He said. “ Will you be alright?” I nodded and grit my teeth. He pulled it tight and wrapped it around. On the second time around a small whimper escaped my tightly closed mouth. He paused then continued. He wrapped it around at least four more times until he ran out. He finished up with the little silver hooky things. He smoothed out a few wrinkles in the cloth and his hands brushed my skin. They were warm and rough. I looked at him. He looked scared as if he had done something atrocious. I pulled my shirt back down.
“ Thanks.” I said as we walked out of the room. The wrap was weird; the tightness of it somehow dulled the pain, made it less noticeable any way. I shoved the prescription I had been clutching into my purse. I went to the front desk and told them where to send the bill. It was the same receptionist; she smiled politely instead of treating me in an indifferent manner. We left the hospital and headed for the subway station.
*     *     *
It was a beautiful day, the breeze was cool and light and the sun was out. It was one of those weird days in the middle of winter right before spring. A day that makes you happy to be in the world and content with where you are and who your with. I was smiling a big happy smile as we got out of the parking lot. He looked down at me a smiled too. He slipped his arm around my waist, careful not to touch any bruising and I put mine around his and we walked. We passed the station. I looked up at him and he smirked and looked down at me from the corner of his eyes. I shrugged; it didn’t matter where I ended up, as long as he was there too.
*     *     *
Later, we stopped at a café. He pulled the door open for me. My eyes were glued to his as I walked in. I turned back to facing forward just in time to stop myself from running smack dab into Venom Girl. He followed me and put his arm back around my waist, and I around his. She glares into my eyes the hate seeming to melt the air between our eyes. Her gaze shifted to his eyes, and the hatred softened and was then promptly replaced by adoration. She shoved past me and opened the door with unflinching calm, and was gone.
We sat down at a table for two and ordered our coffee. I ordered a chocolate chocolate chip frappachino and an espresso double shot. He ordered a black coffee and an espresso double shot and a big chocolate chocolate chip muffin for us to share. I smiled across our tiny table at him. He smiled at me and started laughing.
“ What’s so funny, huh?” I asked him incredulously. He just kept laughing and shaking his head.  I was nervous now. Was there something on my face? I moved my hand to check but stopped because if there wasn’t anything there, I would look pretty stupid feeling around for some invisible substance on my face. I just sat there watching him laugh and smiled. His laugh was as content as the weather was, it was just happy to be there. Twitch stopped laughing and looked at me.
“ You could have welded some metal together with that gaze of ‘Venom Girl’s’. But you took it, I wish I could do that, just blow off whatever people throw at me, not have the laser ray vision.” He said admiringly. We got up and got our coffee and then just sat down and looked at each other while drinking it. Lynn, one of my co-workers, came up to me and asked if I could cover her shift to night. I sat up so I could talk to her better, but was cut off by Twitch.
“ She and I have some stuff to do tonight.” He said. She looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, then looked back at me and gave the ‘ humph, bout time you got yourself a man’ mixed with the ‘he is HOT’ look. I smiled and shook my head. He and I exchanged glances.
“ Sorry Lynn,” I said, “ I happen to be busy tonight. If it were any other night I would though.” She smirked and left our table. I turned to him. “ What was that?” I asked, “ You don’t have control over my life or what I do.” I was kind of angry, he just made a money making decision for me. And plus what he just did reminded me of my father and his controlling nature.
His smile dried up. “ I just didn’t think you were in any shape to work today or for at least a week. I am sorry, I guess that was presumptuous of me.” He was looking me in the eyes so I knew he was telling the truth. He was just worried about me. After that we sat there in silence, just happy and satisfied with being there.
We finished our coffee and walked out. We walked another block and past another subway station. He asked me what time it was, so I looked at my cell phone and was shocked to find that it was already six thirty. We hadn’t even been paying any attention to the time while we were touring downtown. I turned to him.
“ I should have been home over an hour and a half ago, we have to go, now.” He looked at me and saw that I was scared. I don’t think he was quite sure what I was afraid of but he didn’t want me in a scary position so we hurried back to the station we passed and headed home.
*     *     *
We walked up to my front door. I turned around to hug him, but he wanted to go in with me. I shook my head and hoped my eyes conveyed enough of what I was feeling when he was gazing into them. He shook his head back. So, I caved, which I shouldn’t have done. I put my fingers to my lips signifying for him to be quiet; he nodded and waited for me to open the door. I turned and reached for the handle. Just as my fingertips brushed the handle, the door whipped open and I was staring my father in the face.
His eyes slowly boiled over in a hushed hatred. His eyes flicked to Twitch behind me, and the hatred quickly burst into rage. Before I knew what had happened, I was sent headlong into the door jam as my father dove for Twitch. I shot to my feet and wrestled myself between them. I looked at Twitch, he was shaking his head at me and screaming for the two of us to take a run for it, but I couldn’t hear, I had made a decision. I looked him squarely in the eyes and he got quiet. He knew what I was going to do. I watched calmly as he tried to convince me not to do what I was about to do. I turned to my father.
“ You cannot control my life anymore, father.” I said calmly. “ I am an adult now, and you, you are becoming more and more like a child every time I grow up a little more. And, well, I am just tired of it.” I said almost violently. “ This guy standing here, has given me more happiness in two days than you have in eighteen years,” I whispered emotionally. “ He actually cares about me, we are happy. You can take away my dignity, my self worth, and my pride, but this, I will not let you take away.” I stood defiant between them. I single tear rolled down my cheek, and now remembering back, it seems like that is what he was aiming that punch at. He hit me hard. My head swung back behind my shoulder and I felt with deft precision as my jaw popped out of place and almost hit my ear as it shattered. Blood poured out of my mouth and into my throat, I would be lucky not to suffocate in my own blood. My father smiled as he pulled his fist back and saw the strings of blood and saliva twined on his fingers. I fell back and was surprised not to hit the ground, I found myself in Twitches arms. He looked down into my blood-speckled face and started tearing up, I still wasn’t hearing anything, so I don’t know what he was screaming at me. I saw the boot coming before he did. It hit my broken ribs and broke a few more. We fell back; I was cushioned by Twitches body. My father then walked around us and pulled Twitch away by his collar.  He pulled Twitch up to standing and punched him stiffly in the stomach. Twitch doubled over, and my father did to Twitch what he did to me. He brought his elbow down precisely between his shoulder blades. Twitch fell and lay on the ground, his chest heaving. My father came back to me and kicked me in the side moving me a full four feet away. I looked for Twitch he was crawling to me, the tears running down his face turned the smudges of dirt into runny mud. He looked into my eyes and cringed as he saw the second kick impact several of my right ribs.
The pain was gone now, just kind of non-existent. But it showed through my eyes, I could tell because of the way Twitch was looking at me. It made me sad, to see him that way, I didn’t really care what was happening to me at the time.
I was being dragged to a semi-standing position when my mother came out of the house. She fell to a sitting position and began crying at the sight of me. I got my balance and turned to my father, who was wheezing and glaring at me. I looked him in the eyes, glaring right back. I turned and began walking to Twitch who had regained his breath and was starting to stand up. I was halfway to him when pain exploded in excruciatingly my lower back. The bottom half of my body stopped working. I crumpled to the ground face first. I looked over at where my mother had been she was gone. I could see her on the phone frantically talking to some unknown person on the other end of the line. I smiled hoping it was the cops and that my father would receive justice. I just had to hold out until the cops got here, then my father wouldn’t be able to lay into Twitch.
Twitch ran and plunged to the ground before me. Our faces were inches apart as my father advanced toward me. Twitch leaned forward and his lips met mine. That was the warmest and most fulfilling kiss I had ever had. I closed my eyes and reveled the feel of his nose next to mine, and his hand embracing the side of my face. I smiled while still kissing him, and he returned the smile. He pulled away; my blood was on his face. His brow furrowed as he saw my father standing over me, I’m not worried, I can’t stop thinking about the fact that he kissed me. I wish my jaw was working, that would have been so much better if my face hadn’t been all messed up. A hand grasped my shoulder and flipped me over. I looked up to see my father; his face was so red it was almost purple. He was standing over me clutching a bat. I used to play softball, and probably left it in the yard a couple years ago. He raised the bat over his head.
Twitch jumped clear over me and tackled my father. The bat fell a couple of feet from my reach. They fell to the ground brawling for the upper hand. My father got it. He punched Twitch in the face and got up. He walked in a determined fashion, like he knew I wasn’t going anywhere. And I wasn’t, how could I, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t move my legs. I was helpless. My father bent over and picked up the bat, he smiled as he found that he was now completely in control. That is what it is all about with him, the control he wants, needs, and craves to have. To control peoples lives and how people see those people he controls. He walked around me a couple times, slowly and without hesitation. He smiled as he saw the pain seeping back into my mind. He poked the ribs he kicked with the end of the bat. I yelped as pain wove itself up my side. He pushed harder and my yelp rapidly became an unreal scream. He took the bat away leaving me gasping for air. I closed my eyes trying to control the pain flooding my reason. He tapped the side of my face with the bat. I opened my eyes and stared at my father. He continued walking around me again. He stopped on my right side. He raised the bat and brought it down on my chest. My reasoning evaporates as pain knifes at my mind. I am remotely aware that I am screaming. I cant breath. Blackness is creeping into my vision when I finally feel the fresh of new air. I gasp for breath and start crying. I am going to die. It won’t have been without cause, but I am still going to die. Sadness engulfs me as my tears fall into my ears. My father has a foot on either side of my hips. He slowly raises the bat high over his head. I look up, the sky is blue and the clouds are white. The bat starts its decent down and there is no time. I smile as I hear the slow drone of police sirens down the street. The breeze on my face is slow but cooling and delightful, but it feels strange as it goes over the drying blood on my face. The bat is a foot away from my face now, I close my eyes and I am content with the blood on my face and that I am about to die. The bat touches my head right at the hairline, light at first then more and more pressure. I scream and scream. The tremor of my scull breaking is all that I hear, feel, and see even. Then there is nothing. I see my father above me but my eyes are not open. Every second is like a month to me, I see every detail and hear every movement, no matter how slight. I see my blood spray across his face in thick drops. Pain wrenches me from my observance, it’s a pulling, twisting, in my core, not my bodily core but my everything core. Pain floods around me. I scream, but there is no sound or hint of sound. And then the clarity sets in, and the absence of any pain is like pure, warm, light in a deluge around me. I smile to myself. I close my eyes for the longest time, just happy. When I finally open my eyes I look down and see a broken and lifeless body, my own, or was my own.
I see Twitch sitting there in the grass staring at my body and the police swarming around what was once my father. I go to him, I don’t walk or move, but I think myself there. I whisper in his ear and tell him thank you, thank you for all of the happiness he had brought me, and will always bring me. Sobs shook his body as my thought registered in his mind, then he looked around, and found the spot that would have been my eyes if I had a body. He immediately stopped, and looked closely at the spot he found. His intent gaze gave me hope for what some might call my future and I left to what those some would call a better place.