by Leen Elle
I chose that exact moment to open the door casually and sauntered to the sink, not even sparing the two gossipers a second glance. Silence fell across the three culprits as they quickly gathered their things and left. I sniggered and ran a brush through my hair. Different from all my previous ones? Well, we would just have to wait and see.
VIPER
I had a casual conversation with Jerome as we exited the classroom, my eyes scanning the hallway for Raylin. Jacelyn was waiting for her brother at his locker. I bade them farewell as I spotted my girlfriend leaning against her locker.
"Hey babe," I stopped right behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders. She was talking to the rest of the girls, who smiled at me. She whirled around and shushed me fiercely with a maniacal glint in her eyes. I whipped my hands off her shoulders immediately while she went on talking to the girls. Still the same old Raylin; and I thought she became sweeter after she agreed to be my girlfriend. She had been docile enough when I had brought her to the beach during the weekend, although she had fun poking fun at my refusal to take off my shirt. I told her that I would only take it off for her and that had earned me a punch in the stomach. I waited patiently as she finished her conversation with them, studying the way her hair swung slightly as she moved.
I sound like a psycho.
"So it's alright with y'all if I tell Teresa that we can help the committee for the prom preparations?" She was asking them, one arm gripping her books and the other fiddling with her phone. I leaned over and plucked the books out of her arm slowly – she ignored me and let her arm fall next to her. They nodded in response to her question without much hesitation.
"You better pay some attention to Viper, Ray. He looks like he's going to burn a hole in your head. He has been staring at you for a very long time," Leila winked at me and laughed when I blushed sheepishly.
Raylin chuckled and smacked her arm playfully, "That's my boyfriend you're winking at. Go get your own!"
They waved at us and left in the opposite direction. Raylin finally faced me and gave me a saccharine sweet smile, trying to take her books from my arm. I held them tighter and grinned at her, "Is it my turn to speak now, Your Majesty?" She rolled her eyes at me and began walking briskly down the hallway, her head held high. I caught up with her in two steps, slinging an arm over her shoulder.
"Let me drive, I want to bring you somewhere," I sniggered at her annoyed expression. "I promise, I won't dirty your car. It was still spick and span after the drive to the bookhouse, wasn't it?" She studied my face for a good ten seconds before relenting. Ten minutes later, we were at the playground. She shot me a baffled look when we got out of her convertible, as did the three small kids playing on the slides. I took her arm and pulled her towards the swings.
"Do you remember this place?"
"What, our first accidental kiss?"
"I wasn't talking about that but since you mentioned it, it must mean something to… Ouch!" I groaned in pain when she pinched my arm hard. "I was referring to the game we played."
"Did we ever play tag?" She asked mindlessly, watching two of the children running away from the young boy. I huffed, she was making this harder than I thought. She laughed at my impatient look and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember. Do you want to continue it?"
"Only if you want to." Before she could reply me, her phone rang.
"Rayne? Whose house? No, it's okay. Call me when you're leaving. Bye," she hung up and began swinging slightly.
"What's the matter?" She shook off her distracted look and turned to me. Shaking her head, she curved her lips into a smile.
"Let's play the game. I'll start!" She said hurriedly before I managed to protest. She gave me a sly smile which made me feel disturbed. "What do you like about me?"
"I like how your hair is never out of place and how you always manage to look elegant regardless of what you're wearing. I like your icy glare, your obsession about having everything perfect and the way you want it, the way you care so much about your sister. I like how I can talk to you about almost everything. I also like how you're really a big softie at heart even though you're always freezing everybody's asses off with your frosty exterior." I leaned on the chains of the swing as I rattled off an entire list. "I could go on, do you want me to?"
"You're terribly cheesy, you know that?" She answered, sounding perfectly emotionless although I could see a faint hint of pink tinting her cheeks. "I honestly don't care what you think about me."
"So why are you blushing?" I asked teasingly, reaching over to brush a strand of hair away from her flawless cheeks. She caught my fingers in hers and glared at me. I shifted slightly, feeling something stir. Damn these fucking hormones. "So… You were talking about prom just now. What about it?"
"Teresa asked us to help the student council in organizing the prom because they're having some problems," she shrugged easily. Noticing my bewildered look at the mention of this 'Teresa', she continued with an eye roll. Man, she was getting predictable. "Teresa is the head of the student council."
"Right. I knew that. How can I not?" Cue another eye roll. I smirked. "Be careful your eyes don't get stuck up there one day."
"Are you interested in performing again?" She asked, whizzing past me as she began to propel herself into the air.
"Hell no!" I exclaimed in panic, images of Mrs. Morris and her endless gushing filling my brain, as well as Felicity and her bulging trunk. I shuddered involuntarily. I relayed my insecurities to her hastily.
"You don't have to worry. You have me around this time. I'll be a nice girlfriend and protect you," she beamed at me and told me jokingly, whizzing past me for the fifth time.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I inquired casually. "You know that prom is two weeks from now, don't you?" She came to an abrupt halt and froze, looking at me with widened eyes. Then, she slowly turned away and resumed her swinging, disregarding my question. I watched her for a few more minutes before glancing at my cellphone.
"Babe, do you want to leave now?" She came to a stop again and got up, shrugging. I followed her to the car and waited for her to get into the driver's seat.
"D'you want me to give you a ride home?" She asked softly. I declined and indicated that I would walk home from her house. The drive to her house was silent as she adopted a thoughtful expression. I idly wondered what was going through that pretty head of hers as she began chewing her lower lip. As she parked the car in the driveway, I slid out of the car. She stood beside me for a few seconds, staring at the door of her house.
"What's the matter?" I asked for the second time that day, a surge of worry going through me when I noticed a trace of fright in her eyes. "Did anything happen at home?"
She shook her head and smiled up at me, suddenly pulling me into a hug. I felt my heart clench as I wrapped my arms around her tightly. Please tell me this wasn't love. I looked down at her and ducked down slightly to kiss her on her lips.
"You have to tell me if something is wrong, alright?" I gave her a serious look. Her grey eyes seemed to glaze over as she closed them and nodded again. She pecked my cheek and slipped out from my arms, walking over to her door. She paused with her hand on the knob and finally entered the house, shutting the door behind her. I kept my eyes on the door for a tad longer before finally walking onto the pathway outside her house and began my stroll home, plugging my earphones into my ears.
As I walked, I began thinking about the prom night that Raylin had mentioned earlier. It was our last year in high school before we parted ways. I still had not come to a decision about the art scholarship, even though I was working hard in art class at the painting that would be judged in order to obtain the scholarship. Prom night. I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen, stupidly wondering if an answer to the question in my head would appear on it. I played with my lip ring continuously as David Cook's Light On played through my headphones.
I should probably just give it a shot.
I scrolled through my contacts and pressed
the call button.
"Hey, Belinda? About prom night…"
RAYLIN
I felt my heart thumping wildly as I shut the door behind me. I was suddenly thankful that Rayne had went to her friend's house after school. Why the heck was I so frightened by that douchebag? It wasn't as though I was unable to handle him if he tried doing anything. The living room was empty but messy. After checking that the whole house was empty of people, I hurried into my room and changed into shorts and a shirt. Bending over, I began cleaning up the place, returning everything to its rightful position.
Half an hour later, I slumped onto the couch, my eyes slowly drifting shut. I tried to force myself awake so that I could return to my room and sleep in safety but I lost the futile struggle. When I woke up to the phone ringing, I leapt up from the couch in fright before realizing that I was still safe and the house was still empty. The light indicating that there was a voicemail blinked from the phone. Leaning over, I hit the loudspeaker button.
My mother's hesitant voice came from the speaker, "Raylin dear, I'm so sorry about this morning. Charlie won't be back in our house anytime soon. I've gone to apply for a job… I think this morning's incident made me realize that perhaps I should… start being a real mother. You were sleeping when I came home so I didn't wake you up. I bought some cookies from the supermarket, so leave some for Rayne when you're done with them. Ray… Mummy's really sorry. And I… couldn't remember if you liked milk but I left a glass on the table. I love you, my dear girl."
I hit the replay button and listened to the message again. She sounded so heartbreaking sorry that I was taken aback. Couldn't remember if I liked milk? I used to drink milk every night back when she was still sane. I placed the cushion back on the couch and wandered into the kitchen and saw the covered glass and plate on the table. I uncovered them and smiled wryly. Mothers. I sat down to down the glass of milk and popped a couple of cookies into my mouth before covering the plate again. Rayne was the one who loved cookies, I should probably leave more for her. After washing up the glass, I returned to my room and sat before my laptop to begin on my assignments. Ten minutes later however, I was feeling unnaturally sleepy. I sighed, and closed my laptop. Perhaps a short nap would help.
I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. When I came to, I felt hot breath on my neck. My eyes flew open in horror only to see a familiar leering face. I tried to sit up. I could not. The fucking bastard was practically lying on me, his hands straying to places where they should not be. I opened my mouth to scream, only to find that I could not scream. He had taped my mouth. I felt my eyes widening in fright as I struggled desperately. How could this have happened?
"Sweetheart," he purred as he began pulling up my shirt. I felt hot tears of pain streaming down my cheeks as he kept one of my hands squashed under his dead weight and another in a vice grip. I could barely believe that I was about to be raped in my own home. "Did your mummy think that I would take a break-up just like that? Your mummy forgot that she gave me your house keys. I've been following her. Did you think the milk tasted good? I crushed a sleeping pill and added that in. Ingenious, aren't I? You looked too good to resist, sleeping on that couch…"
He's crazy. This guy is crazy.
His eyes were glinting maniacally while he tugged at my shorts. All of a sudden, there was a slam from the front door and my mother's voice floating up the stairs, "Raylin, I'm home. Are you free to come down and talk to me for a while?" Charlie got up in surprise, leaving my hands free to shove him off my bed and rip off the tape. I let loose a wild scream that sent my mother dashing up the stairs and into my room. She took one look at my tearstained face, then at Charlie and slapped him across the face.
"Bitch!" He roared, smacking her across her cheek in return. I felt anger boil in me as I rushed forward to push him away from my mother and towards the staircase. When he lunged at me once more, I kneed him violently. He bent over in pain, and took a step backwards before disappearing from view. He was turning the air blue with curses as he rolled down the steps and landed with a solid thump. My mother emerged from my room holding my alarm clock and threw it down at him. Neither of us flinched when it hit his forehead and sent a stream of blood down his face. Finally realizing that attempting to deal with us in his sorry state would be a very dumb decision, he shot us a final glare and lurched out of the front door.
"Raylin…" When I turned to look at my mother, I could hold it in no longer. I am ashamed to say that I burst out crying, both out of terror and disgust. She held me in her arms for the first time since her husband left, patting my back and stroking my cheek.
"I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't cry." I choked out and pulled out of the hug.
"Silly girl. I would be worried if you didn't cry after that ordeal. Are you alright, darling? Did that asshole hurt you in any way?" She looked ready to cry herself. I shook my head. "I should have ended the relationship when he started hitting me. But I thought this time it would be different…"
"You always do, mother," I told her solemnly. That much was true. She always thought her new relationship would be better, that it would be a beautiful love story all over again, but she was always wrong. Always. She pulled me gently back into my room and made me lie down. She patted my head comfortingly and spoke softly. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you up for dinner."
As she left the room, I could not help but feel that it was the first time that she was being a proper mother to me. I shut my eyes, biting my lips as I began to cry all over again. I traced my fingers over the number pad of my phone. I wanted to call Viper, and do what he had told me earlier. To tell him if anything was wrong. I dialed his number and waited for two rings before hanging up. I was actually scared that he would pick up, and I would not know what to say. What the fuck was wrong with me? What happened to the confident, calm Raylin I had known all my life?
VIPER
How far along would our relationship go? She had warmed up to me so far, that was certain. Would she demand for a break up when a week was up? It was the start of the week but I felt as though the end of the week was nearing. Had she actually implied anything when she said she would be there during prom? She had seemed genuinely shocked when I brought it up. Was I any different from all the other guys that she had dated before? I had never seen the way she acts around them. Was it worth it to sacrifice an art scholarship (which I had no idea if I was getting or not) for her if she was unwilling to continue our relationship in the first place? I had no idea. I stopped at my apartment door, beginning to unlock it. I shook my head slightly to rid my brain of all those questions with rootless answers that I had provided.
The art scholarship. I had yet to talk to Melvin about it. My feet brought me to Melvin's room where his dark head was bent over an assignment. He looked up when he heard me approaching and gave me an enquiring glance. I shook my head and turned to walk away. Now was not the time to tell him. Five steps later, I found myself back at where I started, giving him a contemplating look. He glanced at me again, and returned to his work. I returned to my room and sat on my bed, thinking hard. I got up and went into my brother's room, sitting at the foot of his bed, staring hard at the back of his head.
He set his pen down and changed his sitting position, putting his chin on the back of his chair with his arms dangling down, "Y'know, bro. I can't do my homework with you staring at me like that. Do you have anything to say?"
"Mel…" I began, then paused. Why was it so hard to talk to him nowadays? He looked at me expectantly. "I've been nominated for an art scholarship, and I don't know if I will get it yet."
"Wow, that's great!" My brother looked genuinely excited for a moment. He leapt onto his chair and crouched like a frog. "You have to accept it if you get it!"
"The art school is in London, Mel." He blinked and resumed his original position. "What are you going to do if I leave?"
He cast his eyes downwards and gave me a reply that completely did not answer the question, "But if it is offered, don't you think i
t's too good to turn down?"
"Melvin!" I was exasperated, although I knew he could not give me a solution. "You're not the only one I'll have to leave behind."
"I know… There's still Raylin…."
"Who is giving me one heck of a headache now," I mumbled to myself as I leaned over and placed my head in my hands. Had it been a good idea to ask her to be my girlfriend at such a time? "There's still another person to think of."
"Right… Our father." A look of comprehension dawned on my baby brother's face as he finally understood the point that I was driving at. "We could both go with you, and start a new life there or something."
I stared at him silently. He winced and looked away, "Sorry, stupid suggestion."
"No, actually. You make sense. A year is almost up. He'll be out of the rehabilitation centre soon," I was talking more to myself than to Melvin. "I'm not looking forward to seeing him, but there's no way I can toss him in a corner and ignore him for the rest of my life."
I felt a pair of eyes studying me. Melvin was frowning at me and his gaze never flickered, "You're sounding very serious. You don't usually talk like that when you're with me. Are you okay, bro?" I laughed. My insightful, sensitive little brother.
"Yes, I'm fine. Get back to doing your work. Thanks, Mel," I ruffled his hair and pushed myself off his bed, exiting his room. "I'll just see how things go."
I opened my closet and took out a set of clothes. Maybe showering all that gel out of my hair would make me think clearer and faster. While I was walking to the bathroom, my cellphone rang. 'Raylin', the screen flashed. Before I could pick up the call, however, it stopped ringing. Frowning, I called her back.
"Hello?"
"Hey babe, you called me?" Her voice sounded choked, and teary. "You don't sound too good, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I called you because…" There was a pregnant pause as I waited patiently for her to continue. "I just woke up from a nightmare. Sorry. I just wanted to talk."