We talked about books, I loved the fact that he’d read all of the Potter and Hunger Games, we were able to compare and argue. I laughed when he told me his secret wish was to see the Potter story from Ginny Wesley’s point of view.
I don’t exactly remember when, I was probably rambling about something totally meaningless, but somehow I ended up with my head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around my shoulder.
A sense of safety and security washed through me and I was sure I’d found heaven. I could have stayed there the rest of my life. The smell of Teriyaki sauce and lamp oil would always be associated with this night. For the rest of my life, I wouldn’t be able to go camping or walk into a Chinese restaurant without thinking about this boy next to me.
We talked, and talked. It was as if someone had opened a vein and everything was bubbling out of us.
I didn’t know it could be like this; to talk with someone and not worry about being judged. When talking to Steph and Jeanie, I had to watch what I said sometimes. But this was different, nothing was taboo, nothing was forbidden.
Of course, I’m not an idiot. I made sure to steer away from asking about his time in the system. My soul knew that it’d ruin the moment and bring everything to a crashing halt.
Eventually, as all good things must, it came to an end. We’d talked ourselves out. A yawn escaped me before I could stop it. I raised a hand to hide it then flushed when I did it again. He laughed and pulled me closer.
We sat there and enjoyed being there, in that moment. I wasn’t freaking out about my parents, wasn’t worried about Jeanie. I could feel him relax. For the first time since I met him, it didn’t feel like he was walking point on a combat patrol. Hey, I used to watch war movies with my dad.
.o0o.
A rock-hard furnace next to me kept the cold at bay. Drifting on a cloud, I snuggled up next to it trying to capture every last bit of warmth. My hand had slipped under his T-shirt and rested on his side. My eyes shot open. I was in bed with Austin, in his room. Somehow under the blankets. When had that happened? How.
My entire body was pressed up next to him, my knees in behind his, my chest next to his back, my hand resting on his side. I sighed in relief when I realized we were both still fully clothed.
A faint yellow glimmer escaping from the lamp cast the room into deep shadows. Austin breathed slowly and deeply making me feel all soft inside knowing that he was resting comfortably.
My hand tingled where it touched his skin; I must have slipped it under his shirt while still asleep. Instinctively searching for what I needed. This felt so right, so perfect. I buried my face in his back and let his scent travel through me.
As my hand slipped to his stomach so that I could pull myself closer, I felt a bubbly ridge of skin. Places where there shouldn’t have been a ridge. My fingers traced a three inch square of raised scar tissue. I knew what scar tissue felt like; my dad had scars on his legs from in the Army.
I can still remember as a little girl, my dad sitting in the backyard in shorts and seeing the ugly scars on his legs. They’d frightened me like nothing had ever scared me before. The idea that something could hurt my father had shaken me to the depths of my being. He let me touch them to prove they didn’t hurt anymore. But looking up into his face, I knew they’d hurt him a lot at one time.
That sick, scared little girl feeling returned when I felt Austin’s scars. My hand continued to explore and I felt another nasty indentation up under his ribs. I gasped in shock. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist stopping me from searching for more.
“How, why?” I asked.
He shot out of the bed and across the room as if jumping from a frying pan. The cold hit me with a physical force. Slamming into me like a wet towel across the face. Even worse, his absence felt like it had ripped a part of my soul away. He stood by the desk with his back hunched.
“Not now, come on we need to go,” he said as he put on his jacket.
“Austin, please, what happened? Please tell me.”
He turned and looked at me. I felt my eyes mist up. He was in emotional pain but wouldn’t share it. Refused to let me into that part of his life.
“Casey, you don’t need this. In a few hours you and your friend will get on that bus and go back to your world, back where things like this, things like me don’t exist. God willing, you’ll live a nice wonderful life. You don’t need to know about the ugly side of the world.”
It was as if someone had dumped ice cold water down my back. How dare he tell me what I did and did not need? Jumping out of the bed I marched up to him and stuck my face next to his. “You listen to me, Austin…”- I realized I didn’t even know his last name - the drama was lost without a last name. How did I get this far without knowing his last name? Shaking my head I tried to gather myself. I put both fists on my hips and stared into his eyes, trying for that look my mom did so well. “I’m not some little girl that can’t bear to hear the truth,” I continued with a slight stutter.
He stared back for a second and I saw a fear deep in his eyes. He so desperately didn’t want me to know. He wasn’t ready, not now. My heart fluttered and I knew I had to let him alone on this. Stepping up I put my hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay Austin, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed.”
He looked down at me. Staring into my eyes, locking me in position. At first, I thought he was going to tell me, going to share. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed me. It was a kiss that contained every part of his soul. His lips possessed me, drinking me in and caressing my heart. My legs began to buckle. He slipped his arm around my back holding me in place, pulling me closer. I thought I would melt and knew it would be the best thing to ever happen to me.
A deep moan escaped before I could stop it and I didn’t care. I felt his caressing lips all the way to my toes and pulled myself closer. I couldn’t get close enough.
Austin slowly pulled back, my lips followed him until I realized he was breaking the most wonderful kiss of all time.
“I could do this forever but I’ve got to hit the gas station.”
Relenting I put my jacket and shoes on while he blew out the lamp. The sun was up and lit the factory floor enough so that we didn’t need the flashlight.
Within minutes, we were at the gas station. He let me use it first. Finishing I looked at myself in the mirror and freaked. My hair like a squirrel's nest. I tried to hurry; I knew he was outside hopping from foot to foot. But a girl has to have some pride.
He shot me a scowl when I opened the door then rushed past me. When he stepped out, he said, “Come on, Achmed won’t wait around.”
Were we finally going to get Jeanie, and if we did, what then?
Chapter Ten
Austin
Dressed in white painter pants and a white T-shirt, Achmed looked like a Middle Eastern Pillsbury dough boy. A streak of flour marred his forehead above his heavy eyebrows. He nodded to me but ignored Casey as he turned towards his building. She shot me a look as if asking ‘What’s his deal? He doesn’t see me?’ but I shook my head, not now.
Jogging up the steps, he punched in his code and held the door for me. “Thanks, Achmed, We really appreciate it,” I said. He dipped his head in acknowledgment before scurrying down the hall and into his apartment.
Steering Casey towards the stairs we started up. The place smelled old, musty and moist, with a base aroma of refried beans and cabbage. The well-worn carpet had to be at least forty years old and the walls were worse. Dim bare light bulbs lit the way. I wondered if the tenants or the landlord changed them when they went out. It was the kind of place that catered to the people barely hanging on, people who couldn’t complain and couldn’t move.
“What if she’s not there?” Casey said, her face twisted in concern.
“Then we’ll keep looking but she should be there.”
“What if that Charlie guy is there?
“Then we’ll deal with it, but I bet he’s still in jail.” My stom
ach turned over. Each step we took up those stairs was one more step closer to Casey getting on that bus. I knew that was what I wanted, what she needed. But that wasn’t going to make it any easier.
The plain white door of apartment 3C awaited us. Casey’s face dropped to a paler shade of gray as she raised her hand to knock. At the last second, she pulled back her hand then leaned forward and placed an ear to the door. Listening for a moment, she shook her head, took a deep breath and knocked three times, firmly. Then stepped back and waited.
The door cracked open a mere inch, enough to expose a feminine eye, blinking furiously. “Casey?” was heard from behind the door when it was closed quickly and the chain latch removed before being flung open once again. “Casey!” the girl said as she threw herself into Casey’s arms.
Both girls hugged each other as if the world might fall away, slowly rocking back and forth. I took a step back and watched the reunion. Jeanie lived up to her picture, red hair the color of a toy wagon with fingernails painted to match. Shorter, with a round face, a little pudgy but in an attractive kind of way.
As Jeanie started to pull Casey into the apartment, she peeked down the hall as if checking to see if anyone was watching. “What are you doing here?” She asked as she closed the door behind us.
I clenched my fists and hunched my shoulders as I prepared for a bombardment. There were no guarantees that Crap Face was still in jail. The apartment was small and dingy. An old beige sofa with ripped cushions sat against the wall facing a sixty-inch flat screen TV. The small kitchen off to the side was barely big enough for one person. I could see a door to the bathroom and bedroom down a short hallway. Both doors were open and the rooms appeared to be empty. I let out a huge sigh and felt my shoulders relax for the first time that morning.
“He’s not here,” Jeanie said to me, her eyes lingering on my black and blue bruises.
Casey remembered where she was and what was going on. “Jeanie, this is Austin, he helped me find you.” She continued to hold Jeanie’s hand and examined her friend with searching eyes as if trying to see for herself if she was truly there and truly all right.
Her friend gave me a small smile while she assessed the strange boy standing in her apartment, probably trying to figure out what I was doing and why I was helping her friend. “You shouldn’t be here Casey,” She said nervously.
“Jeanie, you have to come home. I’m sorry, so sorry. It was a stupid fight. You didn’t give me a chance to say I’m sorry.”
The young redhead’s eyebrows narrowed in confusion for a moment. “What fight, you mean us? Oh, Casey, I didn’t leave home because of our stupid fight.”
“Then why?” Casey asked.
Jeanie frowned and shook her head. “I had my reasons, believe me, if you knew you’d understand.” The sad frown looked like it might become permanent and my heart went out to the girl. Whatever it had been it must have been pretty bad. “You’ve got to go, Casey before Charlie gets back. He’ll be mad if he finds you here. Real mad.” Her frown got deeper and a new fear danced behind her eyes.
“Jeanie, I don’t care what it was, you can’t stay here. You don’t know what we know. You don’t know what Charlie is.”
Jeanie shook her head again, “What?” her face began to turn red. “I know what he is, yeah I know,” she said with a resigned sigh.
Casey’s face lost all its color and her jaw dropped. I thought my heart would rip in two watching her go through that pain. “What … How.”
“He’s been pushing me to do things, things for money.” Her face grew red as she stared down at the floor unable to meet her friend’s eyes. A silver tear began to slowly fall down her cheek.
Casey gently placed a finger under her friend’s chin, raising it so that she could stare deep into her eyes. “Jeanie, that’s why you’ve got to get out of here, now. Whatever it was that made you leave home we’ll fix it. You can live with us; you know my parents will be okay with it. You cannot stay here. Do you understand?”
“Casey, you don’t understand. What I did can’t be fixed. My mom …” Her face scrunched up as she fought to maintain control but it was a losing effort, it always was going to be. Taking a deep gulp of air she brought her hands to her eyes as she began to cry. Not simple simpers. These were the deep sobs of shame and guilt. My protective instincts kicked in. There is nothing worse than seeing a girl cry, it rips at a guy’s souls and screams for him to fix it. I started to step forward but Casey shot me a look that said not now. She took her friend into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder.
“Shsss,” Casey said as she gently rubbed her friend’s back. “We will …”
“Damn it, Casey, you don’t understand,” Jeanie said through sobs then pulling back. “I slept with my mom’s boyfriend Barry.”
“What?”
“Yeah, Barry, The first real boyfriend my mom’s had since my dad left ten years ago. How’s that for….”
“Are you okay,” Casey said interrupting her friend. “Did he rape you?”
“No Casey, it was all me. I seduced him, granted it wasn’t hard. A smile and a little flirting and he was more than willing.”
“Why, I mean Barry! You don’t even like him.”
“I don’t know, after what happened with Tommy. It seemed no one wanted to be around me. My mom and I were fighting, like always, you and I were fighting. None of it seemed to matter. Barry wanted me at least. “
“I’m so sorry,” Casey said. “I never…”
“It isn’t about you Casey, it’s me, I’m broken, there’s something wrong with me. I hate everything about me, the way I look, the things I do. The fact that the first night here I shacked up with Charlie… Most of all I hate what I did to my mom, I can’t stand the idea of what I did. I dream at night, the way she would look at me if she knew.” Jeanie started crying again. “I can’t face that.”
Casey brought her into a hug again and looked over Jeanie’s shoulder, her eyes pleading with me to do something. A second ago she’d warned me away, now she wants me to fix it.
“Listen, guys, we need to get going,” I said.
Pulling back Jeanie continued to shake her head while she wiped at her eyes. I could tell she wanted to go, but that first step towards facing her mom was a tough one.
“Believe me, no matter how bad it is, it won’t be as bad as staying here. Plus, Casey needs you at home. She’s going to need your help in justifying blowing off her parents to come find you.”
Jeanie stared at the floor for a moment. Her shoulders sagged as she dipped her head in acceptance of her fate. I sighed in relief. One crisis averted. I don’t know what we would have done if she refused to go. Casey smiled and turned to start gathering her things when all three of us froze in our tracks.
A key rattled in the front door. Holding our breaths, we watched the door slowly open and Douche Bag walk in. Damn, you’d think the justice system could keep a guy locked up a little longer. He stopped in mid-stride, one hand still holding the knob while he tried to remove the key.
“What the …?” he asked, his eyes blinking rapidly trying to figure out what was going on.
“Charlie, these are my friends, Casey, and Austin,” Jeanie said, stepping forward. Obviously trying to soothe troubled waters.
“I know who they are,” he barked as he stared at me with a hate that could burn a brick building. He looked like the kind of guy who’d spent the night in jail. Rumpled clothes, unshaven chin, and bloodshot eyes. As if he hadn’t slept in a couple of days. The bruises I administered started into a rainbow collage of blues, greens, and a little yellow. My gut dropped and fists clenched.
He looked at Jeanie then grabbed her arm. “Go to the room,” he said pushing her towards the bedroom.
“Hey, leave her alone,” Casey yelled as she stepped towards him. God, I wished she hadn’t done that,
“Shut up bitch,” he said through gritted teeth. Before I could react, before I could move, his other hand shot out as he swung and b
ackhanded her across the face. The sharp sound resonated through the room and into my spine like a gunshot.
I lost it.
Casey.
My world turned fuzzy as I stumbled back into the wall. A shimmering white with stars floating by. Did he really do that?
My mind reeled. I could still feel where his knuckles had connected with my cheekbone. It was so fast before I could react the shock rocked my world to the very core. Things I thought I knew had to be adjusted. I’d never been hit in my life. Never even come close.
As my vision began to clear, I saw Austin launch himself, driving the top of his head into Charlie’s chest.
Both of them collapsed to the ground into a swirling, heaving, heap of terror. Austin brought his knee up into the other man’s groin as his fists flew over and over again. Charlie answered with a flurry of his own then heaved and threw Austin off as he rolled out from under him.
It reminded me of a dogfight, or like two Tasmanian devils going at it. So fast I couldn’t follow whose fist or whose knee was connecting. Where one man began and the other finished.
I gasped as Charlie’s hand swept up a lamp and swung it at full speed towards Austin’s head. He raised an arm catching most of the brass. The force continued on, glanced up and into his head. The light bulb connected, shattering into a thousand pieces. A jagged edge of glass remained in the socket and scraped along his hairline at the top of his forehead. A surgeon couldn’t have cut a straighter line. Immediately a bead of red began to grow then drip down his face.
Austin didn’t react, I think he wasn’t aware of anything around him but getting to Charlie and hurting him. He kicked out at Charlie’s knee then followed it in with two quick punches to the gut. Charlie grabbed him around the shoulders, twisting, throwing him to the ground.
Visions of Austin on the ground being pummeled flew through my mind. Without thinking I threw myself onto the back of Charlie and raked my fingernails down his face. He screamed and threw an elbow back into my nose. Once again my world turned as white as November snow. I landed on the couch. The pain was replaced by a satisfaction like nothing I had ever known before. It flowed through me when I thought about how wonderful my fingernails felt sinking into his flesh.
Too Many Rules Page 25