I see Andrew and William get to Caroline and the older guy. I keep running and all I can see is William push this guy onto the ground and then he goes over to help Lynns, that is now crouched onto the ground crying.
I finally get to her and I wrap my hands around her. "It's OK, Lynns. I'm here." I say softly. "I'm here."
The older man gets up and starts coming at William like he wants to fight him. William draws his fist back and punches him in the face. The guy flies backwards and is now laying in the middle of the dirt road moaning in pain.
I stand up and walk over to this pathetic man laying on the ground and kick him right in his stomach. "Don't you ever put your hands on my sister you pervert!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I keep kicking him. The man is gasping for air and is still shouting in pain.
Andrew grabs me gently and pulls me away from the guy and starts hugging me. I start crying and there is no way to control it. "This is all my fault. I should have been watching her. I shouldn't have let her drink. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight," I keep saying this over and over again.
"Nina, it's not your fault. You just wanted her to have fun," Andrew says. "It's not your fault."
"Yes, it is!" I cry.
"We got to her just in time." Andrew clarifies. "I'm here with you now. Both of you are safe."
* * * *
William is carrying Lynns down the road to my car. Andrew is half hugging me while we walk down the road. Feeling his arms around me is so comforting.
"Let me drive," Andrew insists.
"No, I'm fine. I can drive," I say, unbelievable. Hearing myself say that, I don't even believe it.
I slide into the driver's seat. Andrew's in the passenger seat and William and Caroline are in the back seat cuddled up next to each other. Lynns is passed out sleeping on William's shoulder.
I turn the car on and start driving down the rocky dirt road. The silence in the car is sketching me out, along with the darkness all around me. I get less then halfway down the road and I slam on the brakes. I instantly unbuckle myself and look over at Andrew. "You're right. You should drive." He just shakes his head at me in agreement. I get out and walk around the car to get into the passenger seat. Andrew's standing right there holding the door open for me. Even in a stressful state of mind, he makes me crack a smile.
I plunk down into the seat, buckle up and lay my head back. Tonight turned out to be a halfway horrible night. I consider it a great night for the fact that I had a chance to stare into Andrew's eyes. I consider it a bad night because of the pervert putting his hands all over my sister, that's extremely intoxicated. How could he take advantage of such a vulnerable young girl? I honestly have no idea what I would have done if the Madsen brothers didn't show up to save the night.
I look over at Andrew and lay my head on his shoulder. "Thank you," I whisper. "Thank you so much."
CHAPTER 7
First Date
Dear Diary,
The thing I fear the most in life is something so terrible, so disastrous and so uncontrollable, happening to my mom or Caroline. They mean the world to me. They're all I have. I can't lose them like I lost my father. Every single day in my life I wish I could go back in time and prevent that accident from happening. I would do and give anything to get my father back. He shouldn't have been taken away from me so early in my life, so soon. I have to do everything I can to protect the family I still have.
Last night shouldn't have happen. That guy could have done more than put his hands all over Caroline's body and his repulsive lips all over her face. I thank God that he wasn't able to get any further, that Andrew and William were able to stop him. I don't know what I would have done if something had severely bad ended up happening to her.
When we got home last night, William carried Caroline up to her bedroom and tucked her into bed. I'm glad Ali was sleeping because she would have been disappointed in us. I don't plan on informing Ali with the incident that occurred tonight. Instead, I will leave the decision up to Lynns, if she wants to tell her what happened last night or not. I feel as if I should at least tell Ali about the strange guy that had his hands all over Lynns, but I think it would be best if I leave it up to Caroline to make the right decision. I have to start keeping my little sister safe!
Love, Nina
* * * *
I go to check on Lynns because she slept right through the morning time. I open her door just a crack and she's wide awake laying in bed staring at her collages on her ceiling of magazine cut outs that she made. "How are you feeling, little sis?" I ask.
"Unhappy, ashamed, embarrassed, and I have a really bad hangover." Caroline doesn't take her eyes off of her ceiling. "I just want to wrap my arms around the toilet and sleep there for the rest of my life."
"I didn't tell mom," I confess.
She turns over and looks at me. "Are you going to tell her?"
"I decided to leave that decision up to you."
"I don't want to tell her." She turns back over and stares at her collages again. "She's still completely heartbroken over dad. Lately, she finally seems like she's starting to heal. I don't want to be the one to take away her happiness again. It's better if I don't tell her."
"If that's what you think is best, I support you." I walk over to her bed and sit down next to her. "Do you remember everything that happened last night?"
"I remember bits and pieces, not everything. I do remember enough of it though."
"I'm sorry," I say as I hug her.
"Nina, it's not your fault. If it wasn't for you, William, and Andrew," she tries to explain, but she begins to cry.
"You're safe and unharmed. That's all that matters right now," I say as I feel a tear run down my face.
* * * *
I'm sitting at the kitchen table doing my English homework. My teacher, Mrs. Teal, assigned us an essay question. The question states, "To what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable?"
I've been staring at this question for about ten minutes trying to sort through my thoughts. I believe that there is no acceptable extent to use animals in scientific research. It's not acceptable to torture poor harmless animals for our own personal benefit. For example, it's not agreeable to test on animals for make-up, candy products, or any other non-meaningful items.
I think it would be very acceptable to stick a scientist, that decides to test on animals for useless products, in a cage and lock him up. We can torture him like he does innocent, not injurious, gentle animals. Let's inject this scientist with an assortment of chemicals and see if this fancy new product is OK for human consumption.
I think I'll be able to finish this essay question in a reasonable amount of time. It might take me about twenty minutes to have it completed. I disagree with the fact that animals are tortured for research on new items. I have a lot of opinions on that subject.
As I'm writing away in my notebook I hear a sudden knock at the front door. I don't want to be distracted away from my homework right now because I'm upset with the thoughts of those poor animals.
I stay sitting at the table waiting for Ali or Caroline to come and answer the door. Then, I remember they went out to do some grocery shopping.
I walk over to the front door and open it. Andrew Madsen is standing on my front porch. I wonder why he's here. "Hi," I say.
"Hi, Nina," Andrew says. "I'm sorry for coming over here unannounced and disrupting you, but I want to ask you if you wanted to see a movie tonight."
This is a very random surprise. He comes over with no notice to ask me out on a date. That's cute. "Tonight?" I ask.
"Yes, around seven?" He looks nervous. His hands are in his pocket and he's kind of fidgety.
"Sure. It's a date!" I say with a bright smile. I'm positive I'm blushing and my face is lighting up.
"I'll pick you up at seven," he says and starts walking away.
I stand at my front door and watch as he walks to his car and takes off down the road.
That a
ll happened so fast, but it's finally starting to sink in. I have a date tonight with Andrew Madsen.
* * * *
Caroline wants to play dress up with me again. I decide against that because of how uncomfortable I was at Kali's party. I almost twisted my ankle in those shoes I tried to wear. That night I didn't even get a few feet away from the car without rolling my ankle. I'm not bound to make it a whole night on a date. Even if we would just be sitting in a movie theater. I would have to use my feet to get in and out of the car and that's asking for a disaster. Andrew's and my first date would end up being in the emergency room because of me twisting my ankle from the high heels and smashing my face onto the pavement or something outrageously embarrassing with my luck. I'm not clumsy, I just can't wear heels.
Lynns has a little tantrum because I put on a nice pair of dark jeans, my favorite v-neck white shirt, and a button up shirt over it, but I leave it unbuttoned. I look in the mirror and I'm satisfied with the way I look, but from Lynns' perspective she thinks I look foolish dressed like this for a date. I don't dress like Caroline. I don't go all out of my way to perfect my outfits everyday of my life because I don't care what people think about me. I will wear what I think is nice and comfortable. I'm going to be sitting in a movie theater, in the dark. "I like my outfit," I say as I walk out of the bathroom and go into my room to get my sweatshirt.
"It's too conservative for a date, sis." She's trying to convince me out of what I'm wearing. I just keep ignoring her because she doesn't understand that I'm not going to listen to her.
I hear a knock at the door and I know exactly who it is. Andrew.
I hear Ali downstairs talking to him. I really hope she doesn't embarrass me. "Nina," my mom yells up the stairs, "Andrew's here!"
"Coming," I yell. I grab my sweatshirt and start heading down the stairs. When I hit the bottom of the stairs, I see Andrew. He looks remarkable. He's wearing a grey button up shirt. The sleeves on the shirt are rolled up to his elbows. Cute, very cute.
"Hello, Nina," Andrew says in a charming way.
"Hi, Andrew." He's always making me blush. It's like a permanent facial feature for me now because of him.
"Have fun, you two!" Ali says and waves us out the door.
Before I can open my own door, Andrew's already there opening it for me. He's cute and a gentleman! I feel lucky.
"Thanks," I say in a hushed tone.
As we're driving to the movies it's kind of awkward. You know how at the beginning of your first date with a guy you get this awkward moment? You have nothing to talk about. You both just sit there in silence until someone breaks the ice with something that just makes it even more awkward. Well, that's how I feel right now. Awkward, shy, silent.
My mouth starts talking before my mind can think, "What movie are we going to see?" I ask.
"I thought we could decide together when we get there." He's still staring at the road, concentrating on driving.
I take a quiet, deep breath and keep telling myself it will get less awkward when we start to get used to each other and start to kill the shyness.
We arrive at the movies, he parks in the closest parking spot he can find. I unbuckle and I start situating myself. Right when I'm about to open the door, Andrew's already on top of it. He opens the door for me and I get out. "Thanks again," I say.
We walk over to the front doors of the movie theater and go inside. We're staring at all of the five movies they have playing. This is lame. They all look like they suck. Maybe I should pretend to like whatever movie he picks.
"You pick," he says. I wasn't expecting him to say that. I was hoping for him to offer his suggestion. Great. Now I have to pick a movie out of all the ones that suck.
"No, you can pick."
"Truthfully, they all don't look that great." I sigh in relief. I'm glad we're both on the same page with these non-interesting movies.
"I totally agree with you." We both burst out laughing.
"You want to take a walk with me?" He asks me.
"I would love too."
We start walking down the road and we're heading toward the boardwalk. It's overlooking the ocean and it's absolutely beautiful. The night sky is clear, so you can see all of the divine stars. It's not windy or cold outside. I can't ask for a better night.
"So, tell me something about yourself?" Andrew asks.
I try to think of something to tell him, but I honestly can't come up with anything special off the top of my head. "Like what?" I ask.
"Something absolutely random," he says. I look at him and he's smiling such a beautiful smile.
I try to think of something random and I say the first thing that comes to mind, "I'm a vegetarian. I'm very against animal abuse and killing animals to fulfill our appetite." That would be the first thing that pops into my head considering the essay question I had for homework earlier.
"It's how the food chain works, but I understand your point of view," Andrew says.
"I like to read poetry. I can't write it, but I like to read it," I admit.
"There is a place in the heart that will never be filled. A space. And even during the best moments and the greatest times. We will know it. We will know it more than ever. There is a place in the heart that will never be filled and we will wait and wait in that space," he quotes.
I stop walking and look at him. My eyes are wide open. "'No Help for That' by Charles Bukowski," I say in amazement. "You read poetry?"
"I enjoy reading. Especially poetry." I'm still in shock that Andrew just quoted my favorite poet.
I start walking next to him again. "My favorite book by Bukowski is, You Get so Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense."
"I absolutely agree with you. He's a blunt person, which I like very much."
"Your turn," I say.
"OK, um," he says while thinking what to say about himself. "My favorite genre of music is alternative Rock."
"Me too," I admit. We have more in common than I thought.
"No way," he says. I think he's thinking the same thing about us having so much in common.
"Yes way."
"What's your all time favorite song?" He asks.
That isn't a hard question either. I don't have to take time to think about it. "Love Song by The Cure."
"Classic," he giggles.
"My favorite color is black," I say.
"Why black? I thought you would be more of a purple or pink kind of girl."
"I like to be different."
"It's good to be different." He laughs to himself.
"I'm not gothic. I just like the color black. No particular reason why either."
"I collect records," he says.
"I've never once heard a record play before!" I say. "Possibly on television, but not in real life."
Andrew looks at me to see if I'm kidding or not. I think he's waiting for me to laugh and say, "Gotcha!" But, instead I just shrug my shoulders and continue to walk.
"Well, we'll have to change that!" he says in a determined voice.
"I write in a journal everyday," I say.
"What do you write about?" he asks.
"Mostly personal things. My feelings. Emotions. Things that happen in my life. My family" I pause for a second to collect my thoughts. "I want to be able to read them in ten or twenty years and know exactly what I was doing and feeling each day."
"Have you written anything about me?" he asks, very curiously.
"Maybe." I smile.
"Well, I would hope so."
It's silent for a minute and then I have a random thought. I haven't asked Andrew if his sister would be interested in cheerleading. I don't want them to cut the team on Lynns and Kali. “My friend Kali is looking for more people for the cheerleading squad, would your sister be interested?” I ask.
“I'll be sure to tell Alex about it,” he says. “You do cheerleading?”
“No. No way. I would probably embarrass myself,” I admit. We both look at each other and laugh.
; “You look like the type of girl to do that type of sport,” Andrew says.
“I wish I had the ambition and dedication to do cheerleading. It seems really fun, when I’m watching from the sideline and not embarrassing myself on the floor,” I explain. “I was going to join for Kali, even though I have no idea what I'm doing. But,” I stop talking and try to think of how to word the point I'm trying to make. “Have you ever played soccer or basketball in gym class?” I ask.
“Yes, I have. Why?” He's probably wondering where I'm going with this question.
“Well, those sports are easy to blend into because most people get really competitive and into the game.” I take a deep breath. I’ve been talking way too much. “And when people like me play, that have no idea what they're doing, it’s easy to pretend like I do know what I'm doing and blend in. You get what I'm saying?”
“If I'm hearing you correctly, you're saying cheerleading isn’t the type of sport you can blend into?”
“Exactly! I actually think it’s absolutely impossible to just blend in. You have to learn dances, stunts, cheers and other stuff. I can’t even remember what I did yesterday.” The laughter continues. It's true though. I have a horrible memory. How would I manage trying to keep up with remembering the routines they teach?
“Is there any sports you do like?” he asks.
“Yeah, I like playing soccer and basketball in gym class,” I say in a sarcastic tone. We both start completely losing ourselves with our laughter. "I do like to run though."
“It relieves a lot of stress,” he smiles.
The boardwalk comes to an end and we turn around. We start walking back in the direction we came from. Andrew decides to slip his hand into mine. Our hands find each other and it feels good. It feels right.
* * * *
We arrive at my house. I'm unhappy that this night is coming to an end already. Andrew opens the car door for me like he's been doing all night long. He walks me to my door to say good night. "I had a wonderful time," I announce.
All of the sudden he leans in and presses his lips against mine delicately. My whole body starts to tingle. His lips are soft and smooth. Compassion fills the air. I don't want this to end. I want this moment to last for a lifetime.
Dark Love Page 6