Young Love

by Paige Powers

  “Yeah,” he choked out. I shook my head.

  “Jack,” I whispered closing my eyes. “You need to tell someone about this. It’s getting out of control!” I yelled. He shook his head.

  “It’s over now,” he said coldly, acid in his voice.

  “When did this happen?” I demanded. He leaned back, the marks on his arm really showing.

  “Last night...he said something bad about you.” He looked over at me, his eyes sweet but hard. “I hit him.” A lump started in my throat. “We got into a fight. He hit me and I hit back just as hard.” I didn’t want to hear anymore. No. I had to let him finish. “He got me good in the stomach and I fell. He had the advantage and kicked me and kicked me…he was rough. Rougher than he had ever been. Finally, he gave up and yelled, screaming all this crap about respect.” He scoffed. His voice sounded a lot better. Something of hope filled me a little. “Then this morning I couldn’t get up for school. I was in pain. He got mad. He came in and hit me again till I finally left...” He looked back at me adjusting his jaw. “And here I am,” he said. I didn’t realize how I felt like hitting that man so hard he would die.

  “Where’s your mom?” I asked, my voice tense. He shook his head.

  “She was at work this morning. Last night she yelled but she wasn’t strong enough to stop him.” I looked down. ‘Calm down Lidia.’ I told myself. ‘It’s okay.’ I kept on having these visions of me killing him. It was horrible. Why did I care so much? I looked up at him.

  “I’m glad you came,” I said quietly as I reached for the wash cloth. I dipped it in the water and then looked at him again. His better eye was watching me; the light of the fire reflected sparkles of orange. I put my hand on his jaw and brought him closer to me. Even though he was badly bruised, he still looked handsome. Like those models that whatever you put on them, they still looked like sex symbols. I touched the wash cloth to his forehead where the wound was and he winced. “Sorry,” I mumbled. I wiped off the blood. Well, it wasn’t too bad. It looked like maybe he hit it on something when he fell. It already looked like it was healing. I looked down at his chest and bit the inside of my cheek so hard that I felt blood in my mouth.

  “It doesn’t hurt that much,” he said, still looking at me. I avoided his eyes as I put the hot wash cloth on his bruised chest and shoulder. He flinched slightly as the hot water touched his cold body. I took it off and wiped his arm where the finger prints were; in an effort to make it feel better.

  “Are your ribs OK?” I asked. I looked up at him. He moved a little bit and winced. Panic stirred in me.

  “Yeah, I think...just muscles are sore.” I nodded pressing my lips together.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked. He shrugged a little.

  “Better, but sleepy.” I nodded.

  “Okay, go to sleep.”

  “Lidia, please don’t tell anyone. I’m fine,” he said quietly. I nodded as I stood up and picked up the wash cloth and cup looking like it was dyed red. “Wait,” he touched my hand. I turned toward him. “Thanks.” I smiled sadly and nodded. I covered him up with a blanket and went out of the room and into the kitchen. I dumped the cup of water and threw the cloth over the dish pan. I leaned against the cupboards suddenly feeling like a leaf getting blown away by the wind. I slid down the side and sat down on my butt. My hands were shaking a little as I closed my eyes and tears streamed down between them. How could he not want someone to know? It would stop Scott from doing this! If I just called the cops and reported Scott, they would take him away for good. And Jane, why wasn’t she doing anything? Because she thought she loved Scott? Her son was getting beaten to no ends by him and she didn’t even care! I couldn’t handle this. I couldn’t handle seeing him hurt. Why? Because I cared about him. More than I ever knew.

  Chapter 36

  That night I checked on Jack to make sure he was okay and when he was fast asleep I went upstairs to my room, leaving my door wide open to hear if he needed me. I fell asleep.

  The night was filled with nightmares. Every time I woke up, it would disappear but then, when I fell asleep again a new one would start. It always started with Jack getting hurt. And then it was me and then...him dying and me watching. It was horrible. But every time it was a different thing that killed us. The first time it was Scott. That was the worst one I had ever had. The second time, it was a tornado. The third time it was a zombie attack. I know it was weird and it was also a Dawn of the Dead moment but it scared me. I had to watch him get ripped apart. I woke up crying the last time. I remember it clearly. We were standing beside the big tree, laughing at something. Then in the distance we saw two people walking towards us. I frowned. It was Kendra and Grant. Kendra was wearing my white summer dress and Grant was wearing what Jack was wearing. I glanced over at Jack and he was frowning too.

  “Ollie,” Grant said his voice fading with the wind. It was strange and too sweet. “Come with me.” He reached his hand out and I frowned, clearly wondering why they were doing this.

  “Jack, come here,” Kendra coed. We both walked forward and took their hands. Grant’s were warm and hot as I placed my cold ones in his. They led us out into the middle of the field and turned us to face each other. I tried to speak but I couldn’t. Jack and I stared at each other as Grant and Kendra circled around us. I looked behind Jack and saw Grant smiling wickedly. When I tried to move my feet, they wouldn’t. Jack looked behind me and his eyes bulged into horror. He reached over and grabbed my hands and I held on as I knew what was coming. Grant lifted his knife above his head and I screamed but nothing came out as it raced toward Jack. At the moment it hit him, something also hit me, searing pain down my back. I woke up in a cold sweat, flinging myself up. I put my hand to my heart and tried to calm my breathing. I closed my eyes and exhaled. It was just a dream. It felt so real though. Kendra and Grant had stabbed us in the back. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 8:00 a.m. I looked over and saw a little light coming through the cloudy sky but then it disappeared. I stood up and tip-toed to the window. Five inches of snow covered my car and the ground. I smiled. It was just lightly snowing now. I sighed and a cloud of breath formed on the window. Christmas Reindeer stood by in Mr. Roger’s yard with a Santa on a sled. Christmas would be here in a week and a half. I’m glad Mom and Dad will actually be home this time. Last year they went to Australia and it didn’t snow at all. They left me after we opened presents on Christmas morning. Actually we all went our separate ways, even though I wanted to spend Christmas with them. But they will be home for it this year. And we will spend it with each other. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a black woolen sweater. I went downstairs and saw Jack still sleeping with the curtains drawn across the window. I went over to him and looked at his forehead. It was healing quickly but I needed to get cream for it. I leaned over him and kissed his forehead softly. I put another cover on him and he groaned and turned on his side. I got my coat and wrapped myself up well before heading out. The ‘7 Eleven’ was only about a block away and seeing that my car was covered in snow and probably wouldn’t start, I decided to just walk.

  When I got in there I grabbed a tube of cream for Jack, a box of doughnuts, a bottle of soda, and snacks of all sorts before paying for my shopping. I knew that if we got snowed in we would have to have food so I got everything I could. As I was getting closer to the house the wind picked up and snow started to pound down on me. I looked down, shaking as I pushed my feet towards the house. I unlocked the door quickly and ran in, shutting it. I sighed as I dropped the bags and peeled off my jacket, scarf and gloves. I kicked off my boots and went to the kitchen to put away the food. I sniffed, my nose stuffy.

  “Where were you?” I turned around and saw Jack holding his side with a small smile on his lips. He had put his shirt back on.

  “I had to get some things. Are you hungry? I got doughnuts.” He grinned.

  “I love doughnuts.”

  I laughed but felt like I shouldn’t, since he still looked pr
etty bad. His black and blue eye looked better, but it was still swollen. He walked with a little limp as he went to the table where the doughnuts were. I grabbed the cream and went over to the table where Jack ate a doughnut. I scooped a bit with my finger tip then looked down at him.

  “Look up,” I said and he did. I looked into his eyes for a moment seeing that he could actually see with his black and blue eye. It was an intense gaze. There were no jokes or sarcastic comments, just a special one. One that explained how we were feeling. I looked away and put the cream on his cut and he winced a little. “How is your eye?” I asked quietly.

  “OK, I think,” he answered. I put the cap back on the cream. I went back over to the kitchen and put away the stuff then sat up on the counter and ate a granola bar. “I should probably call my mom,” Jack said, standing up with a doughnut in his mouth. I nodded. “Maybe I should go home, too,” he said with a frown. I frowned and stopped eating.

  “Jack what I—.”

  “It’s okay.” He came over to me and put his hand on my knee, not really thinking. “It’s just…I don’t want him to hurt my mom.” I looked away. “Hey,” he said and rolled his eyes. He made me look at him. “Don’t worry. Seriously, I’ll be better in no time. It might be the worst I’ve gotten, but I’ll survive.”

  “For now,” I muttered. He clenched his teeth. “Jack if you don’t tell the cops, I will,” I told him. He was biting his tongue. I could tell.

  “Lidia, you can’t.” I shook my head.

  “Why the hell not?! You’re being abused by your mom’s boyfriend!” He put his doughnut down and I saw white powder on the edge of his mouth. I smiled lightly.

  “What?” he asked angrily. I snorted.

  “You have powder on your mouth.”

  “Oh,” he said his voice softer. He wiped his mouth but it didn’t come off. I laughed and he grew pink on the cheeks. I took a small towel from the sink and wiped the edge of his lip.

  “There, got it.” I smiled at him. He just laughed. He was closer to me now, standing in between my legs and I felt heat run through me. He didn’t notice. I swallowed. I’m not sure how long I will be able to handle this. My hormones keep getting in the way of this fake relationship. I sighed and pressed my lips together.

  “Listen, I’ll call my mom and see how she is okay?” I nodded. He left the room and I took a deep breath. ‘You like him,’ my mind told me. ‘You really like him.’ I nodded. Yeah I do. I confirmed. Fireworks went off and cheering yelled in my head. I laughed a little. I jumped down off the counter and walked into the living room. I flinched as I remembered last night when he stumbled through the door. Jack was looking out the window talking on the phone. “OK, well just stay there...no I’m fine. You just stay at work until it passes...good you’re with her…okay I’ll call you tomorrow.” His voice was soft and caring and I realized how he was sweet with his mom. More than any boy I’d ever met. He hung up and turned around to me. “My mom got stuck at work and is staying tonight till the snow is over,” he said.

  “Is she okay?” I asked. He nodded.

  “Yeah, Scott hasn’t been over.” I nodded.

  “Are you staying?” I asked quietly. He sighed and looked out the window at his car.

  “Yup.” He announced seeing his car piled up to the windows in snow. I laughed. “I think we’re snowed in,” he said and I laughed again.

  “I’m glad we got food.” He nodded. I stared a moment thinking of something special to me.

  “There is this great place I know of. It’s up around the mountains somewhere. My grandma used to take me there and we would stay for a week or two on holidays when my parents went away. It was always so beautiful in the winter,” I said, deep in thought.

  “You? No way! A country girl?” I looked at him and smirked.

  “Sort of.”

  “What happened to your grandma?” I looked over at him and shrugged.

  “She died a couple years ago and left the cabin to me.” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Sweet!” I laughed.

  “Yeah, it’s cool.”

  “Want to watch a movie?” he asked with a smile. I smiled back.

  “Yeah.”

  I put the fire on and sat down on the sofa. Jack started a movie and sat close to me. I don’t think he even noticed but I did. Our arms were touching. I wanted to hold his hand so bad. It was almost hurting me not to. ‘Ignore it, Lidia.’ OK. ‘He doesn’t like you that way.’ I nodded to myself and watched the movie.

  Chapter 37

  We were halfway through the third Star Wars movie when Jack and I started to fight about it.

  “Anakin deserved it!” I yelled.

  “No, he doesn’t! He was only doing it for Padmé. To save her.” I shook my head and laughed.

  “No, he shouldn’t have listened to that jerk of a bad guy.” Jack laughed.

  “He didn’t have a choice.”

  “Yes he did!”

  Jack sighed.

  “Can we please watch the movie?” he said, smiling. I rolled my eyes and stood up. It was almost pitch dark out and you could see that the snow had actually stopped. “Where are you going?” he demanded. I laughed.

  “None of your business!” I said. He watched as I went into the kitchen. I got the hot chocolate from the cupboard and started to make two cups. “Do you want hot chocolate?” I yelled out.

  “Yeah!” he said. I laughed. I put a cup of milk in the microwave and set it. Just as it was done, the lights flickered in the kitchen. I frowned.

  “Shoot!” I muttered, and before I could get a flashlight the electricity went out. Everything was pitch black. I pushed myself against the counter hating the dark. “Jack?” I called. I heard him laugh.

  “Coming.”

  I heard him scuffing his feet then I heard something hit the wall.

  “Fu—!”

  “Are you okay?” I asked. He chuckled.

  “Yeah, I think.” I heard him moving along the counter to the sink, then around to the bar. “Where are you?” he asked. I laughed knowing he was only a couple feet from me.

  “Right here,” I said and put my hands out. His hand smacked my arm.

  “Oh! Sorry,” he said. I laughed. I felt his shoulder and pulled him toward me. He laughed.

  “Wow, so I wonder how long it’s going to be out for,” he mumbled. I shrugged.

  “I have flashlights but we have to find them first.”

  He sighed dramatically.

  “Great,” I held his hand as I put my hand out and followed the wall. We had a shelf by the fridge that should have the flashlights in it. I could feel Jack close behind me; his breath tickling my ear. I reached my hand out to grab one of the flashlights but it fell with a thud.

  “Crap,” I muttered and got down on my knees.

  “What’re you doing?” Jack asked, laughing.

  “I dropped the damn flashlight.” Finally, my hands found it and I turned it on quickly. It flickered a little then became fine. I turned toward Jack who blinked and looked away. “OK, wow. Um, I have my old mp3 player in my purse in my room. That has the radio on it. We can listen and see if there are any power lines down.” He nodded.

  “Let’s go, then.” We turned and headed back to the den where the fire was just going out.

  “Crap, we need to start that back up before it goes out.”

  “Let’s get the radio first,” he said. He held my hand as we walked up the stairs and into my room. I searched my purse until I found my mp3 player and got my ear phones.

  “Got it!” I announced and turned back to him. He grinned.

  “Good. Turn it on,” I turned it on and put an ear phone in my ear. We walked slowly downstairs as I listened.

  “It’s on commercial.” He laughed. Jack let go of my hand, went to stir up the fire and get it started again. I pushed the coffee table out of the way and placed the blankets and pillows on the ground like a bed and sat down. The fire
blazed behind the grate and Jack wiped his brow and came and sat back down beside me. His arm touched mine and my heart rate spun out for a moment. I swallowed.

  “Hear anything yet?” he asked. I realized I had been staring at him. The glow of the flames were making his skin look almost golden.

  “Um, er, no, not yet.”

  He smiled and nodded. I started to listen, averting my gaze toward the black TV. It wasn’t very bright in the den and I hated that.

  “I think we need candles.”

  He nodded.

  “Where are they?” he asked. I thought for a moment.

  “In the drawer by the stove. Hold on, I’ll help, but I want to listen.” As I listened, the news reporter said that there was an accident down the road from us. A car had hit a pole. The people were okay, but the electricity was probably not going to come back till tomorrow or if not, in a day or two. I sighed and turned it off. “They said we probably won’t get electricity back for a day or two.”

  He snorted.

  “OK. Well, once my car gets uncovered we can go to my house or something.” I nodded. We got the candles, lighted them and placed them around the room. The house smelled wonderful. With cinnamon and lavender and all sorts of scents. I looked at all the Christmas decorations and really thought it felt like Christmas. We sat back down again and I covered my legs with a blanket. “So are you sleeping down here tonight?” he asked, with a hint of a smile. I shrugged.

  “I guess. I hate the dark.” He laughed lightly.

  “Afraid of the boogie monster?” I laughed.

  “Yeah, a little.”

  “But I thought that Lidia Taylor wasn’t scared of anything.”

  I thought for a moment.

  “No...I am. I just hate showing it,” I whispered. He looked at me and his blue eyes had that look in them. I could never quite comprehend the meaning of that look. He stared at me that way for a long time.