FicWad

She held his hand as they ran through the rain. It was a warm summer evening and the cool rain pattered on the sidewalk as they ran under the streetlights. He took a sudden turn making her slip a little and allowing the water from the ground to seep into her converse. They ran through the park to the oak tree they always sat under. The crickets chirped in the background and the rain let up. They sat down next to each other and leaned against the old tree.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered into her ear as he pulled a rose out of his old messenger bag and handed it to the girl. Her cheeks quickly turned the red color of the rose in her hand. She went to kiss his cheek only to slip and make them both fall over. She giggled and he gave her his mysterious broken smile. It was the smile he’d had since his brother died and his parents split up. She pulled him up and pulled his arm over her wet shoulder. She placed her head on his shoulder and fixated her eyes upon his only looking away when he mentioned the sunset. They leaned against the old oak tree and watched the brilliant show the sun put on that evening. They were only thinking of the beauty of the sun and how much they loved each other. The bright colors of the sunset disappeared leaving them in the warm night.

The sky grew darker and stars speckled the midnight blue canvas. She gazed at the stars as he gazed into her eyes. He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. A faint smile appeared on her lips and a single tear rolled down her face. He put his hands on the sides of her face gently wiping away the tear. Neither of them moved they just stared at each others eyes. He pulled her face closer to his a pressed there lips together in a soft kiss. Tears rolled off her face through her closed eyes. This simple kiss brought so much happiness and this is what made her cry. The kiss stopped. “I-I-I have to-have to move,” she whispered. As she uttered these words her eyes water again and she placed her head on his chest and cried. He sat there in denial of the fact the girl he loved was moving away.

“It’ll be okay,” he said under his breath more to himself then to her. He rubbed her back like a parent would with a crying child. One tear rolled off his face as they both fell asleep. She woke up in the middle of the night and realized that she was still in the park. She pulled on his arm until he woke up. They both got up as fast as they could and sprinted too her house. He kissed her forehead and watched her disappear inside her house. She took a deep as she opened the door.

“Where have you been?” Her angry mother yelled. She didn’t answer.

“Your mother asked you a question!” Still she remained quite.

“You were with that boy weren’t you?” her father accused. She remained quiet as her father pushed her into a chair and screamed at her for what seemed like an hour.

“I wouldn’t be spending as much time with him if you all weren’t making me move!” she growled at her parents. Her father slapped her and her mother left the room.

“You have no respect.” He yelled. She glared at him and he slapped her again. He had definitely been drinking, like he always did, and she knew it because he only slapped her when he drank. She stood up and screamed that she loved the boy over and over at her dad. He slapped her as hard as he could and she fell to the ground and tears began to escape her eyes. Her face had his hand print on it and was bright red. Blood was pouring from her lip that he had just busted. She just glared at him.

“I-I’m so-so-so sorry,” he stuttered when he realized what he’d done. She pushed past him and ran her room. She slammed the door and locked it. She bent over and her stomach emptied itself on the carpet. She leaned against the door and slid to the ground while crying silently. She sat there crying for over an hour. She walked into her bathroom and gazed at the black and blue mark on her face as well as the dried blood on her chin. She put her hands on the sink and swallowed to keep from getting sick again. Cool water began to run on to her hands as she turned the faucet. She splashed the water on her chin trying to keep her eyes off her bruised reflection. She brushed her teeth to get rid of the awful taste still in her mouth. She set the toothbrush on the counter and walk out of her bathroom.

She went over to the window and sat on the windowsill. The dew frosted the window and made the colors of the pale sunrise blend together. Her big green eyes just stared at the window as if something amazing was to happen. The door to her bedroom creaked open and she snapped back to Earth. Her mother entered the room.

“Get ready for Church,” she ordered and left the room. The girl was thinking about her birthday and about how mad her father was when she got home. She was thinking about the fact she was moving and about what she was going to do to keep from moving. She was thinking about how her father had hit her mostly though. She got up and got out of her clothes and changed into the dress she always wore to Church. She picked up the cell phone lying on her desk. She dialed his number without even looking and walked around her room as she waited for him to pick up.

“Hello,” he yawned.

“Hey, it’s me.” She smiled faintly, “Yesterday was amazing. I can’t believe I’m 17.”

“Everyday is amazing with you.” He blushed at how corny he sounded. Her eyes watered at how sweet he was. There was a long pause.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course, I mean, why would I not be?” she paused. “Meet me in the park at in 30 minutes. Oh, and bring your car.”

“Okay I’ll meet you then. I love you," he said not understanding why she wanted him too bring his car. He could tell something was wrong and that was why he didn't question her.

“I love you too.” She turned off the phone and tears once again fell down her face. She paced her room wondering what she was going to do. She was no longer crying, she was just thinking. The room began to spin; she put her hands on her forehead and fell on her knees. She took a couple deep breaths and allowed herself to calm down. She stood up and walked over to her closet. She pulled out her old backpack and began to pack.

She frantically grabbed anything she could clothes, toiletries, photographs, money, food, everything she thought she’d need. She zipped the overstuffed backpack and walked over to her desk. She ripped a sheet of paper out of a notebook and began writing. She glanced at the clock reading 8:55 am as she set the note on her bed and walked over to her open door her backpack on her shoulder. She crept down the stairs and sprinted to the front door. She opened the door and whispered goodbye so softly no one could hear and ran out the door. She sprinted away from her house and around the corner out of sight. She tripped and skinned her knee and the heels of her hands but she just got back up and ran. She could see his car in the distance and sprinted towards it. He was leaning against his car and began to run towards her as he noticed the blood running down her injured leg and off her fingertips.

“Get in the car, please, now, quickly!” He ran around the car and jumped in through the open sunroof. He fumbled with the keys for a second and finally got the car running. She opened the door and jumped in closing it just as he pulled away from the curb. She was consumed by the adrenaline of running, too consumed to notice the blood on her dress and on her leg and hand. She never even noticed the fact she was barefoot.

“Where are we going?” he asked realizing that he didn’t know.

“Anywhere but here,” she rubbed her bloody hand on the side of her face where the huge bruise was. He gently grabbed her chin and turned her head so he could see her face. She looked down, as if she was ashamed. He let go and looked at the road not able to understand how anyone could hurt her.

“He’s never hit you this hard has he?” she watched her shake her head and as she stared at her bloody hands. She looked at her reflection in the window and saw that the blood had dried and she felt like she would be sick again. He noticed how pale she was and grabbed her hand softly.

“It was my fault, I knew he’d been drinking and I got him angry,” she kept her eyes from looking at him.

“It’s not your fault; it’s never your fault,” he said his voice shaking with anger. There was a long silence.

“He’s never going to hurt you again, okay?” he said smiling his broken smile. He glanced at her and saw that her smile looked like his now. She leaned over and put her head on the window and fell asleep. He pulled his hand away, it was now smudged with her blood and once again a single tear fell from his face. He looked at the road and didn’t know what to do. He looked at her as she slept peacefully and wished he could always protect her. Combing her matted hair with his fingers he looked at her tear stained face and once again saw her smiling; now he knew he wasn’t imagining it, she had a broken smile.