Crimson Desire

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Protection

Friday passed by quickly, like it always did. It was Saturday now and I was alone in my living room lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. I decided dad was sober enough to go grocery shopping, but I made sure to take his keys, he could walk home for a change. I let out a sigh of contentment. It was peacefully quiet in the house. Well, not silence-quiet but house-quiet. I could hear the creek of doors moving forward and back in the breeze from the open windows, the dripping sound of water splattering against steel in the kitchen because no one bothered to fix the leaky tap. It was like music; a symphony of everyday sounds coming together in the quiet to make soothing noise. It was rare for me to have time to be alone like this. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into complete relaxation. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Suddenly my phone rang beside me and I groaned inwardly. Moment ruined, I thought. Grabbing my phone I sighed and flipped it open.

“Yes,” I said lazily. There was static for a little while, like the phone on the other end was being moved frantically. Eventually I heard Justin’s voice.

“Stop staring at the ceiling,” he said.

I bolted upright. “How do you know I was doing that?” I asked looking around, making sure he wasn’t in the room. There was an abrupt crash in the kitchen and an explosion of swear words.

“I just climbed through the kitchen window” his voice came from the phone and the real Justin who walked into the room rubbing his head. He probably hit it; that would explain the swearing. “Hey” he said as he sat down beside me. We both closed our phones and tossed them on the couch.

“Why did you climb through the window?” I asked. He shrugged and I knew I wouldn’t get much more than that. Justin sometimes did things for reasons he didn’t even understand. “At least use the door next time you come over” I sighed.

“Fine, fine” Justin mumbled. He laid down on the floor and put his hands behind his head. I’m sure any number of girls from school would have loved to be in my position right now; sitting so close to one of the most attractive boys in Ashland Virginia, in such a comfortable setting. Him wearing a baggy t-shirt and jeans and me wearing one of Sam’s old shirts and my underwear, I could imagine the looks of jealousy, it made me grin.

Justin smiled up at me when he saw that I was looking at him. I laughed and ruffled his hair the way I knew he hated. He swatted my hand away and asked “So what are you plans for today?”

“This” I said laying back down and closing my eyes.

I heard Justin laugh softly beside me “I think I have a better idea.”

I peaked at him through on eye. “What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Carl’s band is playing at The Place tonight,”

Carl was Justin’s on-again-off-again boyfriend of the last year, apparently they were on again. And The Place was the coolest club in Ashland for a number of reasons. One was that Ashland wasn’t that big of a town so there were only a few clubs to begin with. Another was that bands in the area could play there; they had karaoke nights, pool tables and everything else a teenager could want too. They also never carded you so it was an easy place to get pissed.

“I don’t know. I have to make dad dinner and I’ve got homework and things to do” I said, chewing my lip. All of these things were true but none of them were the reason I didn’t want to go. The reasons for me not wanting to go were as follows: Justin always forced me to wear make-up, Justin always made me wear skirts (ugh) and he always forgot that he had to give me a ride home.