Darling

Butterfly's Repose

The cool air hit her face and filled her lungs with relief. A subtle refreshing chill washed over her warm body; her shoulders relaxed and her jaw unclenched. She started walking and opened the old creaky metal fence. She closed it behing her gently, and pointed her hazel eyes at the sky. A layer of grey clouds covered the stars and moon, leaving the young Curtis in an almost unsettling darkness with the crunching of old leaves and sticks beneath her boots, covering the cracked sidewalk. Streetlights casting eerie shadows from the overgrown trees lining the front yards of her neighbors houses.

Darlene's fear of the dark wasn't ignored. She liked the fresh air and enjoyed being alone, but the unknown of the dark left an uneasiness that she tried to push away for the sake of, what is supposed to be, a calming walk to clear her mind.

She wanted to figure out what had happened to her. A panic attack of sorts, but she never knew they were that severe, hence not knowing before what they were like. She had heard of people having panic attacks. She knew some people from school who had them before; but she didn't realize they were so bad. She wondered if maybe it was something else. Maybe it was something medical.

She stopped herself there, trying to minimize the amount of stress and worry. She'd only been feeling sh*tty and sad for the past few days, she didn't want to freak herself out more.

She wished she had a smoke to distract herself further from the scare she had.

They're in my damn coat pocket.

She turned the dark corner cautiously. You never knew when a soc was driving around looking for trouble. She shivered a little, and regretted not bringing her jacket. There was still that sick feeling in her chest. A mixture of nausea and a dry throat. The physical discomfort almost became her main focus. From across the street she could hear yelling and screaming. She looked up. It was coming from Johnny's house. Her heart started beating louder. She hated that he had to be there to see that, and wanted to go over there and bring Johnny to her place, but was afraid of how his parents would react. She didn't want to piss them off more. She watched from where she was, waiting to see if it would stop...and it did. She waited a moment, hoping it was okay and over. She moved a bit closer to the house to see if she could hear anything else. Nothing. She contemplated knocking on the door to get Johnny out of there for the night. Maybe she could sneak him out. She knew he hated when his folks fought, which was often. She was about to go to his window, but she didn't have to.

The front door swung open. Johnny stumbled out, his clothes bloodied. Darlene immediately ran to his side. As she got closer she could see his nose and lip were bleeding and his eye blackened with a large bruise. He saw her and took a shaky step towards her before grabbing onto her and collapsing into her arms. She placed a hand on the back of his head. She stopped. Warmth the poured over her hand. When she looked down, it was covered in blood.

"Sh*t, Johnny!" She tried to hold him up best she could, propping him up against her small frame. Her heart pounded with adrenaline. She wrapped his arms around her and began practically dragging him down the street, getting as close to her house as she could. After what felt like too long, she fell to her knees only a few houses away from her own, unable to carry him futher.

"DARRY! HELP!" She yelled for help, not wanting to leave her friends side. Her voice shook with worry.

"DARRY, GET OUT HERE!" She yelled one more time before the door opened, Soda's silhouette stood in the doorway. He dipped his head back inside, then ran out with Darry to her and Johnny.