My Own Angel

Part 4

When we got back to the house, my grandma and grandpa apologized and left shortly after. Seth and I went upstairs after everything calmed down. I belly flopped on my bed, letting out a huge sigh. Seth went and sat at the window seat, staring outside, "So, what happened with your parents? If you don't mind my asking..."

"Umm... Well, it's a long story. When my mom told my dad that she was pregnant, he said that he would leave. He didn't want any kids. So he did. My mom was crushed. She loved him. She didn't know why he would just pick up and leave, especially after they had talked about having a family. When I was two, he suddenly showed up again. Like, literally. The day I turned two, he showed up at our doorstep, begging to be a part of our lives. So they got married, because my mom trusted him again. On my fifth birthday, he disappeared. We couldn't find him anywhere. We eventually gave up, thinking he had left us again. All of the sudden, we see him sitting on a curb about two towns over. He was reeked of alcohol, and got hooked on some drugs. They fought a lot after that. It was constant telling. My mom tried keeping him away from him, but it never worked. We dealt with him for another seven years before my mom finally wanted a divorce. He pleaded to her to not divorce him, that he loved us, and would try harder. By the time I was 14, the divorce was final. We moved out, I went to another school, and he wasn't allowed within 15 yards of us. I could still feel his eyes on us though. The cops couldn't do anything because he wasn't threatening us at the time. That lasted about two years. Then he basically broke into our house, and tried taking both of us. 'We could be a family again', he kept saying. But my mom had had enough. She grabbed the gun from her nightstand and threatened to shoot him if he didn't get out of our house and leave us alone for the rest of our lives. 'It's over. You don't own us anymore,' she told him. He finally left, and I haven't heard from him since. So we stayed there for a little less than a year, and then we decided to move here just to start over. To get away from him. There were times when we were scared for our lives... I have been in therapy twice for cutting. Once when I was about 14, and again when I was 16. I've been clean for almost two years."

"So, do you know where he is now?" Seth asked.

"Last I heard, he was in jail. He was driving drunk and hit someone. They made it but needed surgery. And he was a drug dealer so I can imagine he's in jail or maybe even prison, I don't know.

"Wow... I'm sorry..."

"I'm not. I'm glad we're here, and not having to sneak around so he wouldn't find us... Everything happens for a reason, I guess. And we're here. So everything is okay now." I smiled, despite the tears that formed while I was reliving the nightmare. "What about you...? I told you my story, I want to hear yours." By now, I knew he would trust me.

"You sure? It's not a good story either..." He said, looking at his feet.

"Yes, I'm positive."

"It started with my dad and my mom when I was really young. They would fight all the time... Then drink... Then fight more... Only, it was physical this time. That would happen most nights. Then they got a divorce, and both got remarried. My mom, once. My dad, well... I lost count after six. And when he wasn't at home, he was either at the bar or with an escort or something. I had to start taking care of myself when I was eight. When I was about 13, my parents got married again, and we were actually a happy family for a while. Then the fighting and drinking started again. A couple of times, I was caught in the crossfire. Or they would just get too drunk to care about who was receiving the punch... And nowadays, they don't care where I am, or what I'm doing. I think they forget that they have a kid..." His eyes started to fill with tears.

"Seth... I'm so sorry..." I went and gave him a hug. "If it makes you feel any better , I don't know what I'd do without you."

After hearing Seth's story, I noticed how similar we really are. We both came from broken homes, had times where you weren't sure if you would make it out in one piece, and took all of our anger out on ourselves.

Everyone always stares at our arms... It's like taboo and it automatically makes us weird. I see them as battle scars that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. A way to look back and see how far we've come. Each scar has it's own story. A story that no one else will understand. They remind me that I'm not perfect, but I've found a light when all I saw was darkness. They're a part of me now.

Some people just don't understand. That's it. And they don't need to understand.

**********

Christmas was so much fun. Full of laughs and junk food. Seth came over on Christmas morning, along with my grandparents and we played some games, where I made myself look like an idiot but Seth just laughed and smiled at me. I was so lucky to be surrounded by people that love me. People that wouldn't abandon me, no matter what happens. I couldn't help but smile the entire day at the simple thought.

It was about 8pm when Seth said that he should probably get home, so I walked out to the driveway with him. He stopped and turned to look at me, "I got you something for Christmas." He pulled out a small box, complete with a small bow on top, from his pocket. I took the small box from him and opened it. It was a simple chain necklace with a pair of beautiful angel wings at the end. It was simple, yet meant so much. Probably more than he even knew. I started to tear up.

"You are my angel. You saved me. You give me an escape," he said. I felt the same about him. Words couldn't describe what I felt or wanted to say. I stepped closer to him, and asked if he could put it on me. Once the necklace was around my neck, I stepped onto my tip toes. In one swift motion, I pushed my lips onto his. He pulled away, looked me in the eyes, and leaned down to kiss me with more passion this time. I had never kissed a guy before, so I hoped I wasn't horrible.... But it felt right, so I figured I must have at least a slight idea of what to do.

I pulled away, and looked into his bright blue eyes. God, how I loved those eyes. They were like an ocean that I could swim in all day. I could get lost in them so easily. "Wait here. I have something for you too." I ran inside and grabbed a decently sized box, also complete with a bow on top. I walked outside and handed it to him.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he said as he held it in his hands.

"Yes I did. You're important to me and I wanted you to know that. Now open it!" I smiled.

As he opened it, his face instantly lit up. It was a box full of old vinyls. 80's classics like Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, AC/DC's Back in Black, Metallica's Ride the Lightning, and his favorite, Def Leppard's Pyromania.

"Alex. Oh my... Thank you. Thank you so much." He said as he set them down and gave me a huge hug. His parents destroyed his vinyls in one of their fights and I decided that I would give that happiness back to him. They were his favorites and meant a lot to him.

We said goodbye, and although we were walking our separate ways, I couldn't help but smile as I walked back to my house.