the bad couple

chapter 7

Mark insists that he drives and We eventually settle on dianes diner, a small diner that serves the usual fast food stuff, we go.in and get a booth and i suddenly feel like a third wheel.
"I'm poppy, and I'll be your waitress today, do you want drinks?" a very sexy waitresses asks us.
"I'll have a sprite" mark orders.
"I'll have a sprite too" leia orders.
"I'll have a coke please" I say smiling at poppy.
"okay, I'll be back soon, here are the lunch menus" she says handing us three menus.
"thanks poppy" I say winking at her, she smiles and walks off.
"if you keep flirting by the end if this lunch you enter be a third wheel" mark says gesturing to poppy going into the kitchen.
"hopefully" I say smirking, leia rolls her eyes and mark chuckles.
"okay, well, if your done being a creep about out waitress, you know the woman who brings us our food, can we talk about west minster?" leia asks.
"okay, well, if we atleast don't fight or do anything to eachother, we would pass as friends, but the behaviour thing, is gonna be hard"
"how do you even go from, our behaviour, to Jane kyle's, or someone like that?"
"I dunno, try to be there for class, and do homeworks, even if it's not right, atleast you did it"
"it sounds like alot of work" leia groans.
"don't worry, I'll reward you" mark chuckles and whispers something in leias ear making her giggle and blush.
"i stopped being a creep about our waitress, maybe you could not talk about sex with me here right here?" I ask, feeling alot like a third wheel.
"if only poppy were here"mark days winking at me.
"oh if poppy were here, we wouldn't only be talking about it" leia clears hee throat and gestures behind me, where who other than poppy is standing, very red.
"hey poppy" I say winking.
"don't worry, I didn't hear anything about how we wouldn't only be talking about sex" she says whipping out her pad and getting casually ready to take our orders.
"can I have a burger and fries?" mark asks politely.
"okay, any sauce?"
"no, thanks"
"and you?" poppy asks leia.
"the same, with south west sauce"
"okay, and the sex craved one, anything for you?" he asks turning to look at me, holding a laugh, something mark and leia couldn't do when they both burst out laughing.
"well, i don't think it would be appropriate to ask for squirmy cream, so I'll have the chicken bites and fries" she rolls her eyes playfully and leaves with our orders.
"she has a pet name for you, 'the sex craved one'" mark teases.
"atleast she remembers me" I shrug.
"i wonder if she's mentally stable?" leia asks.
"you can't be jealous that a girl is hitting on me, with your boyfriend right there, leia, geesh" I joke.
"don't worry, I'll make sure she's punished later" mark says winking.
"really? Back to sex talk?" I ask looking around for poppy.
"it will always come back to sex talk" mark jokes, seriously.
The next hour is spent eating and bantering, and when I get the bill, there's a number scribbled on it, with the name poppy beside.
"told you, your not a third wheel anymore" mark jokes eyeing the number.
"one sec, i need to save this number" I say making a new contact in my phone.
"I'm waiting in the car, your taking too long" leia groans, i laugh at her and then me and mark split the bill before heading out, i wink at poppy just before I leave ofcourse.
"callum, do you want me to drop you off at your house now, we can leave your car off later?" mark asks, and I remember he drove us.
"why don't I just get my car?"
"were not going back and I'm low on has, so.it's easier if injustice drop you off instead"
"erm, yeah, if you don't mind" I say climbing in the back, because leia called shot gun.
"sure, where is it?" I tell him the address but he doesn't know where the fuck I'm talking about, because it's the worst part of town, so I give him directions.
"callum, what are you up to? I was just at your house and it was not in anywhere like this" leia asks looking at theatre down shops.
"i get why you don't trust me, but I'm staying with my dad for the weekend"
"your dad lives here?" she asks.
"yeah, next right" we pull up in the car park of the crumbling apartment building.
"thanks" I mutter getting out of the car.
"no problem" mark answers staring at the building, i sigh and prepare myself for the argument that could probably push this shirty building over the edge.
I climb the final steps to the top floor where my dad's apartment is, because the elevator doesn't work, i walk on in and see Emily and my dad already fighting, they don't even realise I'm there because of the fight.
"well can you blame me? Look around, you've got nothing to offer me, your apartment is shit! You can't even afford your own goddammed rent, because your a fucking addict, and your refusing help, if you weren't an addict, this would work, the drugs changed you, your short tempered, angry, snappy, tired, grumpy, your never happy always in a bad mood, apart from when your fucking high, then you lied to me and your son, you said it was in the past, but he had to find out when he fell down a flight of bloody stairs, then you let him leave to go, where the fuck knows!" Emily screams at my dad, she's been crying and my dad's fists are clenched tight, his face is red, he's never been good at handling confrontation.
"it's not fucking up to you, i can do this on my own, when your recovering your always gonna relaose-"
"don't give me that shit, I've been using that excise for the past year and a half, you don't want to recover, and until you do, i cant be with you and i don't think you should be near callum either!" slap! He slapped her across the face and she fell to the floor, then I jump in, he goes to hit her again but I grab his arms and pull them behind hisnhis back, i knee his lower back and he falls tennis knees, then I twist his arms up his back and lie on him so he can't get up.
"get the fuck off of me, you little bastard!" then I notice the white powder on his nose, i don't say anything but he's getting more and more frustrated and soon he flips no over onto my back and my already bruised shoulder gets his on the corner of the wall.
"don't you fucking dare restrain me again!" he shouts and kicks my ribcage.
"Gordon, stop! It's callum!" Emily screams, i finally get my breathe back and stand up to stop him hurting me or Emily again, her cheek is bleeding and has a red mark, clearly a hand.
"stay the fuck out of this you whore!" he screams at her.
"Emily phone the police" I tell her, she goes to turn but he grabs her hair and throws her to the floor, I jump on his back and take him to the floor, she goes into the bathroom and phones the police, my dad is hitting out and eventually punches my jaw, i roll off him with the force and he gets on me, hitting my face and kneeling my stomach repeatedly, i hear Emily scream for him to stop, but she's too thin and weak to do anything, suddenly he's being nog lifted off of me and I see mark and the land owner pin him against the wall, then leia helps me up.
"you fucking bastard, it's because of you I'm on the drugs, you ruined my life, you ungrateful brat!" he screams at me, he's been angry when he's high before, but he usually just argued he's never hit me or Emily or anyone before.
"shut the fuck up!"mark hisses at him, the police come in and cuff my dad, two take him out and one talks to Emily while leia cleans me up.
"what happened?" leia asks with concern.
"he has a drug problem, today I found more and that'd why I left to get you two early, when I came back he was arguing with Emily and then he hit her, i got in between them and restrained him abit but he got up and kicked me, he tried to get Emily again so I got him down but he overpowered me and kept hitting me, how did youngish find me?"
"you forgot your wallet so we brought it up, the door guy told us which apartment you were in and found him hitting you, Emily had already called the police" I hiss as she gently rubs a cut on my eyebrow with the cloth.
"sorry"
"has he ever hurt you before?" she asks me not meeting my eyes.
"no, he's not like an abuser or anything, he just lost control, he's high now"
"are you sure? I wouldn't judge you or anything"
"I'm sure, dies it look like that?"
"a little bit, you were both hurt"
"but it's the first time he's ever hurt anyone"
"okay" she cleans my face and tells me to lift my top so she clean that too, i lift it and she gasps, i look in the mirror and my eyes widen, I'm already bruised and dry blood hides most of the cuts, there isn't a spot on my chest or stomach that isn't bruised or bloody or cut.
"maybe youbshould go to the hospital?" leia suggests.
"its fine, just bruises and cuts"
"but there" she says pointing to a particularly big dark bruise, on my rib cage.
"i think it's broke"
"it's not"
"can you bend over?" I stand up and ignore the pain, i am not going to hospital, i lean forward and nearly pass out from the pain, i stumble but she catches me and sits me down on the toilet again.
"callum, I'm pretty sure it's broke"
"what would you know about broken ribs?" she looks away from my eyes and to the floor.
"I've broke them before, but if you don't get it looked at and treated now, you'll need surgery later"
"did you leave it untreated?"
"yeah"
"how'd you break it?"
"a-erm... Fight"
"a fight?"
"yeah, kinda"
"with who?"
"someone I used to know, but that doesn't matter, you need to get it looked at"
"fine" she gently cleans the blood off of my chest and goes to get me more clothes, when I look back in the.mirror, my chest and stomach have atleast fifteen cuts and the bruise on my ribs has gotten darker and more painful, she comes back in and hands me a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a black top, i know these are my dad's because I didn't bring any.
"thanks" I mutter and change, the police decide to talk to me after I go to the hospital, and leia and mark drive me there.
"are you sure your ok? You can lie down if you want?" mark offers from the front.
"I'm fine" I grunt, the pain has gotten worse and i cant help but hold the bruise, the very thought of moving makes me sick because of the pain it would bring.
"dude, its definitely broken" mark says.
"i know" I hiss as the car goes over a bump.in the road.
"sorry" leia apologies.
"ts'ok" I sit for about half an hour in the back, grunting as the pain increases and increases.