faraway - dallas winston

001

i looked out the window of bob's mustang, watching the perfectly painted houses of the south side continue on and on as he drove through town. i was sitting behind him with cherry and randy in the passenger seat. bob and i were cousins and had been close since we were little. he didn't grow up to be the nicest person, but he still cared about me and invited me around. i had heard some things bob did, like jump greasers and drink until he passed out, yet i've never seen it for myself.

honestly, i think he sheltered me from a lot of things because he knew how my parents treated me. unlike bob, who's parents let him do whatever he wanted, my parents were the complete opposite. they were very strict, about a lot of other things than just curfew.

i heard the car door slam shut and cherry calling my name. we had stopped in front of a diner. i unbuckled my seatbelt and put both legs out of the car first, then lifted my body up off of the seat.

we all found a booth to sit at and a waitress gave us menus. i didn't bother opening one because i already knew what i would be getting.

i waited till everyone had told the waitress their orders then ordered a water with ice for myself.

she smiled and i smiled back before she went behind the counter.

"aren't you hungry?" randy asked me.

"not really, i had a lot to eat this morning." i responded as bob gave me a look.

he always knew about my mom's strict eating habits, but we never talked about it. it wasn't something i liked to talk about anyway.

after we paid for our meal, we left the diner and sat back in bob's car. bob drove cherry home, and i stared out the window again.

cherry gave bob a kiss and got out of the car. i waved to her as she walked towards her door.

"so what shall we do now?" randy asked with a mischievous grin.

bob looked back with that same grin and i knew they were going to do something i did not want to be apart of.

"could you drop me off too, please?" i stuttered.

"mhm, sure." bob nodded, steering the car to the direction of my house.

i stepped out of the car, again with my legs first, then waved as bob and randy drove off. my dad was still working, and i figured my mom wouldn't know if i stayed out a bit longer. i just wanted to walk around, nothing dangerous. i didn't want to upset her too much if i got caught.

i crossed the street then started walking, just taking in my surroundings. driving is obviously more convenient, but i preferred walking. i also didn't have my drivers license yet. i would have loved for there to be more trees where i lived, it would make my walks more pleasant, but there weren't, so the flower bushes my neighbors had planted would have to do. all the houses on the south side looked pretty similar, painted light, vibrant colors with neatly trimmed grass. occasionally, there would be a house with a short fence around it or a flower bush of some sort.

before i knew it, the houses started looking more beat up, and i realized i was moving closer to the north side. i was about to turn around and start walking back when i saw a body lying limp from the corner of my eye. i ran as quickly as i could, which was not that fast since i was wearing mary jane heels. it turned out the body was a boy, looked slightly younger than me with tan skin and greased hair. he had a long cut on his face and multiple bruises surrounded his soft, scared features.

i had no idea what to do in a situation like this, so i crouched down next to him, my mind racing. i had a feeling this was bob's doing, the smirk him and randy shared let me know something like this was going to happen. i took out a handkerchief from a secret pocket in my dress and gently patted his cut with it. he slightly opened his eyes, squinting from the sun and pain.

i gave a sympathetic smile as i kept dabbing the blood of his face. i studied his features, he looked so sweet. i wondered how bob could be so kind to me then turn around and hurt an innocent boy.

i was cleaning the dirt and blood remaining on his face when i heard a hostile yell come from behind me.

"get away from him, soc!"

i immediately stood up a turned around to see six other boys running toward me. one of them picked the boy off the ground and lightly shook his weak body. "hey, johnnycake."

the boy who i assumed to be named johnny replied, almost in a whisper. "soda?"

i looked over to the other guys who either looked stunned or stressed. i was kind of scared myself, i just held my handkerchief and stood there. none of them seemed to notice me, so i just quietly stepped away.

instead of looking around at the houses like i did before, i just stared at my shoes as i walked. the guy who yelled at me kind of startled me, i never liked yelling and he looked frightening.

before i walked through the door, i put the bloody handkerchief back into my pocket. my mom was sitting at the dining table, reading a magazine with a skinny model on the front cover.

"hey sweetie, did bob not drop you off?" she asked, not looking up from her magazine.

"he did, he just drove off, had somewhere to be." it wasn't all a lie, he did drive off rather quickly.

"you didn't eat anything at the diner, did you?"

"i just got a water." i said looking down at my shoes.

"good, that place only has the sugariest, fried stuff." she smiled, finally looking up from her magazine.

i didn't like being the only one not getting anything when going out, but i did like getting my mom's approval. it seemed worth it to see the smile she showed when my weight didn't go up.

i went upstairs to my bathroom and turned on the faucet. i took out the handkerchief and put in under the running water. i squished it and let it soak up the water, repeating the process until it was clean. it was lightly stained by the blood, but my hands were tired by then, so i just hung it on a towel rack to dry.

i didn't have anything else to do, so i just called cherry for a few hours. most of bob's friends were my friends because i didn't hang out with anyone else. although i considered cherry one of my closest friends, i didn't tell her about what happened after bob had dropped me off.