I raise my hand and knock loudly on Travis' front door, already overcome with a sense of unease.
Although it's barely 6pm all of the curtains are closed and the blinds are drawn. I just start to doubt the intelligence of my decision to turn up uninvited at the home of the school bad boy, the boy that has just declared me enemy number 1 when I hear a female voice call out.
"Come in!" Her voice is raspy, almost as though her vocal cords had been worn down with sandpaper and I question whether to turn the handle or run but before I can choose the door flies open.
Standing before me is a 50...60 year old bottle blond with greying roots, she's wearing just an old cream bra and a pair of denim cut offs that are possibley 1-2 sizes too big on her emaciated frame.
Leaning one arm on the door frame she looks at me like I'm some wierd creature that's just been dropped on her door step by aliens and then let's out a cackle.
"Travis is developing expensive tastes I see" I don't know who this women is to Travis but immediately I hate her, I feel unsafe and unclean beneath the weight of her gaze but before I can utter a single word she grabs me by my bicep and pulls me into the house, slamming the door tight behind me before shouting out once more
"Tomás! Bring out the nice dishes Travis' little girlfriend has come round for tea" I feel like a tiny animal surrounded by a pack of wild dogs as a man who can only be Travis' father stands up and walks towards me, he's tall, possibly as tall as Travis is, at least 6'3 I would say and his hair is completely shaved, he has a long, unkempt black beard and green eyes I now recognise to be the same colour as Travis'. His neck and arms are a canvas of greying/blue tattoos and a black t-shirt stretches over a protruding stomach, he is clutching a beer can and then stops just before me, looking me up and down, making no attempt to hide the fact that he's blatantly checking me out.
"She's not one of Travis', he likes them to have a little more up top, you know what I mean?" He reaches out and squeezes the womans breast as he laughs and then turns to head back in the direction he just came from, apparently done dealing with his unexpected guest.
"Um...is he uh... is he here, Travis I mean?"
"Does it look like he's here sweetheart?" The woman asks stepping closer to me, the smell of alcohol hitting me on the cheek and causing my stomach to lurch.
"I don't know I..."
"That's a terrible stutter you have there, definitely not the way to catch the attention of a man like my Travis"
"I'm not trying to, I..."
"You what?"
I twist my fingers with my other hand and eye the door, begging it to magically fly open and provide me with an escape route. I shouldn't have come here. This is Travis' home, this is his family and suddenly his behaviour is beginning to make a little bit more sense to me and instead of the unadulterated hatred I had for him less than 30 minutes ago now I have a sadness, an empathy, I can't help but feel as though he doesn't deserve
"I'm going to go now" I take a step towards the door but she blocks my way and I feel the panic beginning to grow.
"Travis has enough female friends. He doesn't need someone like you with the body of a child sniffing around. Travis is all man so he needs someone that's all woman, got It?"
I nod as tears sting my eyes and my weakness threatens to leak down my face.
"You have a nice evening now" she says, with a fake smile pulling her thin, dry lips across her face and causing her eyes to crinkle like tissue paper.
She finally steps aside and I run for the door as she laughs loudly behind me. Pulling it open I throw myself into the evening air and then run as fast as my legs will carry me all the way home. Tears flowing as my chest fights against my sobs to take in as much air as possible
**************
My mind is foggy as I stumble through my front door. Too many beers, too much tequila and way too many bad decisions swirl like a fire storm in my head.
I walk into the living room using the hallway walls to guide me, the house is quiet...for once, meaning my dad and his wife must be in bed already
"Travis? Traaaav..." I hear Mary's voice but as I turn to see where she is I lose my footing and hit the ground. She's sitting on my mom's old rocking chair wearing just one of my old man's t-shirts and I hope to God panties.
"What do you want?" I manage to say as the room sways around me and my stomach begs me to let it empty it's self right in the middle of the floor
"You had a visitor tonight"
What the fuck? Who? Nobody comes to my house, not even Connor or Brian. Nobody needs to know the hell that I live in
"You're lying" I try to push myself into a seated position but all I can manage is all fours
"Am I? She was a sweet little thing"
She? Oh fuck not Taylor, oh No, no, no! I knew she would be angry over the Instagram prank I pulled but angry enough to turn up at the mouth of hell?? Fuck no!
"All blond hair and big blue eyes, she was cute but dosile, couldn't string two words together"
Taylor! Oh why the fuck did she come here???
"What did you say to her? What did you do?"
"Just told her a few home truths about you and the women you do and do not need"
"That's none of your business you don't know a thing about me and Taylor isn't like that!" I know by the way I raised my voice to her my dad would be making an appearance at any time so I rest my forehead on the threadbare green carpet and suck in breath after breath knowing what's coming just not knowing when
"Taylor isn't..." my dads foot collides with my ribcage first forcing my body up into the air and as I land hard on my back i lose my breath and struggle to pull in any air at all "Taylor.." I splurt out as my breath returns, my alcohol soaked brain struggling to make sense of the situation
"You mouthy little shit!!" my dad grabs me by my shoulders and then brings his forehead down hard on to mine and as I finally drop down onto the ground, the room white and spinning above me there's only one sound I can make out and it's that fucking annoying giggle but i focus on It, allowing it to fill my ears and my mind before everything turns to black.
