Together With You

Dance With the Devil

"Lian we need to talk '' My mother said looking at me with her big hazel eyes. It is just me and her at the kitchen table. It was my last year before university so there were a million ideas coming to mind about what this conversation could be. But I was eighteen. Looking back, it's nowhere near old enough to make my own decisions, but it sure  gave me the power to leave without the authorities being called.

    "Me and your father have been worried sick about you. You stopped showing up to class, your grading has dropped, and honestly the teacher said some of your 'friends' are bad apples." She goes to hold my hand but I pull it away remaining silent. "We just want to make sure everything is okay."

    "Where is dad? Didn't he get off work a while ago" I remark.

    "Well after the school called he went back out for a bit."
    "I'll go find him." I stood up out of my chair only to be interrupted.

    "Wait!" She grabs my arm "We need to talk about you." Tears start streaming down her face "I know something is going on, the kids your friends with, I know what kind of people they are." I look at her face and say something I always wished I could take back.

    We both knew it, but saying it out loud hurt all the more. "What mom, the kind of people dad always owes money to. Or the kind of people he gets his fix from. Or are you taking the kind of people who send him home in bruises because he can never make enough to pay them back. Honestly, they would have to be good people to not have killed him yet right?" And with those words I seemingly set his fate in stone. Tonight would be the night they finally followed through with it.

    I wiggled my hand loose from my mothers grasp and walked away. Exiting through the creaky front screen door. The anger blinded my memory, the next thing I knew I was at the bar where my father frequents. It wasn't even the fact that he was dealing with the wrong kind of people. It was the fact my mother always had to pick up the pieces.

    I swung open the bar door and walked in yelling for my father. No reply, so I walked up to the bartender. "Did he come through tonight?"

    "Yeah he's around back, drank a whole lot."

    "Of course, thanks."

    I walk out the back doors and see a group of gentlemen standing around my dad. Two being buddies of his I recognized. The rest I knew were scary. Being eighteen I didn't have a lot of common sense. But I knew one thing. I wasnt going to let him fuck up again.

    I began walking up to them when they began to argue. Tensions rose.

    "Where's the money?"

    "I told you I'll have it by next week."

    "Empty your pockets."

    "What comeone man?"

    I walked up to my dad. "Just do it okay. You need to come home." I took the stuff out of my pockets and gave it to them hoping it would spare him some time. My dad however was a stubborn man. ANd he hated to look weak. Just like that he turned around and hit me square in the cheek. My body dropped to the ground like a sack. Legs giving in. And that was the last straw. Maybe the violence enacted something in them, got them riled up. Or maybe they were just glad I was out of the way. But just like that two shots were fired. Actually it may have been more than two, I just remember it didn't take long.

    Still lying on the ground I saw my fathers broken glasses lying on the ground.

I could hear some mumbling from the background.

    "We can't just leave him there. "

    "Why not."

    "I know this guy, he's a good one. Real rough around the edges. Maybe he can at least pay you back."

    "Fine."

    My mind was full of chaos and ruin. I did not think of god, nor did I think that my own life may be in danger. I thought of nothing but my mother. Who was probably waiting by the phone. Who would never get that call from dad. I'd like to think maybe in some way it freed her.

A face appeared in front of mine and helped me to my feet.

"Hey man are you okay?" He spoke softly.

I recognized him as an upperclassman who graduated only two years prior to me. I had never spoken to him much but he seemed very kind. At the time I could only describe him as beautiful. He had long black hair that was tied up into a bun. And he had these ugly glasses that hid his charming green eyes. He was much taller than me at that age. He quickly helped me to my feet. I looked around and realized he wasn't saving me. He was with those men. But more than any hatred I had for my father, I loved my mother, so when they asked for me to work to pay off his debts I accepted. Leaving school wouldn't be the worst thing.

Just as we were getting into the car a woman and her daughter showed up, the daughter being just older than me. It was my dads buddies' family. The daughter who I now know as Laura. I wish that was the end, but sadly a year later I would meet her again.

...

I had finally paid off my fathers debt and would make the decision to keep working for them. We had come to term and my mother would receive protection and money as long as I continued to work for them.

Today would be the day that changed the course of my employment from errand boy to future enforcer.

Over the course of the year I had grown really fond of Curien. He was a handful. Always running late, cracking jokes. Today was the day I finally realized what I had been fearing all along. I had feelings for him, so I decided today would be the day for it. I- Being a stupid twenty year-old I had the confidence of a stag.