erik menendez // if you love me..don't let go

chapter sixteen

Erik's POV

I could tell she used my stuff in the shower. She smelt absolutely delicious. Like heaven as a person. I wasn't able to go to sleep last night. The feeling of her body against mine, our legs intertwined, her breath slowing down every other minute. I was practically stuffing my face in her hair, wanting to have that scent memorized forever. Yes, it was my stuff, but it smelt different on her. It had a little "Scarlett" to it, making it one hundred times better.

I looked down at the messy, unmade bed. Where she slept last night. Although, it looked as if only one person had slept there. One of the pillows had creases in them, while the other one looked completely untouched. Goes to show just how close we were.

"Erik." My head snapped up. 

My father was standing in my room, waiting for me to answer his question that I definitely did not hear. While I was trying to get ready, he randomly barged in, bombarding me with questions.

"Sorry," I took one more glance at the bed before looking up at him. "What was that?" I didn't look into his eyes. Instead, I looked at his shoulder. I refused to look into those nasty eyes that saw nasty things and decided that they were right. A shudder went through my body just at that thought.

"Her clothes. Why was she wearing that?"

Her clothes?  "Scarlett?" I asked. 

Clearly, that was a mistake, because then my father started to throw a fit. Seriously. He started stomping his feet like a toddler.

"Are you serious, boy?" Spit connected with my cheek. "Of course i'm talking about Scarlett. Who else would it be, huh? Since the only friend you have is that whore of a girl." His words sliced me like a knife. If I was standing, my knees would've buckled and I would've been on the floor. Who did he think he was, calling Scarlett a whore? He knows nothing about her, absolutely nothing, and he's just going to go around calling her names? I tried to argue, but his stupid mouth continued on too fast for me to cut in. "Now tell me this, child. Why was that girl wearing your clothes? Since when do boys and girls share clothes, huh? I know that she brought her own clothes, so there's no reason for her to be wearing yours. So tell me, Erik. Tell me."

I flinched at every step he took closer to me. Looking down at my hands, deciding I didn't even want to look near him, I collected my thoughts. As much as I wanted to scream and yell and beat him to a pulp, I knew I couldn't. The things he would do to me if I did. The things. The things he has done to me when I stepped over the line.  

And so I told him the truth. Well, not the complete truth. I told him how when we got back to the hotel, -not how late we did- Scarlett's dad wasn't there so she got unready in my room, and by the time she was finished, her dad came back and she was able to sleep in his room. I told him how she borrowed my clothes so she could take off the outfit she was wearing all day. The only part that I left out was how she in fact did not go back to see if her dad was there, and instead, she stayed in my room for the whole night.

My father's face looked like he was convinced, but I couldn't tell for sure because someone knocked at the door before he could speak. Maybe that was a good thing.

"We'll talk later." He threatened a finger at me before opening the door.

Scarlett's POV

The door opened, and instead of Erik, Jose was there waiting. Dad, who was behind me, gave him a quick, friendly handshake. 

"Scarlett." He acknowledged me with a nod, and I did the same.

"We're about to get leaving, where's Erik?" Dad asked, peering over Jose to look into the room.

"We were just talking!" He moved to the side and waved his hand over to where Erik was in the room, putting on a sweater and looking more glorious than ever. "Ready to go, Erik?"

Erik finally looked up, but instead of meeting his dad's eyes, his eyes immediately went to mine. His gaze stayed on me for a bit, heating up every inch of my body as he slightly bit on his bottom lip. The same lip I bit on last night. 

"Yeah," He walked up to the door. "I'm ready." He smiled down at me, as if he was greeting me, and I returned the smile. A very genuine one.

***

Me and Erik walked next to each other as our parents walked in front of us. Every stride, our arms or fingers would brush against each other. I'm not sure he even noticed, but I sure did, and when it happened, it felt like a jolt of electricity just flew through my body.

Instead of taking a taxi, Kitty argued and said she wanted to be able to take in all the beauty of Brooklyn. We were going to Manhattan for a tour around all these different places that were having band performances, so we had to take the train. I've never once did that in my life, but I've heard some stories about the trains. In newspapers, it looks all cute and romanticized, but apparently it could actually be a dangerous place. I wasn't worried though, considering I had Erik right by my side and Dad nearby just in case.

The brownstones filled every inch of each block, each one with a tiny front yard that resembled who lived there. Some had tiny play stuff like those kid bikes, others had mini gardens, and some just had overgrown bushes or complete concrete yards. I imagined myself in 5 years. Fresh out of college, living in a brownstone of my own, with my little kids roaming around the empty street with other little kids. It was a dream come true.

Erik's POV

"This isn't quite what I was expecting." I leaned down and whispered into Scarlett's ears.

"Me neither." She hissed back, giving me a nervous look.

We were sitting on one of the two-seaters in the train, far away as possible from our parents. The lighting in the train was so yellow. From the yellow/orange seats to the almost yellow flooring, it was blinding my eyes. Speaking of the floors, just looking at it made me want to gag. It was so filthy, every time you squinted, you would see a new unknown substance. I think I might've seen dog shit.

A few feet away from us, where there was another two-seater that faced us, was a man. He looked to be crazy or something, probably homeless. He kept on yelling into the air, saying non-understandable words. His hands were flailing around and he had this scary look on his face. At one point, his eyes found their way to Scarlett, and I immediately felt her tense beside me. His eyes would not leave her, and I could tell she was trying to look everywhere but him.

One of her hands found their way to the sleeve of my sweater, and she gently tugged. "Erik." She whispered.

Not wanting to make a big scene, but also needing her to feel protected, I snaked my arm around her waist, not caring who saw. She shuffled a bit until our thighs were squished together, and I put my other hand on top of her thigh, making sure it wasn't too high up to make her uncomfortable. Instantly, she put her hand on that one and I intertwined our fingers together, giving her a gentle squeeze which she returned

"It's okay." I reassured her, dragging my thumb back and forth along her hand.

She rested her head on my shoulder, and I allowed it. I wanted her to feel as safe as possible. As long as she felt happy, then I was okay. It was like as soon as she came into my life, my heart had changed pathways and it started beating not just for me, but also for Scarlett. Maybe it was just the nerves that she gave me, but it even beated twice as fast.