We trudged through the field and waved to everyone as we walked to Chris's house to get his stuff ready. The sun was starting to get higher in the sky, and it was getting hot.
Chris brushed his hand on the back of mine. I looked up and smiled at him. I intwined my fingers through his, and walked down his street. "It's this one, coming up on the left." There was a small, one stories house that was light brown where Chris pointed. There wasn't a car in the driveway. The lawn looked like it hadn't been mowed in months, but I didn't care. We walked through the jungle and up to the door. Chris opened it. It was unlocked. We walked in and heard the tv was on, and the air was think with cigarette smoke. Chris froze. "Hello?" A voice said. It sounded familiar. Chris swallowed. "Hey Eyeball, it's Chris. I have a friend with me. We're just getting some stuff. I'll be gone in a little bit. Also - " The other person cut him off. "Okay, okay! Jesus, I didn't need you to tell me a whole got damn novel." He sounded a little drunk. Chris started to walk down the hallway, and I did too. I got a long look at 'Eyeball'. "Hey," he said. I stopped walked. "Do I know you?" He asked me. I didn't get the question. "You look familiar," I looked at the ground. "No, I don't think so," I answered. He did look familiar, too, but not in a good way. I started walking fast to where Chris went. I went into his room, which consisted of one bed, a lamp, a heater, a desk, and a closet. Basically my room.
Chris looked up and smiled. He was sitting on his bed, going through his backpack and taking things out of it. I sat next to him, and rubbed my hands over my face. I realized I had never washed my face that morning, and got back up. "Can I use your bathroom?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, it's across from my room," he said, and started to search inside of his closet. I walked across the hallway and went into the bathroom. I closed the door, and turned the light on. Wow, I look tired.
I had curly hair that was slightly longer than my shoulders, but right now, it was just a big nest. My eyes were a blueish greenish brownish mixture. I had freckles on my nose and cheeks, a darker brown than my tanned skin. My skin wasn't perfect. I had a few pimples here and there, but it wasn't acne.
I turned the faucet on and quickly splashed my face with cold water. I turned around and dried it on the slightly overused looking towel. I was about to open the door, when it flew open before I could touch the handle. Chris was staring at me. He looked worried. Almost scared. "We need to go," he said before I could open my mouth. "Now," he said as he grabbed my wrist and practically pulled me to his room. He shut his door and crossed his room and started opening his window. "What's wrong?" I asked, getting nervous. Chris didn't look up at me. He took his bedroll off and threw it out of the window. "Chris?" I asked again. I heard a door open and close loudly from inside the house. Chris turned pale when he started to hear yelling. "Dezarae, go." His face was full of fear. I was so useless. My feet were practically bolted to the floor. He ran over to me and shook me. "Go!" He said louder. I ran over to the window and climbed out onto the grass. "I'll be right behind you," he said. But he vanished from my view. I heard his door slam open. I ran underneath his window, hugging the wall of his house. "Where the fuck were you last nigh?" His voice boomed. I shuddered. "No where," Chris mumbled. The man laughed. Is this his dad? "Of course you were, because you left like a coward from the beating you deserved," he said, slurring. He sounded drunk. I heard a loud thud. Again. And again. Repeated. Until I heard the door close.
I heard crying. Chris was crying. The tough, handsome, outgoing, caring boy was crying. I got up and looked into the window. Chris was up against the wall, one hand on his face and one beside him. "Chris," I whispered. He looked up and quickly wiped his eyes. "Are you all right?" I asked. He got up. "Yeah."
We never talked about what happened, until we turned into the street we were supposed to meet the guys at. They weren't there yet. "Dez, please don't tell the guys about what happened. I don't want them to know I was crying.." His voice trailed off. "Chris, what did he do?" I asked gingerly. Chris looked me in the eyes. I saw something inside of them. Pain. "He beat me." Chris looked at his shoes. I walked over to him and lifted up his shirt. There were bruises all over his ribcage and up his spine, dotting them like purple gems. I bit my bottom lip and choked back tears. He looked me in the eyes and saw them flood. All of a sudden, he wrapped his arms around me, and I wrapped mine around him.
I knew I'd always love him.
