Memoirs Of a survivor

42. Man at the Door

I had been happy for days; I had been back to the tattoo parlor and gotten 2 more tattoos completed, ticking 4 more scars off my list of things to be covered. I had worked out a plan to keep them covered, a combination of long t-shirts, and shirts that could be tucked in. Mikey was going to cover all the ones on my torso and legs first, and then work down my arms in the last few weeks of school, and then finally I would get my hands finished on the day of graduation. I could cover those easily with makeup that they sold at Immy's shop if I ever needed to, but I knew I wouldn't. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I am currently stood in my room, working out how long I had to stay around. School finished soon, I planned to leave after graduation, so I could go and collect my certificate and then get my retirement fight done, say goodbye to R, Mark, Joe, Nate and Logan, then disappear forever. I was so absorbed in my thoughts and making notes in my book that I almost didn't hear the knock at the door.

I checked the time, as I made my way downstairs, my dad had gone out earlier, so I assumed he had forgotten his key, then I realized that he had taken the car so it couldn't have been him. I got to the door, and pulled it open, glancing out. My eyes landed on Logan's face. "Logan?" I didn't understand why he was stood at my door, sweating, and panting, he was deathly pale, so I just stood and looked at him, growing more concerned for the boy stood at my door. He pushed up off the frame and stumbled towards me. But before he was able to say anything, my eyes slid over his face, and landed on the large purple and yellow bruises, splayed there for me to see he had a busted lip and a cut in his hairline, pouring blood down one side of his face. My mind went into overdrive whit jumbled thoughts of; is he in trouble, how had he gotten those bruises, why did he come here of all places, and when it began processing sentient thought again, and I blurted out "Shit Logan!" apparently my thoughts weren't that well pieced together, but I still rushed forwards, and caught him around his waist, before he could fall forwards, he looked like he was about to pass out, so I couldn't leave him on my doorstep. My father wasn't home, so I was able to drag him upstairs to my room. Pulling the covers back I laid him on my bed, placing pillows under his head, making sure he was comfortable. After he had settled I carefully explained to him "Logan honey, you are bleeding, what happened to you" but he wasn't really listening
"Scarlett!" it was like speaking to a small child "you're so pretty" he lifted his hand up and cupped my face his cold hands chilling my skin. I chuckled and blushed at his compliment, "see that's why I call you red, because of the pretty red blush that you get every time I say something nice to you" I smiled down on him, and put my hand over his on my cheek
"that's because you always say really nice things, now hold still and let me look at you" I sat on the edge of the bed, and placed my hands over his shoulders, running them down his torso checking for more injuries, "does it hurt anywhere" he didn't reply, but I saw him flinch as I moved over his abdomen. I moved my hands to the bottom of his shirt, lifting it up, revealing the angry looking bruises that spread out from what looked to be knuckle prints in his skin. As I looked back up at his face he was regarding me calmly. I asked again "what happened to you?" he shrugged
"got in a fight" he wasn't being very helpful, but from the looks of his face he had a concussion, and was probably going to pass out any minuet. Satisfied that nothing was broken or bleeding too badly, I emptied his pockets depositing, keys, a phone, and a wallet onto my bedside table, then looked up at him and asked the question that was playing on my mind
"why did you come here?" he smiled and shrugged
"chicks love fights" I frowned and mumbled under my breath
"not this one" I moved to inspect his face, leaning over his face. I could feel his eyes gazing at my chest, and was acutely aware that the baggy shirt that I was wearing would be gaping open at the front, so he would be able to see my bare breasts. Trying to be casual about it, I stepped back, looked around my room for a jumper, and stuffed myself into it, ignoring the shorts I was wearing.

I had read somewhere, that you shouldn't let someone with a concussion sleep right away, I wasn't sure if it was true, but it wouldn't harm him to stay awake so I said
"okay, you have to stay awake for me now, I'm going to go and get the kit to fix you up, then you have to keep talking to me" I smiled up at him
"what about" I thought for a second
"tell me about something, anything, what do you like" a smile appeared on his face. I don't know why, but my instincts told me that the smile was forced, measured, as if to try and trap me
"there's this girl at my school, she's got the most wonderful eyes" he trailed off with a dreamy smile on his face, this one was measured as well "and an impressive body, I saw it for the first time the other day, well not all of it, just the top, Aron said she was hot under the hoodies, but I didn't believe him, he was right though" he rambled on about how beautiful, and smart she was, for a full ten minutes while I sorted his face out. Then he said something that caught my attention "her hair, oh god her hair, it used to be long, but she cut it off, but I don't mind, I can see her face now" I frowned a little, and checked his head, it was a cut on his scalp, so it was bleeding a lot, scalp cuts always do. I glued it shut as he carried on chatting, except this time, the smile on his face was genuine, and his eyes zoned out "she's so strong, stronger than she knows, stronger than I know," he trails off lifting his head up to look at me, but I push it back down "did you know she has come to school with a concussion at least three times this term, she even let me help her stitch up her side, I bet that hurt" I stood up and moved around my room finding him some pain killers, and the glass of water I keep by my bed "it was at school, I took her to that room no one knows about, and she just did it, I thought she would complain more, but she didn't, she just gritted her teeth and did it." I froze as I realized that he had been talking about me, I stood for a full minuet, unable to move my mind going through thoughts at a hundred miles an hour 'wait....is he.... Is he talking about me...? I'm strong... did he seriously just call me beautiful... how am I so oblivious?!' As I made my way back over to him, he must have realized what he was saying, because he stopped abruptly. And reached out for me "shit, red, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say any of it out loud, you weren't supposed to know, I know that stuff makes you uncomfortable, I didn't mean" he huffed in a breath "I... I like you; I don't want you to be uncomfortable because of it. I'll just leave" he moved to sit up, but I pushed him down
"don't worry about it, just," I took a deep breath and closed my eyes briefly I knew he wasn't telling the truth, something about him seemed off, but I couldn't very well kick him out with a concussion now could I? "Just let me sort you out, you've already bled on my pillowcase," I said dryly, gesturing towards the small bloodied patch on my pillowcase. He smiled and let me leave to runs some hot water over a flannel, and grab the bruise cream. As I opened the door I spotted Logan immediately, but he wasn't doing what I expected, which was laying quietly on the bed, he was holding my notebook in his hands, and reading!

I almost dropped the stuff, but caught myself, putting it down on the bedside table in my room before it ended up on the floor. I bit my lip as I looked up at him, but he was already looking at me
"you'd say goodbye to me?" he looked almost happy, but as he realized what it meant, his face fell "you'd say goodbye to me" he whispered, looking down and frowning. He looked back up at me with sadness in his eyes but I didn't respond. I just began cleaning his wound. Neither of us spoke for a while as I was inspecting his head making sure I hadn't messed anything up
"I have to go," I picked up, some antiseptic, and smoothed it over the wound. As I looked up, Logan looked deep in thought "I can't stay here" I whispered into the silence, keeping my eyes trained on his wound. I felt the bed move, and Logan's hands clasped down around my waist in an awkward almost hug.
"Then let's make the most of it" I smiled and shuffled over the bed away from him, after a while I heard soft snores coming from Logan's mouth. Abandoning any attempts to keep him awake I looked over his face, letting my mind wonder over what he meant by 'let's make the most of it' I picked up the notebook as I walked past it frowning at my bedding since I knew that there would be a big red stain on it in the morning. 'Ugh boys, they're so messy' I grumbled to myself.