knashing teeth and criminal tongues

::two::

Olive and Ryan chatted for the hour in the car. It was a lovely chat, and Olive invited Ryan into her house, but she had to give her a disclaimer.

"Hey, uh, Ryan. So we've been talking about music and art and shit, but this is still real life. So I need you to know, my moms an alcoholic. So if we walk in and she's passed out on the couch, that's why. It also may be a call the hospital night. I've gotten used to it, which is sad. I've got a deadbeat dad too, so he's not here. Let's just head upstairs" Olive choked out through the fist in her throat. No one but the paramedics, Michael and Persy knew.

"Y-yeah. Its okay, we can do this."

Sure enough, her mom was passed out. They just ran upstairs, put Ryan's stuff up, and then Olive checked her mom's pulse.

"I think we're okay. We'll check in an hour. God, this is so strange. My life is coming home to a basically dead mom, and leaving her there." She started crying. Ryan tried to comfort her, but she pushed her off.

"Listen, I know we've only known eachother for about 2 hours, but I get it. My mom was an alcoholic too. I've got scars to prove it, sadly. But, she's better now. She went to rehab and I went to counseling. It's all better now. Let's go upstairs and talk about life to The Front Bottoms"

They went upstairs, sat on Olive's bed, and drank some beers. She had to hide some of her moms stache when people came over. She hid the mini fridge pretty well, so her mom's blurred eyes couldn't steal some drinks.

"So, tell me about you. This has been quick, so let's slow it down." Olive asked, slowly getting untied.

"Well, I grew up with 2 brothers, a drunken mom and a dad who divorced her ass when I was 10. She probably couldn't even read what she was signing when he handed over the papers. My dad got custody of all of us, and she got sobered up when I was 14, and now they have joint custody. Things got better, because in that same year I got some good meds. But I have quite a few self harm scars and cuts that she put on me. At school I got physically bullied for literally no fucking reason, but also, what the fuck does bullying do anyways?"

"Wow, sorry about that. At least you're okay now."

"Yeah, don't worry about me. High school has been unusually good to me. I guess it's someone's payback for what I went through." Ryan sighed out, with her raspy, low voice.

"So are you religious?"

"Not really, but I do think that there has to be something guiding me the way I've been guided. Some spirit, just something."

"I get it. I feel the same way." Olive stared into Ryan's deep blue eyes. They were the color of the ocean, and there were specks of emerald in them. She could tell that Ryan was looking at her the same way.

Ryan was looking at Olive's hazel eyes. They were the color of her moleskin notebook in the middle, and that spiked out into a light green, almost like a mint leaf.

They pulled together like gravity. Their noses touched, and then Olive pulled away sharply.

"I-I'm sorry. I've just never felt this way about a girl before. I've only had boyfriends. I'm sorry if I ruined it. L-let's go check on my mom."

Ryan seemed disappointed, but she obviously was caring about her consent.

"Okay. I'm sorry, it's fine that you weren't ready. I get it. I've only ever dated girls. Maybe one boy in like, 4th grade, but I get it. Sexuality is confusing. Now let's go check on your mom, then we can come back up and talk."

Olive shook her head yes, and her hot, sticky cheeks were red. They checked her mom's pulse, but nothing. This wasn't the first time, though.

"Ryan, she has no pulse. Call 911."

Ryan dialed 911 immediately, and they showed up 3 minutes later. This happened every month it seemed. The paramedics carried her mom to the hospital, and then Ryan drove Olive to the emergency room.

In the car, Ryan broke the silence.

"How do you usually get here she you don't have someone to take you?"

"My best friends Michael and Persy will come by and take me. They're pretty sweet. They're theatre kids like me, but that's about all we share. They kinda like Fall Out Boy, but other than that, they're just nice kids that I know."

The silence stayed after that, until they were in the hospital for about an hour.

"Olive Peters?" The doctor asked.

"Y-yes? Is my mom okay?"

"She should be fine, but we need to do a house inspection and dispose of all alcohol, and we need to do a full body inspection on you, and she will be at the Branson Mental Hospital for recovery for about a month. Since you're a minor, do you have any adults that you can stay with?"

"I'll get my dad to come sign the papers." Ryan blurted, as she had been looking up from her phone since the nurse came in.

"Okay, can he come tonight?"

"Already texting him!"

"Okay, Miss Peters, Miss —"

"Derrick"

"Thank you ma'am. See you ladies later"

Olive stood there shocked. How was Ryan already so committed?

"You met me 4 hours ago, how the fuck are you agreeing to this? Do you pick every girl up in your jeep and take her home with you?"

"Only the really hot ones who like my music. It just so happens, you're the only one in pretty much all of Lansing"

Olive blushed and said, "You really think that?"

"Yes? Any person with eyes can see how hot you are."

"Just hug me, you idiot."

They embraced for a few minutes, Ryan's dad signed the papers, they got Olive's stuff (as well as a few beers) and went to Ryan's house. Things were looking up this summer, and it wasn't even day one.

"This day has been insanely good. Who the fuck am I, living with someone I met 6 and a half hours ago?" Olive said sarcastically.

"A fucking crazy one," Ryan said, "and that's why I'm so happy I met you."