"What the hell is on your face?" Marie screeched when we walked in the front door.
"New piercings. You like?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"You thought it would be a good idea to get a bunch of tattoos and piercings, four weeks before meeting Matt's parents? Well, aren't you a fucking genius!" she snapped.
"Marie, I love you and everything, but you're not my mum," I reminded her.
"I'm the closest thing you've got to one though, so who else is going to scream at you for the dumb ass decisions that you make?" Marie shouted before storming away to her room. I sighed and walked into my own, Matt following behind.
"You piss her off a lot, don't you?" he asked me. I shrugged and said, "She still loves me."
I bent down to pick up my phone charger when I felt Matt's cool hands on my lower back.
"What's that?" he asked. I pretended not to hear him.
"Jesselin," he said firmly. I stood up and turned around. "Yeah, babe?"
"What was that?" Matt asked me.
"What was what?" I questioned.
"That. On your back. What does it say?" he pressed.
"I already told you," I said, starting to get agitated. "It says 'Peace'."
"No under that," he said, starting to get frustrated too. I glared at him.
"Get out," I said quietly. "Get out!" I chased him out of my room and slammed the door in his face before crawling under my bed and starting to cry.
~Matt~
The sound of Jesse screaming and slamming her door sparked Marie's curiosity. She peeked her head out of her room.
"What's going on?" she asked me.
"I questioned her about a tattoo on her back and she flipped. What was that about?" I asked her. Marie suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"It says Peace. I thought she told you already," she said.
"She got something under that. I asked what it was and she went ballistic." I said, starting to get agitated at Marie too. She sighed.
"Come on, I'll make the tea," she muttered, trudging into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Marie and I were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, with our own cups of hot tea.
"So, what does it mean?" I asked.
"I promised her I wouldn't say," Marie responded.
"You can't even tell me?" I begged. She shook her head.
"It's personal," she said. "When Jess is ready to talk, she will."
I sighed and took a sip from my cup before hearing a sniffle from behind me. I turned to see Jesselin standing by her room with a book clutched in her arms. Her eyes were red and puffy and silent tears were streaming down her face.
"Babe," I said softly. She walked over slowly and sat down on my lap, placing the book down on the table. It was a photo album.
"I haven't seen that in a while," Marie mused. Jesselin sniffled and wiped her eyes before brushing off the cover of the book. "I try not to look at it. It makes me sad."
"What is it?" I asked softly, rubbing small circles in her back.
"When I was fourteen, I had a boyfriend," Jesselin started. "He was a family friend, so he was allowed over whenever he wanted. At first, things went well. Then, he started becoming controlling. Abusive. One day, he was over at my house while I was babysitting my little brother. Oh God, that boy was my everything. He was more like my son than my brother. He had the prettiest blue eyes and soft black hair. I used to sit on the couch with him on my lap, and I'd run my fingers through his hair until he fell asleep. So while this guy was over, we started arguing. My baby was only four. The guy I was with started hitting me, and my brother intervened. He tried to protect me and I tried to protect him. Basically, this guy punched my brother into a wall—" her voice started to break "—and my brother's skull cracked. And there was blood everywhere. He left me there, holding my brother, screaming and crying. I held his lifeless body in my arms. I watched him die. I sang softly to him while he slipped away. Then the ambulances came. They ripped him away from me and tried to revive him. I called Marie and she got to the hospital as soon as she could. She watched me as I cried my heart out, covered in his blood. When he was declared dead and my mum was called, she blamed it on me. That it was my fault she gave my boyfriend keys to our apartment. My fault that he was abusive. My fault that my everything was dead. The day of the funeral, my mom wanted him dressed in a tux. I wanted him in his favourite outfit. My mom told me to tell the funeral director to dress him in a tux, then left. She had to be there early for some reason. They brought his casket into funeral, with him in my arms wearing his favourite monster truck tee shirt and jeans. Then I made sure he was wearing his light up sneakers that he loved. My mum hit me and Marie held me while I cried outside the funeral home. It was the worst day of my life. On the one year anniversary of his death, I went with Marie to get my very first tattoo. It said 'Peace' just for him. Then I got 'Brother' tattooed underneath. It's my tribute to the little boy who was my everything. The one taken from me too soon." By now Jesselin was sobbing. I held her tightly as she cried into my neck. Even Marie was crying.
