melting [pearlet]

f o u r t e e n

VIOLET

   AROUND three AM I hear a soft knock at the front door. It's loud enough to wake me up. I sit on the edge of my bed, rubbing my eyes before going to see who it is. I look through the peep hole to see Pearl.

   "Pearl?" I croak as I open the door.

   "Hey," He gasps out of breath, "So I was gonna go through the fire escape, I was just on there about to knock on the window. I thought it'd be more romantic and movie-like, but I don't have the energy to climb in. You see, I ran here." He pants leaning on the doorway.

   I wanna ask him why he thought going through the fire escape was a good idea. He was just there, why wouldn't he go through it though? Wouldn't climbing down and then running through the lobby and three flights of stairs require more work?

   Pearl is such an odd and spontaneous character that it wouldn't surprise me he thought going through the fire escape was the smart thing to do.

   "What are you doing here?"

   Pearl walks in closing the door behind him. He lifts up the bottom of his shirt exposing the bruise running up and down his torso. I cup my hands over my mouth.

   "Come with me." I grab his hands tugging him into the bathroom. By the time we get to the bathroom I remember I'm still in my underwear.

   "Remove your shirt."

   He obeys and crumples they gray pull over into a ball and throws it across the room. He sits on the cover of the toilet seat patiently, waiting for more instructions. I grab a small wash cloth and soak it with cold water.

I hand it to him, at first he looks confused but then places it between his shaky hand and bruise.

I sit criss cross on the floor in front of him, "So what happened?"

"He came home drunk into my room." He sniffles, "And I told him to leave me alone and I tried shutting the door on him, next thing I know he's hitting me."

He gets up and looks into the mirror, rubbing his ribs. I get up and wrap my arms around him. I use my finger tips to rub the bruises gently. We both look into each other's eyes through the mirror. "I need a haircut."

"A what?" I snort not keeping my eyes off of the mirror.

He turns his head to look at me, "A haircut, it's getting kind of shaggy. I kind of look like Detox because I'm starting to grow a bowl cut." He runs his fingers through his messy caramel hair, then starts rustling his hair.

I look under the sink in the cabinets, finding a razor. "Do you trust me?" I ask turning it on with a bit of nervousness in my tone.

He nods his head with an innocent smile then sits down in the bathtub. I sit on the edge, I start playing with his hair before shaving the sides. Locks of hair falls down onto his shoulders and the tub. I brush them off as I go around his head.

I take an old pair of scissors and start snipping at the top. Just trimming it, so he'll look the same he did when we first met. I turn his head to get the sides, I get a little rush every time he obeys my command. A rush of dominance. But this isn't the time for these things. I should stop letting my mind wonder in inappropriate times.

Messy hair, pale face, defined features, green eyes, and tall. He's still the same boy, just with longer hair, but tired now. Tired from life. He still has the little innocence he once had in September, but a little less.

"You can look now."

He gets up from the bathtub, brushing the leftover hair off of him.

He examines his hair closely in the mirror, getting quite close to it. He touches every little detail of his hair, making sure it's perfect.

He quickly spins around, pulling me into a hug of gratitude. "Thank you." He whispers into my ear as he holds me.

He pulls a little tighter, making sure I won't let go. He really needs this hug, and I do too.

He removes his head from my shoulder to peck me on the lips. peck him back, we go back and forth as a game.

   Pearl looks at me in the eyes and it's almost like we're speaking through our eyes, but my heart starts to race and I'm anxious. We both lean in and close our eyes and just go for it.

   I feel like I'm melting.