Bruises

6

I twisted the front door knob and entered, hopefully no one would freak out that I was here. The house seemed empty, until I heard yelling coming from upstairs. I quietly made my way up the stairs, and realized the yelling was coming from Dylan’s room. As I opened the door he screamed “Die you little bastard!” Turns out he was playing a video game, made sense. “Geez. Didn’t realize you hated me that much.” I said from the doorway, smiling. “You’re here!” He yelled and came to hug me. It was a really tight hug, and it made my arms hurt, more than usual. After setting me down he planted a kiss on my forehead. “Now that’s a better welcome.” I said laughing. “Yeah. Yeah.” He said grabbing my stuff and setting it in the corner by his guitar. “Is everyone else here? It sounded like a ghost town downstairs.” I asked him. “Mom and Iris are at the store getting food and probably more decorations. And dad coming home from work around dinner time.” He said. “Okie dokie.” I said as I went and lied down on his bed, while he resumed his game from the floor. “What game are you playing?” I asked, propping myself up on a pillow. His bed was so comfortable! “Devil May Cry. It’s probably my favorite one.” He said pounding away on his controller. I watched him play his game for a while, and somehow I ended up falling asleep.
“Hey Mixi. Mixi. Mix-Mix-Mixi.” Dylan said poking my nose. I opened my eyes to be faced with his bright blue ones. “Sorry, I fell asleep.” I said groggily, wiping my eyes. “It’s okay, you didn’t miss much. You were out for about an hour. Mom and Iris are home, and they were wondering if you wanted to come downstairs and watch a movie with us. It’s called Lords of Dogtown. It’s about a bunch of skaters, and it’s based on a true story.” He said standing up, putting his hand out to help me up. “Sure.” I said. After pulling me up from the bed, he wrapped me into a hug. Not too tight, and not too loose. “You’re really cold, do you want a hoodie?” He asked me, pulling back from me. “Yes, please.” I said. Dylan turned around and took out a plain black pullover hoodie and handed it to me. I pulled it over my head and adjusted it on to my body. It was a little bit big, but still really soft on the inside. “Do I look pretty?” I said raising my arms up. “Always do.” He answered, wrapping his arms around my waist. I pulled my arms in to my chest and laid my head on his. Why couldn’t this be my life? Just spending every day with Dylan and his family.
We went down stairs and were hit with the aroma of buttery popcorn. “Mixi!” Iris yelled as she came over to hug me. “Hey there squirt.” I said, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “I missed you.” She responded, still not letting go of me. “Same here.” I said, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go. After Iris went to sit down Mrs. Hicks came into the living room holding two big bowls that were almost overflowing with popcorn. The smell made my mouth water. “Hello Mixi.” She said before setting down the popcorn bowls on the coffee table. “How are you darling?” She asked, pulling me into a friendly hug. “Good. Thank you so much for letting me stay here.” I said smiling. “No problem. Though you will have to sleep in Dylan’s room with him, the guest room is getting repainted and a friend of my husband’s will be sleeping on the couch. Are you okay with that?” She asked me with raised eyebrows. “Yes ma’am.”
Iris sat on the loveseat with her mom, and me and Dylan took the big couch. He lied down on the horizontal part of the corner couch and I lied down on the vertical part of the couch with my head resting on Dylan’s chest. We munched on Popcorn, the bucket almost half empty by the time the movie was started. The movie was actually really good. It had funny, stupid, and creative characters. It made it even better that it was based on a true story. By the time the credits started rolling, everyone was full of so much popcorn that Mrs. Hicks had decided to have everyone fend for themselves that night. Me and Dylan went upstairs after much bribing with Iris that I would have a beauty spa day with her sometime while I was staying here.
“What do you want to do?” Dylan asked me when we got to his room. “I don’t care.” I said. Without saying anything else he walked over grabbed his guitar and got situated on his bed. I sat across from him, excited to hear what he was going to play. “What do you want to hear? I’m your human jukebox tonight.” He said smiling at me. “How dare you make me choose!” I said dramatically, throwing myself flat on the bed. “Fine. Fine. Here goes.” He said. The sound of “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day filling the room.  “Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last, wake me up when September ends” He sang to me. I joined in with him during the second verse. When he strummed the last note he had a huge grin on his face. “You’re a really good singer.” He said. “No, I’m not.” I said firmly. “Whatever you say. I still think you’re good.” He said smiling. “So, what next?”
We ended up singing, with him playing, for almost two hours. Going through a bunch of songs that he knew, even looking up the chords and learning the ones that he didn’t. Just being with Dylan, not worrying about my father or anything else, just being there made me feel as if my life would be okay again. Even though after these few weeks I would be back in my own personal hell at home, I could enjoy this brief moment of peace.
The first night went relatively well. It was undeniably awkward sleeping in the same room as Dylan, though he did sleep on the floor and I took the bed. He had offered to let me sleep on the bed, and obviously I accepted, but I still felt bad that he had to sleep on the floor. Dylan had queen size bed!!! I’m sure that we could’ve both fit, but he refused.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable down there?” I asked leaning over the edge of the bed, looking at Dylan laying on the floor with just a pillow and a blanket. “Mixi. I’m sure.” He said staring at me. “Okay. Okay.” I said dramatically before laying back down on the bed. “Good Night Mixi.” He said quietly. “Good Night Dylan.” I said even quieter. Not long after I heard the quiet snores of a teenage boy. “I love you.” I mumbled.