I slam my car door, pushing back the tears that have built up from my frustration. I make my way through the dark night and damp grass towards the front door of the house. The night air is cold and thin.
Honestly I was glad to be anywhere but at my house at the moment. Zack's house was more like my first home then my second and was the first place I went to during times like this.
I check my watch, it reads 9:47. He would probably be asleep. I went around the back door and grabbed the spare key from under the mat. I stick the old, rusty key in the lock, give it a turn. The door opens reluctantly and I step into the house.
I tiptoe my way towards the stairs, trying to make as little noise possible. His dad has to wake up early for work and gets grumpy if we make too much noise. But when I get to the stairs I knock over the piece of plywood that keeps the dogs from going upstairs, the sound echoing through the house.
"Shit," I whisper to myself. I go to pick it back up when I hear the door from upstairs open.
"Brandon?" I hear Zack call down to me.
"Yeah it's me," I say stepping into the stairs.
"What are you doing? It's like ten o'clock."
"I needed to get out of the house."
"What's wrong this time?" He asks me
"Same old shit," I say.
"Well, don't just stand there, come on up," he says motioning up to his room. I follow him up and close his door behind us. He sits down on his bed and pats the spot next to him.
"What's up this time?" He asks me through a yawn. He must have been trying to sleep. I feel bad for keeping him from bed but I needed to get away for a while.
I sit down next to him, letting out a sigh. Before I can utter even a single word all the anger and frustration inside me spill out in the form of tears. I hate it when I cry, especially when I'm angry.
"Hey," he says to me reassuringly," it's okay, I'm here now." He pulls me to him and I let my head drop on his shoulder.
"I'm just so sick of it," I cry out, my voice muddled through my tears. "Every night I get treated like I'm worthless."
"You are not worthless," he tells me, "Your my best friend. You mean the world to me."
"The only one who gives a damn about me in that house is my mother. And she's never there because my fucking father can't get off his lazy ass to work. She does everything for us, and he treats her like shit."
"Calm down Brandon, it's okay."
"No it isn't. I can't stand there and watch her take shit from him anymore. I hate him."
At this point the tears are rolling down my face.
"I know you do, but your okay now. He's there and your here. With me."
I'm starting to calm down now. The rhythms of my breathing matching his, our chests rise and fall together.
"Things will get better," he whispers softly in my ear. I feel his warm breath on the back of my neck, all the little hairs standing up.
"How do you know that? As long as he's in that house how can they?"
"Because your here now, and I'm gonna take care of you."
"What about my mom? She does everything for us and he has no respect for her. I don't know why they got married in the first place."
I'm starting to loose it again. My mind is wandering back to that place where I try so hard to stay out of.
My father passed away when I was only 6 years old. I don't have a lot of memories with him but the ones I do I recall so vividly.
I remember him barbecuing on Saturday nights. I remember him putting me and my brother to bed at night. That was when we actually got along.
When my father died my brother didn't take it well. He became mad at everyone and just shut people out. Then we got older and he turned to other things to help him cope. He fell in with the wrong people and it's like I don't even know him any more.
"Brandon?" He calls, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Oh I was just uh- thinking."
"Yeah? About what?"
"Id rather not get into that right now Zack." He would know what I what was up. He usually knew what I was thinking before I did.
He nods his head,"Well maybe we should just try to get some sleep."
"Yeah I guess so." I start to stand up as he pulls on my wrist.
"Woah, where are you going?" He asks me?
"Uh, to my bed." I have my own room at his house, that shows you how often I'm over here.
"No no, your sleeping with me tonight."
"Umm okay. Why?" We usually only sleep in the same bed if there are more people over.
"Because I want to make sure you okay."
"I'll be fine," I say through a sniffle.
"Come here," he scoots over in bed and gets under his comforter, lifting it up for me.
I'm just realizing that he's only wearing his underwear. My eyes start gazing up and down his body, not that I haven't seen him shirtless before.
"You gonna stand there all night or are you gonna get under the blanket with me?"
"Oh yeah, I'm coming," I get under the covers next to him and lay my head back.
"You got a lot on your mind huh?"
"You don't even know."
"Yeah I kinda do."
"What's up with you?" I turn so I'm facing him.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it," he says turning away.
"You sure?" I ask, dropping my head on his shoulder.
He turns to look down at me and flashes a smile."Yeah, I'm fine. Now let's get some rest."
He places a small kiss on my forehead."I love you Brandy."
"Love you too Zacky."
With that we both close our eyes and drift off to sleep.
