The Dark Days

Seventeen.

For about ten minutes, I just sit there. My hands are still in the air, as if still holding his waist. My tears stop and time seems to freeze. My heart takes its time in shattering into billions upon billions of pieces in my chest, making it hurt so much worse than it should have.

After those ten minutes it begins to rain, snapping me out of my trance. I force myself to stand as I begin to cry again, stumbling over to my backpack, which is ten feet away. I sling it over my shoulder and trudge into town, my hair and clothes and body getting soaked. I stay out of sight and continue to quietly cry, wiping my nose every now and then. I get to Felix's house and slowly drag myself up the three wooden steps, going to the door and knocking heavily three times. All of the curtains have been closed, so the glow coming from inside is dim. I begin to shiver and grip my arms as I hear a loud voice getting closer to the door. "...your turn!" the kid yells as he opens the door, looking extremely annoyed. When he sees me, his eyes widen. "Kasey!" He steps back and lets me in, calling for Felix. He closes the door behind me just as Felix appears next to me, making me jump.

"Kasey," he says, sounding concerned, "your lips are turning blue. Come on, there's a tub upstairs." He offers his hand, which I take, and leads me upstairs. He opens a door to reveal a lavish bathroom with a huge tub. He releases my hand and goes to a cupboard, getting a fluffy baby blue towel out of it. He hands it to me and disappears out of the room for ten seconds, returning with a set of clothes. "They're my clothes," he tells me shyly as he gives them to me. "Sorry if they don't fit."

"Thank you, Felix," I mumble, looking away.

"Hey," Felix says softly, taking the clothes and setting them on top of the towel on the seat of the toilet, which is next to the bathtub. I look up at him and he smiles softly. "Pan will be okay," he says reassuringly, placing his hands on my shoulders. "I promise."

I nod and he hugs me gently for a moment before pulling back and leaving, the door closing quietly behind him. I lock it, just in case. I go over to the tub and turn the hot water all the way on, my quivering hand going under the water so I can adjust the temperature. Steam fills the air, making me shiver at the sudden warmth. When the water is a good enough temperature, I place my backpack by the door and peel my dripping-wet clothes off. I climb into the warm water without a second's hesitation, moaning at how good it feels. I immediately get the bar of soap and scrub my body, rinsing it thoroughly. I then grab the men's shampoo and massage my scalp. Then I rinse it out and pull the plug, carefully climbing out. I grab the towel and flip my hair over so that it hangs down in front of me. I dry my body to the best of my abilities, then wrap my hair up and put Felix's clothes on. When I finish pulling the huge, six-inches-too-long pajama pants on, I let my hair down and pull a brush through it. Once finished, I sit on the counter and roll the ends of the pants up, then stand again and tie a knot with the rope thingies poking out of the small holes. I tie it as tight as I can and then gather my wet clothing. I sling my now-dry backpack over my shoulder and quietly go downstairs to where Felix sits on the couch, watching a Disney movie with the other Lost Boys. He smiles at me and comes over to me, taking my clothes and my backpack from me. He puts my clothes into the washer, telling me he'll deal with them later, and leads me back upstairs and to the master bedroom.

"You can sleep in here tonight," he tells me, carefully setting my backpack beside the bed.

"Is this your room?" I ask quietly, my voice rough.

"Yes, and the Boys all know that they can't come in here," he reassures. "Don't worry," he says as he goes to the door. "Nothing will happen to you while I'm here, I promise." I force a small smile and he leaves, quietly closing the door behind him.

I look back at the bed and shake my head. "No, this will not do. Not at all." I take a pillow from the bed and toss it onto the floor at the foot of the bed. Then I grab the comforter and yank it off, dropping it next to the pillow. I go back to the bed and straighten the sheet out, not wanting to be too rude. I go to my makeshift bed and flatten out the pillow, putting it a reasonable distance from the end of the bed. Then I straighten out the comforter and make sure it isn't wrinkled. When I'm finished I go to the kitchen and grab an apple from the bowl of red delicious, rinsing it off before taking a small bite and starting back up the stairs.