When I wake up, the smell of pancakes hangs in the air. I sit up and my head spins. My dad comes in through the doorway and puts a plate in my lap. Strawberry chocolate chip pancakes. Two of them. He pats my head and goes back into the kitchen for a moment. I know that I shouldn't eat them, and I know that they will only make me get fatter than I already am, but I desperately want to. I gently fold the top one in half and I take one of the halves and begin to rip it into pieces with my fingers. I take the tiniest piece and put it in my mouth and it's sweet and good and perfect. I rip that half of pancake into tiny pieces and slowly eat the entire half. I look up as I rip the second half in half and my dad is standing in the doorway with a glass of orange juice. He walks over and hands it to me and I sip it before continuing to rip that bit of pancake. When I finish it, I feel disgusted with myself. I bring the plate with the second pancake back into the kitchen. I sip the orange juice while sitting at the counter in the kitchen. My dad is flouncing around the kitchen in a floral apron. I start to smile and then I'm laughing because he starts to sing along in his man way. It's deep and has a rumble sort of sound to it that starts and then stops and then starts again. I go back up to my room and the stairs have made me tired. I take a few deep breaths in my room before going to take a shower. I get out and blow dry my hair, making it straight. I go back to my room, wrapped in a towel, and I get a text from Anthony as I sit in my bed.
*Want to come over? I think that you should come over.* A few minutes later I get another message saying,
*I'm coming to pick you up. Be there in 15.* I send back,
*Thanks for waiting for me to reply. I'll be ready.*
I put on my basic concealer then heavy black eyeliner all around my eyes. I'm about to start eyeshadow when Anthony knocks on my window. I open it and go back to the mirror. I put on some dark eyeshadow and some lipstain before turning around to face Anthony. I smile at him and go to my closet for an outfit. I find a gray sweater that's solid and fuzzy like a sweatshirt and it has those strings for a hood that doesn't exist. It has a scarf sort of thing around the neck and I pull it on over my bra. I pull on black, fuzzy leggings and some gray woollen socks that peak over my brown boots that hit the middle of my calf. I fall back onto the bed next to Anthony and I'm already tired again. I close my eyes and just try to breathe when Anthony pokes my side and jump. I start to laugh and he starts to laugh and then he leans onto his side. He starts to tickle me and I'm laughing hysterically and he's smiling and gritting his teeth and I'm screaming for him to stop. He finally does and I can't breathe. I lean onto my side and smile at him and he smiles at me. He puts his hand on my waist and then slowly moves it to my back. He pulls me close to him and I laugh again. I swing my leg over so that I'm straddling his waist. I lean forward and his hands hold my ribs and, to be simple, we suck face. About 20 minutes later I lean back and fluff my hair.
"So did you actually have a plan for when you came over or did you just hope that we would end up like this?" He laughs and I can feel his chest rumble beneath me.He flips me over with his legs and I burst out laughing.
"Lets go find something to get into," he says. He drags me off the bed and we go out the window. I get in the car and he drives until we arrive at a place. I don't know where we are, but apparently Anthony does. We go inside and there's a burst of cold air. We're in an ice rink. I don't know whether to be excited or nervous or scared.
"Have you ever skated before?" he asks.
"My dad used to take me when I was really little. But I sucked and I haven't been back since."
He laces up his skates really quickly and I try to do up my own, but there's a huge knot in one of the laces. Anthony laughs at me and kneels next to me. He unties the knot and has both of my skates securely tied before I know it and he helps me stand up.
"So I'm guessing that you have been before and have been recently." I say. He nods and laughs.
"When the twins were really little, like four and five, we brought them here to burn off energy. But my mom's really good and she showed my dad and he's decent. The twins, they're seven now, they just skate until their butts are covered in bruises." We laugh and then comes the time to get on the ice. Anthony steps on and he skates around the way he walks; confidently and proudly. I step on and I'm like a newborn deer; wobbly and unsure of how my body will work. I try to get the hang of it as Anthony does a few laps. He passes me for his third lap and laughs when he sees me next to him, skating without any trouble.
"What happened to the little kid story where you couldn't skate?"
"A lot changes over time..." I reply and he slows down and I pass him, skating backwards so that I can see his face. We're somehow the only ones here, but it isn't that surprising considering how the rink has a smell that is somehow close to the smell of sweat and piss.
"So tell me more about your family," I say, and Anthony smiles. I wish that I could smile when someone mentions my family.
"My mom didn't go to college traditionally. She did some ice skating shit that got her money, so she did it for a long time, until she decided to settle down with the family. Then she went to online school, got some degree and now she counsles and stuff."
"Great. Now your dad."
"He works for a construction company that's somewhere out of town. He didn't go to college at all. He met my mom... ummm... He met my mom at a diner when he went to get some lunch at work."
"That's adorable." I start to get the hand of skating even with Anthony literally skating circles around me. I shove him away from me, but he grabs my hands as he falls back and we start spinning in a circle. I'm laughing so hard that I have to stop for fear of pissing myself. I use the bathroom and when I come back, Anthony is sitting at the counter talking to a guy who works here according to his name tag. Instead of bothering him, I get back on the ice, for once enjoying the cold air. I talk a few deep breaths and make a lap around the rink. I stop at the longer end of the rink and take a deep breath. I get up some speed and slowly lift my right leg, balancing on my left. I lower my back and the air feels good and I feel balanced.
"ALLY! HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HELL! IS THIS WHAT YOU MEANT WHEN YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE A SHITTY SKATER AS A KID?! HOLY SHIT!"
His shouting makes me fall and I slide on my ass for a few feet. My ahir elastic decided to break when I fell, so my hair is all around my face. I pout as Anthony skates up to me. We skate around for a little longer and then we get back into his car. He drives back to his house. I get out and walk over to his side to say goodbye, but apparently he has other plans. He tells me to come inside for supplies. Great.
YOU ARE READING
Sinking Through the Cracks
RomanceAlly has never had friends. Ally has never had parents who really cared for her. Ally has never had a peaceful day at school. She is anorexic, though she has never had it treated. She has horrible times of depression though she always just puts...
