Ribs

Ribs: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Take our hands out of control..." - "Gold Lion" by the Yeah Yeah Yeah's

"Hi, Daddy." I say softly, practically out of breath as he enters the living room. He grunts in reply, plopping down on the couch. Obviously, he drank too much tonight. I want to sigh in joy that he's too tired to beat me, but I don't.

It takes only minutes for him to konk out on the couch, his snoring following me all the way upstairs and to my bedroom. I close the door softly behind me and look up, finding Corey looking at the charcoal drawings of him.

He smiles at me. "You think this is how I look?" The one he's looking at only has the top half of him. He's turned around, bending down and you can see the movement of his spine. I steal the drawing from him and hold it to my chest, the picture facing me.

"Um, yea. So anyways, uh, you're free to go now." I say, watching as he completely ignores me and picks up another drawing. This one isn't of him at all. It's my last drawing of when mom was alive.

Mom and Dad are smiling at each other, like there's no one else in the whole wide world they'd rather be with. Mom is laughing, and Dad's adam's apple sticks out better in this picture.

"This is really good." Corey says quietly. He looks up at me, putting the picture down. He grabs another.

It's him, standing up and smiling. He looks vulnerable, with none of his clothes to shield anything. He raises an eyebrow at me, and I throw him a weary smile. He looks at the picture for a really long time, and I wonder if he'll think I'm just a big creepo.

Maybe I really am.

Finally, after what seems like forever, he puts the drawing down. "Are you going to college?" Corey asks. I shrug and my face flushes. It's strange, being that far away from him, standing across the room from him. I want to walk closer, but don't dare take the chance.

"I don't know." I say. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't exactly have a ton of money at the moment." He nods, taking a step closer.

"What about you?" I ask. He takes another step closer. I start to bite on my lip. Two days have just changed my entire life.

"Yea. I'm going to major in photography. I'm not sure where yet." He starts to play with his barbell. "You know, you should go to an art school. They have photography in art schools, and you know, drawing."

"What are you implying?" I ask quietly. Corey grins, before pinning me up to the wall. It almost hurts, the way my back vibrates after slamming into the wall. I lose my breath as the vibrations thrum through me. It's a good pain, though. Nothing like the first week mom died and Dad turned ugly...

"You could go with me. To the same college, I mean." He breathes against my neck. He kisses me there, small sparks left when his lips are removed.

"My dad's in the other room." I whisper, my breath quickening. He kisses just below my lips and a little to the side.

"Asleep." Corey insists. His lips dig into my neck.

"I can't." I whisper. He stops kissing me and just breathes on my neck. Finally, he backs away.

"Yea," He says. "Okay." He takes another step away. He smiled at me, a mix between puzzlement and uncertainty. Then he backs up so more and opens my window. He turns to smile at me again, before jumping down.