Ribs

Ribs: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"When I was a child, everybody smiled. Nobody knows me at all." -"Nobody Knows Me At All" by The Weepies

On the third day that Corey may or may not have been at school, Daddy made me stay home.

He is not sober.

He had fun, I think, slapping me around. He told me I was such a pretty girl, the way he used to when I was a child. Then he slapped me, punched me, threw me up against walls. I was so afraid I was going to die.

And right before he went to sleep that night, he threw me against the wall, and something inside my torso cracked.

I cry. I cry for myself, for the pain my Daddy has just put me through, for my mom who I never did cry for, for Corey. Especially for Corey. I call out his name in my room, almost a moan, waiting for him to come into my window. He doesn't, and I take that as an invitation to go to his house.

Corey answers the door on the second knock. He's rubbing at his eyes. His hair is perfectly disheveled. When he finally looks at me, the shock on his face making me want to cry, all he says is, "Dawn?" Like he isn't sure if I'm there or not. As if automatic, his hand pulls me in to his chest, and he closes the front door. It hurts, and I look up into his face.

"Will you do me a favor?" I ask him quietly.

"Absolutely." He says with a nod. I peer past his shoulder into the darkness, then whisper, "Count my ribs." I pull away from him slowly, keeping eye contact with him as I take off my shirt. He seems to lose his breath a little, and finally lets his eyes stray down my body, as if he's never seen it before. He gets down on his knees, and counts them.

"One," He whispers, continuing from there. I can hear my heart beating for him, in a steady rhythm.

"Do you hear it?" I whisper to him, watching him as he examines the rib I think is broken. He barely looks up as he mumbles, "Hear what?" I grab his hand and place it at my chest.

"My heart." I whisper. "My rib is broken and my heart is there." I lean over a little closer to him. "You can take it, if you want." I want to feel like the lucky girl in the movies. He looks slightly surprised as he stands. I pray in my heart that he'll understand, that he'll want more than shallow, meaningless sex.

That maybe he'll just want me.

"Oh." He breathes, pulling me to his chest gently, now that he knows my rib is damaged. "Oh God, Dawn." He whispers in my ear, his hot breath begging me of something unknown. "What happened to you?" He asks quietly. I shrug, my eyes feeling watery.

"Daddy didn't like me today." I tell him.

"We've got to take you to a hospital." He says, already planning. I can see it in his glittering eyes. "They should check it over, to make sure it's not really broken. Maybe it's just fractured? Or not even that severe, and-"

"Please don't take me there." I plead to him. "Please don't make me go to the hospital." My eyes are really watering now.

"But Dawn-" His eyes show hurt, like refusing this one offer just killed him inside.

"It smells like death." I tell him, peering into his eyes. His face dips closer, and he presses his mouth to mine. I feel drunk, dizzy, disoriented.

"You owe me times two." Corey whispers. "You won't owe me anymore if you let me take you." His eyes plead, beg of me, to leave.

"Then I won't like you as much." I warn him, a little sarcastic. He smiles a little.

"I like a challenge."

The doctors tell me my rib only has a small crack. They give me some pain meds, even though I'm not sure I need them. They also told me it would heal on my own if I didn't do anything drastic.

Corey won't touch me as I lie beside him in his bed, in fear that he'll hurt me. I can still remember the flash of the camera, the laughter, in my head as he turns out the lights.

Where's your camera? I remember asking.

- italic -I thought you were tired.-italic end- I smile to myself, remembering my response. - Italic - You woke me up. -Italic Ends -

He woke me up, alright. He woke me up to the world, the one I had been sleeping in and hadn't even known it. He woke me up to lust, to trust, to love. That last one especially.

"Corey." I whisper, rolling over to meet his eyes. They're open. "Corey." I whisper again against his lips. He doesn't kiss back at first, but then sighs to himself and kisses me. I tug at his jeans, and his body goes stiff.

"Why now?" He whispers. I ignore the question, burying my lips into his collarbone. The smell of pineapples grabs me. I smile to myself and pull at his shirt, wishing it wasn't there at all. I pull off my shirt, and kiss his earlobe. He has the cutest earlobe I've ever seen. Is that weird?

He pushes me back from him, holding me a shoulder length away and holding onto my shoulders. "Are you sure?" He asks, very serious. I nod my head, slowly, deliberately.

"I'm sure." I tell him. A smile tugs at his lips, just a little. He moves too slow for my liking, kissing my shoulder as he strips away my bra. His lips press against my bellybutton, the strangest feeling I've ever had, as he tears away my jeans.

It's like he's a vacuum sucking up any bad feeling I've ever had as his lips run over my body, his hands trace outlines. Shadows move on his body, and I wish I could capture the moment. Wish I had my charcoal pencils with me so I could show him just how incredible he looks. Before he takes the final stride, the last bit that we never got to, he asks me again if I'm okay.

Okay? He's got to be kidding me. More like incredibly amazing.

I shush him by kissing his mouth, and he smiles against my lips.

That smile I fell in love with, slightly crooked, always puzzling.