Beyond Appearances

All Time Low

After the whole getting fired debacle, I head to Hunter's apartment. It's only 7:30pm so he should be awake. I knock on the door before I walk in. He sees the bottle of Jack in my hand and frowns.

"Ron, what's wrong, and what happened to your face?" Worry all over his face. I smile. "Oh nothing." I chuckle. Guess my old man left a bruise. "It's a funny story actually." He grabs my hand knowing I'm barely holding on to my composure and pulls me down onto the futon. He holds me as I cry and tell him all about being fired and what my father did. His knuckles turn white around the neck of the bottle of Jack we've been passing back and forth.

"He laid his hands on you? I'm gonna kill the bastard!" I calm him down. Maybe the whiskey wasn't such a good idea. "Hunt, he's not worth it. It's okay." He knows it's not, but leaves it alone. I take one last drag from the bottle and then I cuddle up to him. With my head in his lap, and him combing through my hair with his fingers, I slip into sleep.

I wake when his alarm goes off the next morning. We're in the same position, and he barely stirs. I have to flick his ear to wake him up. He finally sits up and stretches. He just kisses the top of my head and disappears to the bathroom to get ready for work. I go back to sleep, the headache from my drinking doesn't leave me much of a choice.

I wake at 2:30, to the sound of the neighbors vacuuming. Damn the thin walls. I push myself off the futon and brush my hair and teeth. I get ready to head to town to grab groceries. Poor Hunter has let me mooch off of him when he barely feeds himself.

I hop in my ford, and drive the 10 miles to the Piggly Wiggly. They are a staple here in Georgia. I grab $100 worth of stuff to prepare for meals and snacks, and head off to the liquor store. I grab a 6 pack of Pabst, but then realize I'm gonna need about 3 more packs. I pile them high in my arms and get to the counter. The cashier gives me a knowing look.

I head back and fill the fridge to the brim. I grab a beer and decide the place needs a good cleaning. I vacuum and dust. When Hunter gets home he doesn't even recognize the place, but he does recognize the beer in my hand. I grab him one from the fridge and toss it to him.

"The place looks great Ron. You didn't have to do all this." I role my eyes. "Yes I did. Thanks for letting me crash here." It's his turn to role his eyes. He just kisses my forehead. I've grown accustomed to the small sentiment.

I make dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs. We eat and talk about our days. We finish off the second pack of beer, when we decided we should watch a movie, Fight Club. We watch in silence.

About half way through the movie, he looks at me. "Ron, I've thought about this all day." It's never good when he's thinking. "I think you should call Sarah." My mouth drops. I retreat to the bedroom after grabbing the last six pack. I lock his door, not wanting to see him after he suggests I call my sister.

Sarah and I were close as children. She's only 5 years older than me, but we are complete opposites. She's the perfect child. Perfect grades, perfect hair, perfect everything. Meanwhile, I had okay grades, my hair is frizzy and unmanageable, and I'm far from perfect. I'm perfectly flawed. Sarah abandoned me when things got tough at the house. She ran off with her high school sweetheart and started a life together. Leaving me to the wolves.

I'm broken out of my thoughts when I hear the knock. "Come on Ronnie! I'm just worried about you. She's the only family you've got, that isn't shit." I ignore him and doze off.