A Walk in the Woods

Chapter Two

          I sit down on the bench by a trail to wait for Vivian. I used to come here when things would get bad at home, when my parents were still alive. This very spot is where Viv and I met. I was 16 and at the time my father was an abusive, alcoholic drug user who beat my mother and sister and I. She came out of nowhere. I remember it like it was yesterday.

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My parents always fought when my father got home. Sometimes he got home late at night and other times he got home early in the morning when we were all nearly asleep. I quickly learned that when I heard the familiar roar of his trucks engine in our driveway was my cue to get out of bed and quickly grab my little sister and retreat to the crawl space in her closet that my mother had installed by my uncle which was located under the floor boards of the closet leading to the crawl space area under the house. He never thought to check below his feet. He was more or less usually too high or drunk to think that clearly. This particular day, my sister was at a friends house and I was home with my mother. My father was home early and I could suddenly hear his loud and deep voice echo through the hallway, yelling my mother's name. I had to think quickly as he was stomping toward my room. My sisters room was across the hallway but he would see me if I tried to make it in there. So, I climbed hastily out my window and made a run for it towards the woods behind my house after a half hour of walking and jogging to keep a steady pace I found a bench by a trail and I sat there. Then I met Vivian.

I was deep in thought. More worrying about my mother who was now there alone with my father. "What's wrong with you?" A female voice, light and sultry, asked. I looked up from the ground to see a girl, about my age, standing in front of me, leaned up against a tree. She was a reflection of myself but she was beautiful. Her long dark auburn hair swayed, catching the light from the sunset, as she walked towards me on the bench. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean in the Bahama's resorts I've seen on TV. Her face thin and slender, cheeks a rosy pink. She had a cute little button nose and a thin but plump set of lips. She was skinny and toned, with all the right body assets. She wore her makeup perfectly. But a part of me told myself that she didn't need the makeup to look as beautiful as she did right then. She looked at me with such care in her eyes. Her facial expression soft and understanding.

"Uhm, me?" I finally answered, breaking the awkward silence I had created. Her tone turned sarcastic, "Well, no, I was talking about that squirrel over there, but I wouldn't mind to listen to your problems as well." She answered. I looked back down at my feet. "Oh, I'm sorry." I mumbled quietly. She made her way from the tree over to me on the bench and sat beside me. Bending over so she could see my face she spoke again, in a caring and concerned tone this time. "Hey, I was joking. Must be having a rough time today, huh?" Today? "What do you mean?" I asked as I looked back up at her again. She smiled and looked forward, the sunset catching her crystal blue eyes and seeming to make them sparkle ten times brighter than earlier as well as her perfect skin. She seemed to be glowing. "Honey, I have been here everyday for the past two weeks, just listening to you cry and talk to nobody." She looked back at me and I looked at her. Suddenly every problem went away and I felt at ease. "That's settling." I replied. "Well, I don't live far from here and this is where I come when things get bad at home for me." I continued. "Your father?" She asked. She already knew all these things. I found it a little creepy but part of me didn't care. Someone was talking to me. "Well, I am your friend now, Iris." She stated smiling. I smiled, my heart beating so fast I could hear it in my ears. "You are." I said. "I will be here with you everywhere you go." I was mesmerized, "Okay." I laughed. "What is your name?"

"My name is Vivian." She smiled big. "I have to go home." I mumbled. "I will see you soon, Iris." She whispered. I looked back up, she was gone.