I Think That Life is Beautiful (Menendez)

Blood Still Stains When the Sheets Are Washed

    The deep echo of a fist shooting against a bedroom door woke Erik with a sharp gasp, his body immediately sitting up straight in his bed.
     "Get down here, faggot! You'll be late!" He heard his father, Jose, bellow on the other side of the wood, causing Erik's breathing to stutter in fear.
     "I'm up," he mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck lightly, trailing his hand down to run over his bare chest. Erik shuffled into his bathroom and flicked on the lights, flinching at how bright it suddenly was. The lights left colorful speckles in his eyes everywhere he looked, a weak thumping ringing in the back of his head.
     He glanced up into the mirror and let out a soft sigh, his tired face dropping. He saw where things weren't proportioned properly and the muscle in his arms and abdomen didn't match the extra weight in his thighs. His collarbones stuck out too much and went to his shoulders making everything seem too boxy and the birthmark on his right wrist made him scoff in disgust. Nobody knew where he got the curls so he was never taught how to perfect them when he was little and had to learn through trial and error. He felt his dimples made his smile look weird so he looked down or covered his mouth anytime his lips twisted up in happiness. His eyes were his mom's, though the brightness in hers was no match for his.
     Erik stuck his toothbrush in his mouth, thinking of what he could wear as he brushed. Walking back into his bedroom and to his large closet, he didn't even look as he grabbed a pair of white shorts and a red sweatshirt. He wasn't able to get that much sleep the previous night, which wasn't uncommon with the nightmares he suffered from. But that night was different. That night, he didn't stay up in fear of the monsters in his closet or under his bed or in any other nook of his bedroom. Instead, he stayed awake with his mind wandering to a girl in his new school.
     "Okay...okay. No, I need to get ready. Day number two, just as important as day number one," Erik whispered to himself with a small smile as he changed into his clothes, giving his head a shake and fixing his hair before heading down the stairs.
     "Took you long enough," Jose grumbled as he saw his youngest child walk in.
     "Sorry, sir," Erik mumbled and grabbed a glass to fill with water, his head facing the floor.
     "You fucking should be. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Do I make myself clear?" His father growled deeply and quietly as he leaned closer to him. Erik could feel Jose's breath on the back of his neck to the shell of his ear and physically cringed, his body squirming in discomfort. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. I said," Jose laid a hard smack to his son's butt before grabbing it tight in his hand, "do I make myself clear?"
     "C-crystal clear," Erik said with a small whimper of fear laced in his voice, his few words trembling as he spoke them.
     "I don't think it is crystal clear. I think you need a lesson or two about doing what I say. When I get home from work, you better be up in your room," Jose seethed through clenched teeth and let go off his butt to use that same hare to harshly slap the back of his head. Erik whimpered in pain and quickly put his hands to where he felt the sting reddening the skin under his curls. "Now go to school."
     "Yes, sir," Erik gulped and bolted out the front door, driving away before his father changed his mind.

     "Do you think he's here today? What if he dropped the class? Do you think he did? Is it because of me?" Meredith rambled nervously to Craig as she constantly glanced between the clock on the wall in her acting class and the empty seat at their new table. She was chewing her lower lip, her blonde hair flicking lightly every time she turned her head.
     "Calm down, Meredith. He could just be running late, or maybe he's out sick," Craig chuckled and leaned back in his chair with his fingers linking behind his head. "You just met him and you're already concerned on his whereabouts. You must think he's extra cute."
     "What? No. No, I...I don't," Meredith mumbled, her face going bright pink in embarrassment. "I'm...just concerned where my project partner is. Like any good partner would be."
     "Oh yeah. You're just wanting to discuss your project. Not wanting to discuss if he could go to your house later?" He smirked.
     "Not today...maybe go to a coffee shop tomorrow so we can talk before getting him to my house. J-just to figure out the screenplay," she gulped and looked down. "Fuck, where is he?!"
     "Meredith, he's right there," Craig laughed and motioned to the door as Erik hurried in ten minutes late, his cheeks patchy pink from sprinting.
     "I'm here! I'm here. Sorry I'm late, just had some...family issues," Erik panted softly as he handed his tardy pass to Ms.Evans, his fingers running through his thick curls.
     "It's okay, hun. Family comes first," Ms.Evans said gently with a sweet smile and rubbed his arm. Erik nodded and walked to his seat at the table with Craig and Meredith, bouncing his leg nervously.
     "It's good to see you, kid. Meredith was ready to file a missing persons report," Craig said with a smirk and glanced over at his blonde friend.
     "I was worried," Meredith blushed and looked down at the desk.
     "Oh...well...thank you," Erik said with a weak smile a nod of his head.
     "Alright, everyone, listen up please. Today I want you to get with your partners and start talking about your screenplays. Maybe plan times to meet up," Ms.Evans smiled as she looked at each individual student. "I have high hopes for all of you." As soon as she finished speaking, the students began shuffling, the sounds of chair scraping on the floor as they moved to sit with their partners. Craig left the table, leaving Erik and Meredith to awkwardly sit next to each other.
     "Okay. So like...when we were told about the project, Ms.Evans assigned each pair a genre for their screenplay," Meredith explained as she turned to face him, her legs crisscross in her seat.
     "Oh she did? What's our then?" Erik smiled and turned his head to look at her.
     "...romance," Meredith mumbled and bit her lip shyly.
     "Should be fun. Those are always the easiest to write," he chuckled and subtly glanced up and down Meredith.
     "Yeah. I guess so. I just dont want to make you uncomfortable or ruin the small friendship I hope we've started," she looked up at him with big eyes.
     "I don't mind at all. It's a script. Acting," he smiled, his dimples digging into his cheeks. Erik pushed the sleeves of his white sweatshirt up to his elbows as it had gotten warm in the classroom, not thinking twice about what he had done.
     "Woah, um..." Meredith gulped as her brown eyes went wide in shock. She stares down at the forearms where an array of fresh, dark bruises and yellow fading ones covered the expanse of his skin.
     "What?" Erik tilted his head in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing together.
     "Uh...are you okay?" She stuttered as she couldn't take her eyes off of his skin.
     "What do you- oh," he gasped softly as he noticed where Meredith was staring, quickly pushing his sleeves back down to tuck his hands in. "It's nothing," Erik shook his head frantically.
     "Th-that's not nothing, Erik, that's-"
     "I said it's nothing, so it's nothing, Meredith," he sighed heavily and put his elbows on the table, his forehead going into his palms as he bounced his legs.
     "Hey...I didn't mean anything bad by it, they just worried me," Meredith whispered and gently wrapped her fingers around his wrist to pull his hand from his face. "I won't mention it again. But we should meet up tomorrow. There's this coffee shop like two streets away from here. I hope to see you there after school."
     "Thank you. I'll be there," Erik whispered and ran his hand over his face. "Here. For when we need to meet up," he mumbled and snatched a scrap bit of paper put of his notebook, scribbling his phone number in blue pen before passing it to her. Meredith smiled as she held the paper, feeling her heart skip a few beats.
     "Of course," Meredith giggled cutely and folded the paper neatly to tuck it into her bag.