The Losers and I

I saw him

The only choice I had was to go home after school. I went through the window and listened closely while my right foot stayed on my bed while the rest of my body stayed out the window. It took a minute but I heard the voice clear as day.

"You know what? I pay you so if I tell you to cook you are going to cook. Do you f***ing hear me?" Jesus Christ here we go again. This this is how he treats women. Couldn't leave the poor girl like that, even if she is a prostitute. But I didn't want to see my father.

I crawled the rest of the way through the window. I stood on the bed and sighed. Was I really going to do this? Yes. No. Yes. No! I jumped off the bed and walked to the door. 

I unlocked the deadbolt and I was about to open the door but my fingers lingered above the doorknob. It took a second but then I realized that the picture was just inches from my face. Somebody had moved it. 

My hand went from my the door to the door frame. One of the many pictures of my and Georgie had been wedged in between the frame and the wall. I delicately pulled the photo out. This one had been taken at the park and it was me, Bill, and George. This picture specifically had been the last one of us ever taken together. It was taken mid-September. The month before Georgie had gone missing. 

I turned around with the picture and walked to my nightstand. I questioned how it had gone from the top drawer to my door frame but I guess I could find that out later. I opened the drawer and all the pictures of me and Georgie were out of the box. What? How could every single one be out. I set the picture on top of the other ones and quickly slammed the small drawer.

I ran to the door and threw it open. I took a step and I could see the living room. My dad and a girl, around 25 was standing next to him. She was a redhead, that was a new one, she had green eyes, and now I had both of their attention. 

"If it isn't my favorite daughter." My dad exclaimed and I scoffed. 

"Has she been here the whole time?" She sounded scared out of her wits. 

"No, I'm going to guess she just got done with school and came to see her favorite father. Right, Serene?" I scoffed at him.

"Oh, you wish you could even be my favorite at anything." He tensed up.

"Serene that's a really pretty name, super unique." She slowly took a backwards step towards me while keeping all eyes on my father.

"Thank you. My mother gave me the name."

"Your mother?" She asked. She probably thought she was still around. 

"Yeah, she's dead now. Went to New York and never came back." I knew I had my fathers attention.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Must have been hard for the both of you." She almost didn't say both, she almost said you. But now I needed to know what went wrong between the two of them.

"I was so young I barely remember even having one. It's been just me and my pop's for nearly 10 years now." She looked thankful that I was still talking. I could do that all day. 

"Well, I think that you should get going, so I can ask my daughter about her day." His teeth were clenched and I knew what would happen next.

"I will walk you out." I told the unnamed women. She gratefully shook her head.

"Just hurry back here." My father scolded me as I grabbed the women's hand and walked to the door. I unlocked it and we hurried out. After quickly shutting it the women turned to me.

"Thank you." She wrapped her arms around me and I froze for a second. For a moment it felt like she were my mother. I don't know, I had never had that feeling before but in that moment it was like she were alive and she were holding me. It was almost like I were being told everything would be alright, that I would be out of here soon.