Someone Willing to Stay

Scared Of Me

     "We should've brought towels." Mel grumbles as she attempts to pull on her clothes while her skin still drips with water.
     "This was a spur of the moment thing," I tell her, listening as she complains, "I was thinking about what we would do, not what we should bring."
     I've already changed back into my clothes. I'm standing with my back turned so Mel can change, but she's obviously having a hard time.
     We swam for hours. Doing laps, jumping off the cliff again and again, just floating on our backs. For those few hours, it was just the two of us in our own world.
     Then the air got colder, the sun began to sink behind the tree-line, and my one day was reduced to one hour.
     "Next time we do this, we're bringing towels." She says nonchalantly, stomping past me holding her bathing suit in hand and her shoes in the other.
     I smile. She said next time. There's going to be a next time.
Shut up.
     We walk back to the car in silence. I don't think either of us wants it to end.
I know I'm worried about the aftermath. About what will happen when I drop her off and we go our separate ways. Will everything go back to before? When she could barely look at me let alone speak to me.
     I wonder what she's thinking. If she's scared too. If it's for the same reason.
      "Are you ready?" I ask once we're both situated in my car.
     She nods.
"Here we go."
"I liked today." Mel says quietly.
I look over at her. She's relaxed, playing with her fingers in her lap and leaning back against the seat.
"I liked today too." I tell her, smiling at her while she smiles at her lap.
"Drive, stupid." She tells me still smiling.
"Yes Ma'am."
      Today, we've gotten tattoos- fake ones, idiot- we've fallen into fountains, ran from security, tackled a fear of escalators, ate some of the best food I've ever tasted, listened to my brother talk about my sex life, and jumped off of a cliff.
      I think back to my wish at the fountain. I think about how she kissed the coin before she threw hers in. How her hands are so small when they're holding mine. And how her smile seemed to even make the sun jealous today, because her smile is so rare it's a gift.
     Mel will trust me again.
      I think that my wish might be coming true.
     The rest of the ride is relatively quiet. Mel demands for me to turn on the heaters because her hair is still soaked and she's freezing, then she spends the rest of the time watching the sun go down in front of us.
     I spend most of the ride watching her.
     When we're pulling up in front of her house an hour later, her demeanor changes instantly.
     I see her shoulders tense and her back straighten, her knee starts bouncing.
     "Shit." She mutters.
     Her eyes lock on the front door, on the front steps where I see a silhouette sitting down.
     He stands up as soon as my car parks.
     "Mason," she says, she grabs her bag from under feet,  "you can go home now."
     "I think the gentlemanly thing would be to walk to you to your door." I smirk.
     Her head whips towards me, "Mason leave."
     I'm confused, what could have possibly changed in the past hour.
     When she gets out of the car, I follow suit, "Mel, what's-"
     "Where the Hell have you been?"
    Adam wastes no time, he practically sprints down the driveway and grabs Mel's arm, shaking her with every word he utters.
     "We were studying, I lost track of time." She rushes out.
     "So the school lied when they called and said you didn't show up today?" He snarls.
     I step up a few feet behind Mel, "Adam, chill out dude."
     He stops focusing on Mel and looks at me.
     It happens in a split second. He let's go of her and shoves me to the ground.
     "What the fuck?"
    I get up and look at him.
    "You stay away from her, do you understand? She has rules, and you're breaking them."
     I shake my head, "What are you, her owner? She's not a dog!"
    He shoves me again and I feel my fists ball up at my sides.
    "I dare you to touch me again." My voice comes out low and threatening.
     Don't do something you're gonna regret.
    "What are you going to do," He mocks, stepping closer, "tell me Mason, go on."
     "Adam, let's just go inside." Mel says from behind him.
    "Shut up."
    "Don't talk to her like that."I shove him back.
    And then I'm on the ground.
     I feel his weight on top of me, he throws his fist into my jaw and the pain is immediate.
     Beat his ass.
     I roll myself over so he's on the ground, he's pushing against me and I practically have to dig my heels into the ground to stay in this position.
     I lift my arm up, ready to give him the beating of his lifetime.
     "Mason, no!"
     It's her voice that makes me stop. The tears streaming down her face as she pulls me off of him, and I let her. The sobs escaping her lips, the shaking of her shoulders.
     "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She mumbles the words over and over.
     They're directed at Adam. She helps him stand up and clings to him. Not letting go of his arm. She's terrified.
     Is she scared of me?
     "I'm sorry, Adam, I'm sorry."
     "Let's go inside." It's like an order.
     And she listens. She doesn't even hesitate. Mel picks up her bag that she dropped on the ground, and she runs after him.
     "Mel." I tell her name as she reaches the front door.
     She stops and Adam stops, he's looking at me with pure hatred from inside the house.
     "Get inside." He tells her.
     And she doesn't even turn around.
    The slam of the door is like a slap to the face.
    I don't even know what just happened. Her mother should be the one to ground her when she skips school. Not her brother. He's supposed to laugh and talk to her about it.
     I debate on marching back up to the door. It's not my throbbing jaw that makes me stop. But Mel's eyes. Her scared, lonely, eyes.
     She's scared of you.
     And maybe she should be. Maybe I should stay away.
     You know you can't.
    I can stay away until tomorrow. Then I'll check on her.
     I give one last glance towards the house and then get into my car, driving the few hundred feet to turn into my driveway.
     "What did you do today, Mijo?" Mama asks me as I walk through the door.
     "Nothing, Mama. Nothing at all."

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It's times like this when I HATE how oblivious Mason is, and how manipulated Mel is! She stuck by Adam's side the whole time.
Ugh.
I'm not too good at fight scenes but I hope you enjoyed.
Love you all.