We Were Dreamers

He Called Me Beautiful

Chapter 5

The wounds were always more painful when I awoke in the morning. I sat up in bed. The blood had seeped through my bandages and some of it was on the sheets. But it was dry now.i went into the bathroom. It was painful work removing my clothes because the blood had caked up and the clothes were stuck to the bandages.

Bath took long but I made it down for breakfast in time and soon was on my way to school. I always hoped people did not notice how lumpy I looked because of the layers of bandages I had on to keep the blood from seeping through.

I had carried some paints today and was hoping to get to paint the skyscrapers. I got to the park and to my dismay, Mr.Place Stealer guy was sitting exactly where he was yesterday. I could just not believe this. I stomped over to him once again but did not speak. I just stood there till he looked up.

"Oh! It's you again." He gave me a little smile. Oh how his eyes crinkled up at the corners when he smiled. "Come to claim YOUR bench again, haven't you?"

I raised one eyebrow up at him and tapped my foot impatiently.

"Apparently, I have figured that this is the best spot in the whole park for any artist so I ain't moving." He said, with a look of defiance in his eyes. "But. You can always join me if you'd like to," he petted the spot next to him on the bench.

I considered that for a moment. Well, the bench was pretty big and wide anyway, so why not share it? I gave a tired sigh and slung my backpack off my shoulder and sat down next to him.

Gosh he smelt good. Like pinecones. I did not as much as glance up at him while I got my things out. As soon as I started, the world around me disappeared. Two artists sitting on a park bench, each lost in their own world. To the outside world, it was such a pretty picture but no one knew of the tempest that raged in their souls.

He finished before I did. He looked at me while I drew till I got a little uncomfortable and stopped.

"Will you cut that out?" I hissed at him.

"Cut what out?" He asked with a look of mock innocence on his face. I raised my eyebrows up at him. "Okay okay sorry."

I went back to my drawing. He took out a sandwich and began eating. I finished up in a few minutes and began packing up. It was half past five and I needed to get home.

"Wait. What's the hurry?" He pulled me down by my hand when I stood to leave. His touch sent tingles up my spine.

"I'm sorry but I...I need to go." I pulled out of his grip and began walking away.

When I was out of his field of view, I jogged and made it home within ten minutes. When I got home, there was no mess for me to clean up. I guess Mamma cleaned up her own mess today.

So well, you get it. This was what my life was like. Today was Mamma's day. Tomorrow would be mine. And it would go on and on like this until one of us ran away or died.

Mamma did not scream tonight either. Two days in a row was good. It meant Daddy was in a good mood. Maybe his REAL world work was going well. I fell asleep really fast that night. I guess school had just been tiring.

The next morning, I awoke a little later than usual. It was a weekend. I was normally allowed just an hour out of home on the weekend in the afternoon. Weekends were off days for Daddy. There were neither mine or Mamma's days. I think we both relished the weekend the most. Daddy was no different over the weekend though. He was still his ruthless self. The only good part was that he stayed away from us.

Mamma and I cooked meals together on weekends. We did not talk much though. I think she was afraid of...Daddy or something. But while we were cooking she would occasionally run her fingers through my long red hair or sometimes give me a little kiss on the forehead. And that was how I would know that even if she did not say it much, she loved me.