Taking Chances

I was stuck in the memory of that fateful day, the day my belief in love died; the day I lost hope. Alex had come home with me after school, mom had been at work and my father was supposed to have left for a business trip that weekend. It was a nice cold Friday in the middle of fall; the shattered colours of the landscape were breath taking and supplied a stunning scene for our walk to my house. Alex had been walking a little closer to me than normal but I hadn’t really noticed and if I had, I wouldn’t have minded. We were best friends; you would never find one away from the other for long and when we weren’t together, we were texting constantly. I was closer to Alex than I had ever been with anyone other than my mom, and I was sure I would die without him. When we got to my run down little house I didn’t feel at all embarrassed, Alex had been really nice about it because his house was much the same. It was only him and his mother there. We walked up the front steps and through the front door whose paint was starting to peel off from the cold damp air, we went straight to the back of the stairs where the door to my basement bedroom was and descended into my little haven; our little haven.

We were down there for a few hours before my father got home, playing our guitars together, writing music and lyrics and I would watch Alex draw while we listened to music. We were laying on my king sized bed together, just enjoying the music and each other’s companionship when we looked up and our eyes caught. It was like I was seeing him for the first time, seeing that rich blue-black hair falling into his eyes whose piercing blue looked back with the same incredulous expression as I imagined was in mine. It was like a lightning bolt had struck us both and we didn’t know what to do about it. We stayed like that for a while, our eyes drinking in all the new, yet familiar sights. Everything seemed more vivid, and yet I knew nothing had changed. It was me that changed; it was my mind that altered its perspective of this stunning, angelic being before me. I leaned in slowly, completely captivated, closed my eyes as we got close and paused to breathe in his heavenly smell, earthy and sweet at the same time and yet so uniquely him, I let the anticipation build and could feel his own as if it radiated from his very skin. As our lips made contact it was like an earthquake under us, like the whole world rocked. I was completely staggered and my lips touching his were all I could feel or think about; I couldn’t hear anything past my heartbeat.
Little had I known; my little piece of heaven would soon become a living hell. My bedroom door was slammed open and loud heavy footsteps thundered down my stairs, but for once I was too lost in happiness to notice; too lost in my beautiful Alex. At least I had been, before big meaty hands dragged him away by his hair. Alex didn’t stand a chance against my father, he was just too big and his rage at its worst; I had jumped off my bed and grabbed my father’s hands to get them off of Alex. My mind screamed at me to do anything it took to save him; we had just found each other, I couldn’t lose him already; I simply wouldn’t survive it. My father back handed me sharply, sending me flying with barely any effort. I cried out as I hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.

I didn’t stay down long; I didn’t even register the pain. All that existed was Alex and his screams; screams for help, screams for me. I had shoved myself to my feet and run after them. My father was yelling about Alex being a demon, an abomination that needed to be irradiated. I scrambled up my stairs and ran, still dizzy, in the direction of the front door, following Alex’s terrified voice. I burst out into the sunlight to see Alex in a heap on the grass, his beautiful face unrecognizable under all the blood. I screamed at my father to stop as he started kicking Alex viciously anywhere he could reach. I ran over and threw myself at my father, trying to push him away, but I was just too small. My father grabbed my shirt and yanked me close; I didn’t have time to defend myself before his fist connected with my mouth, spitting my lip and making me bite my tongue. He threw me to the floor in disgust as I spat out the blood that filled my mouth. My father slammed his heel down on my elbow snapping it cleanly as I screamed; the pain worse than fire under my skin. But I couldn’t let him have Alex. I used my other arm to push myself up and climb to my feet. I stood between my father and sweet unconscious Alex, like I had so many times with my mom.

“You will never touch him again!” My fury increased the volume of my voice to a yell. He could do whatever he wanted to me, but he would not go near Alex again.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, boy?” My father grabbed me again, his fist connecting with my jaw with a wracking force, but it was met with no resistance. If I fought him I would die, and no one would be here to protect Alex. I would take whatever my father did to protect the ones I loved.

It didn’t last as long as I expected. He broke his knuckle after about ten solid hits, and when I crumpled in a heap on the grass he kicked until he heard bones break and then kept kicking. I lay there after he left, dazed as I watched his car pull out and leave for the airport. I tried to lie as still as possible to not disturb my injuries, the pain already having numbed my brain and was starting to drag my down into sweet unconsciousness. I had several broken ribs sticking through my pale skin, pouring blood down over my bruised and blackened flesh, my arm was broken and lay at a sick angle and my face was swollen to a point beyond recognition. The last thing I saw was my mom jumping out of a taxi and running over to where Alex and I lay sprawled on the grass as father had left us; her horrified face the last image forever imprinted in my brain before my heavy eyes slid closed. I hadn’t even had the energy to call her name.


My eyes snapped open as the memory ended, tears still pouring uncontrollably down my cheeks. I stared at the world around me, frantic and scared as I searched for something familiar and safe. I quickly registered the dark shadows of the tombstones and the faint light of the moon; the scene might have been peaceful if I wasn’t so terrified. That’s when my eyes landed on the dark figure leaning against the nearest headstone. It was too dark for me to see anything more than a silhouette, but even that showed that it was a man. He seemed to be watching me, and my already frayed nerves couldn’t take it. I stumbled to my feet and walked towards this person, my best “fuck off” expression on and ready to fight if it came to that. But as I got close, the moonlight revealed silky blue-black hair and piercing eyes that were so painfully familiar. I shook my head slowly in disbelief. What was Alex doing here? Especially after how he had treated me earlier. I couldn’t shake the pain from the memories though, and the last thing I wanted was to be alone in the dark with him. So I turned away silently, but Alex finished his cigarette and came to me himself. I almost hoped he would comfort me.

“Hey Franks.” Alex gave me a solemn look and pushed his hands into his pockets, and slouched against the cold wind. I only felt it then, my brain having caught up with the situation. I started shivering properly then, not having my jacket on. Alex took a couple steps closer and leaned his head down slightly to look into my eyes.
“Why aren’t you at home, Frank?” Alex’s voice was deep, beautiful, and bored; he sounded like he didn’t care, but I didn’t care even if he did. I shook my head and didn’t bother to answer. I grabbed all my things from next to the tree and started my walk back home. I heard footsteps behind me the whole way but I didn’t give Alex the satisfaction of looking back. As my house came into view, I swore softly and kicked into a jog. The flashing red and blue lights of the police cruisers were painfully bright on such a dark night. Mom must have gotten worried and called them out to help look for me. I ran in through the open front door to see mom pacing the lounge while the police asked her things like my description, age, height, etc.

“Mom, hey, I’m so sorry I was out so long. I didn’t mean to I swear, I just lost track of him.” All eyes were on me then, and I honestly got a little freaked out. But everything changed when mom ran over and hugged me. She made me feel safe. The police asked me a lot of questions about where I was. I lied and aid i had been at Ray's house, because mom was listening and I didn’t want her to know I’d been upset. Mom thanked them when they were done and I walked them out the front door. As I was closing it I looked up and there was Alex, leaning against the streetlight across from my house, a smoke between his lips and his eyes on me. I closed the door quickly and went back to the lounge to sit with mom. Today had been far too long.

Notes

Sorry its so short guys, I'm in the middle of a whole crapload of important tests and I had to study. But i hope you enjoy it and I should be posting more this weekend if I can get online. Let me know how I'm doing :D

Rock 'n Roll, Pansies
Keep Running //_^