I walk through the front door quietly, trying to go unseen.
"You were gone for a while." Dad says. He's sitting in his blue recliner, a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, his speech is slurred.
"Sorry." I say, looking down at the floor. I hear him getting up. I move closer to the door, as if I was trying to make myself invisible. He gets closer to me, I can smell the liquor on his breath.
"Why did you take so long?" He said. I don't make eye contact.
"Joe was busy." I mumble. He grabs my jaw tight, forcing me to look at him.
"Why are you lying to me? You know I don't tolerate lying in this household." He says. His grip gets tighter, making it harder to talk.
"I'm not lying." Anger sparks in his eyes. He throws me against the wall and I hit my head.
"Another lie!" He yells, grabbing my arm. I hold back the tears but my lips quiver. "Aww. Are you going to be a sensitive little bitch?" He sneers. I look at the ground, not saying anything. He laughs at me. "You're never going to find someone who loves you. Nobody wants a whiny girl like you. I don't even want you." He says, walking away.
I watch him sit down, picking up the newspaper. I wipe the tears from my face and make my way to my room. I find Cassandra in the corner, hugging a pillow to her chest. I sit next to her, wrapping my arms around her, she's shaking.
"It's ok." I whisper to her. She lets out a tearful laugh.
"Yeah. Everything is perfect." She says. I rest my head on her shoulder. "I don't get why life is like this. What did we do?" She says, tears streaming down her face.
"Nothing. Just because it happens, doesn't mean we deserve it. She rests her head on me and I pull her closer.
"I don't know if I can take it anymore. You don't even understand." She whispers.
***
Dad left to go hunting with Joe. I treasure days like this. I usually walk around town with Cassandra, but she snuck off with Doug today, so I'm alone. I decided to go a little shopping. I took money out of Dad's liquor jar. He never counts it, just adds to it, so he never knows. I walk into a small boutique that just opened up. It was a little crowded but I made my way to a rack. I push through the clothes, not really paying attention to them.
"Evelyn?" A male voice says from behind me. I freeze. Dad wasn't supposed to be home until Tuesday. I slowly turn around. Grayson was standing behind me, arms full of girl clothing. I immediately relax.
"Man. I knew you were to good to be true." I say. He looks confused.
"What?" He chuckles.
"You dress up in drag." I joked. He busted into a fit if laughter.
"Funny. My sister is in town and I told her that I'd take her shopping." He says. I nod my head, turning back to the clothes I was looking at. "Evelyn." He says. I look up at him, his face just inches away from mine.
"You haven't left my head since I last saw you. I can't stop--" he was interrupted by a squealing voice. We both looked in the direction it came from. It was a girl around my age with platinum blonde hair. She looked like she could be a model.
"Grayson. This is the one." She said, motioning to the dress she was wearing. Grayson groaned.
"That's what you said about all of these." He said, lifting up the pile of clothes in his arms. She rolled her eyes, seeing me.
"Oh. Hi." She said, smiling. I returned the smile and waved.
"Debbie, this is my friend Evelyn. Evelyn, this is my sister Debbie."
"Are you coming to the party tonight?" She asked.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Grayson cut me off. "Of course she is."
Debbie squealed again and went back to shopping. I glared at Grayson.
"1206 West Elmer street. Party starts at ten. Maybe you can break the rules one more time without your parents knowing." He says, winking. "Debbie! I'm paying. Hurry up!" He yells. He smiles at me and walks to the register, leaving me dumbfounded.
