Seven Cuts

SIXTH CUT

I will see you tonight, her text says.

I don't know how I will get through the day, I text back.

(: She responds. Will your brother really not find out?

I'll make sure he doesn't, I reassure her. We'll sneak in after he's gone to sleep. And he goes to sleep pretty fast so I don't think we have anything to worry about.

Okay, she texts.

Heather, I type. I love you.

I love you too, Adam.

Matt raps on the door. "Come on, it's getting late!"

"Coming!" I yell and place my phone inside my jeans' pocket, grab my backpack and head downstairs where Matt is waiting for me as usual. But he's not wearing one of his suits. He's dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt which means he's taking a day off from work.

"Morning," he says, when he hears me coming up to the breakfast bar.

"Morning," I reply.

"You're in a good mood," Matt says, placing the coffee cup to his lips.

"I am."

"Did Heather finally agree to a date?"

"Yes."

"You're not planning on sneaking her into the apartment while I'm asleep, are you?"

"No," I say. "And I'm offended that you'd even think that."

"Right," he says, grinning. "But, if you do sneak her in, make sure you lock up after."

"Well I don't know what you're talking about," I say, drinking my orange juice. "But sure."

While Matt is driving me to school that day he offers me a couple of condoms and tries to give me the birds and bees speech, which is awkward to say the least, but I accept the condoms because I had forgotten all about protection in all this excitement. I think that satisfies him and when he finally drops me off at school, he almost looks proud. I think he's just happy that I'm getting out there more; that I'm not in my room, the windows all drawn and listening to death metal on full volume. Sometimes I feel like I was born a vampire because that's how much I love being in the dark. Thankfully, the apartment has soundproofed rooms, so we don't have to worry about neighbors getting disturbed by the noise. I'm wearing my favorite Sepultura t-shirt, the one I bought for about two hundred dollars at one of their concerts, and I remember I was totally broke for weeks afterwards. I love that shirt so much I wear it on pretty much every important occasion for good luck. And I know that Heather and I haven't even kissed yet, but tonight I plan on changing that and it will be even better than kissing just anyone because we love each other.

When I reach school I don't see Heather anywhere.

I've sent her plenty of texts but she hasn't been replying.

After I don't see her in English and Math, I start to worry.

I place my books in my locker and decide to look for her outside.

In the parking lot, I find her car, but there's no one inside, which means she's here, she's just not attending classes. Sometimes Heather likes to smoke a joint with the junkie crowd, who always hangs around in the back of the school building, so I head there.

I find Heather.

She's standing against the wall, her backpack on the floor and the contents spilling out from it, back issues of Cosmopolitan and a bunch of makeup stuff.