Open Arms

1

"Im going to go to the record store." I told my father. I refused to call him 'dad'.
"Bring me some booze on your way back." He requested.
I sighed and swiped the keys from the counter top.

Climbing into my crappy rusted out car, I slid in my Journey cassette and Faithfully came on, relaxing me instantly. I was always a sucker for Steve Perry's voice.

I pulled up to the record store and turned off the car, getting out.
I walked into the building, smiling at the familiarity of the place. This store was my second home.
"Mornin' Macy." TJ greeted me.
I smiled in return.

"Guess what we just got?" TJ asked.
"Tell me!" I pleaded.
"Journey's new album." TJ told me, pulling it out from under the desk.
I ran over and took it from him, examining it.
"Oh my god its great!" I exclaimed, hugging it to my chest.

He inched closer and put his hand up to cover his mouth.
"You can have it for free." He whispered,
"Thank you!" I nearly shouted, hugging him.
That meant I could pick up two records today.

I took my time in the isles of music, sticking to 80's rock. It was pretty popular, despite it being 1993.
"Metallica?" I questioned myself.
I'd never heard of them before.

"Oh honey, this is much better." A strange raspy voice said from behind me.
I whipped around and faced a tall red headed man, who was holding a record out to me.

"Um, Megadeth? Sounds too extreme for me." I said honestly.
"Metallica is cheap crap." He said.
I frowned. Who was he to judge?
"What? you like them?" He asked, softening his features.
He had a kind smile.
"Ive never heard of them." I admitted.
"Oh, you like Journey." He said, noticing the record in my arms.
I nodded proudly.

"What if I pay for it, will you listen?" He asked, thrusting the record at me once more.
"I dont want you to pay for something I may not get around to. It'd be a waste." I told him, shrugging.
His golden eye's scanned mine.
"Will you listen to it?" He asked once more.
I sighed, "Sure." I admitted defeat.

He smiled and urged me along to go to the front.
I walked ahead of him, glancing behind me.
Everytime he smiled a blush would rise into my cheeks.

TJ looked shocked when the man and I approached.
I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"M-Megadeth? Thats a little hard for you don't you think?" TJ asked, still looking at the red head.
"He's paying," I said, smirking and looking up at the man.

While TJ rung it up, I turned around to face the guy.
"Whats your name?" I asked.
"Dave Mustaine. You?"
"Macy Hudson."
We just looked at eachother until TJ cleared his throat.

"Here ya go Macy." He said, handing me the record.
Dave followed me out.
"Promise you'll listen?" He asked from behind me.
"Yes Dave." I told him, opening my car door.

"Fuck me." I swore under my breath.
"Huh?"
"Sorry, I forgot my ID." I said.
"Why'd you need it?"
"I need to get booze." I quoted my father.
"You don't look like a drinker." Dave spoke, coming up behind me.

"Im not. Im only 19. My father is a drunk and he will beat m-"
My heart dropped, I never told anyone that, it just slipped, I was kicking the shit out of myself in my mind.
Kill me now.
He's gonna leave.

His eyes got wide, and his jaw went slack.
"How long?" He asked.
"How long what?"
"How long has that been going on?" He reconstructed his question, as he finally realized the bruises on my arms weren't little slip ups around the house.

"Since I was 6." I mumbled, looking at my feet.

Strong arms pulled me into a warm body, and I hugged back.
"Im sorry, I know what its like." He admitted.

"Im 22, ill just go buy it with my ID. okay? Lets go." He said, guiding me to his car.
"What about my car?"
"We'll come back."

So Dave and I got in his car, and drove to a liquor store.
He must be a protective guy, because after I unwillingly told him about the abuse that happens, he keeps a hand on me. Like he's letting me know he's there, and that nobody could hurt me if he was around. And I believed it.
His hand was on my knee as he drove.

We pulled up to the liquor store and got out, I checked my pocket for the money, glad it was there. I would be damned if I was letting him pay for something again.

"What kind?" Dave asked, scanning the shelves.
"The cheap shit." I told him.
"Ight." He said, grabbing the cheapest nastiest crap they had.

I handed him the cash and went back to the car to wait.

I wrote this a year or so ago, and there are some inappropriate parts in the future. I just figured i should publish, so enjoy!