Waiting for Superman

Chapter 6: Wishing on Stars

She’s talking to angels, counting the stars; making a wish on a passing car.

Andy’s P.O.V.

I sit in the car, waiting for Beau to show up. As I wait, I think about the boy, Louis. I didn’t imagine that to be his name, but it suits him. Why, I’m not exactly sure, but it does. He was really nice and funny. He made me smile, which is no easy feat.

Beau slides into the driver seat and sits there for a second. He’s staring straight ahead and suddenly he bangs on the wheel. I jump, startled by the loud noise.

“Goddammit, Andy, do you know how expensive that was?” he yells.

I shake my head. I actually don’t, they wouldn’t tell me.

“Well, it was a lot of money, and it’s your fault that it went down the drain!” he shouts.

I shrink back in my seat and try not to make too much noise. When Beau is angry it is best to stay quiet and let him get his rage out.

Beau looks at me. “You just had to fracture your ribs, didn’t you?” he asks, as if it was my fault.

I feel anger stirring in my chest. “Well, I didn’t fracture them on purpose!” I say.

Beau looks stunned for a second, and I think that I finally managed to get through to him. “What did you say to me?” he says, his voice low.

“You’re the one who fractured my ribs, not me,” I remind him.

Beau looks like he wants to slap me, but there are people walking around. They would notice.

“This isn’t over,” he warns, and starts the car.

The car ride back to our apartment is silent, and it seems to weigh heavily on me. I can almost feel my ribs hurting again, as if they are preparing to be fractured again. We pull into our parking lot and we walk up to our apartment.  When Beau unlocks the door I barely have enough time to get through the door before Beau pushes me over the threshold and slams the door shut.

I stumble forward, catching myself on the wall outside the living room. As I turn around, Beau slams me against the wall and pins me there.

“You don’t talk to me like that,” he says angrily.

I know better than to speak. My one ounce of rebellion and he fractures my ribs. If I make my situation worse, he might make them worse.

“No smartass response this time?” Beau smirks.

“Do you want one?” I ask then immediately regret my words.

Beau’s face hardens and he slams my head against the wall. My head bounces off the wall and the room spins. I feel as though I’ve been sucker-punched in the eye. The room sways and I feel myself falling. The only thing holding me up is Beau.

“Anything else to say?” Beau asks.

I shake my head, but regret it instantly as it only hurts my head worse. Beau’s grip has slowly tightened on my arms until I can feel the bruises forming.  He drops me and the floor rises up to meet me. I try to catch myself but I fall, my head hitting the floor again. I moan, clutching my head, hoping that the pain will stop.  

I forgot that I had a slight concussion too, and this has only made it worse. Beau kicks me, not as hard as he has before, but enough to hurt.

“That was for being in the hospital,” he snaps.

I curl up into the fetal position as he kicks me again.

“That was for costing me lots of money,” he rages, kicking me one more time. “That was for talking back to me.”