C H A P T E R 36
"Why do you look like a prostitute?"
I take my seat at the dining table beside Gavin and ignore all the illusive comments Peter will manage to come up with tonight.
"At least I don't look like I haven't bathed in weeks." I say under my breath. I'm glad my mom finally finishes her last touches so we can eat.
As I get up Gavin stops me. "I'll serve you."
"I don't mind, I can help." I say. "You're are guest I should be the one serving you."
"Both of you sit down, I will serve you." My mom answers for the both of us so we take are seats once again. "Here you go."
I look down at the plate thats covered with Shrimp Alfredo Fettuccine and a dinner roll. It looked delicious, my mothers cooking never failed to impress me, I don't get many home cooked meals too often now.
"I hate shrimp." Peter looks at the dish in disgust and starts picking out the shrimp.
"Nobody asked Peter." My mom sighs as she finally takes her seat beside him across from me.
I take my first bite and it dissolves in my mouth, I savor the taste.
"My mom could learn a few things from you." Gavin laughs mocking his mother's cooking skills.
"The spaghetti was only undercooked just a tad last time, give her some credit." My mom laughs. "Thank you Gavin."
"Gavin? That's a weird name." Peters eyes turn into slits as he looks at Gavin. "You know I never wanted a girl, originally I wanted a boy so that's how we named Alex it's short for Alexander."
I drink from my glass of water so I don't start arguing with him.
"Don't be silly Peter we named Alex after her great grandmother Alexis." My mom corrects him and he just rolls his eyes and takes another drink from his bottle of beer.
"How long do you plan on staying with Alex anyway, well I suppose not very long considering the circumstances." Peter laughs. "I'll give her a few more months before her organs start failing."
"Peter!"
"What? It's true we can't afford her treatment anymore." Peter nonchalantly shrugs.
"Could you at least pretend to care?" I tell him. "For once I just want you to care about something? Anything other than your damn alcohol."
The room goes silent before I feel Gavin grab my hand from underneath the table.
"You think this guy cares about you?" Peter begins again pointing at Gavin. "Your a slut, I mean look at what you're wearing? You're just asking for it!"
"Okay that's enough!" My mom stands up from the table.
I also get up from the table and Gavin follows in suit. "Fuck you!"
"Excuse me?" Peter furrows his eyebrows at me.
As soon as Peter jumps up and lunges at me Gavin quickly grabs him and pushes him back which causes Peter to fall on the ground.
"Heather did you just see that! He pushed me!"
"Are you okay?" Gavin walks over to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, I begin crying into his chest.
"Get out Peter! Now! I don't care where you go you can't stay here anymore." I hear my mother say.
"What!"
Gavin pulls away from me when we both notice Peter getting up from ground, trying to hurt my mom now. This dinner couldn't turn out any worse? Gavin grabs Peter once again by his shirt and Peter tries to hit Gavin but before he can Gavin's fist collides into his cheek and he falls down in and instant.
My mother's clutching her heart and it looks like she wants to cry. "I'll clean this up later." She whispers before making her way upstairs.
I stand there in shock as I see Peter sleeping on the floor and Gavin standing over him.
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't be." I shake my head at him and grab his hand to see the damage. His old cuts had just finished heeling again, now all thats left was a bruise.
"I think I'm gonna head home." Gavin says, he looks down at his hand and I know something isn't right. I don't want to ask him about it but I also really want to know.
"What's wrong?" I say looking up at him.
"Nothing, it's just getting late and I should be home tonight, for my mom." Gavin tells me. "I'll text you later?"
I nod my head. "I was hoping you'd be the one helping me out if this dress." I whisper so only he can hear it. I didn't want him to go yet I needed to know what he was thinking and why he wanted to leave so soon. Was it because Peters a total psychopath?
"Tempting." He smirks at me.
"Why haven't you told your mother that you quit the team?" I suddenly blurt out. I've been waiting to ask him all day about it but it somehow slipped from my mind until now.
"I'm already a disappointment, does she really need another excuse to tell me I'm going end up like my father?" Gavin says. "Goodnight Alex." Gavin turns around and walks out the door.
I decide to clean up tonight's mess and once I finish I look at Peter who's still knocked out. I try to grab his feet and drag him outside but have no luck making it out the door. Luckily my mom finally comes down and she helps me put him outside on the porch.
We shut the door and lock it, hopefully that will be the last time we ever have to deal with him again.
I crash onto my bed without taking off my dress or even removing my makeup I instantly fall asleep and wake up the next Monday morning to the sound of my mother shouting downstairs.
"I'm not letting you in!"
I rub my eyes and see her face is pressed against the window. "Leave!"
"He's still here?" I say, my voice sounding groggy.
My mom nods her head. "He's finally leaving."
"Good." I say under my breath.
"Your still in your dress?" She adds.
"Yeah, I must have fell asleep before I got the chance to change." I tell her.
"Well I'm off to work, do not open the door for Peter." She tells me. "I love you."
"Love you to."
I change out of my dress and wash away any makeup that was left on my face from last night. I then take a seat on my bed and pick up my phone. There was a text from Gavin that read "I'm taking you somewhere after school so be ready". Gavin was always full of surprises I can only wonder what this ones all about.
I grab my laptop and begin my online class work for today, as I begin typing a small paragraph to recite a passage I've read my hands tense up and start trembling again. They haven't done this for a few weeks now. I try to be patient and slowly press every key in order to finish but I get nowhere.
So I skip that part of the lesson and then I realize almost all of the next few questions require me to write a paragraph.
I look up from my laptop when I see a figure enter my room. I'm relieved to find that it's only Gavin and not some stranger. "How'd you get in?" I ask closing my laptop and putting it on my bedside table.
"I found this outside." Gavin holds up a key and puts it down on my laptop as he walks over. "It's convenient just not very safe." He laughs and sits beside me.
"Well you're here early, I should get ready." I say and before I can get up Gavin leans on top of me.
"You don't have to yet." He says coming in closer for a kiss. His soft lips mold perfectly into mine and I kiss him back snaking my arms around his neck. My hands run through his hair and we both pull away breathing in each other's air.
"I want you to draw something for me, yeah?" He asks.
"Draw what?" I say sitting up from the bed.
"A bird, well, a swallow." He tells me.
"I can't." I toss the blankets off of my body and climb off of the bed. I don't look at Gavin because I feel bad I can't draw anymore, I've tried. "My hands they-" I hold them out and Gavin gets up and takes them in his own.
"I'm sorry you don't have to." He tells me brushing some hair away from face. "I didn't know it was still this bad."
"I could try." I tell him.
"No it's okay." Gavin says as I make my way over to my desk. I take my seat and pull out my notebook and pencil.
"No I want to try again." I nod my head and hold tightly onto the pencil. I slowly draw out the outline of the bird and I can feel Gavin's eyes watch every stroke and line. When I mess up I clean it up and continue, it takes me a whole forty minutes to do when I can usually do something in less than twenty minutes.
In the end I was proud of what I accomplished.
"What's the bird for anyway?" I ask Gavin ripping the paper from my notebook he takes the paper in his hands. I then see a mischievous look spreading across his face.
Once we leave my house and arrive at a tattoo parlor do I realize why he wanted it. "Your getting a tattoo? Now?" I asked. When we enter the parlor it's empty so I glance around at the walls which are covered with different tattoos.
"Why not?" Gavin answers. "Hey Clyde." He waves to a guy standing behind the counter, I can't help but stare at the tattoos covering his entire body. I didn't mind tattoos in fact I couldn't wait until I turned eighteen so I could get some without the need of my mother's permission.
"Hey Gavin you can take a seat in the back I'll be with you in sec." Clyde tells him. They must be friends.
I follow behind Gavin and we go down a long dark hallway before we enter a small room that has single large chair inside it. I curiously watch as Gavin takes his shirt off and hands it to me.
"You're not honestly going to get that tattooed on your body?" I ask him worried because that's not my best work and I know I thought it was good but that was before I know what he was using it for.
"Yeah I am." He takes his seat in the chair and turns to look at me. "I'm getting it for you."
"Your actually crazy, we've been together for less than a month." I reply.
"It's just a bird you drew, it's not like I'm getting your face tattooed." He rolls his eyes at me. "Don't worry about it."
"Well can I get one?" I chirp picking up a booklet that has previous tattoo ideas inside it.
"No." Gavin takes the book from my hands. "I don't want you putting anything on your body, whatever you want you can put it on me."
I would usual be mad at that type of idea but I'm not. "Why not?" I ask him.
"Because you're perfect." Gavin smirks at me and grabs my hand. "As cheesy as that fucking sounds." He laughs.
"Just a little." I laugh with him.
"Is this what you want?" Clyde enters the room and picks up the paper Gavin left on the table. "Shit did you draw this?"
"My girlfriend did." Gavin points at me and I awkwardly wave at him like I'm invisible. I'm not good under pressure.
"It's really good, have you ever thought about becoming a tattoo artist?" Clyde asks me and I shrug as I watch him get things ready. "You should try it out."
Me a tattoo artist? I never thought about that one.
"Okay where do you want it?"
Gavin points to his chest and Clyde nods before he takes a seat beside Gavin and starts tattooing him. Gavin doesn't even flinch as the small needle touches his skin repeatedly.
"All done." Clyde tells him a short time later. Gavin sits up from the chair and looks at the ink in the mirror.
"Do you like it?" I ask seeing the final result for myself. Clyde put a lot more detail into it which made it look a lot better than the actual drawing.
"He better like it." Clyde tells us.
"Fuck off." Gavin grins and then nods his head at me. "I like it."
"Good." I smile at him and hand him back his shirt. "Now let's go home."