2-The Meeting
When she reached about a block away Aria slowed down slightly, her breaths coming out in cloudy puffs. Small white flakes fell from the dark sky and she seemed to find a sense of peace in the gloomy weather. It reflected how she felt, like mother nature understood her inner struggles and was showing her that. She wanted life to be normal again, how it used to be, but since that first night, nothing had been normal. So much so that she forgot what it even was like. It had started when she was merely eleven...
She was sitting down at her dresser, sitting on the fluffy purple chair her mom had made for her, one of her favorite songs playing in the background. She hummed to herself as she brushed her hair like her mom taught her to every night to keep it healthy and strong. When she had thoroughly finished brushing through it, she started to braid it for bed. Just as she finished, her door opened.
He walked in smiling. He was a handsome man, his short dark blond hair neatly trimmed, with blue eyes. He was heathy and fit, usually in his work uniform or comfortable house clothes. Aria smiled back, "Hi Danny." She said happily. She'd had no reason to mistrust him after all. Until then they were a very happy family.
"Hey Sweetheart." He replied as he closed the door. That was odd, he'd never closed the door before.
"Whatchya need?" She asked cheerfully, speaking quickly and with excitement in nearly everything she said. She was an openhearted, free, and alive child. Then Danny sat on the bed and cupped her cheek. He did this often, right before he kissed her on the forehead, but that's not what he did now.
After he'd done vile things to her, he'd put the blade of the, now very familiar, knife to her back, digging in until she'd cried out. She didn't understand then what he wanted, or why he did what he did, but she remembered the bone chilling words he'd spoken to her. When she had cried and begged him to stop.
"Shut up." He pressed the blade deeper, piercing the flesh as she felt the blood trickling down her back. He'd smiled a sinister smile when she obeyed. He got up and walked to the door, turning back with a stone-cold face.
"Oh, and Sweetheart?" she cringed at the pet name now as she looked up at him through blurry, tear-soaked eyes. "Tell anyone about this and I will kill everyone you love." Her eyes widened at the hard coldness in his eyes. It told her that he would in fact do just that, "And I'll start with your dear Mommy."
After he had closed the door behind him Aria had cured into a tight ball, ignoring the aching in her back as she processed what had happened. He'd kill her mom, and anyone she cared for. Her tears had soaked her stained bed and that was when it all began. Her silence, her near daily cleaning to the point of pain, and the scars. So many scars. Her back had the worst of it, but her arms were also damaged enough to be noticed and she couldn't afford to be noticed.
Her mother had been concerned in the beginning, sending Aria to therapy and doctors, all of which just said that there was nothing physically wrong with me, that I just didn't want to speak. She cried and begged Aria to talk, but she refused. She just...couldn't. After a couple of years, her mother finally accepted it, and would no longer ask her to speak anymore. She started asking yes and no questions and when she was around, Aria felt kind of okay. But those moments were only few and far between due to her mother being a defender for the towns law firm. It was something she hoped to go to school for too, but she wanted to specialize in helping those in her own position and putting away the people that could do such heinous things.
Aria was dragged from her thoughts as the sound of the tardy warning began playing over the school's speakers. She'd made it on campus without even realizing it. She panicked. If the tardy bell rang, the students not in class were sent to a Study Hall class where they were given a notice to send home to their parents to sign and forced to work on their homework. Though the thought didn't particularly bother Aria as she liked being given free time to focus on something other than her home life, but she had never been tardy to class her entire life, and she wasn't going to start now. So, ignoring the cold air entering her lungs painfully, she started running. She was still halfway across campus.
She slipped on a patch of ice, before gathering herself again and taking off. She was close now, maybe she could make it in time. She turned the corner then, but what she hadn't expected, was that there would be someone coming around from the other side.
Xepher was already extremely irritable. Last night his girlfriend, Karen, kept pushing for the two of them to go all the way. To say that he wasn't interested would be a lie. He was a human, a living, breathing, red-blooded male with desires like everyone else in the world. Karen was a beautiful no doubt. She was tall, pale skinned, with dark blond hair that went to her shoulders, straightened to perfection. Her eyes were a dark brown that led to a small, slightly upturned nose and thin pink lips. She was genuinely pretty, and sometimes he wanted to cave in, however, his mother had taught him to respect not only others, but also himself. He'd grown up with two loving parents who showed him what respect was. So, until he felt that he was ready to go that far with someone, he wasn't going to cave. And she didn't seem to like that very much.
He'd picked her up the night before to go on a date. He was going to take her to the movies, though she didn't seem to like that very much either, but it was all he could afford. He worked for his money at a part time motorcycle repair shop and that only provided so much. Karen was unsatisfied and Xepher could pretty much guess why. She came from money, her father owning a clothing chain that her great grandmother had started nearly a century ago, and her mother and him worked the business together. She was in all definitions, kind of a spoiled brat. At least, that was what she'd become. When they'd first started dating, she was nothing like this, in fact, she was a giant sweetheart. Nearly a year later, she was a totally different person, wearing designer brands along with the designer attitude. Sometimes he wondered why he stayed with her, but he'd already put this much time into it, and he hoped she would turn around again someday.
Before they could even get into the theater, she'd stomped her five-inch heels into the pavement which led to an irritating argument that seemed to replay itself constantly. They'd still watched the movie, though they'd barely talked, and the tension was palpable. He'd driven her back to her house where she apologized and invited him in since her parents were away on business. When they got inside, she leapt onto him and began kissing him and touching him. He knew where this was going. He pushed her away gently. Her face turned into a giant pout.
"Babe, come on, let's do it already." She'd whined. He shook his head and she huffed like a petulant child.
"It's been almost a year, come on!" she repeated.
"I'm sorry Karen," was his reply, "I just want to wait until it feels right." Her face turned sour and he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere so instead he let out a sigh and brushed his fingers through his hair in irritation.
"You know what? I'm tired and we have school tomorrow. I'm just going to go." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. He told her his goodnights, donned his leather jacket and left
He drove home on his bike extra careful as snow began to fall and the chilly hair nipped at his bare ears. His mother always nagged him to wear a helmet. He probably should. He shrugged to himself. It was the snow season now, so his precious baby would have to take a back seat in the garage for winter. He came in the house quietly. Though his parents knew he was on a date, he knew by now that they were sleeping and didn't want to wake them.
He lay down in bed, contemplating what had occurred tonight. Should he cave to her? Should he keep waiting? What was the best choice? A little voice inside his head told him to just end it. That the relationship was going nowhere, and it would be healthier to stop now. He ignored that feeling though and instead picked up his phone, dialing his closest friend Jax. After a brief conversation they agreed to meet up at a nearby fast food place.
Xepher quietly left the house again, tightening his jacket around him against the cold. The restaurant was within walking distance, so he sucked it up and kept walking. He reached the restaurant as the loud rumble of his buddy's truck came behind him and he turned to see him parking. He got out and they walked in together. Jax wasn't your typical high school kid. His dad had been ex-military and raised him up to follow his lead. He was nearly Xepher's height with cropped ginger hair and a freckled face to match. His eyes were a grayish color and he worked out.
When they'd gotten food and settled down Jax looked at Xepher. "So, what's eating you up?" Xepher was surprised at his intuitiveness.
"It's Karen." He said.
"What happened, another fight?" he asked as he dug into the cheap burger and fries.
"Yes, and no. Thing is, she wants to have sex." Xepher said. Jax shrugged.
"And you don't? Wait, are you still on that kick of waiting for the 'right moment'?" he asked through bites.
"It's not a kick, and yes I am. So, what of it?"
"Nothing just," Jax paused, seeming to try to find a way to put what he was going to say next gently, "Karen's patience with you seems to be running thin, and before you she was with Luke and didn't seem to have a great reputation." Xepher wanted to be mad at the insinuation that his girlfriend was cheating on him, but he somehow couldn't find himself to be. He wasn't wrong.
Before they started dating, Karen had dated Luke, the guy that everyone in school knew was Xepher's enemy. It had been that way since they were kids. Ever since kindergarten they'd been enemies, when Luke had asked if Xepher wanted to play on the swings. All Xepher could remember of that day was Luke forcefully pushing him off the swing set he was on and banging his head against a nearby slide. Since then Xepher couldn't stand the guy, and it seemed that feeling had been mutual. Luke seemed to think that he and Xepher were battling for the rights of top king in school, but Xepher couldn't care less. He had the people he needed an wanted to surround him and that's all. He couldn't help it if he was popular for no reason.
When Luke and Karen broke up, she'd come running to him, and then they started dating. Looking back on it, it may not have been for the best. Xepher sighed.
"Maybe...you're right." He admitted as he drank from his cup.
"I'm not saying that's what I'm hoping for either." Jax said. Xepher nodded in acknowledgement.
"I know, I'm just worried that you're right." They didn't talk much after that and when Xepher got home that night he couldn't help the roller coaster of emotions going on in his mind as he laid in the dark, the only sound he could hear was the wind blowing snow to the hard pavement outside. Eventually though, he was finally able to sleep.
The next morning Xepher was walking through the hall of the school and got the usual mixed reactions from people. Most of the guys glared at him, jealous of whatever he couldn't understand, as the women looked him up and down like a piece of candy. It was nice and all to have good genetics, but it was also tedious to deal with the unwanted popularity, so he pretended none of it existed.
He got to his locker and started loading up his backpack with the necessary textbooks when he felt a presence behind him. He turned to find Karen standing there with a smile. Thoughts of his conversation with Jax flooded his mind and his face dropped.
"What's wrong Xepher?" she asked as she looped her arms around his neck, kissing him there gently. He stepped back. She wore skintight leggings with black heels, a black shirt, and a gray cardigan. Her breasts seemed to nearly pop out of the shirt and for some reason, Xepher didn't like that. She rarely ever wore clothing like that unless they were on a date alone, not for the whole school to see. Xepher shook his head. His own doubts were getting to him at this point. It didn't matter what she wore, so long as she was happy. So then, why did he care? Instead of responding to her, Xepher heard the bell ring and tilted his lips into a simple smile and said, "I have to get to class. I'll see you at lunch?"
"I might have to stay in my math class a little late, been having some trouble. I'll let you know." Xepher merely nodded and turned on his heel before heading to his first class of the day.
His thoughts had him completely zoned out, so he didn't hear the sound of the tardy bell playing, nor did he hear the heavy thumps of some running nearby. That is, until that person slammed right into him. He saw a folder go flying into the air as paper fell from it into the snow ridden ground. It took a moment but Xepher's brain finally registered what was happening and before he could blink, he reached his arms out, wrapping them around the tiny person and pulling them up before they could fall.
This all transpired within seconds and when Xepher finally was able to process it, he looked down at who had run into him like a crazy person. He was immediately taken aback. Silent., at least that's what everyone referred to her as. That was who he held to him right now. Her body seemed to tighten when he touched her, and she yanked from his grasp as though he had burned her. He let her go without a fight.
She quickly turned and started picking up the loose, and now very wet, papers and Xepher paused, unable to pull his eyes away from her. Not because he was looking at her bottom, which in its own right was quite plump and perfectly rounded. No, what he saw in fact worried him slightly. In her bending down, her shirt pulled up ever so slightly and it revealed creamy skin covered in scars. Long, short, jagged, straight, wide, and thin. So many of them and to top it off, there was a scab peeking out from under the shirt. On top of that, he noticed that she simply wore a thin long sleeve. He was wearing a long sleeve too, under a hoodie and his leather jacket!
"Hey." She froze for a brief moment, then continued to pick up the last bits of paper before she turned and began walking in the direction, he assumed she was going in before heavily crashing into him. Was she ignoring him?
"Hey S!" she paused again and looked over her shoulder at him as he used her school nickname. Xepher also paused. He'd never spoken to her, or even really met her before. He knew because of the rumors of a pretty girl that doesn't talk. He had to admit though. She was quite beautiful. Exquisite even, with her long dark red hair tied into a loose braid, her piercing blue eyes that held what seemed to be flecks of gold in them and her small, straight nose. It all lead to fully plump, raspberry pink lips on a heart shaped face. Her tiny stature and silence meant nothing as her eyes seemed to hold a strength of their very own. She raised an eyebrow at him in question and he realized then that he'd been just staring at her. Then the tardy bell rang.
Her blue eyes widened and then narrowed at Xepher as she began heading in the opposite direction that she was running before. He followed behind her with a shrug, he hadn't felt like going to class anyways.
"So, S." He said to her, but she simply ignored him. The snow began to fall heavier now, her long hair getting coated in the white flakes. He felt himself getting irritable again. Did she actually not talk? He'd heard she didn't have any hearing problems, that she simply never spoke, and he wondered why. He reached out, grabbing her arm and she flinched as if she were in pain and yanked her arm away.
"What's your problem?" He asked. She glared at him and turned to walk away. He kept in step with her, his hands in his pockets.
"Aren't you cold?" He poked, looking for a response. She simple shook her head, keeping her eyes straight as she headed to Study Hall.
"Well you're not deaf." He stated and she gave him an annoyed look which got on his nerves. If she was fine, she had no reason not to talk, right?
"So, what? You just think people are beneath you and refuse to speak to them? You're just better than us peasants? Is that it?" He wondered why he was pushing so hard but at the same time couldn't stop himself. She looked at him, not a single word was uttered, but the look in her eyes told him one thing, and he wasn't sure exactly how to feel about it. Instead he shut his mouth as they reached the door to the designated tardy classroom. He opened the door, gesturing for her to walk in. She did so, quiet as a mouse, and Xepher found himself watching her from the back the entire class as she studiously did what seemed to be homework. What was wrong with him? Here he was, unsure of his own girlfriend, but still gawking at this girl whom he didn't know from a hole in the wall? He shook his head at himself. He needed to figure some things out.
Thank you all!
J. Vas