Forever Running

As Jayson and I doodled on a notebook paper, a sudden thought came to me. If I told Jayson where I lived and he came and got me, my uncle would be super pissed. Normally, I wouldn’t have ever thought about this, but it was perfect. If my uncle got pissed, he’d hit me, leaving bruises. People would see and he would be arrested. I was nervous, but I was feeling reckless.

I stopped doodling and wrote down my address. Jayson gave me a weird look and I wrote:

I feel like sneaking out tonight.

He read it, smirked, and wrote:

What about your ‘curfew’??

I bit my lip, looked at him, and rolled my eyes. He smiled and did a stupid little cabbage patch dance. I had my hands on either side of my stomach trying not to laugh out loud. At all actually.

Jayson stopped. He looked thoughtful for a minute, then wrote:

What time?

Um … 7.30??

Okay

Can you ride your bike or walk?

Why?

The sound of the language will wake up my family.

Family?? wtf?!?!

He’d seen me hesitate over the word ‘family’. Shit.

I shook my head, realizing I’d said too much. Jayson gave me another weird look, but I avoided his gaze. I didn’t understand how one person could give so much attention to only one other person and ignore everyone else. But I liked it. I didn’t understand it, and yet I was doing just that.

We went back to doodling on his paper. His pen paused a lot, like he wanted to write a note, but kept deciding against it. Part of me hoped he would ask, but the other part was afraid of what he’d ask.

Before we knew it, we’d gone through pre-calculus and were on our fourth class period – our first free period. Since most teachers had talked about dress codes and expected work in each class, we didn’t have any homework.

We decided to walk to the football pitch and hang out on the bleachers – the day had warmed up considerably since that morning. The cheerleaders were practicing and the footballers who were ditching their fourth period classes wolf-whistled and cat-called.

I rolled my eyes and Jayson looked at me amused. “What?”

“Isn’t it a girl’s dream to be popular?”

“Why would I wanna be popular when the girls behind the scenes are the ones guys go to for a lasting, meaningful relationship.”

“Not always.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, sometimes the really stupid kid falls in love with a popular girl.”

“True. Ha – the jock with the smart girl and the prep with the nerdy boy.”

Jayson and I laughed over that a bit, but it really did make sense. We passed the hour on the bleachers laughing about random things. Finally, the hour was up. We got up to go to the cafeteria. We both ordered cheeseburgers, sodas, and cookies. Well, I got cookies and he got fries. Being upperclassmen gave us certain privileges – like eating outside.

We decided to sit under a weird knotted looking tree to eat our lunch. I was glad Jayson was one of those guys that didn’t always talk. We were perfectly content to sit in silence, just enjoying each others’ company. We ate in total silence and we finished with an hour to spare. I leaned against the tree and sighed. Feeling eyes on me, I looked at Jayson.

“What,” he said, “is the real reason you gave me your address?”

“I told you, I feel like sneaking out tonight.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No, it’s more than that. I can tell.”

“Well,” I hesitated. “Hopefully, after this you’ll find out. And if not, then I guess I’ll need your help.”

Jayson continued to stare at me, suspicion in his eyes. I shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

He must’ve decided to drop the subject because we went back to bashing our teachers, making fun of retarded celebrities, and complain about random things in the world.

Fifteen minutes to class, we started walking up to the fifth floor. The last three class periods were a blur and pretty much the same as the first three. The last period was the second free period. We spent the rest of the day outside enjoying the sun and no homework while it lasted. This had been the perfect day with two exceptions: it happened during school and I actually had to go home at the end of the day.

The bell rang and we grabbed our book bags as everyone was coming out. Jayson and I walked to our bikes and rode in separate directions. I couldn’t help but smile all the way home.

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I unlocked the front door and walked quickly to my room, careful not to make any noise. I set my bag on my bed and opened my laptop. My uncle gave me few luxuries, but they were enough for me. I had a laptop, cell phone, and an ipod.

I logged on to my email accounts, drumming my fingers as I waited for it to upload. I finished all my online business and pulled out my drawing pad. I sat for a while, perfecting a rose I had been drawing when I heard a tap on my window. I looked up and saw Jayson crouched by my window, sopping wet; he’d gotten caught in the lawn sprinklers. I let him in, careful not to make any noise with the window.

I looked at my clock – six-thirty. I looked back at Jayson.

“Before you get pissed, I wanna say that I, uh, couldn’t wait that long,” he whispered.

“It’s an hour away! You couldn’t have waited one hour?”

“No.”

I sighed. “Fine, but we have to be quiet and we can’t leave until seven-thirty.”

“Okay.”

I swore under my breath and Jayson chuckled at me. If he got me in trouble there would be hell to pay. I bit my lip as I realized that that’s exactly what I wanted.

We heard footsteps just outside my door. Jayson started to look for a place to hide, but I grabbed his arm and shook my head no.
“What?” he asked incredulously.

“Do you trust me?”

“I hardly –“

“Do. You. Trust. Me?”

Jayson hesitated, then nodded. I grabbed him and kissed him just as my door opened. Jayson didn’t seem to notice and wrapped his arms around my waist. He pulled me closer and closer, our kissing became more heated.

Then, someone grabbed my hair and yanked me back. My uncle. Jayson stood there in shock as I silently tried to tell him it was okay. My breathing was shallow and my uncle tugged harder on my hair.

“You little slut. I knew it. You were cavorting with another male – a mere little boy.”

“No, Uncle, I swear,” I cried.

“Am I not good enough for you? Haven’t I always treated you like my own get?” My uncle slapped me across my face as I struggled to stand upright.

“Yes, Uncle, you’ve been wonderful to me,” I gasped.

“You fucking cunt! You’re lying to me and we both know it. You’re not allowed to eat dinner for a month.”

And with that my uncle slapped me a few more times, then left me on the ground crying. He shut my door and locked me in, dragging Jayson with him. I curled into a ball and cried harder. Not long after, strong arms picked me up and carried me to my bed. It sunk as the person crawled in with me. I opened my eyes to see Jayson watching me. I closed my eyes and Jayson hugged me.

He made shushing noises and ran his fingers up and down my spine. I fell asleep.