Prince In Distress

Afternoon:
When we got to her house she took my arm and quickly led me down the stairs, to the basement.
"You don't talk much, do you?"
"What? Oh um. Yeah I do."
"Not to me." She sat me down in a chair and sat on my lap. She stroked my hair and I almost felt like puking. "Ok. Well let's just hang out a bit before we break out the goods."
"Fine."
She dumped her purse out on her bed and I saw at least three condoms.
"What are those for?"
"You know what they're for." She said in a seductive voice.
"Oh."
I stood up and walked around the room a bit, while she was busy opening a package. I didn't want to look back, even though I already knew what she was opening.
She ran in front of me and pushed me backward into the wall. She stripped off her shirt and went right to getting my pants down. They slid down to my ankles and she put her hands on my waist.
"This is how I do it, right?"
"Wait!"
She immediately stopped and looked confused.
"Mindy, I don't wanna have sex."
"What? Why not?"
"I just really don't want to. I'm sorry."
"Sorry nothing! Why don't you wanna have sex with me?"
"I have to go."
"That's right. Just fucking walk away!"
"I will!"
"Ugh! Could you just please just tell me why you're leaving?"
"No."
She scoffed and gave me a pathetic look.
"I'm sorry. You're a beautiful girl. I just really have to go."
Her eyes were overflowing with tears and I pulled my pants back up.
"Bye." She said as I closed the door behind me.
I drove a few streets down, to Josh's house."
I burst through his door and paced back and forth.
"Hey man! Oh and we're in the clear. They said they'll go looking for the jackasses that ripped the drugs off of you!" He clapped his hand together. "Why do you look so upset?
"That girl tried having sex with me."
He just stared at me. "And you left?"
"Yeah, Josh. I did." I said getting aggravated.
"Why the fuck would you do that, man?"
"Because I didn't want to have sex!"
"All guys wanna have sex."
"Well, not me."
"Bull shit."
He smacked me in the back of the head and scowled at me.
"Go back and screw that girl."
"No."
"Why not?"
I threw him against the wall and crushed my lips to his.
He pushed me off of him and exaggerated wiping his mouth.
"What the fuck, man?"
"Josh-"
"What?"
Just as I was about to answer, he grabbed my shoulder and swung his other fist straight into my eye.
"Owe!"
He stood over me and spit on my face. "You're not gonna be a little fag if you're friends with me!" He kicked my ribs and walked away, wiping his mouth even more.
"I always knew you were a little fag."

Night:
I left through Josh's back door, meaning I had to walk through his kitchen. I grabbed a beer on my way out and was chugging it down by the time I had walked to Grandbell Park. This was always my favorite place. I used to come here to just think or even sleep when I was sick of my mom yelling in my ear. I didn't mind being alone.
I walked right past the swing set and the slide until I was at the fountain. It really was beautiful. During my freshman year, we all planted our own flowers around it and now they're all huge. The flowers cover the cracks and chipped paint, so it looks great, now- especially in the moonlight.
I could see a shadow, bowing their head over the side of the fountain, so I ran toward it.
"Hi, Isabella."
She looked up with bloodshot eyes and makeup all over her face. I sat down next to her on the ledge of the fountain and put my arm around her.
"What are you doing?"
"Holding you."
"Why?"
"Don't worry- apparently I'm gay, now."
For a minute we both laughed.
"Why are you here?"
"I just came to blow off some steam."
"Oh."
"And you?"
"I guess you could say I'm blowing off some steam of my own."
She dipped her arm into the water and streams of blood flowed into the water.
"You're hurting yourself."
"It's not hurting yourself if you can't feel the pain."
"Yes it is."
"Not to me. Not to Dillon."
I could see his blurry face again. He was pointing the gun straight at Sal's heart.
"I said stay away from her!" His voice echoed in my head.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"What do you remember from the shooting?"
Her expression went blank for a moment, then all of the blood flowed back into her cheeks.
"Everything." She kept staring into the darkness.
"What can you tell me about it?"
"Why? You weren't there?"
"No. I mean yeah. I was. I just can't seem to remember any of it."
"Then, you're lucky. It just happened so fast. One minute Dillon was yelling and the next... Sal was dead."
I could see tears in her eyes. She was the perfect person to ask. She was right in front of it all.
"It was all my fault."
"How?"
"I really don't wanna talk about it."
"So... what did you mean by you're gay now?"
"Why?"
"I don't know. I just wanna talk about something happy."
"That's happy to you?"
"I don't know. It just seems funny."
"Well, it's not funny to me."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Make it up to me by explaining this."
"What?"
"Your arm... and all the cuts."
"Is that happy to you?"
"Defiantly not."
"It started a few days after the shooting. Like I said- the whole thing was because of me."
"I doubt that."
"No. It really was."
"I didn't even know Sal."
"Well I did."
"Then, I'm sorry for your loss."
"I wish I could say it was alright."
"It was so long ago. Why are you doing this right now?"
"It wasn't that long ago, but I guess it became a habit." She started giggling. "I might need it again after this talk."
"No!" I grabbed onto her arm.
She looked at me, startled.
"Um. Sorry." I let go and looked away.
"Why do you care so much?"
"Because."
She just waited for me to say more.
I sighed. "My brother cuts, too. I don't understand why. I thought that maybe you could tell me."
She started crying out of nowhere.
"Whoa. Are you ok?"
"Yeah." She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I just remember when I was asking Dillon all of this." She started crying heavier. "Now you have to ask me."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault- it's mine. A lot of things are my fault. I really fucked up my life."
Right when I was about to consol her, my cell phone rang. We both glared at it, like it was so unusual. Actually, it was. My cell phone almost never rings.
"Hello?"
"Paul-"
"Aunt Becca?"
"Yes, sweetie. We need you to come down to Sturdy."
"The hospital? Why?"
Isabella was leaning into my face, trying to hear. It didn't bother me as much as it would with any other girl.
"You're father had a heart attach, baby. Please come."
"Why do I have to come?" It was a stupid question. My eyes were burning with tears even before she answered.
"We might have to say our goodbyes."
"I'll be there." I shut my phone and buried my face into my sleeve. She was rubbing my back.
I had no idea why I was asking this, but something about her made me feel comfortable. I felt like I could tell her anything.
"Could you come- with- me?"
"I'm trying to escape my mom right now anyway. Sure."
She wrapped her arms, tightly, around me and hugged me for a minute, but my mood changed. Now, I was in a rush to see my dad.
"Come on."