Your Promises Look Like Lies

Adrienne ran as fast as she could down the unknown street. Sweat began to form on her forehead; she wasn’t used to the warm weather. Her hair flew behind her forming a long black cape and the tears that kept on falling darted behind her. She fiercely whipped them away with her fist not believing she let him win again.

The word “disappointment” swam around in her head like a shark circling its prey.

Her father’s drunken expression was still glued in her memory as she ran. The hurtful words he spat were still scared on her face. The words that poured out of his mouth hurt her more than what she let on, but as soon as he put the blame on her about the situation with him and her mother, she ran.

How could he do that to his daughter? His only daughter. Hurt her so much she had to run away from him. Adrienne didn’t know the answer, so she ran even harder.

Adrienne didn’t notice the person stepping out of a small shed and she ran straight into him, knocking herself backwards onto the floor and him flying backwards also.

“Oh Jesus woman! Look where you run!”

Billie Joe was the person she had run into. He got to his feet quick ready to shout some abuse, but all of his words got muddled up and they were chocked back as he saw the beautiful mess that had fallen to the floor. Her tear stained face suddenly pained him and instead of shouting abuse, he gave out his hand.

At first Adrienne didn’t notice him offer his hand; she was too ashamed and embarrassed to look up so she kept her head down, trying to control the tears.

“Just take my hand.” Adrienne looked up and instantly took the hand, not making any eye contact. “I-I’m sorry. I-I’ll be on the l-look out next time.” Billie gave out a small laugh but that’s all came from Adrienne were tears. Billie looked back towards his shed and grabbed hold of Adrienne’s hand once more and led her towards the shed. Adrienne didn’t even notice.

Billie had seen a good a handful of women being taken advantage of. He’d see them crawl down the street sometimes and some guy ‘help’ them home. It made Billie feel sick, but what could he do? The guys had guns and his mother had already lost his dad. He couldn’t do that to her, but he wasn’t going to let it happen to Adrienne.

He made her sit down on one of his plastic garden chairs he had stolen, and closed the shed door and placed a rock by the door.

Adrienne looked around as she wiped her eyes and noticed a couple of candles lit with some paper stuck around the walls of the shed. She didn’t try to make out what was written on the paper, she wasn’t one to barge into someone else’s life.

To anyone else, they would feel scared, being taken it by a strange guy into a shed in a foreign place, but Adrienne didn’t care where she was, and she was away from her dad. That’s all she wanted at the time.

“Billie”

Adrienne looked up and once again saw a hand extended towards her. She sucked in her breath in a weak attempt to stop herself from crying.

“Adrienne.”

Billie smiled and sat in the corner of the shed and lit a cigarette. He offered one to Adrienne, who shook her head.

“So, Adrienne, why are you crying so fucking much?” Adrienne wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands roughly and looked at Billie. She knew she owed him an explanation, but then again, the question wondered into her mind, why did he take her to a shed?

“Thanks Billie, but I think I better go.”

Billie made no movement to stop her from going, but the fear of her getting taken away by another man almost drove him mad inside.

Adrienne stepped out of the shed and slowly made her way back to the road. She put her hands on her head and looked around, ‘where the hell am I?’

Billie walked up behind Adrienne and threw his cigarette to the floor. His eyes stared at the woman in front of him and couldn’t help but smile. She was gorgeous. Her figure was something most women would kill for. Her hair was a perfect mess at the back of her head, and Billie had never seen someone look prettier when crying.

“Adrienne, do you know where you are?”

She shook her head.

“Come back inside; believe me, it’s dangerous out here. I’ll take you back on my scooter tomorrow.”

Adrienne was about to protest, when her eyes landed on a group of men staring at her with wicked smiles. She turned back to face Billie and he was already walking back towards the shed.

Once again Adrienne ended up in the garden chair and Billie in the corner, smoking.

Adrienne had stopped herself from crying now, what her had had said to her was something that didn’t matter to her anymore, now that she was faced with this guy smoking in the corner.

“How is it dangerous?”

“Huh?”

“You said it was dangerous.” Billie threw away another smoked cigarette. Adrienne swallowed. “How?”

Billie walked over to Adrienne and smiled, and extended his arm and picked off a piece of paper from the wall. He handed it to Adrienne.

It was a drawing of a woman. She looked around her twenties and had big eyes and small lips. Her cheeks were full and her hair was dead straight. The woman, in Adrienne’s eyes, was quite beautiful.

“Is this you’re...” Adrienne was cut off by Billie’s laugh. “No, she’s one of the many women that go missing around here.”

Adrienne’s blood turned to ice.

Billie noticed something shift within Adrienne and waved his arms in the air. “No no! I don’t take them, I see them one day and then the next their gone and I see their parents on the TV pleading for them to come back.” Billie’s talking was quick, but Adrienne heard it all and believed him. She looked down at the drawing once more.

“I think I’d like to see my parents beg for me to come back.” Billie’s eyes widened.

“What you mean?”

“I’d just like to see them care. Maybe I’m being overdramatic but I’d like to see it. For once.” Billie grabbed another chair and placed it next to Adrienne’s. Billie didn’t know what he was doing until he saw what he’d done. His hand ended up onto of Adrienne’s and he was holding it, tight.

“Nobody should think like that.” Billie looked at Adrienne and gave a smile, but he didn’t get one back. “Why were you crying?”

Adrienne laughed and held onto Billie’s hand. “Dad was horrible. He got drunk and said some things. They hurt.” Adrienne gave another shaky laugh. “Who ever said stick and stoned will hurt my bones but names will never harm me needs to find a nastier dad.” Adrienne’s eyes filled with tears once more and Billie just sat and watched, not sure what to do.

Adrienne stood up and walked around the small shed, trying to forget the tears again.

“So, did you draw all of these?” Billie stood up and walked next to Adrienne. “Yeah. I copied the photographs from the TV.” Adrienne looked over towards Billie. “Why?”

Billie picked up another photo and looked at it. “So that I don’t forget them and get lost in my own little world. Shit happens.” Adrienne laughed and Billie looked back at her. It was the first laugh she’d given that was genuine. It made Billie smile.

“It sucks.” Adrienne nodded and sat back down once more. “So why did you take me in?” Billie placed the drawing back on the wall.

Billie looked at Adrienne, confused to why she even asked. Why would he leave suck a gorgeous person just walk on by, slip through his fingers when he knew the world outside was cruel. Cruel even to the most prettiest.

“Because...” Billie walked up to Adrienne and placed his hand on both of her arms. Adrienne’s breathing turned to quick ones and her skin was on fire. “You caught my eye and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

With those caring words, Adrienne connected her lips to Billie’s and soon clothes were being torn apart and moans were escaping into the air. Skin touched skin, eyes locked and hearts were pounding.

Inside Adrienne’s head all she could hear was the word “Care”. Adrienne had never had much caring in her life. Her mother away all the time and her father spitting words of hate. This was bliss.

Care from a stranger.

In the middle of it all, Adrienne heard Billie whisper. “I promise to look after you.” And it made Adrienne’s heart fall to pieces, it had never known safety.

When morning came and the world was starting to wake up to the sight of the sun, Adrienne followed suit. Her eyes fluttered open and it didn’t take long for her to realise she was naked on the floor with a small blanket covering her. She sat up quickly and let the blood in her brain to get back to normal.

She soon discovered her clothes on the floor but didn’t find anything else to prove what had happened last night. She quickly got dressed and looked around but didn’t find anything.

Billie had even taken his cigarettes.

Adrienne had never felt so alone.

Her skin felt dirty, her insides burnt from shame and her eyes didn’t let any tears roll this time. This time she felt angry. Angry with herself and towards Billie.

As she was about to walk out of the shed, she came across a piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up, and found it was a drawing of her. It was her lying naked on the floor and then noticed he had drawn himself in there to, he was sitting on the garden chair smoking.

Adrienne pinned up on the wall angrily and grabbed a pencil that was on the floor. On it she wrote. “Your premises look like lies.”

And with that she left.

What Adrienne didn’t know was that Billie had gone out to buy her breakfast and when he got back to see and empty shed with the drawing pinned on the wall, he smiled.

“Look after yourself Adrienne.”

Billie sat in his corner, and pulled out another cigarette.