Be Somewhere

Everyone gaped at the scars that ran like veins across his body. The sight was faintly reminiscent of a map; the lines were rivers that carved their way through him and deposited themselves in lakes of either bruises or burns. Some of the marks trailed off into places they couldn't see and they would rather not see.

There were several that he ran his fingers along. If Lily hadn't known better, she would say that he was fond of them. Ricky took a deep breath and then sighed. He raised his eyes to meet theirs. Slowly, he placed his hand on a long pale pink line that at one point would have been enough to have his stomach split open.

"My mother gave that to me when I was four. I can't for the life of me remember why she did it. I have no idea how I misbehaved or what I said," He whispered, "She was probably so drunk that she doesn't even remember..." he turned his face away and tried to wipe away a few tears in an inconspicuous manner. Lily waited patiently; never blinking or averting her eyes.

"She threw a fucking broken bottle at me, all right?" Ricky shouted at her when she still didn't take her eyes off of him. It was impossible to ignore the look in his eyes. She knew better than to attempt to comfort him. At this point he was defensive and doing so would only result in more fury. When he calmed down, he pointed to more that were on his sides. They were a series of small little ones.

"My dad used to have really long fingernails. Like, disturbingly long," Ricky said with a touch of fake laughter in his voice. A few seconds passed where he just stood there with his fingertips placed directly on the scars. It looked as though he were just standing with his hands on his waist. "He also used to squeeze really tight when he came. That habit he hasn't quite given up yet."

Ricky winced when he heard their sharp intake of breath. This was what they had all asked for; what everyone had asked for. He forced himself to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat and showed them more of the blemish's that plagued his skin.

"These are ones are from my step dad, Richard. And all of those are from my biological dad," he gestured to the marks that had originally mistaken for veins as he spoke. "Maybe some a few of these are from my mom. Most of the ones she gave me were from when I was younger..."

His voice trailed off and the silence grew to unimaginable levels. In the few minutes that passed it seemed as if they had all aged in a way that was disproportionate to the time. They hadn't gained knowledge, but rather, understanding; something that was far more important. You could know things, but without the comprehension of the truth, and the cause and effect behind the information, you might as well know nothing.

"Does this happen often?" Lily finally dared to ask. Danny and Brad shook their heads in unison while Ricky averted his eyes to the floor once again. This time, however, Lily was not going to have her questions avoided. She wanted an answer and she wanted it right that second, so she asked with a more harsh quality in her tone. "Ricky, does this happen often?" He spent a good deal of time twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling, but her steady unblinking gaze was unnerving at the very lease.

"You remember when I said that I only spend one or two night a week at home at the very most?" Lily nodded at his unconventional reply. "Well, now you know why." His voice was barely above a whisper and she could almost feel the heartbreak in his voice. It was more than just hearing the tone; it was like when you heard a horrible story that literally drew you short of breath because your heart hurts too much to notice anything else.

"I promise you that everything will be different now," Lily said with as much sincerity as she could muster. Without a single warning she crossed the room in three strides and wrapped him in a warm embrace. For some reason she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. Here was this boy, still a child as far as everyone knew, forced to grow old because of the tortures inflicted on him. If anyone deserved admiration it was him. But her mind went a step further. She not only admired him, but felt the the need to protect him until a crack split open in the earth between them and forced them apart.

Ricky was stiff at first; with arms strait as boards and a spine that would have made any military leader proud. Slowly, though, he started to relax. It took a fair amount of time, but he raised his arms and wrapped them around her too. A moment of intimacy lay before them that had nothing to do with the secrets just spilled.

A cough lacking subtlety resonated from where the others were standing and Ricky tried in vain to pull away. Lily held on tight and even pushed herself closer to him. Too bewildered to have his instincts react, he stood there and stared at the top of her head. Another cough echoed the first but neither of them moved anyway.

They were perfectly content with the position that they were already in.