Shut Those Legs Girl, It's Closing Time

The streets were dark as I walked home after my shift. The local diner on the corner was my place of work, and on a Sunday, they were slower then normal. It was hard to keep my eyes open as I trudged on home. The moon cast its bright light on me, illuminating each step I took in my all black chucks. I finally reached my street, glad to be that much closer to my bed.

All the lights were on in the house, and I internally cursed my father for leaving them on in his drunken haze. I hummed to myself as I went throughout the living room and kitchen, turning off all the lights. "Rayden, is that you?" I heard my father slur from the upper level of the house. I continued to hum to myself, not answering him. "Rayden?!" he called down the stairs, he was mobile now.
"Yeah, dad, it's me." I said, bored. He was at the foot of the stairs by the time I reached them.
"What kind of tone is that?" he asked, his eyes glazed with alcohol. His hair hung in his face as he staggered towards me, his button down shirt from work crinkled and worn. He hadn't even changed out of his work clothes, too interested in drinking himself to sleep. "Don't fucking take that tone with me young lady. I'm all you've got." He said to me and the comment hit home. My eyes pricked with emotion, but I shook my head. "No? What the fuck is that for?" he said to me.
"Dad, no, I didn't mean--" I began to beg but he was already taking my arm, bruising it. I winced with the sudden pain that shot through my arm at his grasp. "Dad, please." I begged and he laughed at me.
"Don't fucking talk, or I'll make this a lot worse for you." He said, and I just closed my eyes, thinking of a different place as he back handed me across the face.

My body was sore, my eyes full of tears that wouldn't stop falling. I could feel my right eye swelling, already becoming black with the punch that my father shot right in my face. My lip was bleeding down my chin and onto my blankets as I cried in my bed. I whimpered when I heard the door slam down the hall, hoping to God that my father was going to sleep, done for the night with beating me. My breath caught on my own sobs, and pain shot through my torso. That kick to my ribs would hurt worse in the morning. I couldn't think about anything, my mind was racing a mile a minute. The only thing that stuck was Shayley's face, his concerned eyes, his kind words when this had happened to me. It made me cry harder to think that I didn't have him anymore.

It had been days since I heard from Shayley, and my heart was slowly breaking. He made attempts to talk to me, as miraculous as that was, from text messages to calling. None of them had said what I wanted him to say. My phone buzzed next to me on the counter as I made myself a pot of coffee. The screen read his name, calling again. I ignored it, pouring the water into the coffee pot, smelling the fresh grounds. It buzzed again indicating I had a voicemail. I narrowed my eyes at my phone, wondering what he had to say this time. Rayn, I know you're mad at me. I know. What I said was stupid, I should've known better. I miss my Rayn! It's been horrible these past few days. Shayley's voice came over my phone. He paused in his confession. Someone knocked on the door. Please forgive me! The voicemail ended and the person at the door knocked again. I walked to the door, each step taking that much more time. My subconscious knew who was knocking before I even realized.

The door opened before I got there, and in all his glory, stood Shayley Bourget on my doorstep. My body wanted to run to him, but I stopped myself. He held his arms out for me when he stepped into my house, and I still did not move. He let his arms drop to his sides, closing the door behind him and walking closer to me. I held my breath when he wrapped his arms around me, and my body tensed. He noticed and let go of me. "What's wrong with you?" he asked me and I just stared up into his blue eyes.
"What's wrong with me." I reiterated his question. "You're asking me what's wrong." I said and shook my head, turning around and going back to my task. The kitchen smelled like fresh brewed coffee and I inhaled the welcoming scent, feeling calm. "Oh, nothing. You know, my dad giving me black eyes and bruised ribs, whatever." I said in such a nonchalant voice it came off as sarcasm. I poured myself a large glass of black coffee, sipping on it when I felt Shayley's presence behind me.
"What?" he asked, like he didn't hear a word I just said. He took my arm in his hand and I winced, knowing bruises the size of my father's fingers would be there. Shayley let go of me and I turned around to meet his eyes. He wasn't looking at my face, but at my arm where he touched me. He looked away from my arm to my ribs, knowing he wouldn't see anything and finally to my face. I held the cup near my mouth, hoping he wouldn't see the cut there. He was looking into my eyes, trying to find the evidence. I tried to hide it as much as I could with my makeup, but Shayley still saw, and narrowed his eyes at the bruises. "What else?" he said, angry. I moved the cup away from my lips and he looked down at them, seeing the cut from my beating. I smiled at him and turned back around, getting cream and sugar for my coffee. He groaned at loud. I turned back around when the coffee tasted the way I wanted it to. "Why are you smiling?" he asked me, taking the cup away from my face. I stared at the pale brown liquid as he sipped some of his own.
"This is my life, Shay. You know how it is." I said and took the cup back from him, gulping it down and burning my throat. He shook his head.
"It doesn't have to be this way. I hate seeing this happen." He said and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Who told you to come here?" I asked, straying off the topic of my life.
"What?" he asked me, confused. I just stared at him. "My mom did. I was going to, but she told me to do it now, I guess." He said and shrugged. I just nodded to myself, putting the cup into the sink and walking out of the room. Shayley followed, staying close to me. "Why?" he asked as I sat down on the couch in the living room. He sat down next to me, not giving me any space to breathe. I moved as far away from him as possible, even though my body yearned to be close. He moved closer to me, and there wasn't any couch left for me to move away. He put his arm around me and I just sighed, sitting there in his embrace. "Come on Rayn." He whispered to me and I sighed again, melting into him. He played with the hair that was resting on my shoulder, making me close my eyes and remember this moment forever. "Why did you ask that?" he finally said after minutes of silence.
"I'm just wondering. I love your mom though." I said with a smile. Shayley's mother and my mother had been friends since grade school, which is how I knew Shayley. We had been friends since birth, practically.
"Yeah, she got super pissed at me." He said and I laughed, knowing all too well she would. "I'm glad you decided to let me in your house." He said to me, leaning his head on mine.
"I didn't have a choice." I said, smiling. This was the first time I had been truly happy since Shayley began dating Jae. I missed it.

"So why don't you like Jae?" Shayley asked me as he laid his head in my lap, lounging on the couch as I played with his hair. I was staring into his eyes, and he was staring back into mine, something I had always loved. I looked away from him when he spoke.
"It's not that I don't like her." I said and looked back down to him. He narrowed his eyes at me and scrunched up his face. I just laughed at him. "I don't know her." He made his face look angrier, and I just smiled. "Imagine my place, okay. Just for a second." I said and raised my brows at him. His face turned back to normal and he looked away from me.
"I'm sorry." He said after minutes of his internal thinking. "I know I've been…neglecting of you, but you need such maintenance." He said and lifted his arms up as much as he could. I sighed and looked away from him again, setting my hands at my side. I didn't know if he was kidding or not, but I knew what he said was true. Regardless of how much I loved the boy lying on my couch, I still needed him more then anything in the world. Even if we were just friends, I couldn't live without him. The few days in which we didn't speak were like hell, something I didn't ever want to go through again if I didn't have to. He sighed too and sat up. I looked over to him as he put his beanie back on his head. He set his arms on his knees, putting his head in his hands. He began to speak, but I cut him off.
"I know Shay, I know. You're only one person and you love her. I understand that, more then you think I do." I said and sat back into the couch and looked away. The sun was setting outside, casting different yellows and oranges on my back porch. I looked back to him and he was staring at me. "You're the only person I have." I said and he looked down.
"I know Rayden, I know." He said and sat back on the couch. He didn't look at me, or say a word; he just took my hand in his as we sat there in silence.