The Devil's Pawn

Trenton pressed his lips against mine one more time before pulling away. His hands slide out of my shirt and off my body as he took a step back.

I bit my lip, not saying anything. I stepped down, not realizing that I had been standing on
the tips of my toes. I braced the palms of my hands against the counter, taking in a deep
breath.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.” He said, heading out of the bathroom.

“I’ll… I’ll meet you there.” I breathed out. He shrugged.

I waited until I heard his footsteps echo down the stairs.

I took another deep breath, running a hand through my curls.

“I just kissed Trenton.” I whispered, looking in the mirror. I felt… different. Whether it be
good or bad, I simply did not feel the same. I studied my face, looking for some change in
my appearance.

My skin was pale, the darkness of my hair contrasting strongly. I had the same eyes I’d
always had, the same nose and lips. Everything looked the same.

Running a hand through my hair once more, I stepped back, straightening his shirt. I
wanted to change into something I could wear, but I didn’t know what.

I walked quietly into his bedroom. I could hear Trenton messing around downstairs as I
walked into his room, closing the door behind me. Opening his closet, I examined the
choices before me.

Ten minutes later, I walked out of his room, buttoning up the last of the buttons on one
of Trenton’s flannel shirts.

Dressed in a pair of his jeans clearly too small for him and a back flannel shirt, I finally
looked decent enough to walk down. I would have preferred to wear something underneath
the flannel aside from my bra, but I made do with what I had.

I walked into the kitchen to see Trenton at the table with a bowl of cereal. He had set an
empty one at the chair opposite his, leaving the box and milk still out.

I took a seat, pouring in the food.

“Nice outfit.” He mumbled, taking a bite.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you’d mind me borrowing it.” I said apologetically “I don’t think the
jeans would fit you anyways.”

He didn’t say anything, chewing.

“What time is it?” I asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.

“Ten-something.”

“Oh.”

Mom wouldn’t start calling until noon. I was still on the safe side. For now.

The silence formed once again, growing increasingly uncomfortable. I didn’t know what
to say. What do you do after someone steals your first male-to-female kiss from you when
you told them not to?

Apparently you say nothing.

“I’ll return the clothes Monday morning.” I promised.

“It’s fine.”

Another awkward silence.

“I’ll leave after breakfast.”

“You can stay if you want to.”

“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me around after… well… you know.” I bit my
lip, trailing off.

Trenton chuckled, keeping his eyes on his food. “You think the fact that I kissed you is
going to make me uncomfortable around you?”

“Well…”

“Sweet Cheeks, you’ve got another thing coming.” Trenton looked up, holding my eyes.
“I don’t get ‘uncomfortable’ around girls.”

“Then why was it so awkward just a few minutes ago?” I countered.

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I didn’t think it was.”

I blinked. “Oh.”

Trenton stood up, carrying his bowl in one hand, the milk jug in the other “I’m going to
go get dressed into actual clothes. I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

I nodded, taking another bit of my cereal.

~*~

I walked into my house silently. Closing the door, I tiptoed onto the staircase, taking two
at a time. About halfway up, I called down to my parents to let them know I had returned.

“Did you have fun?” Mom asked, not interested.

“Yes.” I mumbled, continuing up the stairs.

I opened my room, stripping off Trenton’s clothes. I pushed them off underneath my
bed, standing in my underwear. I walked over to my closet, selecting an appropriate outfit to
wear for the rest of the day.

As I stared at the reflection in the mirror, I realized that I did a 180 when Erica chose my
style. The girl before me wore straight jeans with a brown belt hidden underneath a plaid
shirt. While plaid may have been in style at the moment, I didn’t see many kids wearing the
sweater-vest kind of shirt I had on.

I ran a hand through my hair, pulling the curls off to the side. A faint hint of make-up
remained from the eyeliner Erica had forced on me. Even with the slight darkness, my eyes
stood out more than they ever had.

I liked it.

Running a hand over my eyes, I sat back on my bed, thinking.

Despite the fact that I was wearing barely any clothes, my face had looked prettier that
night than it normally did.

Maybe if I looked like that, Sam would stop fooling around with other guys…

I shook my head.

“This is ridiculous.” I mumbled under my breath, standing up. I paced back and forth, not
sure what to do. I knew that I wanted to look good for Sam, but at the same time, the rational
part of my mind told me that I shouldn’t have to try for her.

She shouldn’t be fooling around with guys anyways.

Yet, we had never been in an official relationship to begin with. Who was I to complain
about her cheating when we weren’t dating?

I groaned, burying my head in my hands.

I needed to stop thinking.

After realizing that, I did the only logical thing I could think of to distract myself from
thoughts of Sam or Trenton or Erica or anyone else.

I opened a text book and begin reading.

A knock sounded on my door. I lifted my head, turning around in my chair to face the
door as it slid open across the carpet.

My mother poked her head in through the doorway, her beady eyes staring me down.
“Welcome back, Taylor.”

“Thank you for letting me stay.” I said quickly.

“I do not like this last-minute planning, you know this.” Mom said, holding back her
anger. I kept my expression neutral, but noticed how she seemed angrier than she
should’ve been. “This cannot happen again.”

“It won’t” I promised.

Mom stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her. She cleared her throat,
looking around, avoiding my eyes.

She attempted to casually sit on the edge of my bed, folding her hands neatly on her lap.
Her eyes didn’t meet mine. I stared at her curiously.

“Anything else?” I prompted.

“I wanted to talk to you about your father and me.” She said uncomfortably.

“What about you guys?” I asked nervously. She was taking this too seriously for my
liking.

“He’s going to be staying with your grandparents for a little while. We had another
disagreement last night.” She stated simply.

I raised an eyebrow, “When’s he coming back?”

“You can ask him that. He requested you call him when you returned home.” She said,
still not meeting my eyes.

I nodded, “Alright, I will. Should I call his cell?”

“I’d assume.”

There was silence for a few moments. This wasn’t the first time my father had visited my
grandparents. Mom and Dad would occasionally get into arguments which would conclude
with Dad out of the house for a few days. I wasn’t surprised by this.

“Anyways, I thought you should know.” Mom stood up, heading towards the door, “I’ll let
you get back to your work.”

She closed the door behind her.

I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket, dialing my father’s number from memory. I
pressed it to my ear, listening to the rings as I waited.

It rang thrice before he answered.

“Hey, Taylor.” His voice was scratchy as if he had been yelling for a while.

“Hey Dad.” I greeted calmly. “How are you?”

“I’m doing alright. I guess your mother told you about our little argument last night.” He
assumed correctly.

“Yeah, she told me you wanted me to call you when I got back from my friend’s house.” I
said, waiting for the reason he wanted to talk to me.

“I just wanted to know you got home safely.”

“Oh.”

“Did you have fun?”

“Yes.”

He sighed, “Grandma says hello. Grandpa’s still asleep.”

“Tell her I return the greeting.” I said, “How long have you been at Grandma’s and
Grandpa’s house?”

“Since around maybe eleven at night?”

I raised an eyebrow in shock. He had left before I had been asleep. “Oh wow.”

“Listen, Taylor, just try to stay out of your mother’s way today. She’s going to be in an
extremely bad mood. If I were you, I’d work extra hard on my homework, or find a way out of
the house. Because it’s going to be bad.” He advised.

I laughed, “Trust me, I can tell.”

He laughed with me.

It was silent for a few minutes when our chuckles died out. Neither of us knew what to
say, letting the noise disintegrate in the quietness.

“Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to whatever it was that you were doing before you
called me.” Dad sighed, sounding tired.

“Alright, Dad. When do you think you’re going to come back?”

“Probably in a few days after your mother has calmed down some.” He said casually.
“I’ve got to go. Your Grandma just walked into the room.”

I smiled slightly, “Bye Dad.”

“Bye Taylor.”

I closed the phone in my hand.

~*~

Sunday passed slowly. I had run out of homework to do by Saturday evening, digging
myself into a novel that I ended up finishing at around ten at night.

Sunday mass seemed to go by quicker than usual. I was counting on that to be a time
consumer. Mom would socialize with the other ladies, probably whine about how Dad left the
house because of their fight like usual.

Yet, surprisingly, after the pastor finished his sermon, Mom walked straight out the
doors. She checked once to see if I was following behind her briefly.

It was a silent ride home. She kept the radio off, hands gripping the wall obnoxiously
tightly. Neither of us dared to speak. I didn’t want to anger her anymore than she seemed to
be.

I kept to my room most of the day, but I found myself checking out of the window
constantly for hopes that Trenton would be staring out. He seemed to be the only thing that
would distract me from the torturous boredom of trapping yourself in your own room.

Unfortunately for me, he never did appear.

Monday morning, it was pouring down rain. I was thankful my hair was naturally curly so
that I wouldn’t have put so much prep time into something that would be ruined in seconds.

I decided to wear something…different today.

I didn’t have any obnoxiously short skirts or tops to wear, but I did have my observant
mind to use.

I dressed in jeans that I had never liked before. They hugged my hips too tightly for my
liking, flaring out at the bottom. I pulled a white belt on regardless of the fact that I didn’t need
one. It helped my conscious to think that it may have been the tightness of the belt instead of
the jeans.

I pulled on a blue v-neck that cut just above my cleavage with black flats.

Inspecting myself in the mirror, I noticed how different I looked. Now if only I had some
eyeliner to bring my eyes out more…

I shook my head, figuring that I’d just borrow some from Erica once I found her at
school.

A smile crossed my lips as I realized that I considered her somewhat of a friend of
mine. If I was borrowing clothes and make-up from here, she must count for something
more than an acquaintance.

I pulled a sweatshirt over top of my shirt, flipping the hood out. Trenton would pick me up
at the bus stop, no doubt, so I wouldn’t need an umbrella.

Glancing at the clock, I realized that I was running late. I grabbed a cup of yogurt and a
plastic spoon, making my way quickly out of the house.

I could feel my skin being soaked through the clothes as soon as I walked outside. I
groaned at the thought of wet soaks the entire day.

Sure enough, Trenton’s car was already parked at the bus stop. I opened the
passenger door, getting into the dry vehicle. He pulled away from the curb, driving down the
road quickly.

“You should slow down.” I advised softly.

“Yeah, don’t care.” He mumbled, picking up speed.

I sighed. He wasn’t going fast enough to hydro plate, but he was going faster than the
speed limit.

“Do you mind if I borrow your phone to call Erica?” I asked after a few minutes. Trenton
shot me a confused look, but nonetheless pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He tossed me it.

“Thanks” I mumbled before scrolling through his contact list until I found the ‘E’s’. I
dialed her number, pressing it to my ear.

She picked up almost immediately. “’Sup Trenton?”

“It’s Taylor.”

“Oh, hey, what’s up?” She sounded less interested after I introduced myself. I rolled my
eyes, staring out the window.

“I was wondering if I could borrow your eyeliner…” I trailed off.

She seemed surprised by my question, “Oh, yeah sure. You remember the bathroom
you changed in on Friday?”

“Yeah”

“Meet me in that one. I’ll give it to you there, alright?” She said.

“Thanks, Erica.” I grinned into the phone. “You’re really awesome.”

“Do you need help putting it on?” She laughed.

“No.” I felt my face flush.

Trenton shot me a look between confusion and amusement. Though he didn’t know
what was making me blush, he found it funny.

“Alright, just checking.” She giggled. “I’ll meet you there. See you, Taylor.”

“Uh, yeah, bye Erica.” I closed the phone, handing it back to Trenton. He left it on his lap
as we turned onto the road the school was on.

“Don’t you have your own eyeliner?” He asked.

I frowned, “Does it look like I do?”

There was a pause before he spoke, “No…”

“Exactly.”

“Why do you want to wear eyeliner?” He asked, “I mean, you look good with it on, but why
do you suddenly want to now?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know…”

He didn’t seem satisfied by that answer, but nonetheless let the topic go. “It’s Monday.
Is your girlfriend going to be here?”

I hope.

“I have no idea.” I said truthfully “She just kind of shows up.”

“You going to tell her about Saturday morning?” A smirk spread across his lips as he
pulled into the school parking lot.

I felt my face flush, “Absolutely not.”