We're Not Perfect

POV: A fly on the wall

Craig stormed up and down the hall screaming Max’s name. Robert and Monte stood in the doorways half asleep, watching Craig.

“Did you check everywhere in his room?” Monte asked. “We all know how easy it is to miss him in that mess.”

“Of course I did! Why do you think I’ve been in your rooms looking for him?”
“Maybe he left last night, or got up early,” Robert offered. That got everyone laughing; Max
never got up earlier than he had to.

“I’ll make pancakes,” Monte said, heading toward the stairs. “If Max is here, this’ll get him up. And I don’t smell Rylii’s breakfast.”

Robert and Craig followed Monte to the kitchen, Craig still shouting for Max. “Dude, shut up!”

Robert said, dropping into a seat at the table. “You’re gonna wake your sister up if you don’t.”

“That’s it! I’ll ask Ry if Max was here when she got home,” Craig said, running out of the room, now shouting Rylii’s name.

POV: Max

I’d kept my promise and stayed with Rylii, even after I heard the guys upstairs. Not that I minded holding her in my arms, her head resting on my chest, one arm stretched across my stomach. I’d been the first of the band to earn her trust, after Craig, that is. Since that day we spent together at the mall, I’d wanted Rylii to be mine. But it was Craig’s little sister; how would he react if he knew?

It was a lot earlier than I ever woke up, so I laid where I was, watching Rylii and thinking about the night before and how we ended up here

Rylii had been pretty fucked up when she got home. While I was helping her clean up mad me wonder how some of those wounds had been made. They were too direct and out of place, like she’d been hit without even trying to defend herself. I knew her arms had been done by herself, but why? I still couldn’t believe she was so beautiful, even with all those cuts and bruises.

I jumped when I heard Craig coming, bringing an end to my train of thought. Fortunately, I hadn’t woken Rylii. I quickly pulled the blanket up over her arm; if she couldn’t tell me about them, she most likely didn’t want Craig to know either. Seconds later, Craig burst into the room.

“Max? What the hell are you doing in here?” he asked, glaring at me.

“Could you be a little quieter?” I whispered. “Ry’s still asleep.”

“Answer my question,” Craig demanded, coming closer.

I sighed, looking down at the sleeping figure. Gently, I pushed back the hair covering her face. I heard Craig curse as he saw the black eye she had. “She got in a fight last night,” I explained. “She didn’t want to be alone, and I promised I’d be here when she woke up.”

Craig stood at the edge of the bed, watching his sister. “I always protected her when we were younger,” he cut off abruptly. “Just make sure she’s ok for me.” I watched as he walked out without another word, closing the door softly behind him.

POV: A fly on the wall

Craig stumbled into the kitchen, a lost look on his face.

“Did you find Max?” Robert asked, looking up from his coffee.

Craig nodded. “He’s been with Rylii all night.”

“Damn,” Monte said. “Here’s your money,” he said, handing a folded bill to Robert. “I thought they’d take longer.”

Craig looked back and forth between the two. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how much Max is in love with her,” Robert said.

“What? No, they didn’t spend the night together like that,” Craig said. “Rylii got in fight last night and I guess Max was still up when she got home, cause she asked him to stay with her.”

“I’d hate to get in a fight with her,” Monte said. “She doesn’t look tough, but when she’s pissed, the girl’s scary.” The guys laughed.

“All I saw was a black eye, but Max wasn’t freaking out or anything, so I’m guessing she’s ok,” Craig said. With that, he and Robert drifted off into their own thoughts while Monte continued making breakfast.

POV: Max

After I heard Craig walk back up the hall, I started running my fingers through Rylii’s hair. As cliché as it sounded, a part of me wanted her to wake up so I could look into her eyes and see her smile, but at the same time, I wouldn’t get to hold her in my arms like this once we were up. After a few minutes, I felt Rylii stirring.

“You stayed,” she said.

“You sound surprised,” I replied, a smile forming as she looked up at me. I watched as she smiled as well. “You feel ok? You got a pretty rough beating last night.”

Her smile disappeared when I said that. “Just a little sore,” she said after a moment.

“Go get a hot shower; that should help. Then meet me in the kitchen; I smell Monte’s pancakes.” We climbed out of bed and I slowly made my way to the door. I stopped when Rylii said my name. I turned around to face her, somewhat surprised she’d managed to sneak up behind me like that.

She placed a hand on my chest and reached up to kiss me. I felt her pulling away, so I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me than before. I felt her arms reach behind my neck, her fingers tangling in my hair. All too soon we pulled apart. I watched Rylii walk into the bathroom for her shower before making my way to the kitchen, a smile on my face. “What did you do to my sister?” Craig asked. “You never smile this early.”
“Nothing! She’ll be out soon, she’s in the shower right now,” I said. Monte and Robert exchanged glances, laughing. Craig glared at them, but I was left without a clue.

“She better hurry, I’m starving,” Robert said. The band sat around the table making small talk and staring at the pile of pancakes Monte set in the center of the table.

POV: Rylii

The band was already sitting around the table when I entered the kitchen. Amazingly, none of the pancakes had been eaten. I slipped into my usual seat between Robert and Max answering chorus of “good mornings.”

“What happened to your black eye?” Craig asked as he reached for the pile of pancakes.

“I got in a fight last night,” I said calmly, hoping the conversation would change soon. I felt Max shift his foot against mine. I responded by pressing on the side of his.

“But why isn’t it visible now?” Craig asked, not giving up like I’d hoped he would.

“I used make-up, just like always,” I said. I felt everyone staring at me before I realized what I’d just said. Nobody moved.

“Rylii, what do you mean ‘just like always’?” Craig started before I cut him off, jumping up.

“Nothing. I-I have to go,” I said quickly, running to the doorway. I heard everyone jumping up after me. I was on my way to the front door when I felt someone grab my arm. I felt the fear leap to the front of my mind, along with flashbacks of my time with Tony and Tad.

“Rylii, calm down,” I heard Monte say. So he was the one holding me. I turned back to face him, still trying to pull free.

“Please, let me go,” I whispered. I couldn’t look at him, but the tears were already falling. Just like that, he released me. I could hear the concern in his voice as he begged me one last time to stay. Before I knew it, I was running down the street, tears running down my face.

I lost myself in the neighborhood before finding a deserted playground. That was when I realized it was raining out. Using the last of my energy, I ran to the top, where there was a small cover leading to the slide. I sat there, crying alone.

I’d left my bag of pills at home, but I had my razor. Seeing nobody around, I quickly made several deep cuts. I let the rain wash them clean before hiding them again. For the longest time, the only sound was that of the rain landing on the playground around me.

POV: Max

Monte watched her leave before falling onto the couch, face in his hands. Craig and I ran to the porch, but couldn’t see far in the pouring rain. We called her name a few times, but after getting no response, we went back in. Robert was sitting next to Monte, trying to get a response from him.

“What happened?” Craig asked him. “You had her and you let go. Why?”

Monte mumbled something into his hands.

“Come on man, tell us what happened,” I pleaded. I couldn’t believe Rylii’d run off like that. I looked calm to the guys, but inside, I was freaking out.

Monte finally looked up. “I couldn’t do that to her. That look, her voice…” he trailed off. “She was so afraid when I was holding her arm like that.”

“Craig turned to me. “I thought you said she was in a fight last night!”

“That’s what she told me,” I said. I couldn’t just stand here, I had to find her. I didn’t know where to start, so I started walking in a random direction, turning up whatever street looked good to me. It wasn’t long before I was soaked, but I couldn’t give up.

My phone had rung a few times, most likely the guys asking me if I’d found her. I saw shelter nearby at a park, so I headed over so I wouldn’t ruin my phone by pulling it out in the rain. It wasn’t much, but I was able to check my phone. But I forgot everything when I heard my name.

POV: Rylii

I saw Max coming towards the playground. Nobody else, just him. I waited until he was out of the rain before making my way down to him. “Max?” I said softly. He spun to look at me. His eyes were panicked, but relaxed when he saw it was me.

“Rylii!” he shouted, pulling me into a tight hug. “Are you ok? We were so afraid something would happen to you.”

I wrapped my arms around Max as he continued to talk. “I’m sorry,” I finally said.

“It’s alright. You’re safe now, that’s all that matters,” he said, not letting go of me. “I’ve gotta let everyone know you’re ok,” he said suddenly. Max made a call, and I heard Craig’s voice on the other line. “We’re gonna wait to see if the rain lets up a little, then we’ll be home,” Max said.

After he hung up, I led Max to my previous spot. We sat there in silence, his arms wrapped protectively around me as we watched the rain. After an hour or so, it didn’t show signs of letting up.

“We might as well go back,” I said, looking at Max, who nodded in agreement.
The entire way back, he never let go of me. “Are you ok?” he asked me suddenly.

“For the most part,” I replied. “Why?”

“While we were sitting back there, your leg was shaking, and now your fingers are twitching.”

“That’s just something that I do when I lose myself. I”ll be ok though.” I smiled reassuringly at Max. We walked the rest of the way in silence.

When we got the front of the house, I felt Max stop, pulling me close to him. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said as he pulled me into a kiss.

I reached for the back of his neck, flinching when my arm rubbed against his neck. The cuts I’d made earlier were still sore. When I did, I felt Max pull me closer. I didn’t know how long we’d been there when we heard Robert yelling at us to get a room. Max and I finally broke apart, walking the rest of the way to the house.

I locked the door behind me when I got to my room. After tossing my wet clothes on the edge of the tub, I got out a few pills and waited for the shaking to stop. After it did, I got dressed in something dry. “Just a minute,” I called, as someone knocked on my bedroom door.

“Even I have to wait?” Max said. I laughed, opening the door. I closed it behind him as he entered. “I felt you pull your arms back,” he said bluntly. I looked at the ground. I’d been hoping he hadn’t, but this was my luck. ”Why do you do this to yourself?” he asked, reaching for my gloves. I glanced at the door. Max saw and walked over to lock the door before returning.

We sat on the bed, facing one another. I’d already taken the gloves off, and I held my arms so the red lines weren’t visible. I let Max turn my arms over so he could see what I’d done. We didn’t say anything, but I saw the tears in his eyes. “Max?” I asked softly. “Please, don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad at you,” he said. “I could never be mad at you. I just want to know why.”

I took a deep breath. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t tell Max everything, but I could tell him most of it. “I started when Craig left. Mom and I were always arguing, and I got mixed up with some of the wrong people at the clubs I was performing at, and I needed some way to get rid of the pain. Then when I moved here, I kept cutting because I wanted to tell some one, but I couldn’t, and then this shit keeps happening, and it’s my only way to get rid of the pain I’m felling and the pain I’m causing everyone else.”

I could feel myself crying again as Max moved closer to me. “Rylii, please don’t do this to yourself. You’re too beautiful, and the only pain you’re causing me is that you’re hurting yourself,” he said. “Forget about the past; forget those people at the clubs, forget what your mom said, forget it all. You’re here now, and you’ve been happy. Even Craig has said he’s never seen you so happy.”

“I’ll try,” I said. “But we should get out there before anyone comes to break down the door.” We laughed, getting up.

I made my way to the bathroom to fix my make-up. Max followed me. I hadn’t noticed that he’d been crying too. It took a few minutes, but we were finally ready to join the group.

Max led the way, holding my hand as we walked to the living room. The guys were watching a movie, and Max pulled me into his lap on the couch. He kept his arms wrapped around me, and occasionally whispered in my ear or kissed my neck. Craig was right, I’d never been happier.

“What was that?” Max asked as Robert and Monte exchanged money.

“They made a bet about how long it would take you guys to get together,” Craig said. “And Max, hurt my sister, and you’re dead. Now, who wants popcorn?” We all raised our hands.