Me and Oli Talking

I sit on the edge of the bathroom sink as Oli tends to my wounds. He had promised it wouldn’t hurt, but I soon found out that he was lying.
“Oh my God!” I slam my hands down on the edge of the sink, causing myself more pain, “Oliver James Quinn! You promised this wouldn’t hurt!”
He looks up at me through his lashes with an apologetic look, “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. You just needed it cleaned and I knew that if I had told you the truth that it was gonna hurt you would have taken your chances with an infection.”
It’s really hard to be mad at him when he gives you that look. I kid you not. I sigh and look at the bandaging on my hands; some of the white gauze is spotted with red but other than that I have to admit that they did feel a lot better. I look at the top of Oliver’s head as he busies himself with my knee. He looks up at me a few times and at first I think I’m imagining it, but after closer inspection, I realize that there is indeed a cut above his eyebrow. I quickly snatch his face in my hands and look at him.
“Who the hell did this to you.” My voice comes out more harsh than I had expected.
His eyes dart back and forth as he looks me in the eyes, “I… I fell. I fell and hit my head on the banister at home. That’s all.”
I run my thumb over the long, angry red line above his eye, “Oliver.”
I guess he hears the warning in my voice that tells him I know that he’s lying, because he simply pulls away and continues to work on my knee. “It’s nothing, I promise.”
“Oliver, you know that if someone is hurting you, you can tell me, right?”

“Oliver, you know that if someone is hurting you, you can tell me, right?”
Hearing her voice like that kind of hurts. I hate keeping secrets from her. She’s my best friend and I should be able to tell her. I know she’d try to protect me but what if it got out and they took me away and then I’d never see her or anyone else from here again? I don’t think I cold handle it.
I can feel her eyes boring into me. I blink back tears ,refusing to look at her, “Yes, I know.”
She sighs, “How long ago did this happen?”
I’m quiet for a few minutes, “A few nights ago, I guess.”
She stays quiet for the duration of my nursing her back to health.

“Lollipop!” Lolita’s mom hollers from the front door, “Are you home, love?”
I smile at her mother’s terms of endearment. She’s such a lovely lady, and I think of her like a mom. She’s the type of person that just loves everyone and is so accepting of everyone. I’ve come over on days that Lita had to stay after school and just sat and talked with her mother. I swear the lady should be a therapist or psychologist. She’s so easy to talk to and so easy to trust.
“Yeah, Maw! We’re in the bathroom!” Lita yells down the hallway.
“Who is ‘we’? Is Oli here?”
“Hello Mrs. Monroe.” I smile at her as she walks down the hall towards us.
She takes one look at the bloody hand cloth and her eyes widen in alarm, “What in the world happened!?”
“Maw, I just tripped on our way home. I fell pretty hard. It’s okay,” Lita reassures her mother, “Look, Oli is taking really good care of it. See?”
I finish putting the last bandage on Lita’s knee and smile up at her mom, “All done.”
Her mother put a hand over her heart and lets out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank God, I thought something terrible had happened.”
“You know that if anything had happened one of us would have called you immediately.” My voice sounded small as I voice my reassurance.
“I know, dear,” Mrs. Monroe ruffles my hair and smiles, “Dinner should be ready in a about an hour. Oliver you’re welcome to stay and eat if your parents are okay with it.”
“I’d love to!”

Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea and a soft spring breeze. Oli’s big brown eyes are looking at me; he’s smiling that lopsided smile that makes everyone love him. I smile back and reach out to push his bangs out of his face. When I touch his forehead, cracks radiate from my touch. My eyes widen in horror as I watch his face crumble away to reveal the same Oli I have known since I started school, only this wasn’t him. Not the Oli I am used to. His eyes have deep shadows beneath them, blood falls from his eyes like tears. His usually bright happy eyes are now dark and hopeless. His smile has vanished into a deep grimace. Oli’s entire face is covered in bruises and cuts. He cocks his head to one side and puts his index fingers to his lips. Shhh!
I gasp in horror at what my best friend has become. His finger nails are broken; blood clotted beneath them. His lower arms have been slashed and bruised. I place my hand over my mouth and fight back tears. Oli opens his mouth and what comes after is a mystery to me because I am shaken awake.
“Lolita!” I recognize Oli’s voice, and scream all the more remembering the nightmare, “Lita! Wake up!”
I open my eyes to see my best friend. I stop screaming and reach out a hand to touch his face. Very, very slowly, still afraid his face might shatter, I cradle his cheek in my palm.
I burst into tears.
“Lita, it’s fine. It was just a nightmare.” Oliver pulls me into his lap and lets me cry into his shoulder, “It’s okay.”
He runs his fingers through my hair and rocks back and forth, all the while whispering soothing things to me to try to get me to calm down. Maw, let Oli stay tonight since his parents were out of town. The fact that Oliver has anxiety about staying home alone kind of helped her make her decision.
We sit there for a moment like that; me in Oli’s lap, Oli whispering soothing words to me as he rocks us back and forth. He rests his cheek against the top of my head and begins to rub my back. This isn’t the first time he’s stayed with me when I’ve had a nightmare. Most people would think it weird that my mother would lemme have a boy stay over at my house, let alone let ‘em sleep in the same room as me, but I guess my mom decided a long time ago that I’m responsible enough to handle myself in that situation. Sometimes, this was the best thing. My mom sleeps like the dead and often times when I have a particularly bad nightmare, she doesn’t hear me. When Oli stays he’s always awaken by my screams or whimpers. This, however, was the first nightmare I’ve ever had about him. It’s shaken me up quite a bit.
“Oli?” I finally whisper.
“Hm?”
“If you were being hurt in any way or in any trouble, you’d tell me right?”
He waits for a long time before responding, “Is that what happened in your dream?”
I recount the nightmare to him using as much detail as possible while trying not to relapse into hysterics. When I’m finished, he takes me back into his arms and hugs me tightly.
“It’s nothing. I promise. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” his face is buried in the crook of my neck, “Don’t worry so much aboot me, Lita. I’ll be fine.”
I’m still confused as to what is going on, but I do know he did not get the cut on his face from falling like he told me. “When or if it becomes too much, please, Oli, please tell me.”
He merely nods in agreement.