Take This to Your Grave

After grocery shopping, my dad sat down in his recliner and ordered pizza. I returned to my room, to kick my shoes off and to do absolutely nothing until food arrived. I found myself going to my bedroom window, pulling the blinds up and opening the screenless window.

Outside, the birds chirped, the sun burned, the splashing from a pool was close. I remembered that the Wentz's had a pool; I swam a few times, years back. I looked out and saw Pete and his friend from earlier; the blonde kid with the lip ring. They talked, but it was too faint for me to hear; plus, the view wasn't perfect; I could barely see them. I slipped my head inside and saw that room across from mine.

The room I hadn't ever seen before; I've never been on the second floor of their home. The shades were drawn up, the window open, and I could see the walls had posters around; bands I liked. I wondered if it was Andrew's room. I could barely remember what Andrew liked; we weren't the best of friends. We had hung around, but only at his mom's urging. Of course, he's a nice boy, but he was shy. He didn't talk much, and when he did, it was awfully short.

I didn't give the room another thought before I left my bedroom and went downstairs. My dad was still in his seat, I sat on the couch, a few feet from him. He turned from his football game; "I signed you up for school yesterday, I can't believe you're already gonna be a senior."

I gave a shrug, "Perks of being almost 18."

"You're getting old on me, Naomi." My dad chuckled; I could see he really meant it.

My dad; we share the same color eyes, but the large shape of mine came from my mom. I got his limbs; long neck, legs, arms, fingers, and toes. We got thick hips and thighs, as my mom says, and the same round shaped nose; though my dad and mom regard mine as a "button" nose.

But, I derived from the point; my dad's hazy brown eyes have emotion in them. It makes me feel loved. Like, real love that I missed. I got up from the couch, plop into his lap purposely and wrap my arms around his limp shoulders. He laughed and hugged me back, and he said; "I love ya, kid."

My dad isn't emotional at all. So, when he says this, a extremely rare occurrence, I smile. "I love you, too." I replied.

A kiss on the cheek and I'm right back on the couch. The pizza comes and me and my dad watch a gangster movie and indulge until bed time.


My dad was leaving the next morning when I wake up. He gave me a sheepish grin, "I didn't want to wake you up. There's some money on the counter if you need anything."

The sleep is barely rubbed away from my eye lids before he's out the door. Last night made me wish he had hugged me again; so I wrap my arms around myself before trudging upstairs and took a shower.

At 10 am, I got a call. It's not from former friends or my mother; it's Mrs. Wentz. I smiled when I heard her warm voice, the sitcom mother voice. It made me envy Andrew, Hilary and Pete.

"Princess is well behaved," she said, "And Pete has the money."

"Thanks, Mrs. Wentz."

"You're welcome, Naomi."

I hung up with her before slipping my sneakers on and leaving the house. I grabbed the cash from the counter beforehand and head next door. Out in the front yard, there's a girl and Pete; the girl was average, as any brunette you see on the street. She looked sweet on Pete, and Pete looked awkward.

This time, he's wearing a ultra tight shirt with Morrissey on the front. The Bona Drag album cover; it takes a lot for me not to exclaim and say how envious I am of his mother and his t-shirt. His jeans are tight around the groin and the pant legs flare out; I have a pair just like them.

"Naomi." He said my name almost in relieved way. "Hey."

The girl, she turned and had this look to her face. She looked upset to see me and I looked around, my eyes darted; "Hi, your mom called me. Is Princess ready?"

He laughed and the girl kept looking at me; death glares that would send any hellraiser running. I swallowed as he dug into his pocket and lent out a crumpled $5 to me; "She's inside."

I pardoned my way past them, stuffing the money into my back pocket and towards the front door. I opened it and saw her; Princess, prancing with her pink leash around her and hanging around the umbrella holder. "Uh, hey girl." I said this awkwardly to the animal.

"Hi Naomi." A voice said, causing me to jump in place. I looked up and saw Andrew; only, he's gone through puberty and has a deep voice and little hairs around his lip. He's about a year older than me. "You're staying for good?"

"Hi Andrew," I exhaled, "Uh, possibly. I still got a year of high school left, so, maybe."

"I'm heading off to college this September. I got into NYU."

"Oh, wow." I started; I asked quickly about his major. He was going to be a graphic artist, majoring in it was his ideal. We caught up a bit before Princess started to bark and whine. "I should get going now."

"Yeah," Andrew nodded, "I'll see you around."

I waved to him as I exited with Princess; out the door, I saw Pete sitting on the second step with his hands on his knees. He looked straight ahead; his body almost stiff; "Are you alright?" I asked, facing him on the walkway.

His eyes darted; the dark rings around his eyes reminded me of my mom. He was an insomniac, I knew that from the eyes, and then the slump and tight shoulders. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were alright." I said.

He exhaled, "Everything is fine."

The words came out rehearsed and bothered me some. I inhaled softly, "Hey, I'm going around the corner...near the park...I think the ice cream cart still goes there. I'll buy you a cone."

I offered this because the guy looked terrible. He looked like death warmed up in a microwave oven. He deserved something sweet, or a walk, or some livelihood to his skeletal appearance.

His eyes shot up towards me, momentarily focused on the stone walkway. They were dark, I couldn't tell what color his eyes were. He slowly stood, his hand on the railing, "What for?"

"Because you look like you need it." I replied instantly.

Pete's features perked up, "Fuck, ice cream sounds amazing."

I gave a small nod, "C'mon, then."

Pete followed behind me, Princess leading the way. I bet we looked like circus elephants.