Take This to Your Grave

There was a sound of tapping against my window the next morning. I sat up, feeling the heater blowing into my room; I knew my dad was home. I looked around; the sky was a tint of blue and white; I crawled out of bed as the tapping continued and went to my window. I jumped in place upon moving the curtain; Pete was there. I hurriedly opened my window, it was hailing outside; he crawled in and I shut the window.

"What're you doing here?" I asked in a whisper.

Pete shivered and went to my bedroom door and locked it. He sighed and then turned around; I coursed my hand through my hair, rubbed my eyes and looked at his face. He had two big bruises on the apple of his cheek and down by his jaw, which was swelling.

"Oh, Pete," I murmured, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I just wanted to come see you."

"What time is it?"

"It's 8."

I took hold of his hand and pulled him over to my bed with me. He sat and pulled the hood from his head. "You couldn't wait?" I asked.

"No." He answered.

I put my hand to his bruised cheek and he winced slightly when my finger ran over the small exposed cut on his jaw. "I'm sorry."

"I knew what I was fuckin' doing." He smiled at me; the dimples at the corners of his mouth deepened.

"How does he look?"

"Like shit." Pete laughed. "We only got arrested because we were brawling. It's a good thing that fucker is 18, or it would've been worse."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

He shrugged and grinned, "I'm your idiot."

I smiled reluctantly, "I should be mad at you."

"He isn't going to do anything." Pete took my hand from his cheek, "I taught him a lesson."

"I have to see him on Monday, y'know."

I was trying so hard to be upset, but I couldn't. With the look on Pete's face, I was glad to hear he beat up Seth. I wasn't paranoid anymore, I was happy.

"He's not going to do anything," Pete pressed. "I promise."

I kissed him on the cheek, "I hope you're right."

With that, he pulled me into a hug; I could smell coffee and the cold air on his hoodie. I pulled him back, he fell on top of me, and urge him under my covers. He kicked his shoes off and rolled back onto my bed and wrapped his arms around me once more. With my blankets over us, my back against his chest, we fell into a comfortable silence. But, I felt the need to say something to him; "Pete. I appreciate you."

He nuzzled his face against the back of my neck but didn't say anything. I didn't expect him to.

We laid there for awhile; the sun got brighter, and then my dad got up. He didn't come over to my door, he went straight to the bathroom, and then the shower ran. I rolled over to look at Pete, his eyes were half lidded and tired; his cheeks were red, hot. "I think you should go before my dad gets out."

Pete nodded and kissed me, when he pulled back, he sighed, "You aren't mad, are you?"

I shook my head, "No. Whatever happens, happens. But, I don't think I'll stop seeing you."

"Don't piss your dad off, Naomi. I know that he only wants the best for you."

I squeezed my arms around him, "Yeah..."

Reluctantly, we parted. He kissed my forehead and then left out my window. I shut it after him and waved; I watched him hop onto the grass and jog over to the fence, jumping over it. I went to my bedroom door, unlocked it and fell back into bed. I could smell him still there on my pillows.


Later on that day, my dad explained that he and Amy had lost track of time at the new restaurant and had gone to her place after. I didn't ask for details, mainly for the fact it didn't matter and I did not want to know what those two were doing. But, after he had said all this, he had this look to his eye that I couldn't place. It was more eager and warning, and it confused me.

"What?" I asked.

My dad looked at Amy; the pair were like teenagers. I raised a brow, and then my dad clasped his hands together, "Uh, I invited Amy to live with us."

Both brows rose and I hummed, "Oh. That's it?"

They both looked relieved, "Yeah," he said. "You're okay with it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, dad. Geez, she's your girlfriend."

He smiled, "Well, Naomi, I also asked Amy to marry me."

My eyes widened, "Shut up!" I said with a smile.

Amy nodded vigorously and showed me her hand, "Last night he asked."

I looked at the ring and cooed, "Aw! That's so cute." My dad's cheek turned red; I had never seen him blush before. I smiled wickedly at him, "Congrats. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thank you," Amy replied, settling her hand in her lap. "So, you're okay with all of this, Naomi?"

"Yeah, of course." I answered.

My dad smile again, "Great. We were hoping you would be."

"I told him that you would." Amy nudged him.

"Yeah, it's great." I said this genuinely. "I'm really happy for you guys."

I was genuinely happy for my dad and Amy. They were happy, and whatever they planned on doing wasn't any of my business. Either way, I would have to live with it, and I'm so glad I like Amy.

So, with that being said, I wondered what it'd be like with Amy living with us. This changed the whole dynamic of me telling my dad about everything. I had hope; hope that Amy could change the way my dad thought of me. The way I had been acting, the lies I told; maybe she would change it, and that was another reason why I was glad she was moving in.


I spent the evening talking to Kate about the whole thing. My dad, Amy, Pete and what happened with Seth. She had taken in a deep breath and expelled what happened the night before.

"I think he was high," she said first. "It was all good...my brother and the band played, and then Pete drove off the stage, which he usually does, y'know, and then the whole crowd moved back. You could see him hitting somebody, and it took Chris and Tim, and Andy to get Pete off of Seth."

I groaned inwardly, "He's such an idiot."

"Hey, he was defending you." Kate giggled. "Anyway, the owner called the cops, everyone left, went outside and then we saw them getting arrested."

"Did Seth say anything?"

"No. Pete knocked him around good. He looks a mess."

"Do you think he'll say anything?"

"I don't know," she murmured, "I'm not really sure."

"I'm hoping at that this'll blow over."

"It probably will. Did you see Pete?"

"Yeah. He came over this morning. He didn't look too bad."

Kate laughed, "That's because Seth could barely lift his hands. Pete's a fuckin' animal."

I smiled, "I know. That's one of the reasons why I love him so much."


Monday morning arrived, and I was consumed with a little bit of nervousness upon getting to school. Kate and I walked in, as normal and some people were looking at me again. I managed to keep my cool and get to my locker.

I opened it up and put my rucksack inside; as I did, it fell open a bit. Out rolled some of my makeup, and the little bottle of pepper spray from Babette. I had forgotten about it, and I was so glad it was there. I picked it up, along with the makeup, and put the bottle inside of my coat pocket; just in case. I grabbed my calculus book and started off to my class.

As the day went by, I didn't see Seth, which surprised me. I was waiting for him to pop out of somewhere. But, thus far, he hadn't, I counted my lucky stars.

I met Kate for lunch; "Wanna go to the cafeteria?" I asked her.

She shrugged, "If you want."

Kate and I began to make our way to the cafeteria. Along the way, she let me know Seth was in fact here. I didn't have a true response; when she had, my eyes landed on him.

He was standing against a wall, just opposite the benches under the roof. He spotted me, too, and began to make his way over; I was frozen in place. I saw that his face was bruised, but not nearly as bad as I believed it would be. He had a black eye and cheek, almost like Pete's. I watched him approach, Kate took hold of my left arm, and my right hand fell into my pocket, grasping the bottle of pepper spray.

"I need to talk to you." He ordered with a harsh grab of my arm.

It wrenched out of my pocket. I yanked my arm back, "Let go!"

He pulled me toward him and growled, "You're coming with me." He said in a deep, dark tone.

"You wish, motherfucker!" I tugged away from his and Kate's holds.

Seth went to grab me once more and I raised the small bottle. I opened the cap and sprayed his face; a big red cloud filled the air, and a pepper smell followed. I stepped back as Seth screamed and kids gasped and laughed and began to say things. Kate grabbed me and we took off; I dropped the pepper spray along the way. The chaos was too great to get away from.