Paper Dolls
Move Along...
[color#6600cc]You know that you move around a lot when, suddenly, waking up in a strange place isn’t alarming... it’s normal, and you simply shrug it off and look for a clue in the room you wake up in, something to tell you where you are and if you’re in the same state you were previously.
Fortunately, I didn’t need to look for long...
“Oh, cool, you’re up,” he smiled stopping swiftly as he passed the doorway.
Mat’s house, that’s where I was... now, I remembered!
“Morning,” I said groggily from what had to be the world’s most comfortable bed.
“I just made some pancakes,” he informed me with an almost childlike smile on his face.
I smirked, crawling out of the bed before walking over to him and wiping his cheek with my thumb. “So I see,” I said, wiping the flour on my pajama bottoms.
He shrugged, “I sort of dropped the bag of flour and got it everywhere. Anyhow, I was craving blueberry and banana pancakes so, I made them. You should come have some with me...”
“Sure,” I smiled, following him to the kitchen. All the rooms in the apartment he was renting were painted white... it was kind of boring and definitely not a color (well, anti-color) I’d associate with him.
“I feel like I’m in a hospital or something,” he said as if reading my thoughts while trailing a finger along the wall as we walked through the hallway leading to the kitchen. “It’s so white in here it drives me crazy.”
“I know,” I laughed. “Why, are you staying here anyway?”
“Well, I was kind of visiting my girlfriend,” he said as we got to the kitchen and, fuck, that really sucked... he was cute, make no mistake about it.
“Oh,” I said, not succeeding at masking my disappointment.
“Yeah, but then when I surprised her with my visit, I found her in a rather compromising position with her neighbor...” he said, seeming almost pleased at my tone... that or amused. “So now I’m just gathering all my shit from our apartment and probably moving to Boston or somewhere outside Chicago. Besides, it’s nice here, I like to come to LA and clear my head once in a while.”
“Geez, I haven’t been to Boston in ages,” I said, lost in my head for a moment.
“Oh, you’ve been?” he smiled as we sat down to eat.
“I used to live there,” I admitted. “I lived in Chicago too, but only for a month. There were three shootings on my street in that month, so I moved on,” I laughed.
“Then you came here?” he asked.
I shook my head, “After Chicago, I went to Cleveland. So far, I’ve moved twenty three times. Soon to be twenty four, I guess.”
Mat’s eyes widened, “Wow, your parents sure didn’t like to stay put, huh?”
“I left home when I was 14, Mat,” I said awkwardly.
“By yourself?”
“Yeah. My brother left about a less than a year before I did. Our father was very abusive, when my brother, Eli, left, my father beat me more viciously and frequently so one day I just left. My license says I’m 26, but I’m only 22... and, my birth name is actually Michelle, but Scarlet fits me better and it’s who I am,” I smiled.
“Holy shit...” he said in an uncertain tone.
“Well, this is awkward...” I sighed as a long silence overtook us. “I’m sorry,” I said before getting up and heading for the room I’d woken up in.
He grabbed my wrist gently as I passed him before getting up. “Where are you going?” he said in almost a whisper, facing me.
“I don’t know,” I said, just as soft.
He then wrapped his arms around me the most comforting way. It was the kind of hug you need at the end of a really long and stressful shift at work, the kind that you melt into. “It’s just a lot, Scarlet, you know? And, you’re really sweet and to think that you’ve been through more shit in 22 years than most people go through in their entire lives is really shitty...” he said, his arms still around me. “My reaction wasn’t supposed to be negative, Scar. I wasn’t about to throw you out or anything, I just really don’t know how to respond to that... I mean, you’re awesome and that really sucks.”
I hugged him tight for a moment, managing to utter a, “Thanks, Mat...” as I did so.
Fortunately, I didn’t need to look for long...
“Oh, cool, you’re up,” he smiled stopping swiftly as he passed the doorway.
Mat’s house, that’s where I was... now, I remembered!
“Morning,” I said groggily from what had to be the world’s most comfortable bed.
“I just made some pancakes,” he informed me with an almost childlike smile on his face.
I smirked, crawling out of the bed before walking over to him and wiping his cheek with my thumb. “So I see,” I said, wiping the flour on my pajama bottoms.
He shrugged, “I sort of dropped the bag of flour and got it everywhere. Anyhow, I was craving blueberry and banana pancakes so, I made them. You should come have some with me...”
“Sure,” I smiled, following him to the kitchen. All the rooms in the apartment he was renting were painted white... it was kind of boring and definitely not a color (well, anti-color) I’d associate with him.
“I feel like I’m in a hospital or something,” he said as if reading my thoughts while trailing a finger along the wall as we walked through the hallway leading to the kitchen. “It’s so white in here it drives me crazy.”
“I know,” I laughed. “Why, are you staying here anyway?”
“Well, I was kind of visiting my girlfriend,” he said as we got to the kitchen and, fuck, that really sucked... he was cute, make no mistake about it.
“Oh,” I said, not succeeding at masking my disappointment.
“Yeah, but then when I surprised her with my visit, I found her in a rather compromising position with her neighbor...” he said, seeming almost pleased at my tone... that or amused. “So now I’m just gathering all my shit from our apartment and probably moving to Boston or somewhere outside Chicago. Besides, it’s nice here, I like to come to LA and clear my head once in a while.”
“Geez, I haven’t been to Boston in ages,” I said, lost in my head for a moment.
“Oh, you’ve been?” he smiled as we sat down to eat.
“I used to live there,” I admitted. “I lived in Chicago too, but only for a month. There were three shootings on my street in that month, so I moved on,” I laughed.
“Then you came here?” he asked.
I shook my head, “After Chicago, I went to Cleveland. So far, I’ve moved twenty three times. Soon to be twenty four, I guess.”
Mat’s eyes widened, “Wow, your parents sure didn’t like to stay put, huh?”
“I left home when I was 14, Mat,” I said awkwardly.
“By yourself?”
“Yeah. My brother left about a less than a year before I did. Our father was very abusive, when my brother, Eli, left, my father beat me more viciously and frequently so one day I just left. My license says I’m 26, but I’m only 22... and, my birth name is actually Michelle, but Scarlet fits me better and it’s who I am,” I smiled.
“Holy shit...” he said in an uncertain tone.
“Well, this is awkward...” I sighed as a long silence overtook us. “I’m sorry,” I said before getting up and heading for the room I’d woken up in.
He grabbed my wrist gently as I passed him before getting up. “Where are you going?” he said in almost a whisper, facing me.
“I don’t know,” I said, just as soft.
He then wrapped his arms around me the most comforting way. It was the kind of hug you need at the end of a really long and stressful shift at work, the kind that you melt into. “It’s just a lot, Scarlet, you know? And, you’re really sweet and to think that you’ve been through more shit in 22 years than most people go through in their entire lives is really shitty...” he said, his arms still around me. “My reaction wasn’t supposed to be negative, Scar. I wasn’t about to throw you out or anything, I just really don’t know how to respond to that... I mean, you’re awesome and that really sucks.”
I hugged him tight for a moment, managing to utter a, “Thanks, Mat...” as I did so.