The Day All The Statues Came To Life

I had to lie and tell people I feel down a flight of stairs. It didn’t look like I had, but what could I really tell them? My face and arms were covered with purple splotches, and the backs of my knees too from when he pushed me and I fell over the coffee table.
I’m not going to bore you with all the details of what my dad did to me, or how Bex didn’t step in, as usual. In my mind, I have a box that I keep all the bad memories of my life in. I work very hard to keep them in there, literally sometimes it takes everything I have to keep them inside the box, to not let them creep out of the corners. I figure someday, I’ll have the courage to let them out, and look at them, my own personal little Pandora’s Box, but right now, I’m terrified of having to face them.

The last day of school finally came around. The past week had been absolute shit and I couldn’t wait to be free of the building and all the people for three months. The fight or flight syndrome in me made me not even able to sit through my fifth period, so I spent it in the abandoned auditorium chain smoking, stubbing out each one on the back of one of the set pieces, talking to Ryan.
Ryan and I were friends. And that was it. We had just found a similar person in each other, and we were addicted. Addicted to saying something and it mattering to someone else, to having someone respect your opinion, to actually telling the truth for the first time in our lives, to having someone actually care. I knew still too in love with James, and god, I would always be “too in love with James”, to even look at another guy, but still, sometimes you find that spark, sometimes you don’t. Ryan and I were in too deep to even think about falling in love, and we were instead in a total brother/sister vibe.
“Hang on.” I said to Ryan, when my phone beeped. “I got a text.”
“Kay.”
I pulled the phone from my ear and opened it. “T, Meet me in the parking lot after school.”
I let out a frustrated and strangled sigh. “It’s James.” I told Ryan. “He wants to see me.”
“Don’t go.” Ryan said. “That little prick needs to learn to be told no.”
I didn’t respond for a minute, concentrating on grinding a cigarette butt harshly on the stage until my fingers were simply rubbing ash .
Ryan sighed. “You’re going to go aren’t you?”
I laughed slightly. “How bad is it?”
“Someday you’ll grow a spine, and I’ll throw you a big ass party.”
“I’ll see you tonight though?”
“Your dad will let you?”
“It’s a Friday.” I said, shrugging even though he couldn’t see me “He won’t be home until the morning, and even if he doesn’t, he’ll be too drunk to notice I’m not there.”
“See? That’s the kind of courage you need with James.”
“Good-bye Ryan.” I said firmly.
“Bye Tea.”

I stopped by a bathroom before I had to meet James. I ran a hand through my blonde hair, which fell down to mid back and grimaced. I still had a slight black eye and my nose still look a little purple despite the makeup Bex had been putting on it all week. My eyes looked sad and defeated. I splashed some cold water on my neck to try and snap myself out whatever was going on in my head, maybe hoping that when I looked up again, I would be pleased with what I saw.
I wasn’t. “Fuck it.” I grumbled, splashing water on the mirror angrily so the drops covered up my face.

James was leaning up against his silver car waiting for me, looking like a greek god of some kind. Everyone around him was squealing and girls were hugging each other good-bye for the summer; I saw Bex with Captain Amazing, who gave me a wave hello, surrounded by a group of people making plans for dinner. “Hey.” He said with a smile.
“Hi.” I said quietly.
“What happened to your face?” He said, actually looking concerned.
“I fell down some stairs.” I said quickly.
He gave me an odd look, like he knew I wasn’t telling the truth but decided to ignore it. “I haven’t heard from you lately.”
“Funny, I could say the same.” I said, crossing my arms.
“Teagan,” He said taking a step towards me. “Don’t be angry.”
“Angry?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Why should I be angry you told the whole school I invited myself over and seduced you last weekend?”
He sighed. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, come on-“
“Where’s Sarah?” I said cutting him off.
“We aren’t together.” He said firmly.
I shook my head, part of me wanting him, the other part screaming for me to get the fuck away, and I couldn’t sort out who was winning.
“Tea?” He lifted my chin up to face him. “You know you’re my number one, come on.”
I want to close my eyes and be back on the beach, with Ryan, where things were actually making sense, where my thoughts were all aligned in my head, not scattered all over the universe. But that wasn’t possible. I was here. This was now. And I had to respond. So I said the first thing that came to my mouth: “Let’s get out of here.”

The party being thrown at Ryan and Jake’s was much smaller and much more intimate, and I arrived in the best mood since a long time. Not only had James and I “gotten out of there”, we had spent the rest of the day together. I couldn’t remember the last time we had had such a long conversation, hell, maybe we actually hadn’t had a full conversation since I had given him my virginity.
But we had gone to some coffee house, sat outside under the umbrellas in the sun and just talked. He told me about where he wanted to apply to schools next year, what he wanted to do with his life, how his family was doing. I couldn’t understand this total 180 in his personality, but I wasn’t complaining.
“Well don’t you look happy.” Ryan was at my side, his arm thrown casually over my shoulder as he led me over to some of his friends.
I smiled. “I am. James and I had a good day, we just sat and talked for a long time.”
“You hung out with James?”
I turned around to see Jake, holding a red cup, with an odd disapproving look on his face.
“Yeah?” I said, feeling confused as to how this was his business.
“Why?” He demanded.
“Hey Jake, go get some more cups at the store.” Ryan said suddenly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a twenty. Jake opened his mouth in protest, but Ryan shoved the bill into his hand. “Seriously, go.”
Jake nodded once and spun on his heel to leave. “What was that about?” I demanded.
“Nothing.” Ryan said. “This is Lily.”
He gave me a hard shove towards an Asian girl with a short black bob and blunt bangs across her forehead. She was dressed in faded jeans, a t shirt, a very cool sweater and gold bangles. She was the coolest person I’d ever seen. “Hi. I’m Teagan.” I said nervously, intimidated by the very sight of her.
She smiled hugely at me and stuck out a hand. “I’ve heard so much about you! About time Ryan had another person with breasts to hang out with. Well, besides Kyle over there.”
“Hey! I heard that bitch.” A heavier guy snapped at her.
Lily gave me a secret little grin. “Hey, own your sexuality Kyle, don’t be ashamed.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Kyle whined. “You’re going to give the new chick a bad impression. Who are you again?”
“Teagan. Teagan Marshell.” I said giving him a handshake.
“What the hell kind of super name is that?” Kyle said.
“How do you know I’m not?” I said raising an eyebrow. Lily gave me a happy smile, like I had impressed her with my comment.
“It’s too bad Jude couldn’t make it.” Lily said conversationally.
“Yeah, he said there was some kind of emergency.” Ryan said, handing me a drink.
“Thanks. Jude?” I asked.
“Ryan’s best friend. We are totally second wheel.” Lily said, scowling jokingly at Ryan.
“Shut up Lily, you are not.” Ryan said, punching her in the stomach.
“You killed my baby!” Lily shrieked.
“It was probably ugly anyway. Did it a favor.”
“No baby of mine would be ugly!”
“Really? Have you checked a mirror lately?”
“God, go get married already. “ Kyle said, rolling his eyes. “Can we please play already?”
“I’ll get the cards!” Lily said jumping up.
“What are we playing?” I asked.
“Something to get us all shit faced.” Kyle said.

Half an hour later, I was shitfaced, Kyle, Ryan and Lily were shitfaced, and they were already inviting me to join their social calendar for the entire summer. Lily had, for some reason, taken an immediate liking to me, and was currently putting her name in my cell phone so we could hang out tomorrow, Kyle was already teasing me like a pro, and Ryan was looking smug at the fact that his friends already seemed to like and accept me.
I was…happy. I felt like things were looking up.
The only thing bothering me, was Jake, who after returning from his errand, would not stop glaring at me.
What had I done to make him so angry?