Michael

 

He was at it again. Lauren’s stepfather stumbled up the stairs. I could smell the whiskey from her bedroom, just down the hall from where he fell on his face. The yelling started soon after that. Screaming for someone to get him to bed, to pull off his goddamn boots. No one went, though. Everyone stayed in their rooms, too nervous to move. It was the one time of day they were safe from his flying fists and his careless words.

 

Her mom didn’t get him either. She knew better. Trying to pick him up after he face-planted would only make him pissed. He’d blame her for making him such a pissy man. Accuse her for having no faith in him. Faith was lost a long time ago. The first time he raised his hand to Lauren, the only thing I trusted was that he’d do it again. And again.

 

“He’ll be asleep in a minute.” Lauren tiptoed to the door and shut it, holding it steady until the silent click assured her it was closed.

 

“You need to get the fuck out of here, Lauren.” I clenched my fists, wanting badly to get to that fucker and kick his ass down the steps and out of the house. Lauren’s mom traded one asshole for another when she married that clown. Better to have an abusive man than no man, I supposed she felt. But Lauren deserved better than that. She deserved a warm house to go home to after school. Somewhere she didn’t need to deadbolt her bedroom to keep her stepfather from wandering in during the night, thinking he was climbing into bed with his wife.

 

“Graduation is only a year away.” Lauren shrugged and climbed back into bed with me.

 

I yanked her up against me, holding her close. She smelled like baby soft perfume, and I loved that shit. The way she always smelled like a girl, so damn soft and feminine. Not like most girls I would hang out with, who smoked and cursed. Lauren was innocent, far removed from all the bad shit in the world. Even with her drunkass stepfather snoring from the hallway floor she saw the positive side. Graduation wasn’t just a year away; it was forever away. A whole summer and a full year of school stood in our way. Then we’d get the fuck out of there. My old man wasn’t much better than hers and my mom split when I was a kid. But until Lauren agreed to run with me, I decided to stay put. She needed me.

 

“Lisa asked me when you were gonna get around to asking her out,” Lauren whispered into the stillness of the room.

 

“When she gets some tits.” I moaned and slid down, getting more comfortable in her bed. I wanted to spend the night naked in her bed, with her soft body pressed up against me, but Lauren wouldn’t allow it. Friends, fuck that, we were more than that, but I think she was scared her stepfather would find out and really lay into her for being a whore. He said it often enough when she put on a little lipstick.

 

“I think he’s out good now, Michael. You gotta get home. You stayed here last night; your dad’s gonna think you ran away.” She gave me a shove and I rolled off the bed, hitting the floor. She giggled and leaned over the edge of the bed to look at me.

 

I tried to give her a surprised look, like I didn’t know she could be so fucking strong, but ended up pulling her down off the bed on top of me. I rolled with her until I was on top of her and kissed her. Our lips smashed together, and when I pulled back she looked at me with shock. I laughed and hopped to my feet.

 

I didn’t have to look back to know she was watching me from her window as I climbed down the roof and hopped onto my bike, revving the engine just before peeling down the road.

 

That was the last peaceful night I had for years to come. The next morning when I picked her up for school, her stepbrother, who was a few years older than us, was on her front lawn, pulling at her jacket. She struggled to get free of his grip, but the asshat held his liquor as well as his old man and just pushed her flailing hands away.

 

I jumped off my bike to get to her, to save her. His hand pulled back, she flinched even before it made contact. The resounding sound of his palm connecting with her face nearly knocked me off my feet. All reasoning flew from me. That fucker put his hand on Lauren. My Lauren.

 

He grunted when his head hit the grass as I tackled him. Straddling his chest, I laid into him, closed fists met his face, his nose, his cheek. From the distance, I heard Lauren calling my name. She may have been pulling on my shirt, but it didn’t budge me. That fuck and his father had done nothing but bring hell to Lauren’s life, and it was time for it to end.

 

My knuckles split, but that didn’t stop me. Jackass passed out, but I continued to wail on him. It wasn’t until the sirens blared in my ears did I ease up and sit back. Blood covered my fists, my shirt. Chad lay silent beneath me. He wasn’t dead. I could still feel his chest moving under me.

 

The police officers didn’t wait to hear my side, didn’t wait to hear what Lauren was yelling at them. I was hauled up to my feet, cuffs slapped tightly on my wrists.

 

“Wait. No. It wasn’t his fault!” I heard Lauren screaming as they shoved me into the back of the car. I saw her standing in her front lawn, holding her backpack in both hands, tears streaming down her face. Her stepfather loomed on the front porch, looking as though he just woke up. One cop stayed behind to wait for the ambulance. That fucker was fine. That fucker was also dating the police chief’s daughter, who had seen my last name cross his desk more times than he could count.

 

That was the last time I saw Lauren Robertson, and it was the last time she saw me. Because after they threw me in juvenile detention, any sweet thoughts I had about being with that innocent girl were crushed. After seven years of being in and out of lock ups, that girl deserved a fuck of a lot better than me. She deserved heaven on earth, and all I could offer was hell.