Salvage
Page 7
“You ready?” I hold out my arm for her to take. Tammy loops her arm through mine, and we make our way into the gym.
NSYNC blasts from the speakers around us, and I can’t stop the laugh that escapes. Gray, white, and blue streamers hang above us stretching across the top of the gym signifying our school’s colors. A large banner hangs above the stage where the prom king and queen will be announced later stating our theme for the prom: “A Night to Remember”. Silver stars hung from the ceiling shimmering against the lights. Tables are lined with white linens draped across and flowers in vases make up the centerpieces on the tables. It really is a breathtaking sight considering it’s in our high school gym.
“Look at this,” Tammy says, her voice filled with awe and wonder, and I know how she’s feels because I feel the exact same.
“I know. They’ve really outdone themselves.” As soon as the words come out of my mouth a trail of goosebumps creep up my spine, and I know without a shadow of doubt someone else is really about to outdo themselves.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t trailer trash Barbie and her sidekick.”
My eyes screw tightly shut, and right now I wish the ground could open up and swallow me whole. Dressed in a black tux, with a white shirt and black bow tie to match stands Drew, who’s come around to stand in front of me. With his arms crossed over his chest, he glares down at me, and I have to restrain myself from rolling my eyes at him.
“Hey Drew,” Tammy greets from beside me, her voice timid.
His eyes flicker over to her before he turns his attention back to me. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Yeah, well, I really wasn’t expecting to be here either,” I answer, my eyes now focus on the floor.
“Why did you come?” he asks, and I can hear the abhorrence in his voice.
Just as I’m about to tell him because I can, another voice joins the conversation and just by his deep timbre, I know it’s him. Brayden Stephens. “Why don’t you leave her alone?” His voice is soft yet indifferent.
My head snaps up in his direction, and I’m left completely shocked for one reason only. Brayden freaking Stephens, who does nothing when his gang of followers picks on me, is actually sticking up for me. As nonchalantly as possible, I pinch myself to make sure this real. The pain that zings my arm tells me it’s real all right. With wide eyes, I look between him and Drew.
Drew sweeps his hand in my direction. “Are you really defending her? Now?” he asks incredulously.
“I guess I am,” Brayden replies. Turning his attention to me, he holds his hand out for me to take. “Would you like to dance?”
My eyes blink wildly, and I’m sure I look like a fish out of water with my mouth hanging open, gasping for breath. On autopilot, my hand slips into his. I follow him out to the dance floor, completely entranced and stunned by tonight’s turn of events. Spinning around, Brayden pulls me into his embrace. Just as I’m about to place my hand on his shoulder, I catch the slight tightening of his muscles and it makes me think better of it. Why? I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want me touching him? He probably thinks I have some contractible disease or something. The thought alone has my eyes dropping to the floor. I try to pull out of his hold.
His grip tightens around my waist, halting my movements, instead I wrap my arms around his neck. “I really like your dress.” His voice is so low, just above a whisper. I’m not sure I heard him right.
I stare up at him at his comment. Heat rises up my neck and onto my cheeks, and I can feel the corners of my lips tug up into a grin. “Thank you,” I whisper. The soft sounds of the piano mixing with Nora Jones’ melodic voice croons softly from the gymnasium speakers as she sings Come Away With Me. “You look very nice, too. Very dapper,” I reply as he sways us back and forth on the makeshift dance floor. My eyes roam over his black tux, white button down shirt, and red rose boutonniere. His normally unruly hair is gelled to the side and combed nice and neat. “Why?” I ask. Ever since he came to my defense it’s been bugging me to know, to understand, why now. Why all of a sudden is he choosing to be nice to me?
“Why what?” He looks down at me, brows dipped down, confusion clearly written across his face.
I shrug. “Not once have you ever been nice to me. So, why tonight?”
Brayden’s chest rises and falls with a deep breath and before I know it, he’s spinning me away from him and back into his arms effectively dismissing my question. Lost in my own fairytale, a dream that I thought would never come true, I let myself feel like Cinderella at the ball with her prince charming, even if it is all fake.
Just as I let myself slip into the fantasy that tonight everything will be okay, just as one of my carefully guarded walls shreds to pieces, so does my dress. Brayden’s grip on my waist tightens. Forcefully he holds me in place as I listen to the sounds of fabric being shredded. A breeze sweeps over my calves, up the backs of my thighs, over my butt, and up my back. The beautiful black dress falls from my body leaving me in nothing but my borrowed, strapless bra and cotton panties when he removes his hands from my body. A blush so fierce envelops my flesh. There’s no use in holding back my tears. I am completely and utterly mortified. I look up to see Brayden’s eyes roam up and down my dainty frame, but the cackling behind me is what makes me look back over my shoulder. I look around to see that I’ve been danced into a corner. There are no teachers, no adult figures around to save me from this utter humiliation. I’m surrounded by some of the student body, a collective gasp comes from them, but they are no better than the people who have done this to me. Not a single one of them is willing to rescue me, not a single one of them is running for help, not a single one of them says or does a damn thing.
Brittany stands there, a pair of shears in her hand, and scraps of black fabric hanging between her fingers. Out of all of the things this group has ever done to me, this is the absolute worst. When she hears me sniffle back my tears, she cocks her head to one side, a look of triumph in her eyes. “Aww… Are you crying?” she asks, her tone sickeningly sweet. “You couldn’t possibly think that my boyfriend would really want to dance with you?” When I don’t answer, a laugh escapes her as she shakes her head. “Oh, you did? That’s sweet.”
“Leave it, Brittany.” Brayden’s hard, commanding voice causes my head to snap in his direction. It’s like he’s coming to my rescue, but I know that’s not true.
“No,” she snaps. “I am sick and tired of how she looks at you.” I turn back and stare at Brittany, completely stunned by her words. She points at me. “Even after all the shit he lets us do to you, you still look at him like he’s someone who would ever be interested in the likes of you.” She dangles the scraps of onyx material in my face as she steps closer to me, her face inches from my own. I spot an exit, to where it leads I have no idea. In my attempt to make a run for it, I’m shoved backward. My back collides with Brayden’s chest. My legs tremble. They threaten to give way beneath me. My arms wrap around my body to shield myself from their public scrutiny. There is nowhere for me to go. Brittany advances on me, a manic look in her eyes. “Let this be a reminder of what I can do to you. You are trash. You are lower than trash. You are the trash that squatters use to wipe their asses with. Keep your fucking eyes to yourself and learn your place.”
I always knew I was nothing. But this right here is like a punch to the gut and a slap back into reality. As I look around the gym, everyone who is close enough to see, his or her eyes are on me. Tears well up in Tammy’s eyes while Drew restrains her from coming to my aid. I can honestly say—I want to die.
Looking back now, prom night was the worst night of my life. It may not have been by Brayden’s hand, but he didn’t do anything to stop it either. He was an accomplice. Guilty by association. That made him no better than his group of friends. I went with fear and trepidation swallowing me whole. I should have listened to my gut back then, and I should listen to it now. And now, it’s telling me that I’m a fool if I go to him, help him.
“Is he okay?” I ask the bouncer who sits perched on a stool in front of the door as I come to a stop in front of Brayden.
He shrugs, and I can tell he really doesn’t care. “He’s breathing.”
I scowl at him as I squat down in front of a comatose Brayden. His head hangs haphazardly to the side, his legs outstretched in front of him, hair a disheveled mess, and he’s snoring. On its own accord, my hand reaches out and I gingerly sweep a wayward strand of his hair off his forehead. “What happened to you?” I whisper to no one other than myself. Looking up at the bouncer, I reach for Brayden’s arm and ask, “Do you think you could help me get him in my car?”
He rolls his eyes but nods. At this moment, I have a few choice words for him and the owner of this establishment but choose to keep my mouth shut since I need his help.
“What’s your name?” I ask as he hops off his stool.
“Tim.”
“Well, thank you, Tim,” I offer as he helps me hoist Brayden up and off the ground. As we practically drag him to my car, I ask, “How long has he been like this?”
Brayden’s head hangs forward, lolling back and forth with our movements. My arm and shoulders ache from his weight. Tim looks over at me. “Twenty minutes or so. I don’t know. One minute he was mumbling about how ‘they could go and fuck themselves’ and the next minute he was passed out.”
I nod, but in the same sense I’m really confused. “Can you hold him up one second so I can open the door?”
“Yeah, just make it quick, he’s fucking heavy,” Tim pants.
My thoughts exactly.
I remove Brayden’s arm from around my neck and he groans. Quickly, I reach for the door, opening it, but not completely before the smell of whiskey and whatever else Brayden ate earlier lands on my shoes and lower legs. My eyes screw shut, and I have to mentally tell myself, I’m not going to puke, I’m not going to puke, over and over again.
“What the fuck!” Tim yells from beside me as he drops Brayden to the ground.
I spin around to see Brayden on all fours, his body heaving and purging everything it can. “Why the hell did you drop him?” I yell as I lean over to pat Brayden’s back, as a mother would her child.
“He fucking puked on me.” Tim waves his hand in my direction. “And he puked on you too,” he says disgustedly.
“Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. Go and get me some water and some paper towels.”
“This is not what I signed up for,” he grumbles as he turns away from us.
I watch as he heads towards the entrance of the bar before returning my attention back to a sick Brayden. “Are you okay?”
He looks up at me from the corners of his eyes before he nods. “What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice raw and gravely from just expelling everything from his system.
His question doesn’t surprise me. I had a feeling he wouldn’t remember asking for me to come and pick him up. I give him a sad smile. “Just let me help you, all right?”
Brayden looks at me for a long moment as he sits himself up, leaning back on his heels. I watch as he heaves a deep breath and screws his eyes shut. “Thank you.”
A thud rings in my ears. I turn my head in hopes that it will go away, but it doesn’t. Instead, a tap on my shoulder joins the damn thud.
“What?” I groan.
“I said we’re here.”
It’s a female’s voice, a voice that I can barely recall hearing before. I shake my head to clear the fog that’s currently taking up residence in my brain right now, but that only leads to nausea making my stomach roll. I lean forward only to be restricted. Slowly, I open one eye at a time. I’m in a car. A car that is most definitely not mine. A seatbelt holds me in place. That would explain not being able to lean forward. I look to my left and low and behold, Karmen sits in the driver’s seat.
“What’s going on?” I groan. Even as I speak my head pounds like I went round after round with a boxer. My eyebrows dip in confusion as I stare at her.
Karmen raises her hand and points out the window. I turn my attention to where she’s pointing, and that’s when it all comes rushing back to me like a bad nightmare that I’ll never wake up from.
The attorney.
The fight between me and good-ole-dad.
Him hitting me. Again.
Him kicking me out of the house.
Going to Killian’s.
Getting wasted beyond belief.
But now… all I draw is a blank.
“I assumed this is where you were living. If I’m wrong, I can take you someplace else.”
Karmen’s soft voice redirects my attention back to her.
“No,” I answer, barely shaking my head. “I don’t live here anymore.”
“Um…okay.”
I look at her out of the corners of my eyes. Her slender fingers pick at the frayed edges of her steering wheel cover. I don’t know if she’s nervous to be around me, but it makes me feel like such a dick.
“Would you mind taking me to Drew’s?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I can do that.”
“Let me call him real quick. His wife will get pissed if I just show up.” I dig in my pocket and pull out my phone only to realize it’s not there. My head drops back onto the headrest, and I scrub my hands down my face, irritated. “Fuck. I bet I left my phone at the bar,” I sigh.
“No. You almost did though. I had to pick it up off the ground. I’m not sure if it works or not.”
I turn my head in her direction. “Did someone step on it or something? Did I throw it?”
“Definitely the…or something. When I was helping you up off the ground, it fell out of your pocket and landed in your vomit.”
My eyes screw shut as I groan, frustrated and still really drunk. This night just keeps getting better and better.
“I can take you somewhere else if you like,” Karmen says and I look at her, her gaze holds mine.
My voice is soft, broken, in the quiet car as I reply, “I have nowhere else to go.” Never in my life have I felt so vulnerable, felt like I was at someone’s mercy. I do now.
“Oh.” Karmen’s eyes flick from mine to my parents’ house and back to mine. “What happened to your face?” she asks and there’s a biting edge to her tone. Her hand reaches out and caresses what is sure to be a nice bruise. “I mean I saw it earlier, but I thought it was the lights playing tricks on me from outside the bar.”
“Nothing.” I turn away from her touch. To be honest I didn’t think she’d even notice, and if she did, I didn’t think she’d care. My eyes fix on the house outside the window, and I just stare at it. My own little house of horrors. I can still feel every lick of the belt biting into my skin. Every bone that ever broke beneath my old man’s fists. Every degrading word barreling down on my self-esteem. My screams echo in my ears even after all this time. Every time I begged, pleaded, he’d rain down his wrath even worse. Every tear that ever escaped earned me his humorless laughs. I’d rather live under a bridge than go back in that house. I was a damn fool to think I could come back here and him be a changed man. Leopard’s spots never change and evil never sheds its black robe.
“Well.” Karmen’s voice pulls me back to the situation on hand. I must have been quite for too long because she looks from me to the house and back to me. I can see the cogs in her brain working, trying to piece everything together. But she won’t because I don’t allow people to see me wallow in my own personal hell. She looks up at the roof of her car, and I can hear her take a deep breath. “I can’t belie
ve I’m going to do this,” she murmurs under her breath. I don’t think she intended for me to hear it, but I am sitting right next to her. Just when I’m about to tell her not to worry about it, that I’ll figure something out she interrupts me. “You can stay with me tonight. On my couch, of course,” she rushes out. I’m sure if I wasn’t seeing two of her right now, I’d probably be able to see a beautiful crimson color shading her face.
I shake my head. “I appreciate it, but you don’t have to do that.”
She sighs. “Look. You have nowhere else to go tonight. It’s late. I’m tired. I have your puke on my legs right now, and I just really want to get home, shower, and go to sleep.” She nods her head toward my parents’ house across from us. “And I don’t think you really wanna go in there either. It’s almost midnight. I’m sure Drew is sleeping along with his wife. I know I’m not the option you want, but I’m offering. Take it or leave it.”