4
2451 Words
Grayson
I wait for Theo by the bleachers overlooking the pool, she’s late. I look at my phone and see it’s past 3:30 now, she should have been here fifteen minutes ago. Just as I’m about to get up and leave I see her sneak out of the locker rooms. I walk towards her as I watch her looking at the water.
“Didn’t think you were going to show up” I joked at her.
She nods once, “I wasn’t going to… then I remembered your grade rides all on me learning how to swim”
She hates the water and yet she is here because she doesn't want me to fail.
“Well… let’s get this over with” She says as she starts for the pool.
“Actually.. I was hoping we could start out of the water” I say as I motion towards the bleachers. She looks at me strangely and then follows me. We sit down on our towels and I turn to her.
“Why are you afraid of the water?” I ask point blank.
“I- I’m not” She looks down at her hands
“I’ve been swimming for years and I’ve never seen someone more afraid of the water than you, Theo. Spill” I say crossing my arms over my chest.
She sighs and caves” My dad was supposed to teach me before he died. I guess I am just scared to do it without him.. Sometimes I want to believe he is coming back. That he’s not gone forever. It’s been years but I still feel like it’s not real.. I guess learning to swim means accepting it’s all real. He’s gone. ” She is on the verge of crying at this point. I almost feel bad for asking. I didn’t want to upset her, but now I know what is going on.
“Listen.. I know how you feel. My mom died two years ago.. I used to play guitar, I played for her everyday until she passed away. I haven’t played since. I actually picked up my guitar last night and it made it all real for me when I put my fingers to the cords. So I get it. I know. It gets better. You just need to accept it and be strong”
“That makes sense I guess I can try… Grayson?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry about your mom..” She gives me a sad smile as she wipes her tears away.
“It’s okay.. She’s in a better place.. No longer in pain.. Anyways.. I have an idea for us to try. We are going to sit here and hold our breath, as long as we can”
We do it a few times, she can hold her breath for quite a while, I’m surprised. I just need to figure out how to get her comfortable in the water now.
“Okay. Let’s get in the pool.. Have you ever just relaxed in the water?” I ask her as I slide in, waiting for her. She takes her time sliding into the cool water.
She shakes her head.
“So each time you’ve been in the water you’ve been thrown into the deep end?”
She nods in response.
“Okay. I have an idea, I just need you to trust me.. Can you do that?” I hold my hands out to her to take them. She looks at me very intently for a few moments before sliding her small hands into mine.
“Yes”
“Okay, I’m going to hold you, I want you to just lay on your back. Your body will float if you don’t fight it. Just relax and remember I have you okay? Close your eyes and just breathe” I hold her hands as she lays on her back and lets herself just float. Her breasts stick out of the water while the rest of her is laying limpy in the water.
“How do you feel?” I ask after about five minutes
“Calm” She whispers back, her eyes still closed. She looks peaceful, something I’ve not been able to see before.
“Good.. I’m going to walk us over to some deeper water, just keep doing what you're doing” I say as I take a few steps. I can feel her body tense as I do. She’s scared.
“It’s alright, you're doing great” I tell her, we are about my chest deep now. If she were to stand up she wouldn’t be able to touch the bottom. My hands grip onto her a bit tighter, just to be safe. She is really doing well. Our time for today is almost up, we only get an hour and a half every day after school.
I slowly bring us back to the shallow end of the pool, “Okay, open your eyes” She stands up beside me.
We get out of the pool and grab our towels, “You did really well today” I tell her as she heads for the girls locker room. I make my way to the boys, having a quick shower and getting dressed. I head out to the hallway waiting for Theo to come out. She takes a long time before exiting the locker room.
“Can I give you a ride home?” I ask seeing her in her t-shirt and jeans. Her hair is wet, she must have been washing it and that’s why she took so long.
“No, that’s okay. Thank you though” She slings her book bag over her shoulders as she starts for the main entrance of the school. I’m right on her trail.
“It’s really no bother” I say as I open the main door for her, only to see it pouring down rain outside.
She looks around for a moment before giving a heavy sigh. She steps out into the rain and starts walking
“You can’t be serious! You’ll catch a cold if you walk home in this!” I rip off my coat, leaving me in my hoodie. I throw my coat over her head and grab her arm, pulling her towards my truck.
“I don’t need a ride, really. I’ve walked home in worse before” She tries to get free of me but I simply pick her up and toss her gently inside my truck slamming the door behind her. I jump in the drivers side and look at her, she is shivering.
I start up the truck and blast the heat on her.
“Where do you live?” I ask
“Clayton St… It’s over by-”
“The cemetery. I got it” I say as I put the truck in gear. She doesn’t ask how I knew that and I don’t say anything. I live two streets over. I made a habit when we moved to a new place to get to know the neighborhood pretty well. The first night we moved in I wandered the streets for a few hours.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if she was the person on their roof the other night. I drive to Clayton St and she directs me to her house.
Yep same house. She is the star gazer.
“Thanks for the ride” She says as she slides off my coat. She jumps out of my truck and runs to her door. She stops for a few seconds and just stands there before she finally opens the door, stepping inside.
I drive two streets over to my own house and park. I grab my jacket and run inside, thankful to have the roof over my head once more. The rain is not letting up, I think we might have a storm tonight.
Dad is not home yet.
After grabbing a snack I go to my room, I only have a few boxes left to unpack, I finish them off and take the empty boxes to the garage. I see out of the corner of my eye my moms pedal bike, sitting there gathering dust. I wonder if dad would let me give it to Theo. It would be of greater use to her than sitting in the garage forever.
My phone starts to buzz in my pocket.
I pull it out and see Trevor calling me
‘Hey what's up?’
‘Band practice at my place, you in?’
‘Yeah man, give me twenty minutes to pack up’
I get the address from him and go to get my guitar. I decided to go with the electric for now, I don’t know what he has in mind for songs. I can always get my bass or acoustic at a later time.
It’s still pouring rain outside, it’s chilly too now. I put all my gear in garbage bags so it won’t get wet.
As I’m loading the last of my stuff into the truck, my dad pulls up.
“Where are you off to Gray?” He asks as he heaves a box from the back seat.
“Band practice.. I’ll be home for dinner” I close the back door and walk over to the drivers side.
“Oh cool. Have fun!” Is all he says before walking to the front door.
My dad has always been really easy going, he was a medic in the army for twenty five years. He has seen some heavy stuff. He met my mom at an army base, she was training to be a nurse and he took her under his wing. She didn’t last long in the field, the blood and gore was too much. She ended up being an art gallery dealer in the end. The constant traveling that dad’s job gave them made it easy for her to get artwork from everywhere in the US.
He is always smiling and happy, but I bet inside he is a wreck. It must not be easy losing your best friend to something you can’t control. Mom had breast cancer and it was so hard to watch her die in front of you for years. The treatment stopped working after the first round of chemo. After that the Doctors said it was only a matter of time. She lasted three years, but she was in constant pain.
I shake my head of the heavy thoughts and get into my truck, I drive to the address Trevor gave me and park on the side of the road.
I send him a text that I’m here.
A minute later he comes out of a small house,
“Hey bro, need some help?” He casually walks over to me, not wearing a coat , his shirt getting soaked through immediately.
“There’s the amp in the back seat” I nod to my truck as I walk towards the garage that is already open, revealing his drum set. It’s pretty nice looking. It must have been expensive, when it was new. It’s a bit worn down from the years.
“So I’m trying to convince my buddy to come and play second guitar with us. He’s coming over in a bit too see us play. Hopefully he agrees”
I nod in response, having a second guitar player would be ideal.
We get my stuff all setup and within half an hour we are warming up. It takes a little bit to get used to playing together, we have to each slow our tempo to the other. We quickly get on the same page and start to play a song we both know by heart. His friend shows up and sits in the corner of the garage and listens for a bit. He is average height and skinny, long black hair unkempt hangs into his face. He has multiple facial piercings. We fluidly change into song after song, only stopping when it is too late to continue.
“So you in?” Trevor asks the boy.
“Yeah man, you guys can rock” He says, his breath smells like Cheetos.
We unplug all the gear and pack it back up into my truck and say goodnight.
I drive back home and put my stuff into the garage, leaving it there for now, I don’t feel like dragging it all back up to my room. I’m tired, it’s been a long day. I just want to shower and get some sleep. I make my way to the bathroom, stripping out of my damp clothing. I turn the shower on and step inside. I stand under the hot water for a while before I start to actually clean myself.
My mind keeps drifting back to Theo. All the bruises and the gash on her forehead, it doesn’t seem right. I need to ask her about it, but how? I decide to ask my dad what to do.
I get dressed quickly in a simple pair of sweatpants and a muscle shirt, making my way to the kitchen, finding my dad pulling a pizza out of the oven.
“Hey dad, can I ask you something?” I don’t know how to start the topic but I know I need to get it off my chest.
“What is it?”
“Well… There’s this girl at my school… I. I think she’s being abused at home”
“Why do you think that?”
“She has all these bruises all over her body, her back is just black and blue. She has a huge gash on her forehead that looks really recent. It looks like someone used super glue on it instead of getting stitches” I say as I push my pizza around on my plate. This topic does not make me have a great appetite.
“Have you asked her about it?” He asks setting his own food down
“She said she fell out of a tree…” I sigh, remembering her strange reaction when I brought it up.
“Do the teachers not seem concerned about her safety?”
I shake my head at him sadly.
“Why don’t you bring her over for dinner on Monday, maybe we can help her somehow”
“Thanks dad.. Really.. She’s a nice girl. I don’t want to see anything happen to her”
“Of course Son.. I see I’m raising you well. I’m proud of you”
Now I just have to get through the weekend without my mind constantly going to Theo. Her sad green eyes seem to be haunting my mind every time I close my eyes.
“Hey dad, can I ask you something?” I don’t know how to start the topic but I know I need to get it off my chest.
“What is it?”
“Well… There’s this girl at my school… I. I think she’s being abused at home”
“Why do you think that?”
“She has all these bruises all over her body, her back is just black and blue. She has a huge gash on her forehead that looks really recent. It looks like someone used super glue on it instead of getting stitches” I say as I push my pizza around on my plate. This topic does not make me have a great appetite.
“Have you asked her about it?” He asks setting his own food down
“She said she fell out of a tree…” I sigh, remembering her strange reaction when I brought it up.
“Do the teachers not seem concerned about her safety?”
I shake my head at him sadly.
"Why don't you ask her for dinner, we can try and help her"
"Thanks dad.."
I try to sleep that night, but every time I close my eyes I am haunted by her sad green eyes.
- Writer
