Chapter 5
Understandings, and Acquaintances
The second Desiree glared at the innocent boy from her window she regretted it. After awhile she realized that nothing he said would change her normal routine of beatings. Even if someone came to the house to investigate Donna, there would be no chance of her getting any sort of punishment. Her sly voice and fake personality was well developed and highly difficult to penetrate. Her ability to manipulate people, as much as Des hated to admit, had a tendency to always work. It was as if the victim was clueless.
Desiree sat up in her room for awhile just pondering, also examining the bruise on her right cheek. It was changing into a pretty shade of purple; the brown around it wasn’t as appealing though. Her mind wandered farther than she would have hoped. Reality seemed so morose and sullen; it was just practical to swim into her thoughts. They were dangerous though, her thoughts that is. Not as perilous as her aunt, or the abuse, but enough to frighten her.
The ideas of her mother leaving her, and her father never even bothering to find her, made living a little harder each day. Then the idea of being alone in a world full of people, and then Pierce had randomly showed up. Des wasn’t sure that her anger was even reasonable anymore, and there was no point of even bothering. The past had already been written and sought, and could never be tampered with again. Anyone could figure that much out, but it just so happened that she had more experience than most people she encountered.
Later that night after writing in her journal, Donna fell asleep. She only knew that because her snoring could have woken up the whole neighborhood. Des opened her bedroom door and scoped around, just in case. With the reassurance, she climbed out her window and slid down the gutter to get to her beloved tree. The grass was damp beneath her bare feet, and the mud slid between her toes. She breathed in the damp, humid air of summer as if it would disappear sooner than anyone could anticipate. It was around two in the morning, and Des was going to finally try and get the sleep she deserved in her tree.
Her hand grazed the trunk, the bark feeling rough against her hands when her eyes betrayed her. Unconsciously, she turned her head towards Pierce’s house hoping to see him.
And she saw him...but it wasn’t anything she could have anticipated.
From a distance he looked miserable, cut up, and in pain. There was no way she could have left him like that. Something inside of her gave her the courage to walk up to him, and offer some assistance. Pierce’s head was down, so she knew he wouldn’t see her coming up to him. Anxiety rose in her stomach as she approached him. She knew he had seen her glare, and he probably would never give her the right time of day again. Yet, Des knew he needed help, even if he rejected it out of pride.
Her feet crushed the grass loudly as she approached the mangled boy. Pierce lifted his head revealing the most blood she had ever seen.
All that was able to come out of her mouth was, “Jesus...you’re a mess...”
Three cuts mauled his face. One on his forehead, which was the smallest of the three, a large one on his cheekbone that was still oozing, and another one down his other cheek. They were extremely deep, and bruising was becoming visible around them and in other sections of his face. Blood was trickling down, and wetness was forming around the edges of his green eyes.
Pierce rolled his eyes to her statement, as if he thought she was mocking him. He buried his head back into his lap, trying to ignore her existence as if he was embarrassed. Des, not knowing exactly what to do, took a risk. She lifted his head, gently from his lap and gazed into his eyes.
“Come on...let’s get you fixed up...”
The boy reluctantly nodded, and was helped up by Des. She led him past the willow tree to her house when she stopped. It was late, so Donna wasn’t going to get up anytime soon. Yet, Des knew if she did get caught she’d probably end up like Pierce, but it was a risk she was willing to take.
