What You Never Told Me

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: 

                                                                        -Before- 

"Run away with me." He finally whispered.  My heart beat fast as I saw the shades of red forming in his cheeks when he articulated those words.

"Run...away with you?"  I was finally able to say. He was crazy. Delirious.

"Are you insane, Daniel?" I asked, my tone harder than what I wanted it to be. 

"I know it sounds crazy," he began, "but I'm almost 18, and I will graduate soon. I- I have some money saved up from some summer jobs..."  This couldn't be. Was he seriously asking me this? 

"Daniel, we can't just leave like that!" I exclaimed, "What about our parents? Our friends?" 

He didn't say a word and instead, looked around, checking out the books in his shelf, probably to avoid making eye contact with me. I limited the distance between us and placed my hand in his face, gently caressing his cheek. He still avoided glancing at me and I could notice the anger in his expression. 

"You know I love you." I said, and for an instant, his eyes locked with mine, before he promptly looked away. 

" I can't stand it anymore," he finally said, breaking the silence, "the beatings, the screaming, the smell of alcohol and crack my father carries everyday. I can't stand it!" He removed my hand from his faced and turned around giving me his back. "I don't want to be here when she dies..." he continued, staring at the moon.  

I didn't say a word, listening carefully to him. 

 "They..." his voice trembled, "drank up all the money for my college studies. It's not like I have a future anyways."  He looked at me and gave me that don't-worry-about-me smile.

 "But, your grades are amazing," I protested, "you could get a scholarship to any university you choose!" 

"That's another problem, I just don't want to go." He shrugged, smirking a little. 

"Why not?" I asked, "you always said you wanted to be a doctor." 

He blushed slightly. "I just don't want to leave you." 

I smiled, though I felt guilty. I didn't want Daniel to give up on his dreams because of me. He stared at me, expecting an answer, but I didn't reply. I wanted to be with him too, but my mind couldn't comply with the crazy idea of leaving my family behind, especially since Abbie passed away recently. It would kill my mom to have her now-only-child, who was barely 16 years old, elope with her boyfriend. I sighed, overwhelmed with so many thoughts. I didn't want to leave Daniel nor have Daniel leave me, but I also dislike the idea of us working together in MCDonald's for the rest of our lives. 

"I want you to go to college and make something out of yourself." He told me, laying his hand on mine. "And I swear to you that if you do decide to go with me, you'll go to college, even if it is not the best college in the world."

"Do you mean... you're leaving anyways?"

I saw the hurt in his eyes. "I don't know." he said coldly and neither of us said more.

He laid down on his bed, looking to the fan on the ceiling.  I laid next to him, resting my head in his chest, listening to his heart beat. I pressed my body against his, his arm pushing me even closer. His heartbeat suddenly started to accelerate and I secretly grinned to myself. I played with his black hair, enjoying the sound of his heart and his breathing which started to get heavier. Before I could even notice, he was sound asleep. I looked at him, my eyes fixed on his face, tracing every feature with of his sleeping face with my finger. I finally closed my eyes, hugging him even tighter. 

This is were I wanted to be. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2:37 AM, read the clock on Daniel's side table. My parents were going to kill me. I stood up from the bed, careful not to wake Daniel up. I rubbed my drowsy eyes and walked out of his room. I saw his dad, his eyes bloodshot and his mom coughing up blood in a corner of the living room. 

"Who the fuck are you?" His dad asked me, as I took my bag from a chair nearby. 

"Hmm.. I'm..Daniel's girlfriend." I hesitated for a second, scared as he was getting closer to me. 

"Oh," he almost whispered, sounding a little disappointed, "do you think he will mind if he shares his girlfriend with his old man?" He grabbed my hand, pulling me against him. I tried to fight him away, but he was stronger than I was. 

"Let her go, Frank!" Daniel's mother screamed from the corner, but he wouldn't listen, a creepy smile on his face. 

"I'm just playing around! Just fucking playing around! Didn't I tell you to stop talking?" He screamed back at her. He grabbed me even harder now. 

"You're hurting me, sir!" I told him, as if that would work. He continued screaming at his wife, an apparently neverending battle starting. 

"Didn't you hear her?" I hear Daniel's voice say, "you're hurting her, let her go!" 

He released me inmediatly, following Daniel's command. He said nothing, just stared at the floor, his hands forming fists. 

He took my hand, walking with me out of the living room and out of the house. 

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know this would happen!" I said to Daniel who was now covering his face with his hands. 

"What are you sorry about? I should be the one saying sorry. I'm sorry the rotten old man I have the disgrace to call father, hurt you." His voice was almost imperceptible by my ears. "I'll take you home."  

He went inside the house to look for the keys of his dad's car. I listened to more screaming inside the house, before Daniel shut the door with all his strength. 

He didn't even look at me as he got into the car and I got into the passenger seat not knowing what to say to him. 

The drive home was also silent, seeming almost unending. He finally pulled up in front of my lawn. 

"I love you." I said as I got out of the car and closed the door. 

"I'm sorry." He whispered and drove away. 

I opened the door and found my mom and my dad sitting in the living room couch. 

"Where were you?" My dad asked, which I suspicious look on his face. 

"Sorry, I fell asleep at Daniel's house." 

"Daniel's house?!" My mom exclaimed, "darling! People will talk about that! You know what they will think!" That was something I hated about her, how she always worried about what others thought, and expected me to be perfect. 

"Oh, mom, we didn't go anything really." 

"Well, that's not what we want to talk to you about, honey." My dad said. 

"What then?" 

"We're getting a divorce." My mom said, sitting up straighter. I couldn't respond. I could hardly breathe. I ran up the stairs and locked myself in my room. This couldn't be. No, no, no. My parent's getting a divorce? 

"Maia! Darling!" My dad's voice called. 

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, barely absorbing all this information. I had to get away. And just like that, without thinking, I pulled out my cellphone. It rang three times before I heard Daniel's voice. 

"Maia?" He asked, sounding worried, "did something happen? Why are you calling me?" 

"I'm leaving with you."