In the Days of Chapstick, Gum, and Soda

National Cheesecake Day

2. August. 2007.

Michelle's in her room with another man. I know what they're doing, I know that it's wrong but I can't do anything to stop them. This always happens on the weekdays. So I sit outside the door and listen until they stop. The man stumbles out of the entrance and turns to get one, last kiss from my sister yet she stops him.

"Five more dollars. Your minutes are up."

"Fuck you," he says, glancing at me before leaving our residence. I stand, staring at my sister disapprovingly. She motions for me to come in her room and we sit together on her bed and she's leaning against the dashboard crying and I'm playing with this bottle cap Connor gave me because I'm scared. We don't say anything for a while.

"I'm doing this for us. Okay? Don't think..." her voice cracks and she covers her mouth with her hands and cries silently. I don't know what to do so I just leave and walk out of the house.

I keep walking and walking and walking and walking and walking until Connor is in front of me and then he's giving me a beer and then we're drinking and drinking and drinking and drinking and drinking and drinking and then I'm on the floor crying and then Connor's on top of me, his breath warm and nasty and he's hurting me and hurting me and hurting me and hurting me and hurting me and hurting me and hurting me and hurting me and then I'm on the park bench, wasted and cold because I don't have much clothing on.

And then there's an officer asking me to come with him and now I'm really scared so I start running but then they catch me and he's on top of me and I start crying because I still hurt. And then they cuff me and shove in the back of a red and blue car, we drive over a rainbow and Thor comes to take me to jail. Then I don't remember anything but the color black, which doesn't make much sense because black isn't in the rainbow.