Scarred

Chapter 6

We quickly ran across the street. I opened the door to my "house" and we both sprinted in. I slammed the door behind me. Sam and I burst into laughter.

"I can't believe we just did that," Sam said.

"Thanks for helping me vandalize my dad's car," I said, stopping every few words to catch my breath.

"Why do you hate your dad so much?" Sam asked.

"It's a long story," I said.

"I have time," Sam said, feeling around in the darkness for the couch. "Why don't you turn on the lights?"

"There are none," I said. "The power has been paid for in forever. This is an abandoned house. I technically don't live here. I use a backup generator for the lights, but it doesn't have enough power to last a long time. I have to conserve the energy."

"Right," Sam said. "Anyways, tell me about your dad."

"There's not much to tell," I said. "My mom died forever ago. My dad left before that. I was left with Mr. and Mrs. Peters, but they're both dead. This was their house. I just hate my dad for leaving me to fend for myself. But now that I think about it, it's better this way. There's no rules."

"Except, you know, the law," Sam said.

"Well, obviously," I said. "But even the law can be bent sometimes." Sam laughed.

"So what now?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Sam said. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so I could see his eyes flick down to my lips. That could only mean one thing. And I wanted it too. But I couldn't tell him that.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" I asked.

"Please," Sam replied. "I'd rather not go home."

"Is it bad?" I asked.

"My dad is out of a job," Sam said. "My mom is in and out - she's there, or she's out cheating with some guy. My dad is fully aware of it, but he's too stressed with me and my brothers to think about it."

"How many brothers do you have?" I asked.

"Two," Sam said. "Both younger than me. There's Micah, who's eleven, and Kyle, who's thirteen. The two of them are like peas in a pod. My dad's abusive; he beat both of them worse than he did me, only because I worked and stole to get us stuff. They always got through it together. But dad never beats them around me. He knows I'll just stop him."

"Should you leave them home alone?" I asked, suddenly worried about his brothers.

"No, they're fine," he replied. "Dad's out in Louisiana trying to get a job. They're either home alone or with my mom, but both are perfectly safe. My mom, though she hardly cares about us anytime else, she hates my dad's abusive nature. She would never lay a finger on my brothers."

"Good," I said. "Well, I guess we both come from an... interesting background." I said.

"Yeah, it's pretty interesting." I saw his eyes flick down to my lips again. He definately wants to kiss me, but is too afraid to, I thought. I took a deep breath before leaning over and pressing my lips to his. He was surprised at first, but not for long. He kissed me back, gently but passionately. I knew he was probably too afraid to get committed to me, but that was okay for now. I pushed against him hungrily. He leaned away from me. "Easy, tiger," he laughed.

"Sorry," I said. "I just thought... I don't know what I thought."

"Tell me."

"It's stupid."

"Tell me," he repeated, more firm this time.

"I thought you were afraid of commitment," I said. "So I was trying to show you that I was committed. I don't know; I told you it was stupid."

"No, it's not," Sam said. He leaned back into me, more hungrily this time. I embraced the kiss, embraced his warmth in the darkness of the house. He put his hand on the small of my back, and mine was on his chest. When we finally pulled away, I knew neither of us were satisfied.