Love on the Run

One

It was a day just like most, seemingly insignificant at first. Crystal had crept past her sleeping father as usual, barely even fearing that he might wake up after years of doing the same. The bottles that seemed to never leave his side were both a blessing and a curse, as they brought his violent, furious tantrums after dark, yet kept him asleep while his baby girl sneaked out the surprisingly quiet apartment door almost every morning.

The mass of curly, knotted, honey blonde hair had bounced down the stairs in it's usual bright and circumstance-defying lightness that she always seemed to carry with her. Crystal was three weeks past nineteen, and she had seen more violence and hurt in her limited time than most see in their entire lives, but she resembled a ray of pure sunshine in her yellow blouse and bell bottom jeans that day.

When she reached the door of the building, she donned her aviators that were only a little crooked, and stepped out into the August heat. Her eyes were quick to land on the friendliest face she knew, Kameron Palmer.

When Crystal's mother died, she was eight. Her dad began to drink, and she became independent, but even the most independent of children need a shoulder to cry on sometimes. Kam had been there for her, and they had been inseparable ever since.

As she made her way over to the beautiful boy leaning casually on his car, a Nissan Exterra, she couldn't help the smile from spreading across her face and carving dimples deep into her cheeks.

"Hey loser," Crystal joked as Kameron rolled his eyes before opening her door for her.

"You know, if I'm a loser, then you would also be a loser."

Crystal scrunched her nose, "How do you figure that?"

"Well if we're always together, then that makes you a loser by association."

She couldn't tell if it was because of the stupid, self-satisfied grin on his face, or because of the giddy feeling she always got when she was with him, but a raw, uncontrolled laugh bubbled up from her throat and resounded in the small cab of the car.

"Alright Dork, where are we going today?" She managed to say through short after-bursts of remaining laughter.

"Well first, we need groceries since we're cooking dinner for mi madre tonight,"

He wiggled his eyebrows on the word "madre", before continuing.

"Then we absolutely have to go see the new Spiderman movie."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan." Crystal gave a mock salute and they both burst into another short fit of laughter.

By the time they got back to Kameron's house, it was nearing dinner time. They started their preparation of whatever pasta recipe Mrs. Palmer had requested. Crystal had insisted on playing an Elvis Presley record, and Kameron had obliged. So the two best friends boiled the noodles and sauce while prancing and gyrating about the kitchen in true Elvis Presley style until they were nearly in tears from laughing so hard.

"Ohh Crystal, you know what's on next don't ya?" Kam had an affectionate, but mischievous glint in his eye as he dramatically took Crystal's hand.

She rolled her eyes but placed her other hand on his shoulder as Can't Help Fallin' in Love began to play through the small record player. As the verse flowed into the refrain, Crystal let her head rest on Kam's chest, and felt her eyelids close softly as they floated around his kitchen. She could feel the beating of his heart through his thin cotton shirt, and she smiled at the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

As the song slowed to an end, Crystal opened her eyes and looked up at her best friend with a look of pure happiness in her big brown eyes. Kameron felt his heart skip and tried to take a mental picture of the moment, and of the breathtaking eyes that held his own captive.

"Kam?" The front door shut and the call echoed from the living room

"Yeah mom, we're in here!" They had stepped apart, and greeted his mother with smiles as she entered the kitchen, though both hearts ached a little at the loss of contact.

"Oh my goodness, that smells like absolute heaven! Hi Crystal, honey, how are you?"

Cynthia Palmer flitted over to Crystal with open arms for a hug, and squeezed her tight. She had been like a mother to the near-orphan since she had lost her own, and loved her as if she were her own daughter.

"Hey, I think I missed you the other day, I had to get home early because, well- you know how my dad can be..." Crystal shifted uncomfortably before straightening up and returning the smile to her face.

"You're gonna love this one Mrs. Palmer." She ushered the kind woman to her seat at the dining room table and returned to the kitchen to help Kameron dish things up.

After dinner, the three talked until Kam seemed close to having an aneurysm about missing the movie. So, laughing, Crystal thanked Mrs. Palmer as always and followed Kam out the door and to the car.

"Hey what time is it?"

"About 9:00, why?" Crystal didn't want to go home, but she worried if she went to the movie that maybe her dad would beat her back to the apartment.

"Actually Kam, could we see it tomorrow? I'm just a little nervous about timing and I have a bad gut feeling about my dad tonight."

She saw a quick flash of disappointment on his face before he forced a smile and said, "Oh gosh yeah, of course Crystal, don't worry about it,"

The rest of the short drive to her apartment was relatively quiet, but it didn't bother her. She had a weird knot in the pit of her stomach that told her something was off, and if she had to talk the entire way she had feared she might be sick.

As the pulled into the uneven parking lot, the knot grew bigger and Kam noticed her smile had disappeared and her face seemed darker than usual.

"Hey, you okay?" His eyebrows knitted together with concern as he pulled to a stop.

"Yeah, yeah I'll— everything will be fine it's probably nothing.."

But Kameron wasn't sure, so as his best friend stepped out of the car and onto the pavement he decided to loop around the lot and take a spot in the back. He turned his lights off and slouched in the seat to wait.