Colorless

Lily

"There ya go! One, two, three.  One, two three. One,  two, three." Johnny exclaimed as we danced in sync to the medium paced music.

I giggled as he dipped me at the end.

He slowly pulled me back up and looked me dead in the eye. The look was so intense it sent shivers down my spine. 

I quickly looked away, "Uh. . . What time is it? Musta' been goin' for hours, huh? "

He looked down at his watch on his wrist and nodded, "Almost three. . .Want a break?"

"Well only a short one because I told my daddy I was going to be home by five."

He smiled, "Perfect. My aunt and uncle will be home around then, and Sarah is staying at Misty's tonight."

He walked over to the couch and sat down. I slowly followed.

We sat in silence for few moments, listening to the radio play an upbeat song.

He finally looked over at me, "I always hear you talk about your daddy.  Where's your mama?"

"Oh. . . She's uh. . . d-dead."

His face quickly changed to remorse, "Lily, I didn't mean--"

"It's alright. . . She died a little while back. About a year after she had my baby sister. She was sick. And my daddy. . . Well, he ain't been the same since. H-he gets real angry now. Real angry." I explained as my voice cracked.

I felt him scoot closer to me and hesitantly put his hand on my back.

"You don't have to explain. . . My dad used to get real angry too. He would drink like his life depended on it and then turn around and beat my mama for every little thing she did. I mean she couldn't even look at him the wrong way before he slapped her."

He sat back and ran his hands through his hair as he took deep breath, "The one day I tried to help her. . . The one day I stood up to him, she got angry."

"What for? " I asked.

"She said him beating her was better than him beating me."

I looked over at him, to see him softly shaking his head at the memory.

He looked up at me and gave me a small smile, "She asked my Aunt Clara to take care of me until she got on her feet, but that was when I was seven years old. . . I guess she hasn't gotten on her feet yet huh?"

"She ain't ever came to see you?"

He shook his head, "Not since she dropped me off."

"I'm sorry, Johnny." I said as I grabbed his hand.

He gave my hand a light squeeze and cleared his throat, "Well, that just made a sour mood. Let's talk about something else. You got a dress? That's all Sarah and Misty talk about nowadays."

I let out a small laugh, "No.  I ain't found one yet.  Mae's been trying to get me to wear one of hers, but she so small.  None of her dresses fit. . . You got a suit?"

He nodded, "It's the ugliest thing you'll ever see. Bright pink. The whole thing."

I laughed, "Your girlfriend made you pick that color?"

His smile quickly deflated, "Misty is not my girlfriend." he stated in a serious tone.

"Alright. I'm sorry." I said putting my hands up in surrender.

"No need to be sorry. I just wanted you to know I have no interest in Misty at all. Never have,  and never will. . . Besides, I have my eye on this other girl."