On The Sidewalk Bleeding

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Payton

            Well this just got slightly awkward. I didn't expect my father to do anything of the sort. And Kyle… well… let's just say that I never expected him to be the one to start the conversation.

            But I do have to admit that it's good to see my parents. It's good to see the Luke didn't get to them and hurt them. That's all that really matters to me at the moment, I don't even care about the questions that they are bound to ask me about Kyle. His introduction of himself is sure to open up a lecture about being alone, with a boy, in a room, by myself, without any supervision. My parents are the type that make sure the door is open and the light is on  and they must be able to see what you're doing at all times.

            My mom is the first to speak after my dad lets Kyle go. "Do you mind if you leave us to talk with Payton for a couple minutes?"

            All Kyle does is nod before he leaves the room without saying anything.

            My dad turns towards me after watching Kyle close the door. His face is stressed.

            "What was he talking about? Something about him saving your life? What happened, Payton? We need to know." My dad continues to fire questions at me, but I just block him out, staring at him until he realizes that I've stopped listening.

            "Slow down. I'll tell you what happened, but you can't interrupt." Both my mom and dad nod, so I continue. " You know Luke, my… boyfriend." I pause, wait for them to nod, and then continue. "So we started dating 2 years ago, but within the last year, he started to become… abusive." It's hard for me to get the words out, but I force them to come out anyways, I can feel my hands starting to shake and I know that I'll shut down if I don't get it out now. My dad takes a breath in and starts to say something, but I hold my hand up. "No interruptions, remember?" I take a breath. "About 4 days ago, we were… out, and he turned the truck down an alley, saying he had to tell me something important. I thought he was breaking up with me. But he wasn't."

            The shaking in my hands gets stronger, and I can feel tears forming in my eyes. My body feels like it's breaking down, with my chest tightening, and my breaths coming in shallow and quick. I figured my parents understood the rest of the story, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to finish it. He wanted to kill me that night. He never loved me. It was always a trick.

            My eyes screw shut and I start to choke, trying to bring oxygen into my lungs so it can get to my brain. I know what's happening… they always happen when I talk about Luke. I can faintly hear my parents calling for a nurse, and suddenly, he's there. I feel a large, warm hand rubbing my back, the other one holding my head to his chest, hushing me and trying to get me to calm down.

            "I'm not leaving. You're okay. You're gonna be okay. I'm here, it's okay." He repeats the same words over and over as the panic attack starts to slow down. "Just breathe in and breathe out. That's it. Keep doing that. You're okay." His words place a blanket of comfort over me, and it makes my body relax a bit more, pulling me back down to Earth slightly. I'm so close to him that I can smell the faint lingering scent of sweat on his skin, and the smell of his cologne surrounds me like an air bubble. My breathing slows as I try to focus on his words, trying to imagine myself pushing the panic away behind a closed door.

            I don't have to open my eyes to know he's looking at me, watching to see if I'm calming down, I can just feel him watching me. For some people, that would be creepy, but for me, well, I like it.

            I let my breathing become a bit more stable before opening my eyes, and I turn my body towards him before I push my face into his shirt, breathing in his alluring scent… I definitely have to ask him what type of cologne he uses, so I go for it.

            "What type of cologne do you use?" But when it came out, the words didn't form… well words. it was more like I was just making noises… which was extremely embarrassing.

            "What?" I could tell that he was trying so hard not to laugh, but I asked him again anyways.

            Lifting my head up and looking around to find that my parents weren't in the room, I looked back to him and lifted my lips to his ear, and whispered quietly, barely breathing out the words. "What type of cologne do you wear?"

            He swallowed, but before he could answer, I pulled back ever so slightly and grazed my lips to his, just barely letting them touch, before I pulled away completely.