Clayton's Girl

Chapter Eight

||Aubree||

Making my way throughout the house, I put my best effort into sliding open all the windows. They creaked as I forced them up and wedged a hardcover book beneath each one.

The cool September air blew in, stirring up a new sort of freshness in the house.

I swept all the floors and pushed the vacuum over the carpets time after time until the canister stayed clear.

This house was complete trash.

My hands looked like wrinkly prunes after collecting all the dishes and thoroughly scrubbing them.

I leaned back against the wall, wiping the sweat away from my forehead and I acknowledged all my hard work that had paid off.

For the first time in forever, the air felt like you could breathe clearly.

The smell of cigarettes would forever stain this house, but at least the dust was cleared. Rotted fast food cartons were no where in sight. I could walk across the floor barefoot and not worry about what I might step on.

I will enjoy this relief for however long I get to.

It has officially been seven days, and Mike is nowhere to be seen.

Never in my life has he ever been gone longer than a day, and I honestly hope he's rotting in a ditch somewhere.

-

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. All the marks, all the evidence, it was nearly all gone. Instead of looking battered and bruised, my skin was a normal color. Pigmented with a warm and healthy glow. All that was left were scars that would haunt me forever.

His existence was permanently engraved on me.

I held up the clothes that I pulled from the back of my closet. They were hers. Clothes that at one time would have never fit me, but that I have since grown into.

They were feminine and revealing by my normal standards, but for the first time, I could show my skin.

I stepped into the bootcut jeans. They were a little worn but that was a far cry from my own clothes. He always let her look nice. They fit snug to my body, not because they were too tight, but just because that's how they were supposed to be.

Pulling the yellow shirt down over me, I lifted my hair and let it hang around me. The sleeves were short, the chest scooped downwards, and I almost felt naked.

My hairbrush was falling to pieces. Most of the bristles had broken off, but I tried my best to detangle my hair with it.

When I felt satisfied, I didn't recognize the girl staring back at me.

I looked, normal.

-

Ting. Ting.

The two quarters plopped into the machine and I dialed the numbers on the paper.

Ring.

Ring.

Rin-

"Hello?"

"Um- Hi." I chewed at my lip, nervous of what he might think of me calling him on a Saturday afternoon. We never talked outside of the school week.

There was a long pause on the other end and I almost hung up.

"Aubree?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I shouldn't have called..." I stammered on, feeling like an idiot.

"No, it's okay, really." He sounded like he was fumbling with the phone. "I was just busy. What's going on?"

I wasn't quite sure how to answer. He's the one who gave me money to call him. I wasn't sure what to do once I got him on the phone. I don't want to push myself on him or be annoying by asking him to hang out.

I just thought that with me having nothing better to do, that that's exactly what we could do.

"I guess... I'm just bored." I answered awkwardly.

"Aubree, if there's something you want to say, you're going to have to say it." I heard him chuckle. "I'm not a mind reader."

My thoughts raced and I sucked up all the courage I had. "I thought... maybe I could take you up on that offer?" My heart raced.

"For dinner?" He excitedly asked and I felt a little twinge inside me that had never been there before.

"Well... yeah."

"You know that's with my parents, right?"

My stomach flip flopped. I didn't even think of that. Obviously, his parents are at his house.

"Are you there still? Aubree?"

"Okay." My voice was quiet and hesitant.

"Okay?" He seemed extremely surprised.

"Yeah. That's okay."

"I'll stop by your house at 6."

"Okay." I calmly answered and quickly hung up the phone.

I began to wonder if I would regret this. I didn't know how to be a friend; I had never had friends before. I wasn't sure how to interact with Clayton's parents or what they'd even expect of me. I was stepping into a completely unknown territory and I didn't know if I'd make it out without drowning.

-

The whole car ride was an awkward silence. Clayton hadn't said much. He just seemed lost in his thoughts. I studied his body as he drove, watching as he'd crack his knuckles every few minutes or briefly take his hands off the wheel to adjust his watch.

When we pulled into a driveway and stopped, I abruptly got out of the car to avoid any awkward small talk. Because at this point, I wasn't sure of what else could even happen.

I gazed up at the house in front of me. It wasn't large. It was quaint, and elegant. A little brick one story with green shutters. It was cute, and far nicer than anything I've had the opportunity to go in.

I met Clayton at the driver side door, and he chuckled. "I was going to get the door for you."

"Oh." I stood tongue-tied, waiting for him to lead the way, but instead he moved closer to me.

I felt uneasy but tried to breathe myself through the unnecessary angst.

Clayton reached out and softly took my hand. His was enormous compared to how petite mine was. His skin was soft and cushiony, and mine was dry and worn.

"Is this okay?" He asked and I couldn't help but think of how sweet it was that he was being so understanding, so attentive.

My breath was caught in my throat and all I could do was nod.

Our eyes connected through the orange hues surrounding us, and I watched as Clayton slowly brought my hand to his mouth and gingerly kissed it before gently releasing me.

I could feel myself blushing as I tried to look away, but Clayton reached out and just barely touched my chin. "You don't need to hide with me." He tenderly spoke. "I wanted to tell you how beautiful you look but I'm afraid you might sink into the ground and disappear forever." He teased.

But I couldn't even pretend to be annoyed, or upset, or anything negative. Because I just didn't feel any of those things.

I didn't understand how I felt.

Nobody has ever been this nice to me.

"Clayton?" I heard a gentle voice call out. A short blonde-haired woman appeared in the doorway. She stopped when she seen me and took a moment to look me up and down. She then smiled kindly and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Larene. It's so nice to meet you."

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Song: It's a Beautiful Life by Billy Raffoul