Tough Love

Chap. 70 • "Intruder"

January 23, 2000
Narrator

Aya tried to sleep soundly in her bed, although it was a dreamless night. Her parents were fighting once again, something related to drugs. She was a very bright girl, ahead of her class, very articulate. She could stomp in the room and set up an entire argument as to why they shouldn't fight over drugs.

If only she knew what those were.

The yelling only had gotten louder, the sounds echoing through the walls. Not being able to bear the noise anymore, she rolled over and placed her feet flat on the cold floor, hesitating before standing up and creeping to her brother's room.

"Sev? Can I sleep in here with you?" She asked sweetly.

"Go back to bed, Aya." He said in a groggy voice. She bit down hard on her lip and turned the corner, peeking into her parent's room. They didn't seem to notice her, but she did notice her mother's crying.

It hurt her heart to see them like this, so angry towards each other over something she couldn't comprehend. She couldn't take it anymore.

Aya crept down the stairs and slipped her shoes on, thinking about all the possible ways to escape this madness. A knock on the door startled her, and she knew she'd get caught if one of her parents came down the stairs and saw her.

Yet, the yelling only continued.

She shakily twisted the knob to the door, cracking it open by the slightest. She peeked her head out to see a boy, not a man.

"Christopher, what are you doing here?" She whispered, keeping her face outside and her body inside.

"I-I can't stay in there." She could hear the running of his nose and the shakiness in his tone.

"What's wrong?" She furrowed her brows. He wiped his face repeatedly and broke down even more.

"He h-hit her. The man hit my mom." He motioned towards his house which was next door.

"Like how I hit you?"

"No, with like, a closed fist. He punched her, he punched my momma." He said with a strong country accent to his raspy voice. Aya looked down to the ground, feeling sorry for her friend. But what could she do?

"Well, you can't stay in here either. I wouldn't want to if I were you." Aya flinched as she heard something crash in the background. She closed her eyes and fought the tears.

"Leave with me." He said on a whim. She picked her head up to look at him like he was crazy.

"Are you crazy? Where are we gonna go?"

"I don't know, but we can walk 'til we're far away from here." Chris looked behind him continuously.

"Don't you think our parents are gonna come lookin' for us?" She glanced behind her too, just because he was boosting her paranoia.

"If they find us, we turn that walking into running. Come on." He held out his hand. Hesitantly, she opened her door and stepped out, closing the door behind her quietly. She took a deep breath and grabbed his hand and off they went.

••••

Present
Anonymous

"What exactly are we supposed to be watching? There ain't shit going on in this house, just sleeping and a bunch of crying." He asked me.

"We're waiting for him to go to her house, that way we can finally get her damn address." I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"You telling me we been watching this bitch and you don't even know where shorty lives?"