Midnight Silpper

Chapter 3

Zayne

A muscle ticked on the side of my jaw as I watched Thomas fucking Gerber chatting with Adrienne.  His body was tuned into hers and the guy was laying it on hard, gunning for her. 

Stop talking to her, fucker.

The anger that simmered underneath, began to boil to the surface, as a dark jealousy took hold. Even at fourteen, I was aware of what this ugly, feeling was that threatened to pull me under until every primal instinct took over. Being as poor as I was, seeing the other kids around me, made me realize the deep-seated jealously that took root within and to whom it was directed at.  As hard as my life had been and continued to be, I was thankful it had made me become more self-aware than most kids, thanks to Adrienne.  She somehow had a way of getting me to see the crux of what I was feeling.

Adrienne flashed her usual warm smile, as Thomas said something to her. My gaze zeroed in on him, imagining all of the ways I could hurt him and gut him.  He didn't deserve to bask in Adrienne's warmth, let alone breathe the same air space. 

Adrienne thought I was nice. She thought I was a good friend, but what she didn't account for was the dark beast that lurked beneath my exterior, courtesy of my fucker of a dad. He taught me to fend for myself and that no one gave a shit in this world. To him, I was expendable. I was his government checks. I was the one keeping his habit alive.

Except Adrienne.

Even at fourteen, I knew some of the guys talked about her. Even guys older than me did, too. We were both in middle school now, and they were starting to notice her.  They were starting to notice her appeal and sensual attractiveness.  They wanted to try her on, eager for a taste.

Over my dead body.

Which didn't settle well with me.

And who could blame her? She was gorgeous—stunning really. Her long, black hair was thick and shiny, falling all the way down to her lower back and her eyes were large and bright in their eerie blue-gray color, peering up from her messy, longish bangs, highlighting the planes of her face. Her bronze-tanned skin complexion complimented her gaze and wherever she went, people seemed to notice her, whether she noticed it or not. I noticed her for the first time more closely when I saw her on the playground and since then, I couldn't help but wanting to bask in her warmth.

She was like a ray of fucking sunshine that pierced the clouds of my dark thoughts in my head. I knew something was wrong with me from the moment it hit me that I had it harder than the other kids. I liked the violence that lurked underneath because it meant that I had fucking control. I was lost in my own darkness and I wanted to angrily lash out.

Adrienne had been the one to feed me when no one else did, not even my joke of a dad. Mom fucking left when the money ran out for her drug habit. I had no idea where she was and whether she would come back for me, which was highly unlikely. I was sure that had I not been the sole reason he was getting welfare checks, he would've kicked my ass out, but because mom was probably shacking up with someone else who wasn't interested in being a stepdad to a kid, mom wasn't going to be crawling back anytime soon to take me back.

And I accepted that.

What Adrienne didn't know was that if you fed an animal, it was likely going to want to come back for more. Dad barely gave me any money for lunch and sometimes he would forget to make me lunch. I was forced to come to school on more than one occasion hungry, until Adrienne offered me her lunch and later, her sandwiches whenever we met up at the park.

She was the sole reason I kept coming back to school. I knew my grades weren't that great, but Adrienne was smart and her grades were good—I should know, since I've peeked at her tests and assignments before. I also one time spotted her report card on her desk. Fucking straight-A student. I only stayed and strived to do better because she was here.