Chapter 4

Raging heartbeat

   Fishing through my father’s closet, I continuously pulled out clothes, throwing them behind me and into the arms of Angelo. My father was away on a business trip and Kevin was with my grandmother, making it a perfect time to fix him up. I glanced behind me; only the very top of Angelo’s head could be seen behind the tower of clothes he held.
       “Let me help you with that,” I offered, taking some of the load off of him. He smiled in appreciation. Out of order, I picked out a navy blue undershirt and a pair of jeans. “Try this on.” Angelo dropped the rest of the clothes on the bed and then proceeded to undress. “Hey! Don’t! Not in here!” I ordered. With his pants half way down, I ushered him in the bathroom, threw the clothes at him, and shut the door tightly. I heaved myself on the bed and waited.
       Finally, he came out. I had to blink a couple of times before I realize the man standing in front of me was Angelo. My dad, a some what lanky dude, could never work out enough to meet or even come close to how beautiful he looked. He wasn’t only drop dead gorgeous, but his body was one of a model’s. My dad’s shirt fit tightly across his chest, outlining the hard cut abs. The jeans were tight as can be, and I being at the age of raging hormones, couldn’t help but be at awe.
              Angelo became nervous, aware of my peering eyes. He started to fidget and asked, “What?”
       “Nothing,” I replied, slowly getting off the bed. I started to reach for him but he backed up against the door, his eyes wide. “Relax,” I laughed, picking off a piece of lint. His breathing slowed.
              “How do I look?”
              “Great.”
      
      
      “Can I ask you something?” I handed him a coke. We were watching TV, taking advantage of the empty house.
              “Sure.”
       I began to open my mouth but quickly shut it, aware that I couldn’t put the words together. If I got my wish, did that mean he would leave? Did I want him to? Would I try to sacrifice this comfort I felt for my own selfish reasons? It was as if the loneliness I felt could simply vanish with his presence.
              “Nothing; I forget.” I smiled, feeling my heart pound faster.
              “Will Amber be coming back?”
       “Not if you don’t want her to,” I stated, still embarrassed on how I felt. I kept my eyes glued to the screen, refusing to look at him, knowing I would drown in those eyes.
              “She scares me.”
              “Oh, don’t worry. She’s harmless, just a little boy crazy. Give her time and she’ll calm down.”
              “You’re not like her.”
              “Of course, every one is different.”
              “Really?”
              “Yes.”
              “Does that mean…I’m different?”
              “Buddy, you as different as they come,” I chuckled. He gave a soft laugh.
              “What is boy crazy?”
              “What a question!” I exclaimed, sitting up and facing him. The embarrassment had vanished. “You don’t know what boy crazy is?”
              Angelo shook his head.
       I crinkled my nose, trying to think of a simple explanation that would be easy to understand. Smiling, I said, “When a mommy and daddy love each other very much—“
              “We’re home!” My dad yelled, slamming open the front door.
       “S**t!” I whispered, Frantically, I pulled Angelo up from the couch, and pulled him upstairs, closing the door behind us. Pushing him in the closet, I squeezed myself in as well, not really sure why. Breathing hard, I heard loud footsteps make their way up the stair case, as I covered Angelo’s mouth. I could feel his hot breath on my hand. Suddenly, my bedroom door opened, and my dad entered, probably wondering where I was.
              “She’s probably with Amber,” I heard him say. Then all was silent as he closed the door behind him.
       “Whoa! That was close,” I sighed deeply. Without thinking, I opened the door; big mistake. Forgetting that it was cramped as it was, there were also tons of clothes, books, and other junk stacked up behind us. I fell face-first onto the ground. Angel tumbled on me. His body was as hard as a rock, and it was as if a thousand boulders had fell all at once, right on my back. I muffled a cry, trying to wave my arms, signaling for him to get up. That’s when I realized, he couldn’t get up either. All the stuff that had been piled up had fallen on us both, pinning us down on the ground. Alarms were firing off in my head, one of which was to breath. I started to panic, feeling hot tears run down my cheek. I couldn’t die; not yet. I was still so young and—
      
              “Are you okay?”
              “Mom?” A dark shadow loomed over me.
              “I’m here.”
              “Good, I was worried I would lose you.”
              “Huh?” a male’s voice appeared. Then the lights turned on.
              “What the…”  Angelo stood by the door. “Where’s my mother?”
       “Oh! I thought you were talking to me,” he replied, clueless. I touched my forehead. It burned ever so slightly. My head pounded as well.
              “What happened?” I asked, realizing I was in my bed and outside, it was dark.
              “I’m not sure. After I got everything off of us, you just sort of laid there. I thought you were asleep.”
              Great, I thought. He didn’t know the difference between the dead and the living.
              “Thanks anyway.”
              “Your welcome. Mother always used to say that if you can’t help a friend, you can’t help yourself.”
       “What was your mother like?” I asked, suddenly curious, onto how the real and true Mother Nature looked. For years, she was brought up to be the most beautiful woman, mother to all living things. I wanted to know if she was anything like ordinary people.

Author's Note

Rough draft