Chapter 2: Because he's the only one that cares

Chapter 2: Because he's the only one that cares...

After the incident with Gavin, Alyssa wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She wasn't able to leave school, it's not like she wanted to, but she had to get away. She didn't want to look him in the eye and lie, exactly like she was doing a few minutes ago. After that, Alyssa just ran off. There wasn't much places to go, so she went inside the bathroom until she was stable enough to walk around school like there was no problem. She heard the bell ring and she knew she was late for class but didn't care.

Fifteen Minutes late, Alyssa walks into her honors class. "Alyssa, you're late." Mr. Bates exclaimed as she walked through the door. "Fifteen minutes late." Alyssa stood there and looked him straight in the eye, not even attempting to say a word. "Why?" Mr. Bates said as if she couldn't already take a hint. "No reason," She whispered. "Just take a seat." Mr.Bates sighed. Alyssa did as she was told and took the first seat closest to the door. Glancing back, she seen Gavin's blue and green eye studying her body, she could just never get away from him could she?

Her honors class was the last class of the day and when the bell rang, Alyssa was quick to get out of there. She got up and walked out the door as quickly as possible. Pulling out her Ipod, Alyssa trips and everything falls on the floor. Her body quickly flipped around and her backpack broke her fall. She closed her eyes and rested her head back on the ground too frustrated to get up. "Need some help?" Gavin asked kneeing right beside Alyssa. She took a large breath of air before opening her eyes. "No..." She muttered softly standing up to collect her books. Gavin picks up her Ipod from the ground and scrolls through a few of her songs. "Nice play list." "Thanks. Now can I have it back?" Alyssa asks extending her arm. "Sure." She puts all her items inside her bag and leaves immediately.

She walked off into the woods in broad daylight. Alyssa had her earphones dangling from her ears and her hands in her jacket pocket. She walked all the way to the end of the woods which took about a half hour. No one ever went as far as she did when it came to the woods. They barely even went near it. A few months back Alyssa discovered a lake at the end. It was a place that was just there, it didn't even connect to it. There was a small area of green grass with a few trees that were fully leaved. The blue lake spread wide and if you looked far out, you could see multiple buildings out in the distance.

"It's a nice view isn't it?" A voice came from behind her, apparently she wasn't the only one that knew the lake was back here. Alyssa looked behind her and seen Gavin approaching to sit next to her. "What, did you follow me?" She asked a bit rude. "Not at all." Gavin answered. "Then what are you doing here?" " I could ask you that same question myself." He smirks. Gavin looks straight into Alyssa's eyes trying to figure out what she was thinking but knew she wouldn't let him. He always noticed that he only saw the things that Alyssa would allow him to see and the things she wouldn't. "What? Someone can't come to a lake without having a reason?" "Not without a perfectly good one." "Well I do have a reason." He says. "And what's that?" Alyssa asks. Gavin stands up and extends his hand for Alyssa to take. "Canoeing." Alyssa was confused, and a bit taken aback. You could even say she was a little afraid. "I have never went canoeing before." She says hesitantly. "Well can you swim?" Gavin asks. "Yea." "Well then you're coming." He smiles. "A-alright. But where are you going to get a canoe?" Gavin just smiles.

Alyssa and Gavin both get on the boat and float off onto the water. They float far out to the middle of nowhere. "Do you even know where we are?" Alyssa asks. "No." He answers. "Then how will we get back?" "I don't know. We'll manage." Gavin replies smiling. Truth was, he didn't want to go back, he just wanted to stay with Alyssa and pretend like they were the only two people left on earth. Gavin stands up in the canoe slightly making it wobble. "What are you doing?" Alyssa asks a bit scared. "Come on get up." He demands, she looks at him with a questioning look. "What if I fall?" "You wont." He smiles warmly assuring her safety. Alyssa slowly stands up holding onto Gavin. "Okay now do what I do, at the same time. Don't be afraid...." Gavin lifts his feet on the edges of the canoe balancing so he doesn't fall. Alyssa follows slow but steady. "...Because I'll always catch you when you fall." Alyssa smiles as she holds the both of his hands trying not to shake and wobble. She loved that Gavin said that. She knew that it wasn't just the whole falling in the water thing. Gavin was always there for her, way before her family started becoming a mess. Alyssa just sort of shut him out, she never really bothered to talk to him about anything anymore. Her parents practically sucked everything that was fun out of her life when they started drinking again. Gavin just happened to be the one thing that didn't fully drift away.

Alyssa looks up at a smiling Gavin. He had that mischievous look in his eyes. "What?" Alyssa blushed. Before she knew it, the both of them were flying off the canoe. The both of their bodies hit the water at the same time. For a brief moment, Alyssa panicked trying to process her thoughts. Alyssa swam to the surface to take a large breath. She lifted her hands and wiped her hair and extra water out of her eyes. She looked around and spotted Gavin's his once floppy hair, now wet and damp from the water. His head was turned around scanning for Alyssa's familiar face. Alyssa saw this as an opportunity. Alyssa dug her body underwater and swam towards Gavin. She resurfaced and saw him trying to get back onto the boat. Smiling to herself, Alyssa quickly took hold of Gavin's shirt and yanked him back into the water. Gavin grabbed hold of Alyssa's waist to bring her with him, the both of them going about two feet from surface. When they both surfaced Alyssa held onto Gavin to avoid anymore serious down holds. Alyssa spewed all the excess water from her mouth and face. She heard Gavin's laugh and looked towards him. "If I go down, you go down with me." "I've noticed," Alyssa replied with a laugh. "You know there's gators in the pond?" Gavin smiles. Alyssa's face suddenly goes solemn and her eyes become wide with fear. "What?" Gavin explodes with laughter at the sight of Alyssa's scared face. "I'm joking, if there was I wouldn't even be here." There was a long pause, Alyssa pushed the top of the water in Gavin's face. "Hey!" He yelled playfully. "Don't mess with me like that! I'm terrified of those things!" Alyssa scolded. "Okay, jeesh." They both laughed as Gavin got up in the canoe. "Come on, I gotta get you home."

As Alyssa arrives through the front door she skips off up the stairs with a smile glued to her face. It was the first time in a long time since she's had that much fun with anyone and she was glad that out of all people it was with Gavin. He made her feel comfortable, it was rare when Alyssa felt awkward talking to Gavin.

She hops into the the shower and lets the warm water trickle its way down her body. The steam filled the room and fog surrounded clouding up the thin glassed mirror. Alyssa looked down at her arms and noticed that the scars were fading away, they were now barely visible. She was happy that they were going away, but upset that she made those marks. She was more upset about how she knew she was going to do it again.

"When you're upset, you should practice smiling." She once heard that saying and knew how difficult it was to do that. Alyssa's smile was slowly fading away and she re-thought about that saying. She reattached that smile to her face. It was easy to put on that smile because joy already filled her body, it was more overwhelming than the sad and it was all because of one afternoon with Gavin.

When Alyssa got out of the shower, she gently brushed her hair and walked straight towards her room. She noticed that the people she called parents weren't home and that made her even more relaxed than she already was. Alyssa plunged herself backwards onto her soft fluffy bed sheets. Her mind was filled with thoughts about everything. The one thing that Alyssa stopped to actually think about, was Gavin. Alyssa couldn't figure out why Gavin cared so much. It's not that she doesn't want him to care, but she didn't understand his motive or even if he actually had a motive. Although she didn't know why, Alyssa liked the fact that Gavin cared so much. It made her feel...special. Alyssa looked towards the clock standing on her auburn colored nightstand. It was nine o'clock and she felt her eyes start to droop. For once in a long time, Alyssa would go to sleep happy. Her eyes fell completely shut and she mumbled the words, "Goodnight Gavin." and fell into a blissful dream.

*****

Alyssa woke to the screams of her parents argument. She checked the time and saw that it was three a.m. At least I know they're home, she thought. "That has nothing to do with this!" Her mother yelled. "It has everything to do with it!" She heard the screams from her father and knew that he was at the point where he wouldn't hesitate to hit her mom. Every word came out more slurred than the other and Alyssa knew the both of them were drunk, or at least her father was.

There was a loud shatter that came from against the wall down the stairs. Alyssa heard all sorts of things being thrown around and somehow knew that her mom didn't get hit with not one item that was thrown. Everything got silent and then she heard a loud whip. It was the same kind that she always heard when the cold leather belt hit her skin when her father knocked her down. Her mothers whimpers were too painful to hear. Alyssa put her pillow over the side of her face and tried to block out the pain of her mothers screams. Tears flood out of Alyssa's eyes and onto the bottom sheet of her bed. Alyssa got up wanting to help her mom from that horrible beating she had just received. She got close to the door and reached out her hand ready to open it. A tear fell from her left cheek as she stood there with her hand on the knob frozen. She knew she wasn't going to help her mom no matter how much she wanted to.

All the screams stopped and she heard a door slam. Alyssa always wondered how her mother slept at night, how her father did especially. How could her father sleep knowing he beat the only family he has? All she managed to hear was her mom trudging up the stairs and down to her room in pain.

Mrs. Cameron silently cried her way to her bedroom holding her back with one hand. Her tears were now dry but the pain was still burning. Mrs. Cameron felt guilty for her whole life. She was nineteen turning twenty when she was pregnant with Alyssa. A long time before that she knew she should have left Mr. Cameron before anything like that happened, but it was too late. She only wished that Alyssa wasn't even born for her own selfish reasons, but she thought she had a good cause.