Chapter Two

 

        The stars always looked beautiful here. Everything did for that matter. The park was like my own personal paradise. My little piece of Heaven. At this time of night it really was. No one was around to interrupt my thoughts. At home no one was there to do it either, but somehow this was different. There was no smell of my mother's latest perfume, her paints, or the faint scent of weed from Adrian. Nothing at all to cloud my thoughts.

        I sat down on the same swing I always did. The one that sat on the big hill, peering down at the rest of the park, right in front of the big, ancient oak tree.

        I pulled my cigarettes out of my pocket and lit one. There was nothing more tasteful than a fresh menthol when my head was in jumbled sorts. Which it was all the time, so needless to say I went through them pretty quickly. I wished I had a Mountain Dew. Those were my two drugs of choice. Menthols and Mountain Dews. It seemed like they ---

        THUD.

        “What the hell?!”, I spurted out as I launched myself out of the swing. I looked to the direction the sound had come from.

        Over by the monkey bars on the kiddie playground there was something somewhat large crumpled on the ground, moaning. I hesitantly walked toward it.

        It was a boy. He appeared to be around my age. I hadn't noticed him there before.

        “They really shouldn't let kids play on these. They're dangerous, you know.”, he said, as he hopped up off the ground, dusting himself off.

        He was tall and a bit scrawny. His hair, a sandy blond that leaned to the brunette side, hung just above his eyebrows, straight as a ruler. He had green eyes. Quite a vivid green at that, a shade that reminded you of a soft sea. He had a mix of strong and soft facial features. High, sharp cheekbones and a soft chin that was like a rounded square, but in proportion to the rest of his face. A light tan, like you would see on a person who had been working out in the sun for a couple of weeks. His nose was a little crooked. That didn't surprise me, considering the incident that called for this meeting. He was wearing a plain red t-shirt with a pocket on it and blue jeans that were now covered in grass stains. His jeans had a hole in the knee, though I wasn't sure if it was from the fall or if it was there before that.

        “What are you doing?”, I asked him, a bit sarcastically.

        “What are you doing?”, he shot right back.

        “Why is that any of your business?”

        “I guess I could ask you the same, but I won't.”, he said, and then grinned.

        I think that's what changed everything. That smile. It was so goofy, yet inviting. His lips curled just the right amount, enough to flash a little teeth, but not too much. His bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top. His teeth weren't perfect, but somehow that smile was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. Genuine. Nothing more than what a smile meant hid behind it.

        “I'm Trevor. And you are?”

        “Violette.”, I stated.

        “Nice to meet you.”, and he grinned again. I wished he wouldn't do that. It was hard to be serious around a smile like that.

        “Um, nice to meet you too.”, I said, more as a question than a statement.

        “I was bored, so I decided to go for a walk. The monkey bars distracted me. It's been awhile since I've been here. So, I thought, why the hell not.”, he said, answering my first question.

        “I just wanted some peace and quiet. I was bored too.”

        “Oh. Sorry to bother you then.”, his voice quieted.

        “It's fine. Really.”, I half sighed.

        I pulled out another cigarette. After that, I really needed one.

        “Do you mind?” He reached for one. It made me wonder why he had even bothered asking.

        “I guess... not.”, I just stared at my open pack, looking at where there had been a cigarette just two seconds ago.

        “Don't worry. I'll pay you back.”, he said.

        I pondered how he was going to pay me back when I assumed I'd never see him again after this. Was it that he knew something I didn't? A soothsayer, perhaps? Did he have an ability to see the future or something? Who said I wanted to see him again, anyway? I didn't say these things out loud. It just seemed rude to be so mean. I'd never see him again. Screw the cigarette. I'd just ask Adrian to get me some more, as usual, when I ran out.

        “How exactly do you expect to do that?”, I asked, definite sarcasm in my tone of voice this time.

        “When we get back to my place.”

        “What?”

        “You said you were bored, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, Miss Violette.”

        “Yes. That doesn't mean I want to go anywhere with you though.”

        “What else are you going to do? Go back home? Continue to stay here and swing away the rest of the night?”

        “How do I know you won't kill me?”, I almost regretted saying that as soon as the words left my mouth.

        Here he was, obviously unable to keep his own neck safe and I was concerned with him killing me. He would more than likely kill himself in the process.

        You're so logical, Violette, I told myself.

        “Kill you? What would be the fun in that? Then I would be bored again.”

        What was the worst that could happen if I went with him? Nothing I wouldn't mind, I concluded. If he did kill me it wasn't like I was going to miss out on anything. I didn't have to worry about anyone wondering where I was or anything. That's when I decided I would go.

        “Fine. I'll go. No funny stuff though. I'm not really in the mood.”

        “I like that you're to the point. Life would be so much simpler if everyone was like that.”

        Another smile. Did he always smile about everything?

        “Thanks. I guess.”, I mumbled, pulling out yet another cigarette.

        “While we walk to my place, we should get to know each other a little more. I know your name is Violette, you don't beat around the bush, you like to smoke, and you like to swing when you're bored. You know I'm Trevor and I owe you a cigarette.”, he said, saving me the trouble of saying what we both already knew.

        “Tell me why you would invite someone you don't know to hang out with you?”, I asked him. I was honestly interested as to why he was so trusting.

        “I like giving people a chance. I don't judge people like that. What's the point in it? You could miss making a best friend, a soul mate, or someone you just need by doing that.”, Trevor explained. He did have a point.

        “Okay. Good enough.”

        “No one is going to wonder where you are?”, he asked, suddenly, as if he'd just realized I might have a family.

        “Well, no.”        

        “Why not?”

        “They just wouldn't. Why does it matter?”, I was getting agitated. I didn't really like talking about her.

        “Sorry. Just checking...”, he said in that same lowered tone of voice.

        “It's okay. Where do we have to walk to?”, I said trying to change the subject before he could ask me anything else. It didn't matter if we didn't know each other in and out.

        “Just around the block. Not really very far.”, he pointed in the direction of which we were headed.

        “In Meadow Brooks?”

        “Yep. That would be it. Home sweet home.”

        Meadow Brooks wasn't a ritzy neighborhood, but it wasn't a bad one either. Decent. Middle-class. A nice place to have a family. Somewhere you might imagine a Brady Bunch type family would live.

        “Here she is.”, he proudly announced.

        We stopped in front of a yellow house. There were a few flowers here and there. Not enough to call it a garden. Just a rose bush on either side of the porch steps and a few pansies sprinkled near them. There wasn't anything spectacular looking about it. At least to a normal, everyday person, it looked like a normal, everyday home. Full of all the things that mine wasn't.

        “Speaking of anyone wondering about me, won't your family be upset about you bringing strangers over?”, I asked him.

        “Well, no”, he spoke, in a perfect imitation of myself.

        “Oh.”, was all I said.

        I didn't understand why I was suddenly feeling so comfortable with someone I virtually knew nothing about. I felt uneasy, but not because of him. I felt that way because of me. This was unlike me. I saw people everyday and felt nothing. With him, I was curious. Extremely curious. Why would he be so open to me? Why did he seem so intriguing? I knew he was just a normal person. Like me or anyone else. I was stunned at myself for being so trusting, when I wasn't even capable of trusting myself. I didn't want to spill my life's story out to him, but something told me if I wanted to, I could. And it would be just fine.

 

Author's Note

Still a draft :)

Reviews

[Rose Kavanagh]

I really like yiour writing, but your sentences can be a little choppy. For instance, the description of Trevor would have flowed a bit better if you had joined up a few of the sentences:

He was tall and a bit scrawny, with sandy blond hair leaning to the brunette side that hung, straight as a ruler, above his eyebrows. He had green eyes. Quite a vivid green at that, a shade that reminded you of a soft sea. He had a mix of strong and soft facial features; high, sharp cheekbones and a soft chin that was like a rounded square, but still in proportion to the rest of his face. His skin had a light tan, like you would see on a person who had been working out in the sun for a couple of weeks. His nose was a little crooked, which didn't surprise me, considering the incident that called for this meeting. He was wearing a plain red t-shirt with a pocket on it and blue jeans that were now covered in grass stains. They had a hole in the knee, though I wasn't sure if it was from the fall or if it was there before that.

Of course, I'm not trying to write this for you and I like where it's going so far. Keep it up, I'm interested. ;)

[LoveAndDreams]

This sounds good! Wandering where it's going but I'll go along for the ride anyway
:)

[Tracie Skarbo]

great chapter...going to the next...

[Bud]

This is a great story so far.

[nostal]

Like it.

[Adeline]

I like Trevor, he's funny and cute. :)