Chapter Seventeen

It's been a couple weeks since I last saw Jackson, and I have been happy. I'm sitting on the couch reading out of a magazine from the counter. I'm not even paying attention really but I completely discard the magazine when Amy comes over and turns on the T.V. I toss the mag across the room as Amy curls up next to me. She turns on some sitcom from the 80s.

Amy curls up next to me but before we can pay attention to the show, a blasting voice comes from the T.V.

"This program is interrupted because of breaking news!" The voice blasts. Amy flinches. I lay my head on hers which is resting on my shoulder.

"I hate breaking news," she says. "It's hardly ever good news." Her voice is shaky and tender. I put my arm around her.

"Be on the lookout for prison escapee Steve Gray, who was arrested a couple weeks ago because of abuse to his girlfriend, Sara Black, an 18 year old woman who we have not heard from since she came to visit Steve last week."

Amy fidgets around. "See? Now there's an abusive man on the loose."

I hug her. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Amy hugs me back. I kiss her head, but wince. Amy releases me, noticing. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I just, got a little cramp," I say. "I'm fine."

Amy raises her eyebrows. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

* * *

Amy slides me a plate from across the counter. "Eat," she says, frowning.

"I told you, I'm not hungry," I say.

"Kim, you haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday! It's eight at night the next day..."

I sigh and look at the plate. I stare at the chicken, beckoning to me, the peas, so green and good-looking. I take the fork and look back at Amy. She stares at me. I sigh and take my knife in my other hand.

I end up eating half my chicken and my peas by the time Amy is finished with her dinner. She looks at me nervously. "Kim, what's going on?"

I gaze at Amy. "I don't know," I say as tears fill my eyes. Amy's face softens even though it was already soft. She walks over to me and sits at the counter next to me. She wraps her arms around me.

"What can I do?" she asks.

I sniff.

"Just... Hold me."

* * *

Amy shakes me awake. "Kim," she whispers. I open my eyes and look up at her. "Are you alright?"

I nod, but she doesn't look convinced. She sits me up and walks me to my room. She lays me in my bed and covers me with the blankets. She goes over to the window so I'm facing her. "Do... Do you want me to sleep with you?" I hesitate.

"Do you want to?"

Amy hesitates, but nods slowly. Her face looks ashamed.

I smile and scoot over. I lift up the covers as she slides in next to me. She puts her hands under her head and lays on her side. She looks into my eyes. I look into hers, who, even though it is dark, still shine and shimmer.

* * *

I wake up and see Amy curled up next to me, her breathing so quiet I can barely hear it. She's so delicate and fragile. She's so pure, and then there's me, who is broken and hardened, with so many mistakes it wouldn't matter if I murdered her right here and right now because of the things I've done in the past.

I lay there, not knowing what to do. I don't want to get up, but not because I don't want to wake her, because I love staring at her, especially when she can't tell. I look over her face. Freckles, pink hair, long eyelashes, full lips and eyebrows. She has a few piercings in her ears... She moves her hand and I flinch. She puts it next to her face and lays it on the bed. I look down at it and sigh shakily. The cuts are just like mine.

I stroke her arm and feel the cuts raise a little as my fingers graze over the scars. I take her face and tuck her hair behind her ear. I slowly move my hand back to my blanket. I look away from her beautiful face. I roll onto my back. "What is wrong with me?" I whisper aloud.

I can't stand myself. I get up and cover Amy with the blankets so I can't gawk at her anymore. I wrap myself in a robe over my spaghetti strap tank top and little shorts. I walk out to the kitchen and look up at the top cupboard. How long has Amy had that wine up there?

Without even realizing it, I find that I'm reaching up to the cupboard handle. I get on my tip-toes but nearly fall as I hear Amy getting up and the door creaking open. I look behind me quickly, my heart beating faster than ever. Amy rubs her eyes.

"What are you doing...?" She asks.

"N-Nothing," I say, walking towards her. I take her cold hands and put my forehead on hers.

Amy eyes the cupboard then looks back at me. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." I blush and look down. I don't even know why I was wanting it. I'm still 20 anyway, I can't drink.

Amy comes over and hugs me. I hug her back. I'm glad that we're the same height. I always feared that the one I wanted to be with was shorter than me or taller.

Amy sighs. "I was wondering," she says. "C-Could we maybe get a pet of some sort?"

I smile. "Why not?"

Amy looks at me and smiles a little.

She walks over to the fridge, but I'm not done hugging her. I come from behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. She doesn't flinch. She grabs a couple eggs and shuts the fridge.

She turns on the stove and I am forced to let go. I start to walk to the counter but she grabs my hand before I can move much. She doesn't look at me, but she smiles smugly. I move close to her and lean on the counter. She finishes making our eggs and puts them both on the same plate. She hands me a fork and we eat across from each other on the counter.

After we finish, she showers and gets ready. I change into a black crop top and blue jeans. I slip my sandals on and put my hair up in a high ponytail. Everyday I can see more brown hairs peeking out.

I walk out into the living room and sit on the couch.

After a minute I pick up a magazine from the coffee table and flip through it.

After a minute, Amy opens her door. I look up and see her in a spaghetti-strapped black tank top and short shorts. I gulp and blush. I stand up and fidget with my shirt and hair.

"H-Hi," I say. She smiles and takes my hand.

I blush as I look at her. She starts walking to the coat rack and gets her purse. I get my purse and my keys. We always go in my car.

We go down to the parking lot and get in my car. I start the car and we start driving to the nearest pet store. Amy gets out her phone and opens the camera app. She looks at herself in the camera, unsure.

"You good?" I ask, glancing at her and her for a moment.

"Yeah," Amy says. "It's just my hair. The color is fading."

She looks at her roots that seem to be getting redder.

I hesitate. "Maybe we could get our hair dyed again."

Amy's face lightens. She beams. "That sounds so fun!"

I smile and keep driving. "Maybe we should dye it before getting a pet," I say.

"Okay."

I drive to the hair salon. There are two girls waiting there already. We pay for an appointment and then sit down across the room from the two girls. One has blonde hair and the other has brown. They're holding hands. I smile.

But after a moment, the T.V. goes a little louder. "Public Service Announcement! Steve Gray has escaped from prison. He was put in there a few months ago for abuse of Sara Black," It shows the picture of the girl with blonde hair that I saw the other night on the news. I squint at her. I've seen her before though. Not on T.V. Suddenly, I quickly look back at the girl across from the room. It's Sara. She looks terrified and holds the other girl's hand tightly. "If you see this man... Run."

I look over at the girl again. She says something to the other girl and they run out of the salon. I look at Amy. She saw everything too.

We almost go out to see what happened, but someone calls us and we get up to get our hair done.