Shattered(16)

I shrug. "It needed to be said."

"How do you do that?" He stands and sits on the end of my bed.

"Do what?"

"How do you make me feel like this? I can be talking about the most horrible thing that ever happened to me, but with you here, the pain lessens. I feel like I'll get through it and everything might be all right after all."

I smile at him. I don't know what else to do. I'm lying back on my pillow. I cross my ankles under the blankets and tuck my hands behind my head. "That's what you do for me. Maybe it's magic. Maybe you're my yang."

"Yang?" He gives me a weird look.

"Yeah, like on a yin yang. We reflect each other, despite everything." I watch him for a moment. His eyes are on mine. I pat the bed next to me and Trystan finally gives in. He crawls toward me and lays his head on my pillow. I turn on my side to look at him.

Trystan kisses my lips lightly and sighs. A smile pulls at the corners of his mouth. "Good night, beautiful girl."

~TRYSTAN~

A car door slams and jerks Trystan awake. Early morning sunlight pours through Mari's windows. Trystan sits up and looks down at Mari, still asleep. That noise woke him up, made him jump. Call it conditioning from his father, but if Trystan didn't jump up and grab his things that second, he would be thrown out the window.

Trystan peeks out the bedroom door and sees Mari's dad. He's still wearing scrubs and is setting his things down on table in the hallway below. Panicked, Trystan doesn't know what to do. He can't sneak out. Her dad is blocking the way.

Trystan goes back to Mari and wakes her gently, kissing her cheek. She smiles and stretches. "Trystan." The way she says his name makes him reel, but he can't afford to think like that. Not now. If Mari's dad catches him, he's dead.

Whispering next her ear, he says, "Your dad is downstairs. I need to hide."

Before Trystan has a chance to say anything else, the sound of footfalls reaches their ears. Mari sits straight up in bed, her brown eyes wide like dinner plates. She points to the closet. Trystan takes his things and ducks inside and closes the door just before Mari's dad enters the room.

He bangs on the door and shouts, "Wake up, Mari. You're going to be late." He flicks on the lights and it fills the crack under the closet door. Trystan can hear him enter the room. His heart beats harder, faster. He pulls on his shoes and shirt without making a sound. Trystan feels like a coward hiding. He should run out and stand up to the man, but he can't. He can't even take care of himself. And getting found out won't help either of them.

"Mother said you apologized to Brie last night. I was glad to hear it. No more of this, Mari. Now get dressed for school. And mind your mother. She said no more tight clothes. Do as she asks. I don't want to hear about my daughter looking like a street-walker ever again." The door clicks shut and he's gone.

Trystan cracks the closet door open and looks at Mari. The life has been sucked out of her. Her shoulders are slumped and her skin is sallow. The color in her cheeks is gone. There's no light in her eyes. He knows that look and wishes to God that he could take it away, but he can't. Even if they were older, Trystan doesn't have the money to save her from that man. Her dad crushed her just now and there was nothing he could do about it.

Mari glances up at him. She blinks slowly and smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "You better go before Mom comes home and decides to go through my closet. You can climb down the trellis like you wanted to the other day. Dad is headed for the shower. Wait a second for the water to turn on and then go. I'll meet you in the basement at the school and fix up your neck."

Trystan doesn't know why he does it, but he does. He can't stand that flat listless voice. He can't bear to watch Mari like this. He crosses to her bed and pushes her back into her pillows while pressing his lips to hers. They both have morning breath, but he doesn't care. Trystan loves her. He wants her to be happy. He wants that smile on her face again. Trystan tangles his hands in her hair and lays on top of her, kissing her so hard that he can't breathe.

When he pulls back, she's smiling shyly. It's a perfectly Mari smile. "I love you," he whispers and bounces off her bed and heads to the window. Mari touches her fingers to her lips like she's dreaming.

Trystan sneaks out before anything else can go wrong.

~MARI~

When I'm done pulling on my jeans and tee shirt, I bend over to find my boots. I kicked them under my desk the other night. When I pull them out, I see a piece of paper caught between the desk and the wall. I reach for it, instantly knowing what it is - Trystan's song. How'd it get on the floor? I go to pin it back in place, but decide that it shouldn't be where anyone could get it. If my parents took the song or Brie managed to get her hands on it, that'd be bad. So I take it with me, stuffing it into my jeans pocket.

I get to school early and head to find Trystan. The halls are empty. I pull open the basement door and run down the stairs. After that kiss this morning, I have a kiss of my own to give him. But when I reach the bottom of the landing, I freeze. He's singing softly. His back is turned to me, like he doesn't know I'm there. After a moment, he glances back at me and startles.

"Hey, ninja. Fancy meeting you here." Trystan's eyes sweep over me in a way that makes me feel beautiful.

"I heard there was a rock star living in the school basement. I had to see it for myself." I smile at him and drop my bag on the couch. Walking over to him slowly, I swing my leg over his lap and sit. We nearly fall off the little stool. He laughs and holds onto me with the guitar between us. "This was more romantic in my head."