Trashed and Scattered

“You shouldn’t have hit him,” Lexi sighed, her pace quickened to keep in step with her long legged friend.
Wiley rolled his eyes, “He had it coming, Lex. I don’t let anyone talk about you like that.”
“He was just joking,” Lexi assured him, letting her fingers wrap around his thin arm. “You know Matt doesn’t actually think I’m a boy.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he shrugged, reaching up to snatch her hand into his.
They let their fingers intertwine as they fell into the small divide between them.
“Now he knows not to talk crap about you,” Wiley reasoned, trying to make light of Lexi’s disapproval.
Lexi wasn’t particularly thrilled about any sort of violence, especially on her behalf. But Matt had made a rude implication about Lexi’s face resembling that of a man. Not only was it far from true, but it had made Lexi sad. She was humiliated. So, naturally, Jimmy had bombarded his way into Matt’s face and let his knuckles do the talking. An unrelenting need to protect Lexi rid him of any and all control. If he could help to keep Lexi’s self esteem at a high, Wiley would do whatever it took.
She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. For her to think of herself as anything less was an injustice that Wiley simply couldn’t allow.
“Great,” Lexi whined, her focus dancing up ahead. “My dad isn’t home.”
Wiley frowned down at her, “You wanna come over?”
“You have drum practice,” Lexi reminded him, doing her best to appear calm.
He waved a hand at her, “I can skip it.”
“No you can’t,” she chuckled softly. “It’s okay, Wiley. Just leave your window unlocked, okay? Just in case...”
He stopped their pace, using their locked fingers to pull her to face him. His crystal blues beat into her frightened soul.
“It’s always unlocked,” he told her seriously. “You never have to worry about that. I’ll always leave it open for you, Lex.”
She smiled, letting his sincerity appease her nerves, “I love you, you know that?”
“I do!” he jeered, gesturing ahead to get them moving once more.
“And?” Lexi grinned.
His lips pulled into a cheeky smile, “And I love you too.”
“Good,” she giggled, skipping up ahead of him. “It would be totally weird if you didn’t.”
Wiley couldn’t imagine a time where not loving Lexi was even possible. It seemed improbable in his mind; a thing of fiction and nothing else.
“Okay,” she huffed as her feet implanted themselves into the concrete outside Wiley’s house. “Wish me luck.”
He frowned deeply, “I wish you wouldn’t say stuff like that. It makes me worry...”
“I’ll be okay,” she assured him though she wasn’t at all sure it was true. “I’ll call you at seven.”
“On the dot,” he warned her with a long finger.
She nodded, “On the dot. Go learn how to be a good drummer! You have to catch up to me sometime.”
Wiley groaned as she disappeared up her walkway, “I’m already better than you!”
Lexi threw her head back, forcing a dramatic and pointed laugh from her throat, “Dream on, Jimmy!”
Before he could ridicule her for the improper use of his name, she slipped behind the door. He lingered for a moment, endlessly hesitant when it came to leaving her alone. But when she didn’t bound back out into the world, he saw nothing else to do but go home. With Matt’s blood still splattered across his knuckles and an impending call from the school lingering against his free future, Wiley sauntered his way into the house to face his own doom.
“Dan?” a familiar demon cried out.
Lexi froze in the doorway, cloaking herself in the safety of the wall separating her from Hell.
A man’s voice floated along the air, nipping at Lexi’s ears with a fearful curiosity. Mustering up all of her courage, she set her backpack onto its hook and stepped into view. She lingered in the archway, letting her mothers surprised frustration mount in mere seconds.
“Why are you home?” she hissed, scowling.
“I wasn’t feeling well,” Lexi lied.
She wasn’t about to offer up the truth to the likes of this monster. This beast wouldn’t understand friendship or support. When Wiley’s abrupt display of affection earned him a week long suspension, Lexi felt it only right to walk him home. It was a little her fault he’d hit Matt, she’d reasoned.
“What’s wrong with you?” it grumbled at her as Lexi’s eyes wandered around the scene.
A burly man was leaned over their coffee table, pulling what Lexi thought might be flour in through his nose. He let out a satisfied moan as he leaned back into the base of the couch. The demon snapped its talons.
“Over here,” it growled. “I asked you a question.”
Lexi faltered, “What?”
“I said,” it seethed, “what’s wrong with you?”
Lexi wasn’t sure if the question was fueled by concern or sheer curiosity. Perhaps neither. Nevertheless, in the hopes that it was the former, Lexi shrugged.
“Just a headache.”
“A headache?” the monster scoffed.
It exchanged a devious look with the stranger by its side before turning back to the young girl frozen in the doorway.
“I’ve got something for a headache,” it grinned up at her from its place on the floor. “Come here.”
Lexi swallowed hard, shaking her head, “No, it’s okay...I’m going to go lay down if that’s okay.”
“Peyton,” it growled. “Come here.”
Lexi didn’t move.
“Peyton!” It snapped loudly, scaring the nerves from inside Lexi’s bones. “I swear to fucking god if you make me come over there...”
Desperate to avoid any more ruptures to her whole, Lexi took hesitant steps toward her mother.
“That’s a good girl,” she growled, opening and closing both hands as she beckoned the young girl forward.
As soon as Lexi was near enough, the beast wrapped its claws around Lexi’s arm and sunk into her skin. The young girl knew better than to whimper.
“This is my fuckin’ kid,” it said to the stranger. “Can you believe I have a fuckin’ kid?”
The man grinned, “A pretty one at that.”
“You think?” the demon scowled, grabbing at Lexi’s chin to turn her head at awkward angles. “She looks like her fuckin’ father.”
“She has your eyes,” the man noted, scraping a new pile of the powder into a straight line.
“Hear that, Peyton?” her mother growled, releasing her face with a subtle shove. “You have my eyes.”
Lexi was steadfast in her silence. It was a proven technique invented to help shield her from her mother’s wrath.
“You want some of this?” the demon asked flatly, gesturing to the table. “It’ll get rid of all your pain.”
“Allison,” the man gasped with a scoff. “She’s, what, eight?”
The demons brows furrowed, “I don’t know. How old are you, Kid?”
“Ten,” Lexi croaked.
“She’s ten!” The monster declared. “Plenty old enough.”
The man stared up at Lexi with wild and unnerved curiosity.
“It’ll cost you though,” the demon informed the frightened child.
“Your tab is already problematic, Al,” he informed her, his voice dripping with threat.
She winced a little, looking back to her daughter, “Maybe we could make a trade. You give me another ball and I’ll give you this little treat.”
Lexi’s eyes widened with horror. The stranger to her left looked about the same.
“Allison,” he half-laughed. “She’s a fuckin’ kid.”
“So what? You said she’s pretty,” the demon reasoned like it was some sort of stroke of genius. “She has my eyes, remember?”
“Allison,” he said again, more grimly this time.
“She’d do it,” the demon assured him, forcing its claws into Lexi’s skin once more. “Wouldn’t you, Peyton? You’d do anything I asked?”
Lexi tried to nod. Not because she agreed but because she was afraid of what would happen if she didn’t.
The demon pulled Lexi into its body, wrapping its scaled arms around her head. It let its claws rest against Lexi’s cheek, which burned with a bittersweet comfort.
“She loves her mama,” the demon cooed. “Don’t you, Peyton?”
“Mhm,” Lexi managed through her fear.
The stranger eyed her sympathetically, giving his head a light shake. Lexi wasn’t entirely sure what was being propositioned but she found herself relieved that this man wasn’t entertaining it.
“Why don’t you go play, kid?” he suggested to her, motioning to the world beyond that room.
The demon released its vice, letting Lexi stumble back a few paces.
"The only game she plays is doctor," the demon growled, casting a devious stare over at the insecure child.
"Doctor?" its friend asked confusedly.
“Yeah, she and that neighbour kid,” the beast suggested venomously. "You fuck him all the time, don't you, Peyton?"
Lexi had no idea what that meant, but she assumed it wasn’t good. Nothing her mother ever said to her was good. She shook her head slowly, unsure. The demon rolled its eyes.
“She’s a fuckin’ slut, Ray,” it continued, leaning over the table the way it’s friend had done. “She’d be worth the trade.”
The man smiled at Lexi, “Go play.”
Lexi looked to her demon for permission.
It snarled at her, “Fuck! Go! But don’t forget your fuckin’ red light!”
Lexi was confused but didn’t bother taking time to think on it. She hurried up the stairs and into her bedroom, pressing the door closed firmly behind her. Within two seconds, she was out the window. She crawled as fast as her trembling limbs would take her, taking cautious steps to navigate around the bark.
Once her feet were firmly planted on the neighbouring roof, she hurried to the window and pulled it up without knocking. She slid through the curtains and pulled the glass shut.
“Hey,” Wiley’s uneasy voice sounded off behind her.
Lexi whipped around, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Her body shook with a violence.
“What’s wrong?” Wiley rushed, closing the gap between them in an instant and pulling her into his arms.
“She has a friend over,” Lexi tried to explain but fell short, her mind racing a mile a minute.
Wiley sighed, gently leading Lexi to the bed and pulling her down onto the edge of the mattress. He let his hands pull away from her back, lingering as he cupped her face in his palms.
“What happened?”
Lexi took a deep breath, taking her best friend through as much of the story as she could bear to speak aloud. But she was safe with Wiley. She knew that he would never judge her. He’d never spill her secrets.
In her life, she’d been forced to weave a lot of webs of deception. Everything she offered to the world was one half of a grand truth. She’d sport her wounds and pass them off for innocence. She’d abandon her home and claim she had only crossed the property line with a childish pull to see Wiley. She’d miss days at school and tell her teachers she was sick. There wasn’t a single day that went by where Lexi didn’t have to spin another tale. If you didn’t know better, you might think she sought to protect her mother.
But it was far barer than that; convoluted in its simplicity. Lexi sputtered each lie with one goal and one goal only: to stay where she could reach Wiley. She’d endure the hell she’d been born into if it meant she could keep the love she’d found. There wasn’t a force on this earth strong enough to rob her of her conviction.
Wiley was the one person she could speak openly with. He was the one person who never asked her to lie.
“I’m skipping drums,” Wiley announced as Lexi wound through the end of her tale.
She shook her head, “No...You should go...But...can I just stay? I promise I’ll be quiet.”
Wiley smiled, “Of course you can. My dad’s out of town anyway, so you don’t have to be quiet.”
“Okay,” Lexi nodded softly.
Wiley pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek before bounding across the room. Without looking over at her, he slipped a tape into the VCR and powered on his small television.
“By time it’s over,” he told her, “I’ll be back.”
“Will you watch with me until you have to go?” Lexi asked quietly.
Wiley smiled, taking quick steps back to her. He crawled into the bed, pulling her into his arms. She happily laid into his chest, letting the dull thud of his heartbeat lull her into a calm.
“I don’t know how you never get sick of this movie,” Wiley snickered quietly.
As Sleeping Beauty began to play, Lexi felt somehow whole. She snuggled in closer to her best friend, tightening her grip on his chest.
“Because it makes me think of you,” she answered softly. “And I could never get sick of you.”
“Even when I hit stupid people?” Wiley teased with a mischievous grin.
Lexi giggled, “Especially then.”
“You know I’m just trying to protect you, right?” he asked weakly.
She nodded.
“I’ll always protect you, Lex,” he promised her. “Even if it gets me in trouble.”
In expert timing, Barb’s voice echoed against the walls. The unmistakeable cry of a mother scorn, “James Owen Sullivan! Get down here right now!”
“Speak of the devil,” Wiley laughed, carefully scooting out from beneath Lexi’s weight.
She kept her eyes focused on the television, refusing to let herself listen to Wiley being scolded. She couldn’t bear the guilt.
“I’ll be back,” he told her with a smile. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She smiled up at him quickly, amused by his unnecessary instruction.
Lexi couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Notes

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