Page 160 of Invisible String
Kiss.
Our faces are so close, and she’s waiting. So I close my eyes and do it fast so I don’t overthink it. I press my lips on hers and pull away. There. That wasn’t so bad.
We both smile. It was nice. My heart is racing. I want to do it again, so I do.
We don’t kiss like Drake and his girlfriend. That’s too weird. We spend the summer dancing, swimming, telling scary stories at night, laughing, and Drake takes us for ice cream. For my birthday, Mrs. Sara ordered pizza. She made a small cake. It was nice and thoughtful. I hadn’t had a cake for my birthday since my mom. We ignore the fights Mrs. Sara and Jason have been having, and we lock ourselves in the room.
When our caseworkers come to do a well check, we don’t tell them about Jason because that would mean we split up. She still curls up in my bed. We sleep, feeling safe with one another.
If I lost my best friend slash girlfriend, I don’t know what to do. Although if a family came and wanted to adopt her, I’d hope they’d treat her well and let me continue to be her friend.
We areat the end of July, and it’s been a hot summer. We ate a tub of ice cream the neighbor gave us. She said she bought the wrong one. Sol sits at the edge of the pool, and I sit next to her. We pass the spoon back and forth, eating mint chocolate chip. It’s not our favorite, but it’s hot, and it’s ice cream.
“I guess we’ll have fresh breath,” she jokes.
I nod, taking another spoonful.
“Your shoulders are getting red. Didn’t you put sunscreen on?” I frown. It looks like it hurts. She looks like a lobster. She hands me the bottle of sunscreen.
“I already put some on me.”
“No, can you put it on my back? I couldn’t reach.” She grimaces at my drawn brows.
“Try to stretch your hand.”
“Max, I can’t believe you didn’t see Drake do that to his girlfriend.”
I see a lot of stuff Drake does with his girlfriend, and that is not for our age. Besides, Drake had a talk with me when I said Sol and I were dating. He said it was cute, but not to do stuff adults or older teens do.
“You are so bossy.” I spread the cream on the center of her shoulders and hand it to her.
“Thank you, Max. I’m going to go to the restroom real quick.” She walks off while I dip my feet in the water and finish the ice cream.
The house phone rings. I answer the cordless phone sitting on the folding chairs. It’s a little after four, and Mrs. Sara said she has to work late at the grocery store where she works.
Fifteen minutes have passed, and Sol still hasn’t returned. I get up and walk to the side of the house, noticing Jason’s pick-up truck. At the sound of a scream, I rush inside.
My wet feet make a squishing sound as I rush to every room. “Stand still before I smack you again,” Jason shouts, holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand. He has his arms around her waist.
“Get your hands off of her.” My voice rises with anger. With as much force as I can, I shove him. He moves away but doesn’t let her go. Sol is thrashing, trying to escape his hold.
Pulling on his shirt, he falls back, and Sol runs out the sliding doors to the backyard.
I chase after Sol. Jason smells of alcohol. Lately, he’s been coming home late, and Mrs. Sara has been yelling at him. Something about him being at a bar.
“Are you okay?”
Sol’s shaking, her wet swimsuit dripping. She nods.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Come here, you little bitch.” Jason runs out with a bottle in his hand. He peers at me with hate in his eyes. “Go to your room. You little shit. No one’s here to save you.”
“No,” I yell, getting close to Sol. “Leave us alone. I’ll call Mrs. Sara.”
“What the fuck is she going to do?” He laughs maliciously. Jason unbuckles his belt, then slides it off his jeans. The metal part whips on my already marked back. I bite my lip. I won’t give him the satisfaction of making me cry. Sol’s screams pierce my ears when he whips me again. She’s pure and not used to violence.
