Disclaimer: I do not own the McManus brothers; I do however own Melanie.
"Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name." I repeated along with the priest, who was visiting from another church. Sitting with my family, I slightly disappeared into my own little world as I continued the prayer robotically. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory now and forever. Amen." The entire church repeated the words and we all lifted our heads to look at the priest; all except two. As everyone looked forward to listen to our actual priest, my eyes stayed glued to the brothers. Ever since they've been attending our church, I've been fascinated with them. Unlike everyone else, they arrived in jeans, plain T-shirts, and their matching black pea-coats to every service. They also continued praying while everyone was done, and when they were done, they made their way up to the alter where the giant statue of Jesus hanging from the cross was located; and they'd kiss the feet of Jesus after praying on their knees one last time. This service was no different. I watched them as they walked to the front. I also glanced over to Father Macklepenny, the guest priest, and watched his confused expression. Everyone was used to the brothers and their different way of worshipping, so everyone else kept their gazes forward.
"Stop watching them dear, it's rude," my mother whispered to me. Although her pleas were sincere, I couldn't take my eyes off the brothers. As they stood, I watched as they took turns kissing the feet of Jesus, and turned to leave. While everyone's gazes stayed with the priest, mine followed the brothers while they walked down the aisle. Once they reached the door, one of the brothers turned to give one last look to the church. But as they scanned the people, one of the brothers held my stare. For the first time, I noticed the piercing blue eyes that he had, forcing me to look away.
"Now, we must all fear evil man, but there is another kind of evil which we must fear the most. And that is the indifference of good men!" Looking to my mother, I excused myself and quickly walked to the doors. I wasn't exactly sure why my instincts told me to follow them, but as I opened the doors, they were nowhere to be found.
"Shit," I whispered to myself as I leaned my back against the door. I could smell the scent of cigarette, making me desperately crave one. But I knew if my mother would smell it on me, it would be World War III in there. Sighing, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and walked back into the church. Giving a smile to my mother, I gave my entire attention to the priest, trying hard to focus. Unfortunately, my focus wasn't on his words. For some reason it was really hard for me to focus in church but rather in the things that I needed to do that particular day. I had been moved out from my parents' house for a couple of months since I was finally able to rent my own apartment, so my day to day errands were a lot more active than usual.
"Everybody please bow your head in prayer." Happily bowing my head, I counted on my fingers how many hours I had left in the day to finish everything that needed to be done. After the service, I stood with my family consisting of my parents and two little sisters. We called each other the Charmed Ones since we were close and had similar names like the witches in the show, but we'd only refer to each other like so away from our overly religious parents. Maddie, my mother, grew up in a super strict Catholic family where they didn't even own a television set while my father was the boy next door. They were high school sweethearts and married after finding out they were having a child, me. I knew my mother had always regretted having me, but still did her best to support my father and me. To another church goer, she was talking about how children grow up fast and how it had been just yesterday that my mom had changed my diaper. I smiled at all the right places and spoke at all the right times, but everything still seemed rehearsed. What people did not realize is that living with my mother was, and still is, a complete nightmare. Most of the time she was on her anti-depressants which caused her to become drowsy and cranky, but when she wasn't it, she was a complete monster. The reasoning behind my moving out was because it was closer to my college and the house was too small for so many people, but the reality was because of her.
"Mom, I gotta head back home; too much to do today," I whispered to her. I could tell she wanted to blow up in my face, but because we were in public, she kept it together.
"Okay honey, have a blessed day." Giving my mother a hug, I flashed a smile to the rest of my family and left. As soon as my foot reached the outside, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. Letting out the smoke, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sweet nicotine. It was a beautiful day out; the sun was high in the sky and only a light breeze filled the air. I began walking down the sidewalk, toward the direction of my apartment. Looking forward, I paid no mind to the passer-byers who either cat-whistled or gave me glares. It was always the same thing when it came to the public, I was either wanted to hated. My long dark locks bounced behind me and picked up when the wind would occasionally stir. My dark eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, hiding any indication of me staring. It was during times like these when I'd feel like a supermodel walking down the cat-walk.
My fantasy quickly faded as I reached my building. Grabbing my key card, I smiled at the security guard while I swiped it. Boston wasn't exactly the safest of places, which was why I enjoyed living in a heavily guarded apartment complex. Finally reaching my apartment, I happily fell onto my couch with a sigh; home sweet home. The small apartment wasn't much, but it was a great way to start off life as an adult. The living room and kitchen were combined; the only indication of a room change was when the carpet turned into tile. The living room led into a small bedroom while the bathroom was very small with only a stand-in shower, toilet, sink and small vanity mirror. And although it was nothing – this was home. Swinging my legs over, I felt a vibration in my pocket. Seeing it was Natalia, my best friend calling me; I debated on answering. "What's up girlie?"
"We're going bar hopping tonight right?" Raising a brow, I had almost forgotten it was Saint Patrick's Day. Quickly thinking things over, I decided to push all of my errands into tomorrow and agreed.
"Hell yeah we're going. What time you wanna meet up?" I asked, getting to my feet and looking through my closet.
"Around six o' clock, let's meet at Sawyer's first and we'll go from there."
"Sounds like a plan chica, ya tu sabe." Hanging up, I held a mini dress to my body and shook my head; this was going to take a while. Throwing the dress on my bed, I headed back into my closet. Because it was a small walk-in, I looked around the small room. Thinking logically, I started with the shoes; if I picked the shoes, I could pick the matching dress. Shuffling through the countless amount of stiletto heels I had, I picked my black pumps with gold spikes on the back. Satisfied with my choice, I got to my feet and rifled through my dresses. Finally, I came upon my dark green strapless dress and smiled; nothing like getting into the Saint Patrick's Day spirit.
After I dressed into my club attire, I walked to the mirror and began my 'beauty process'. Hearing my phone, I saw a text from Natalie, telling me she was already at Sawyer's and I needed to hurry up. Rolling my eyes, I finished my make-up, grabbed my belongings, and headed out. Sawyer's wasn't too far from my building, so I began walking, waving good-bye to the door guard. Saint Patrick's Day, obviously, is one of the biggest drinking days, and because of that, there were many people out on the streets, most already buzzed. I laughed at the sight of the many college students out roaming the streets, looking for the next bar to migrate too. Spotting Sawyer's, I pulled my phone out and dialed Natalia's number, but before I could press 'call', I heard someone calling to me.
"Hey you." Looking around, I spotted a man waving at me. I knew I should have probably kept moving, but I had already made eye contact. Letting out a quick sigh, I light smiled at him.
"Yes?" I asked, impatience running through my time.
"Could I use your phone? I need to call my wife to come pick me up." Seeing no harm in offering my phone, I switched it to the dial pad screen and handed it to him. I waited calmly while he used my phone, watching him. The man spoke with an accent, I guessed Italian, but my mind was more focused on getting to the bar with my best friend that I didn't care. He hung up the phone, irritated and began walking off.
"Um, excuse me, that's my phone." I called out after him, following to get my phone back. "Mira pendejo, give me my phone back." The man turned to face me with a smile. I stopped in my tracks, frightened by the look on his face. "Please give me my phone back," I asked calmly, holding my hand out.
"Oh, you mean this?" He asked wiggling my phone in his hand before dropping it on the ground, smashing it with the heel of his shoe. "I don't think so." I slowly started to back away, my heels making small clicks on the ground. "So, because you were so kind and let me use your phone, it's time to return a favor."
"No, we're cool." I didn't stop backing away, but he grabbed hold of my wrist, making me start to panic.
"The pleasure is all mine sweetheart." The man pulled me behind the dumpster and began forcing his fist on my face. After a few punches, my face became numb, but he wasn't done.