The Understanding

-a one shot-

"You worthless child!"

I watch as Kendra, never mom, raises her hand, about to strike out at me. I watch as the fire in her eyes lights. I stop watching, however, when the sharp sting of her manicured hand meets my blushless cheek.

I stumble backwards, landing on the soft, white leather couch in our never used living room. I don't really think. I don't feel anything except for the stinging on my cheek where a bright red handprint is bound to lie. I know I must look shocked, completely taken aback. I raise my fingers to feel the warmth of where her hand had met my face. Raising my eyes to her, I see that she is looking at her nails. She doesn't care at all that she has just attacked her one and only child.

God forbid she break one as she slaps her daughter across the room.

The first thing that registers in my mind is the intake of breath behind me. I remove my hand from my cheek and turn around slowly. I cannot believe that she hadn't even closed the door. Was she that eager to start putting me down that she couldn't even close the front door? I mean, it's nothing new, the only time that we have a real conversation is when we're fighting--and I'm not so sure that that should even count--but jeez.

And who else could it be besides the one boy that I have any interest in at all.

He's staring at me with a look of pure horror. I would be looking at me with pure horror if I were him, too. It's a bit unusual to walk up to someone's front door and come face to face with a mother hitting her daughter in broad daylight. I would totally be freaking right now, if I were in his place. I mean, only one thought is probably stuck in his head right now.

How could the Massie Block, the one with the seemingly perfect life, not have a perfect life?

Mortified, Kendra pretends that she didn't just slap me and puts on a perky smile.

"Cam, dear, what brings you here?"

---

So, I baffle myself sometimes.

I'm on my way, happy as I can be, heading to the store for dad's nasty ass spinach, and just like that I'm out of gas. Leave it to me, the first time he actually wants me to get something for him and I'm not complaining the whole time, I run out of freaking gas. Right in front of Massie Block's driveway, no less.

Yeah, I was kind of scared out of my mind, too.

And so, being the great sixteen year old that I am, I call dad and tell him that I will be late. Except for I sort of lie and say that there's traffic, which if he were not so oblivious to the world, he would know that there are, like, no cars outside. However, he believed it so that worked out well.

Anyways, so the truck is out of gas in the middle of the road, in front of Block's drive.

Awkward.

No way in hell was I going to mosey on up to her house and be all "Hey Massie, I know that you probably hate me and all, but could I possibly borrow some gas? Well, actually can I have it, because you can't really borrow gas." Then I'd end up just blurting out, "I have money!" As if that wouldn't be bad enough, I'd probably babble on and on until she just slams the door in my face.

Yeah, that's wasn't how I planned to spend my Saturday.

Instead, I decided that I would ask Claire, which was really an awesome idea if it weren't for the fact that it's the middle of summer and she and her family go to Florida for the summer. Dude, do I have the worst luck ever or what?

It's not that I hated Massie or anything. She just sort of scared me with her random mood swings. Which, I guess I understand why she has them now. She'll be all "Oh look at that adorable purse!" and just like that change to "Give me the damn purse or I'll claw your f-ing eyes out!"

Yeah, not even kidding.

So, as I'm walking over to her house and debating the pro's and con's of asking for a ride or some gas or something, I notice the door's open. Oh, well that's a good sign, I thought, they are enjoying the wonderful weather.

Hell, no.

I just have to wind up on Massie Block's front steps, only to see the Massie Block get slapped by her creepy, apparently crazed, mom.

So what do I do? I stand there like a dumb ass staring, and gasp like a girl.

Smooth, Fisher, just smooth. What the hell am I supposed to do now!

Then the woman my mom has been friends with for forever just sort of transforms in front of my eyes from terrible to nice, and smiles. "Cam, dear, what brings you here?"

---

Damn, Massie. How do you get yourself in these situations?

Cam Fisher, with all of his black haired, mismatched eyed glory just saw you get slapped by your supposedly loving mother. And what makes it worse is what's sliding out of your mouth before you can stop it.

"Cam, get out."

God, could I be any ruder?

"Massie!" Kendra snaps. She gives Cam a look of apology and gestures for him to come inside. "Oh, sweetie, ignore her, she's just having a bad day. How's Lacey? How are you?"

He looks like he's the one that just got slapped. Which, in a sense, I guess he did. He got slapped with reality. Not everything's as peachy as it seems, Cammie boy.

"Uh, mom's fine. I'm alright, too, I guess." I notice a look crosses his face, like he just woke from some kind of daze and he gives me a sideways glance. "How are you?"

Kendra starts back up with her annoyingly fake perkiness. Seriously, I don't get how anybody can stand that voice, it's so obnoxious.

"Oh! I'm great, dear-"

"Massie?"

This surprises me. Did he really just interrupt Kendra to ask me how I was? I mean, I'm still in shock from her slapping me! Because of this, I don't answer him; only stare with a blank face.

"Oh, she's ok. Like I said, she's just had a bad day." She answers for me.

This makes me want to pull out my hair. How dare she slap me and then say I was the one having a bad day. That makes no sense! She knows he saw so I don't get why she's pretending that she didn't hit me. I mean, it's nothing new. She slaps me all the time if she doesn't approve of something I do. Even William throws a few in every now and again, but he's usually gone somewhere or other working so he never gets a chance to. Maybe that's why Kendra does it with such force and anger. She never sees me, so she has to make up for all the lost time. I pretty much live alone in this big empty mansion.

Fed up with all the crap and ready to retire back to somewhere that was not here, I interrupt Kendra's spiel. "Cam, why are you here?"

I notice him inspecting my cheek and I try to cover it without looking too obvious. I'm on the verge of crying too. From tears of anger or hurt, I'm not sure. He finally tears his blue and green eyes from my cheek, which is probably bruising by now, and meets my gaze when he answers. "My truck's out of gas."

---

Seriously, is it possible to sound any more stupid?

You could have said something that could have actually meant something, but no. All you said was that your truck is out of gas. You're really on a roll today, huh Fisher? Between rambling like an idiot and staring at Massie's bruising cheek, I look like a total retard. At least I managed to ask her how she was. Which was also really stupid once you think about it. I just saw her get hit. Damn…

"Ok, but what do you want?" Massie asks, annoyance obvious in her voice. She is angling her face where I can't see her cheek anymore. She looks bad, to be honest. It's not so much that she looks bad bad, but it's her face. She looks tired and worn out. I'm used to her preppy, I'm-so-much-better-then-you look. The one where she has fancy, expensive clothes on, and her hair and makeup is all done up. And she usually has those heels that look like they hurt like hell and are impossible to walk in.

Now, she's just got a big, oversized pair of grey sweatpants on and a plain white t-shirt. Her dark hair is in a messy bun and her face is plain except for the bright blue bruise that's appearing out of nowhere, and the light purple half moons that are under her eyes. Her feet are bare. She seems very small, short. Like anything could hurt her. She looks irritated but she also looks a little sad and small, as if she just can't understand what she did to deserve to be treated this way.

She was looking at me again now. Clearly, it had been a bit longer then a few seconds because she looked at me like I was retarded.

"I just- I just need some gas… or a ride home or something." I say lamely.

"Cameron, I'm so sorry, but I don't have any gas laying around for you to use." Kendra says in what would normally sound like a concerned voice, but now just sounds feigned.

Massie snorts at that comment and then pauses. "I can take him home."

Did Massie just offer me a ride home?

Well, of course she's offering. She was just hit, and I saw it happen, not only is she getting away from her mom but she is also going to chew me out. But, despite this knowledge, I still accept. She's starting to look a little different, not quite so perfect. More human and relatable. Not that my parents have ever hit me or anything, but you understand.

"Thanks." I reply.

She's suddenly up and grabbing at my hand, pulling me out the door.

---

Before I realize what I'm doing, I'm already offering to drive Cam home and pushing him out of the house. When we get outside and the door behind me is closed, I turn around to find him staring at me. Again.

Nevertheless, I look back at him head-on. Finally, his gaze travels elsewhere and I reach down into my pocket to pull out my keys. "Get your stuff and let's go."

I watch as he grabs his keys from the ignition of his truck and picks up a plastic bag from the floorboard. I tilt my head in confusion and despite the pain it causes in my cheek, giggle. I wince almost immediately, but manage a grin anyways. In the grocery bag are a few cans of spinach: the nastiest green to ever, er… grow.

"Ready to go, Popeye?"

He closes the door of his truck and turns around to give me a goofy, lopsided smile. I cannot help but notice, once again, that he just can't get any cuter. He's got the whole mysterious, totally hot, but adorably cute look going on… if that's possible. The way his black hair falls into his eyes just so, and how both his green eye and blue eye sparkle in a way that could drive you insane. And his laid-back demeanor was carefree and true, though he did look tense. But, I mean, come on, who wouldn't be tense after what he saw?

Even if he was still sort of gawking at me like he can't believe that I could even be real, and I can't really tell if it was good gawking or bad gawking (probably bad, I have a big ugly bruise on my face), he was still very yummy looking.

And yes, he was a nice guy, too. I don't care only for his looks, thank you very much.

We walk to my car in silence until I start to open the driver's side door. "Hey, I'll drive if you want me to," he offers.

And so I toss him the keys, and trust him with my life. In more ways then one.

---

We sit in Massie's car as I drive down the deserted road. She's looking out the window with a clouded expression taking place on her delicate features. I notice that she isn't hiding her face from me anymore.

"You know, it doesn't happen often." She says in a quiet voice.

"Huh?" Is what I answer, but I know exactly what she's talking about.

"I don't get hit often. They aren't hardly ever home." Her voice breaks while she's saying this and I look over to see her watching me intently.

This honestly makes me frown but I turn back to watch the road when I answer her. "I understand."

---

That's all I needed to hear. We drift into a comfortable silence for a while longer before I realize that we weren't even heading for Cam's home any longer.

"Where are we going?"

As he glances over at me and reaches for my hand that had been anxiously twirling a piece of hair that had fallen out of my bun. "Someplace where we can talk. I think you need a friend right now." He smiles over at me and I melt right then and there.

With that statement came the understanding that, unlike everyone else, he isn't going to hurt me.

---

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