"I won't come down! You're being a colossal jerk!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Do you want to starve or something? Because that can be arranged!" Virgil quipped back. The nerve he has! I just can't believe him.
"It beats eating with you, you beast!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!" we both yelled at once. I heard him stomping away and many doors slamming shut. Like, an unnecessary number of doors shutting into place.
"Finally some peace and quiet around here!" I mumbled to myself. Ugh! He's such a pain in the you know what. Virgil is a family friend that I have to live with for a while till my creep of an ex-boyfriend leaves me alone. As you just saw, he is an absolute delight to hang around. His family, on the other hand, is wonderful and has been nice enough to take me in for a while.

Let's see, there's his Aunt Angela, who has taken care of him since his parents died when we were little. Aunt Angie has another small boy whom she adopted, Bradley. Bradley can't be older than twelve years old and is such a little darling. The two of them almost make up for Virgil. Almost.

Knock, Knock, Knock

"Lydia, it's me. Is everything alright?" cooed the sweet voice of Aunt Angie. "I can get you some tea if you want it."
"Thanks, but I kind of just want to vent."
"Of course! What did Virgil do now?" she laughed as she opened the door that had not opened for Virgil.
"Oh my, are you in for a treat! He wanted me to come down for dinner."
"That doesn't sound too bad! What caused that fierce of a screaming match?"
"I'm not done," I chuckled. "I politely told him no. I had a lot of unpacking to do and I was very tired. Understandable, right?"
"Completely!"
"That's what I thought! But then he starts screaming at me! He called me ungrateful, which I'm not- thanks again for letting me stay here- "
"Of course, darling. I'm sorry he acted this way to you, but once you get to know him, he's really a sweetheart and so gentle. You should see him when he plays with Bradley! Just give him a chance!"
"That's great and all, but he's given me no reason to give him a chance, not in all the years I've known him, so, why should I?" Then I heard this weird beeping noise, which alarmed Aunt Angie.
"Oh dear. That was the security system. I'm afraid he heard us."
"Security system?"
"Oh yes. I had it put in when you couldn't have been more than child yourself. Both of the boys were a bit of a handful. It was the easiest way to listen to one of the boys in his room while comforting the other in a different room. Kind of like a permanent baby monitor."
"Oh, I see. But what does that mean for us?" I asked timidly.
"Well, either he is going to ignore us or in he's going to burst in here in three, two, o- "
"Why were you guys talking about me? You know I can hear you, right?" Boy, was Virgil mad.
"I'm so sorry," I mouthed to Aunt Angie. In return she just gave me a nervous smile. I gingerly walked towards the door and looked back at her. She nodded her head in encouragement. I gently slid the door open.
"Why the hell do you think you can talk about me like that? Do you think you'll still be able to live here and talk crap about me?"
"If you don't want me to talk crap about you then don't act like a crap-bag!" I matched his volume surprisingly well for me being perpetually awkward. It was surprisingly easy to argue with him- which is funny since I'm not a confrontational person, usually.

Aunt Angie added, "She has a point, dear." I gestured over to her as if to say "See!". To say we didn't see eye to eye would be an understatement.
"Stop acting like a such a b- "
"Don't you dare finish that sentence! You'll regret it!" SMACK. He actually slapped me and I just lost it. "How dare you! How freaking dare you!"
"I won't treat you like a b**** if you won't act like one."
"Virgil!" reprimanded Aunt Angie.
"Oh very funny," I said sarcastically. "I tried to not let you get to me but- ugh! You're worse than Richard!"
"Why don't you just go back to him then, if I'm that horrible?"
"Just watch me! You're crazy if you think I would willingly stay here with you for another second!" I saw him raise his hand once more. I pushed him out of the way and fled down the stairs, tears streaming down my face, down my throbbing cheek. I could hear the two voices: one scolding, the other too angry to listen to reason. I flung open the door and tread into the wintery scene before me. I wish I had the sense to bring my jacket, but there was no way I was heading back.

So, I ran. I just wanted to get as far away as I could. The only way I knew was through a bad part of town, but it was better than that poor excuse of a home. Soon I dipped into familiarity. I recognized the old 24-hour markets, the long closed Blockbuster, the one record store that sells exclusively Bee Gees records for some unknown reason. This is home, more than a home I've ever had, anyway. My mom left when I was young, so my dad was always out working odd jobs. Don't get me wrong, when he was around he was a wonderful father, but he was just never around. I was forcibly ripped out of my wistfulness by these two good for nothing guys whistling at me.

"Ooh! Lovely, where you going all alone?" one of them hollered at me.

"Why are you crying? You're much too pretty to cry. Just a little smile for me, baby," said the other.

"Please leave me alone. Just go away," I managed to say.

"We're not looking to cause trouble. Just smile for me." The creep's words were dripping with sickening venom. The two started cornering me into a nearby alley. Now, I'd read enough newspapers to know what was about to happen.

"Leave me alone!" I plead and screamed in hope that someone, anyone would help me. Oh, why did I think this was a good idea? This is how I die! It's the same old story. They'll rape me then kill me to keep me quiet! My legs wouldn't move at all. I prayed to the God above to help me, to send an angel to save me. Except, the angel wasn't exactly who I thought it would be.

"You heard her! Leave her alone!"

"Virgil?" I whispered in disbelief. No person, no sight could've been more welcome in my eyes, even him. Now, Virgil was not a feeble guy and easily could've had these two scumbags on the pavement within 30 seconds, but oddly he was holding back.

"Sorry, dude. We didn't know you two were together," backtracked lowlife number one.

"What does our being together matter?"

"Well why else would you care about her?" added lowlife number two. Man, I wanted to punch these guy, but Virgil beat me to it.

"Because she's a human being and is worthy of respect, unlike you two dirty scoundrels," he yelled. Yeah I'll admit, he was starting to grow on me. The two were out cold on the concrete. He offered me his jacket and a helmet. "Get on," he said, referring to his motorcycle. I complied, too in shock to argue. The rest of the ride back was silent.