Home Isn't A Place

**Explicit Violence and Child Abuse**

Ajay forced her eyes open because something felt off. Something just didn't feel right. She nearly jumped out of her skin, "Silva! Stop it!" She giggled and tried to move her leg away as Octavio tickled her bare foot with a small blade of grass. "I thought yuh were gonna lay down and watch da clouds wit mi." Ajay pulled her foot away as she sat up and looked down at him lying on his stomach in front of her.

The sky was vibrant blue and filled with bright white clouds. The grass was a deep green and always cut to the perfect length. Even the flowers always seemed to be in bloom all year round. The scenery on Olympus was so beautiful. No other planet could compare; at least that's what Ajay had always been told. She had never been anywhere else so it was all that she ever knew.

Octavio gave her a cheeky smiled and held the blade grass between the thumb and index finger of his right hand. "I know but this is sooooo boring Che!" Ajay rolled her eyes and laid back down in cool grass. He watched her for a moment and then almost crossed his eyes as he looked back at the blade of grass between his fingertips, "This must be boring because you were sleeping."

She gazed at the fluffy white clouds above her and shook her head, "Nah. I was lying here wit mi eyes closed. Like this." She closed her eyes and laid there silently in the grass. She listened to the sounds around her and enjoyed the calm, soothing breeze. "I don't understand how you just lay there Che." She sighed and didn't bother answering him; she knew if she tried then he would just say that her answer was boring or stupid.

Octavio puffed out his cheeks and blew the blade of grass into the air as he released it from his fingers. Ajay sighed and closed her eyes as the warm summer breeze rushed over her skin. Octavio got up on his knees and crawled up to be next to Ajay. He looked over her as she laid there in the grass. She was wearing some fancy dress again, "She's always wearing some fancy dress. Why?"

He knew that she didn't care to wear to wear the dresses that her mom picked out for her but she wore them anyway. If it were up to him then he would just pitch a fit and wear them. Anytime that his dad wanted him to dress up for some stupid event he would just pitch a fit until he got his way. Eventually his dad would grow tired of dealing with him or he would get a business call and Octavio would win.

In fact he always won because he rarely had to dress fancy for anything. Octavio always got looks wherever he went but he didn't care and his father didn't seem to care either. Ajay never said anything about it when they were out together; in fact she would sneer at other rich snobs that would give him looks. He always wore a pair of shorts, a shirt, a hoodie with the sleeves cut off, and pair of shoes that he could easily use for skateboarding.

"Che?" When she opened her eyes, his face was right above hers. Octavio had a hand to either side of her head as he leaned over her, "Let's go skate boarding!" Ajay gave him a look of disappointment as she stared up into his emerald eyes, "Silva, I don have enough band aids if yuh get hurt again. Besides, we already did dat. Yuh promised dat yuh would do what I wanted ta do after we did what yuh wanted to do." She whined to him.

Octavio sighed, "Fine." He laid down next to her and placed the back of his head against her chest. He stared up into the sky and began to get antsy; sitting still was just something he was used to doing. Ajay was the polar opposite of him and could sit still for hours if she needed to. They has been best friends since birth. Sometimes she could be such a killjoy but he really did love being around her. She kept him in check most of the time. She even patched him up when he did stupid stuff and got hurt; which was a lot.

"Do you ever, like want to get out of here someday?" He already knew what she was going to say but he figured that he would ask anyway. She tried to decide what the cloud above her looked like but she really didn't think that it looked like anything besides a cloud, "Don be stupid. Where would I go Silva?" Octavio shrugged and turned his head until he was staring at the underside of her chin. He gently inhaled her scent; she kind of smelled of vanilla and she always smelled like home. No matter where they were it just always felt right to be with her.

He shifted his head and looked back into the blue sky, "Anywhere but here." He paused for a moment, "I'm going to get outta here someday. I will be famous." Ajay's heart sank into the pit of her stomach when he said that he wanted to leave. She didn't want him to leave her and she didn't want to leave, but she didn't want to stay on Psamathe by herself. "We'll see how yuh feel when yuh older."

Ajay tried to calm herself down but she really couldn't fathom a life without her best friend just a short walk away. She knew it was stupid to fret over such details because they were only eight years old but it made her wonder why he would bring it up at all. She wanted to know why he wanted to leave and what he planned to do but the more she thought about it the more that it made her body hurt.

Her body trembled at the thought and she knew that he could feel her tremble when he sat up and looked down at her. "Why are you shaking? Are you cold? It's pretty warm out here." Ajay looked up at him and shook her head, "Nah, just caught a chill. Calm down." Octavio shrugged and laid his head back down on her chest as Ajay took a deep breath and pushed all of the stupid unnecessary thoughts from her head.

Ajay smiled as she looked up into the sky. A small yawn escaped her lips as she moved her left hand into Octavio's jet black hair. She gently played with his hair which he didn't know if he liked or not. It felt good but he did know that he really wanted to go skateboard. His slowly closed his eyes as Ajay continued gently run her fingers through his hair. "Che…" He forced his eyes open and then closed them again. It wasn't long before Ajay had him relaxed against her.

Octavio laid an arm over his chest and flopped his other arm outward over her legs. "Not fair… Che…" He hated that she knew how to calm him down. He finally quit fighting her and welcomed the relaxing sensation that her fingers worked along his scalp. Ajay knew he was asleep when he was no longer fidgeting against her body. She lost her fingers in his hair as she closed her eyes and fell asleep with him.

"Che." Ajay blinked her eyes open when she heard Octavio's voice. It was weird though, his voice sound faint and different. "Silva?" The breeze was no longer warm when it blew across her body. The sky was grey and a light drizzle of raindrops sprinkled over both of them. As she sat up Octavio stood up and offered her his hand. She took his hand, "What time is it?" He looked around and shrugged because he never wore a watch like his father did, "Evening? The sun is setting." Ajay brushed off her dress as Octavio turned his back to her and kneeled on the ground in front of her, "Ready to go for a ride?"

Ajay giggled and hopped onto his back without being asked again. Her dress rode up her hips as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He locked his arms around her legs as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She eased her chin against his shoulder and took in his scent. He smelled of dirt and home but that was nothing new but it was a comforting scent. He stood up and took off running as the raindrops grew in size and began to come down more violently.

By the time that they made it to Ajay's house they were both soaked from the downpour of rain. Ajay's hair that had been up in two buns was now fall down in loose, wet strands. Her dress felt like it was ten times heavier than it was before the rain. Octavio gently set Ajay down and shot her a smile, "That's way more fun than cloud watching."

She shook her head, "Whateva yuh say. See yuh at the gala later." Octavio slumped his body forward, "I guess." He gazed at her hair as it fell around her face and cascaded down her back. On rare occasion he would see her hair down but it was just another thing that her mother made her do; wear her hair up. Octavio was no longer a ball of energy as he walked away from Ajay's house. Ajay held back a laugh as she watched him because she knew how he felt about gala events.

Ajay gently closed the front door behind her and dashed up the stairs into her room. To her surprise her mother, Cherisse, was already waiting for her. Ajay bowed her head a bit as she headed towards her vanity to grab the dress that her mother had picked out for her for the gala event. When Ajay got to the chair, she stood there and then looked at her mother who was standing right next to the vanity.

"Where have you been Ajay? It's almost time to go and you're not even ready." Ajay looked down at the floor, "Sorry mom. I lost track of da time. I promise it won't take mi long ta get ready." Cherisse placed a hand on Ajay's chin and forced Ajay's gaze to hers. "Your hair is a mess and your dress is ruined. Were you out with that Silva kid again?" Ajay kept her head up but adverted her gaze from her mother. The distaste that her mother had for Octavio was never hidden.

Ajay didn't care if her mother didn't like Octavio because she did like him. He was her best friend and that was something non-negotiable with her. She refused to give up her best friend, "Yuh." Cherisse shook her head, "You are always screwing around with that kid. You make our family look bad. People in this city talk when they see you two together. I won't have you doing things behind this family's back and ruining our name." Ajay looked into her mom's eyes because she really had no idea what she was talking about, "I don understand…"

A feeling similar to fire spread across Ajay's face as the back of Cherisse's had hit Ajay so hard that it split Ajay's lip open. Her eyes began to water and swell up as she looked back up at her mother. She gave a pleading look to her mother but Ajay didn't dare saying anything else. She didn't even know what to say if she could find the words to say.

Cherisse shook her head in disapproval, "You don't understand how bad you make us look. I don't know how I raised such a stupid and disobedient daughter. You know I didn't want to have kids, but Darion said it would make us look good. It would make us look more like a family." Tears streamed down Ajay's cheeks as a sob fell from her lips.

Cherisse sneered, "Stop being a baby. You need to stop seeing that Silva kid." Ajay shook her head, "Nah." Cherisse's eyes widen, "No? How dare you talk back to me." Blood splattered against the vanity mirror as Cherisse backhanded Ajay two more times. Cherisse straighten out her clothing; it was something that she always did after hitting Ajay, "You can't go to the gala looking like this you little brat. You'll have to stay home and I'll have to make up some excuse as to why you couldn't make it. Once again you get your way and you make our family look bad."

As Cherisse left Ajay's room she slammed door behind her and Ajay fell down onto her knees. Her tears and her blood hit the carpet below her she cried so hard that she was unable to make any sound. This wasn't the first time that her mother had laid her hands on her and she knew that it wouldn't be the last. Ajay would never give up Octavio, no matter how much her mother tried to make her.

Octavio finally made it back to his house and slammed the door once he got inside. He left a wet trail from his water soaked clothing behind him. "Octavio! You're finally home. You need to get changed and ready for the gala before we're late." Octavio didn't even bother to look at his father's latest girlfriend as he walked by her, "Sure thing broom-hilda." The woman stomped her foot down in anger, "It's Sasha young man." Octavio was almost at the top of the stairs when he shouted down to her, "Whatever you say sarsaparilla."

As he shut his bedroom door he could hear snapdragon, or whatever her name was, yelling at his father about his rude behavior. He really didn't care what she had to say about him. She would be gone in no time because she was just the flavor of the week. Octavio rolled his eyes when he saw the formal attire already laid out on his bed. He tossed the clothing onto the floor and fell face first into his mattress. He really did not want to go this stupid gala event.

At least it wouldn't be a total bummer because Ajay would be there to keep him company. He could always count on Ajay to be a stick in the mud but at least she was there to be his stick in the mud. She was the only one that put up with him and stuck around. She even laughed at some of his stupid jokes. The best part about the whole thing was that once all of the adults got to chatting, he and Ajay could sneak up to the roof top and play games until it was time to go.

Octavio didn't budge when he heard a knock on his door. The light tap was most definitely his father's doing. His father opened the door and stepped in. Eduardo sat down on the bed next to Octavio. "You know son, it wouldn't hurt you if tried to remember her name." Octavio pulled his face from the mattress and laid his cheek against the sheets, "Why? You only remember their names so that you can tell the driver who they are taking home."

Eduardo was silent as Octavio sat up, "When is sasquatch leaving anyhow." Eduardo sighed, "Her name is Sasha and I think we are really hitting it off." Octavio rolled his eyes because he knew that his father had only been with Sebastian for two days now. "Whatever you say padre. Where is wife number two?" Octavio was referring to Eduardo's second wife and his real mother. "Octavio, I have discussed this with you. We are not talking about her." Eduardo's voice was stern as he talked.

Octavio hated the fact that his father would never talk about his mother with him. "I guess you want me to get ready, huh padre?" Eduardo pulled out his phone to check the time and then placed it back into his pocket as he stood up. "On the contrary, I received a phone call from Darion that Ajay is sick and she won't be attending tonight. Since you guys were out together I am afraid that you might be sick as well and we can't have you out if that is the case. So I want you to stay home and rest."

Eduardo got up and left the room without another word. Octavio was secretly celebrating as he waited for his father and Stevi to leave. He thought that it was weird that Ajay was sick. He knew that she was shaking earlier. "Did she really get sick from looking at the clouds? I sure did." He thought that she seemed fine when he dropped her off at her house earlier. It didn't matter one way or another because he was going to find out for himself if she was sick or not. Once father and Sterling left, Octavio hightailed it over to Ajay's house to make sure that she was okay.