HARD TIME
When Desi put Casey in bed she can't sleep. She remembers all his injuries. The cuts in his belly, that spell 'LOSER', the cuts in his legs, the cut on his shoulder, the cut above his eye, the stitches in his head, the bruises she noticed all over his body. The images shoot through her head. Also the things she saw Gabe and the others do to him. She hides her face in her hands. She doesn't want to think about it, but she knows she can't think of anything else. She looks on the clock that stands next to the couch. It's 12 AM.
'I need sleep. I need sleep.'
She closes her eyes. The images still run through her head, but she tries to ignore them. Finally she falls asleep. The next morning she wakes up by the alarm clock. She stretches and goes to her room. Casey is still asleep, no matter how many times the alarm clock keeps beeping. She turns out the alarm and looks at the time. 7 AM. Time to call the school. She walks to the phone and calls.
"Good morning Herrington High, how can I help you?"
"Hello, this is Desiree Mirkwood, I would like to call in absent for today. My friend Casey Connor has some bad injuries, which can be confirmed by Nurse Harper, and his parents wouldn't let him in. I am taking care of him. I will not be here for the rest of the week."
"I will ask Nurse Harper to confirm Casey Connor being ill, and I will write you down ill. Thank you for calling in."
"Any time. Bye."
"Bye!"
She puts down the phone. Then she makes herself some Cornflakes and checks on Casey before she starts eating. Casey is still asleep. So she walks to the kitchen and starts eating. She isn't very hungry, but she knows she needs her energy when she's taking care of Casey. That's something her dad learned her before he started drinking.
"Always take care of yourself or you won't be capable of taking care of others."
She smiles at the memory of her dad. She worked hard to forget her drunk father, and now she finally did it. Suddenly she hears a scream coming out of her bedroom, similar to the scream she heard before, only with more pain. She puts her spoon down and runs to her bedroom.
"Casey, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay. Fuck this hurts."
"Just keep calm, okay? I'll make you some breakfast. Cornflakes?"
He nods. She smiles and walks to the kitchen to fetch him some Cornflakes. When she comes back she also has her own bowl in her hands. She smiles and puts the bowls down. She helps Casey up. It hurts him, a lot. But he doesn't want to seem a wimp, so he tries to hide it. When he finally sits up, the pain is in his eyes. Desi gives him the bowl of Cornflakes and a spoon. He smiles. They start eating. When they're done Casey looks at Desi.
"Why do you take care of me?"
Desi looks surprised by this question.
"A simple and honest answer? I love you and you need someone."
He smiles. It makes his eyes twinkle. He takes her hand. It feels cold, as usual.
"When I found out I love you, I was scared you know? I was just so scared. You are way to good for me. Or that's my feeling then, I guess. When I kissed you all worries disappeared for just one moment. But when you didn't react, I was afraid you hated me for it. That's why I ran away. Then I felt like I was worthy of no more then being a toy for Gabe and the other jocks. That's why I didn't object to them beating the shit out of me. When you came to help me, I was surprised. I realized you didn't hate me for that kiss. And I was looking forward to you helping me again. But then Gabe kicked me, and I blacked out. The first thing I remember after that is your voice. You were crying. Asking all these questions, why I ran away, why I didn't stay with you. I was so surprised. I didn't realize where I was. But I did realize you were with me. It was all that mattered to me."
She smiles. She feels flattered by Casey's words. She knows she feels the same way. She doesn't know what to say, so she takes the empty bowls and brings them to the kitchen. Then she fills a bowl with warm water and takes some alcohol as well. She takes some bondage and towels and goes back to the bedroom. Casey looks surprised.
"Yesterday we only took care of your wounds. Now we should get you cleaned up a bit, if you don't mind off course."
"I don't mind at all. I feel quite dirty."
She smiles. He smiles two, and takes off his shirt. Desi starts removing the bondage from the cuts on his belly. She sees they seem to be healing quite well. She wets a towel with alcohol and starts cleaning them. Because they are healing good, it doesn't hurt Casey very much. When they are clean, she puts some new bondage over them. She also cleans the cut on his shoulder with warm water. Then she looks at his legs. The two cuts on his legs are cleaned with alcohol and she notices one of them is still bleeding a little. She puts some bondage on it. Then she looks at his face. She smiles and cleans it with some warm water. Then she smiles.
"Finished."
"Aw. I was just starting to get used to it."
She smiles. He looks at her with puppy dog eyes begging her to go on. She smiles and takes the towel. She wets it with some warm water and starts cleaning his chest. He smiles and sits back a little. Then he moves his hand under her chin. He lifts her face so she looks at him.
"You know. You're the most beautiful girl I ever saw."
He smiles and kisses her. She smiles two. Then she breaks the kiss.
"You know, if you go on like this, we'll be going to school tomorrow."
"I don't mind. I don't like to rest anyhow."
"Well, then we'd better start practicing your walking skills later."
She smiles. He looks at her.
"You know, you're the first one who dared to stand up against Gabe and his jock friends all by herself. And that you did it for me gives it an extra dimension."
He smiles. She smiles two. Then she goes to the living room and digs in a box full of magazines. She pulls out three. She takes them to Casey.
"Look, these are the magazines I read about the high school invasion two months ago. It's right here, in People: "Casey Connor, currently dating Delilah Profitt, has saved Herrington High from a high school invasion. Casey claims to have had help from a few of his friends, including Delilah Profitt. They claim a new girl from Atlanta, Marybeth Louise Hutchington, was the 'queen bee'." I didn't believe it, I still don't know really if I should believe it or not. But I don't think you would lie about something this important."
"No, it really happened. We had a test to look who was alien. Taking Zeke's scat. I was the first one. It was my birthright, according to Zeke. I was really fuckin' tweaking the first time I took the drug. If was really pretty funny actually. The second time I was seeing two of everything. I never took it again because I didn't have to. But if everyone starts to act weird again, you'll be the first one Zeke's going to attack. Then I beg you, I know you hate drugs, but then please just take his scat. I know you aren't alien. But just take it, so he can know for sure two."
Desi looks a little scared at the idea of taking scat, but she realizes it's important for Casey. She nods.
"All right. But only when people start acting weird."
"I promise. I'll keep Zeke away until then."
He kisses her and smiles. Then he closes his eyes. On his face an expression of pain.
"My stomach. Aren't those cuts healed yet?"
"No, they aren't. I wish they would heal a little faster."
"I wish even more. It hurts like hell."
She smiles at him. She strokes his hair. He closes his eyes again. After 15 minutes she looks at him. He fell asleep. His hand is on her lap. His head rests on her shoulder. She can't move. She doesn't move and looks at him. His face has a peaceful expression. She smiles.
'How can someone hate him? He's adorable. Everyone should love him!' She looks at him. She's still stroking his hair. She doesn't want to wake him, even though she knows Casey's probably going to hate her for not waking him up and just sitting there and wait for him to wake up. But she takes the magazine that lies next to Casey and starts reading. She smiles as she sees a picture where the gap in his teeth is perfectly visible. Then her eye falls on a picture where he is kissing Delilah and one where he stands next to him. She notices an odd expression on Delilah's face. It's an almost evil smile, supported with the glare in her eyes. It scares Desi. She reads the text under the pictures, they say: 'Hero Casey kissing his girlfriend Delilah' and 'Hero Casey with his girlfriend Delilah'. She puts the magazine away. She goes on stroking his hair, hoping someone won't hurt him as much as Delilah again.
When Desi put Casey in bed she can't sleep. She remembers all his injuries. The cuts in his belly, that spell 'LOSER', the cuts in his legs, the cut on his shoulder, the cut above his eye, the stitches in his head, the bruises she noticed all over his body. The images shoot through her head. Also the things she saw Gabe and the others do to him. She hides her face in her hands. She doesn't want to think about it, but she knows she can't think of anything else. She looks on the clock that stands next to the couch. It's 12 AM.
'I need sleep. I need sleep.'
She closes her eyes. The images still run through her head, but she tries to ignore them. Finally she falls asleep. The next morning she wakes up by the alarm clock. She stretches and goes to her room. Casey is still asleep, no matter how many times the alarm clock keeps beeping. She turns out the alarm and looks at the time. 7 AM. Time to call the school. She walks to the phone and calls.
"Good morning Herrington High, how can I help you?"
"Hello, this is Desiree Mirkwood, I would like to call in absent for today. My friend Casey Connor has some bad injuries, which can be confirmed by Nurse Harper, and his parents wouldn't let him in. I am taking care of him. I will not be here for the rest of the week."
"I will ask Nurse Harper to confirm Casey Connor being ill, and I will write you down ill. Thank you for calling in."
"Any time. Bye."
"Bye!"
She puts down the phone. Then she makes herself some Cornflakes and checks on Casey before she starts eating. Casey is still asleep. So she walks to the kitchen and starts eating. She isn't very hungry, but she knows she needs her energy when she's taking care of Casey. That's something her dad learned her before he started drinking.
"Always take care of yourself or you won't be capable of taking care of others."
She smiles at the memory of her dad. She worked hard to forget her drunk father, and now she finally did it. Suddenly she hears a scream coming out of her bedroom, similar to the scream she heard before, only with more pain. She puts her spoon down and runs to her bedroom.
"Casey, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay. Fuck this hurts."
"Just keep calm, okay? I'll make you some breakfast. Cornflakes?"
He nods. She smiles and walks to the kitchen to fetch him some Cornflakes. When she comes back she also has her own bowl in her hands. She smiles and puts the bowls down. She helps Casey up. It hurts him, a lot. But he doesn't want to seem a wimp, so he tries to hide it. When he finally sits up, the pain is in his eyes. Desi gives him the bowl of Cornflakes and a spoon. He smiles. They start eating. When they're done Casey looks at Desi.
"Why do you take care of me?"
Desi looks surprised by this question.
"A simple and honest answer? I love you and you need someone."
He smiles. It makes his eyes twinkle. He takes her hand. It feels cold, as usual.
"When I found out I love you, I was scared you know? I was just so scared. You are way to good for me. Or that's my feeling then, I guess. When I kissed you all worries disappeared for just one moment. But when you didn't react, I was afraid you hated me for it. That's why I ran away. Then I felt like I was worthy of no more then being a toy for Gabe and the other jocks. That's why I didn't object to them beating the shit out of me. When you came to help me, I was surprised. I realized you didn't hate me for that kiss. And I was looking forward to you helping me again. But then Gabe kicked me, and I blacked out. The first thing I remember after that is your voice. You were crying. Asking all these questions, why I ran away, why I didn't stay with you. I was so surprised. I didn't realize where I was. But I did realize you were with me. It was all that mattered to me."
She smiles. She feels flattered by Casey's words. She knows she feels the same way. She doesn't know what to say, so she takes the empty bowls and brings them to the kitchen. Then she fills a bowl with warm water and takes some alcohol as well. She takes some bondage and towels and goes back to the bedroom. Casey looks surprised.
"Yesterday we only took care of your wounds. Now we should get you cleaned up a bit, if you don't mind off course."
"I don't mind at all. I feel quite dirty."
She smiles. He smiles two, and takes off his shirt. Desi starts removing the bondage from the cuts on his belly. She sees they seem to be healing quite well. She wets a towel with alcohol and starts cleaning them. Because they are healing good, it doesn't hurt Casey very much. When they are clean, she puts some new bondage over them. She also cleans the cut on his shoulder with warm water. Then she looks at his legs. The two cuts on his legs are cleaned with alcohol and she notices one of them is still bleeding a little. She puts some bondage on it. Then she looks at his face. She smiles and cleans it with some warm water. Then she smiles.
"Finished."
"Aw. I was just starting to get used to it."
She smiles. He looks at her with puppy dog eyes begging her to go on. She smiles and takes the towel. She wets it with some warm water and starts cleaning his chest. He smiles and sits back a little. Then he moves his hand under her chin. He lifts her face so she looks at him.
"You know. You're the most beautiful girl I ever saw."
He smiles and kisses her. She smiles two. Then she breaks the kiss.
"You know, if you go on like this, we'll be going to school tomorrow."
"I don't mind. I don't like to rest anyhow."
"Well, then we'd better start practicing your walking skills later."
She smiles. He looks at her.
"You know, you're the first one who dared to stand up against Gabe and his jock friends all by herself. And that you did it for me gives it an extra dimension."
He smiles. She smiles two. Then she goes to the living room and digs in a box full of magazines. She pulls out three. She takes them to Casey.
"Look, these are the magazines I read about the high school invasion two months ago. It's right here, in People: "Casey Connor, currently dating Delilah Profitt, has saved Herrington High from a high school invasion. Casey claims to have had help from a few of his friends, including Delilah Profitt. They claim a new girl from Atlanta, Marybeth Louise Hutchington, was the 'queen bee'." I didn't believe it, I still don't know really if I should believe it or not. But I don't think you would lie about something this important."
"No, it really happened. We had a test to look who was alien. Taking Zeke's scat. I was the first one. It was my birthright, according to Zeke. I was really fuckin' tweaking the first time I took the drug. If was really pretty funny actually. The second time I was seeing two of everything. I never took it again because I didn't have to. But if everyone starts to act weird again, you'll be the first one Zeke's going to attack. Then I beg you, I know you hate drugs, but then please just take his scat. I know you aren't alien. But just take it, so he can know for sure two."
Desi looks a little scared at the idea of taking scat, but she realizes it's important for Casey. She nods.
"All right. But only when people start acting weird."
"I promise. I'll keep Zeke away until then."
He kisses her and smiles. Then he closes his eyes. On his face an expression of pain.
"My stomach. Aren't those cuts healed yet?"
"No, they aren't. I wish they would heal a little faster."
"I wish even more. It hurts like hell."
She smiles at him. She strokes his hair. He closes his eyes again. After 15 minutes she looks at him. He fell asleep. His hand is on her lap. His head rests on her shoulder. She can't move. She doesn't move and looks at him. His face has a peaceful expression. She smiles.
'How can someone hate him? He's adorable. Everyone should love him!' She looks at him. She's still stroking his hair. She doesn't want to wake him, even though she knows Casey's probably going to hate her for not waking him up and just sitting there and wait for him to wake up. But she takes the magazine that lies next to Casey and starts reading. She smiles as she sees a picture where the gap in his teeth is perfectly visible. Then her eye falls on a picture where he is kissing Delilah and one where he stands next to him. She notices an odd expression on Delilah's face. It's an almost evil smile, supported with the glare in her eyes. It scares Desi. She reads the text under the pictures, they say: 'Hero Casey kissing his girlfriend Delilah' and 'Hero Casey with his girlfriend Delilah'. She puts the magazine away. She goes on stroking his hair, hoping someone won't hurt him as much as Delilah again.
