Desire

Harry and I walked next to each other on the sidewalk. It was a busy end-of-the-day; the roads were packed with tons of cars, people shouting and laughing. We reached a crosswalk, and Harry pushed the crossing button hard with his thumb. Veins popped on his arms as he applied pressure to the circle.

I noticed a group of girls in one of the cars and instantly recognized them from school. They gave me a mean look. I just stared at them back with no emotion on my face. The girl driving twirled a small part of her brown hair with one finger and chewed gum. After looking at me, they kept glancing over at Harry, whispering to one another. I saw one of the girls smile and laugh. Well, I wasn’t surprised. Harry was eye-candy.

We walked across the road, the girls still giving me a rude glare. I ignored it. Suddenly, Harry touched my shoulder with his left hand.

“My house is down that steep driveway, right over there.” he said. He pointed straight towards a white mailbox a couple of feet ahead of us. I nodded shyly. No wonder he walked to school.

We walked a couple more paces and reached the mailbox. He opened it up, grabbed a handful of papers and magazines, and walked in front of me down the driveway.

His house was very small and looked lonely. The sides of it were rotting, and green vines crawled up the sides of the wooden poles near the front door. A white Sedan was parked near a wooden gate, and one of its tires was completely flat. I guess his parents had never fixed it. All of a sudden, a cream-colored cat ran out from under the car. I gasped.

“That’s Libby.” Harry told me. Libby ran over to Harry and rubbed her fur against Harry’s legs.

“Libby.” I spoke, watching Harry scratch Libby’s ears.

“She’s very friendly.” Harry said. I smiled. Libby ran off to the other side of the house, meowing as she galloped along.

“I like Libby.” I giggled. Harry laughed.

Harry opened the unlocked front door and made his way in. I walked slowly behind him.

There were 2 windows at the back of the room, and a small TV sitting on an empty shelf. A brown-leather couch was pushed up against the wall with a couple of furry blankets and a white pillow. Light inched in from the partly-open blinds through the glass of the windows.

“Your house is really nice,” I said softly. “It’s cozy.”

“Not really,” Harry replied, looking at me in the eyes. “Not exactly.”

“Why do you say that?” I wondered.

“Well, for one thing, my dad hates me, my mom’s dead, and I don’t think I’m going to get to go to college.” Harry said loudly. He had anger in his eyes. My mouth dropped open.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know.” I told him. He nodded as he slapped the mail against the kitchen counter.

“Don’t worry about it.” Harry whispered as he placed his hand lightly on my cheek. I looked down at the floor, still feeling bad. Harry’s hand was warm.

Harry motioned me to follow him, and I did. He led me down a short hallway, and into what I supposed was his bedroom. It was.

A full-sized bed with white covers sat pushed against the middle of the wall. Light filled the room through the large window with sheer curtains drawn. I noticed Harry’s photos hanging from the ceiling on a couple of wires, just as he had described to me. Harry sat down on the edge of his bed while I walked over to the pictures, scanning my hand over all of them. I dropped my backpack on the floor. Harry had placed his against the headboard of the bed.

“This… is so cool.” I said to Harry.

“Thank you.” Harry replied.

I noticed some photos of Libby, some trees, a river, and a patch of grass.

“How many are there?” I asked.

“Um… I think there are about 30 or more.” Harry said. I nodded.

“I like this one of Libby.” I poked one of the photos of her lying by a pond. Harry laughed.

“I took that one by a pond down the hillside.” He spoke.

“A pond?” I wondered.

“Yeah. Wanna go see it? It’s down a short trail.” Harry smiled. I nodded.

As we made our way into the backyard and onto the trail, Harry grabbed my wrist lightly and pulled me across the dirt. I laughed as we started jogging down the hillside. My hair whipped back as Harry let go of me at the bottom of the bend.

The pond was small, but I could see small koi fish swimming around under the lily pads. I caught my breath as Harry and I sat down next to one another crisscross on the dirt covered with dry leaves.

“Well then…” Harry laughed. Suddenly, his smile faded, and he peered off into the distance. I scooted closer to him. Our shoulders touched.

“I’m sorry about your mom… and your dad.” I said. Harry looked over at me.

“It’s fine.” Harry whispered.

“You know… my parents disowned me when I was 5, so I have to live with my Aunt Carolyn now. They kind of just… abandoned me.” I told Harry. Harry’s eyebrows rose.

“Sorry.” Harry sincerely looked into my eyes. I shyly smiled and looked back at the pond.

“It’s okay. It’s been years. I’ve gotten used to it.” I stated and hunched my shoulders. Harry nodded and tilted his head a little to the left.

“This is quite… strange… but can I take some pictures of you? I don’t know. It’s like, uh… The way the light is hitting your hair is really good.” Harry laughed.

“Sure.” I smiled and giggled. Butterflies flew around in my stomach.

“I’ll be right back.” Harry stated as he got up from the dirt and sprinted up the trail.

“Be careful!” I laughed as he almost tripped over a small rock. Harry shouted loudly and disappeared at the top of the trail.

I looked over the pond at the trees swaying above it. The leaves were bright and green this spring. I enjoyed the moment of silence, finding peace with the wind blowing through my hair and past my cheeks. I listened to the water droplets in the pond as the fish slowly swam around. Suddenly, I heard a loud voice roar from Harry’s backyard. It didn’t sound like Harry. I jogged up the hill to see what was going on. Harry stood in front of a large man in the middle of the patch of grass as he was screamed at. He must have been Harry’s father, holding an empty beer bottle in his hand.

“What did I fucking say?” Harry’s dad yelled.

“To do the dishes right when I get home. I know.” Harry spoke quietly.

Suddenly, Harry’s dad saw me and started walking slowly towards me.

“Who are you? Who the fuck is she?” he shouted and pointed. Harry quickly walked over to me and stood in front of my chest, defending me.

“Grace.” I said quietly.

“Dad.” Harry stated. He stood a couple of feet from him.

“Get off of my property!” Mr. Styles screamed at me. My eyes closed tightly at the pitch of his voice.

“Dad. We were just hanging out. It’s no big deal.” Harry told him.

“Go home. Get out of here.” Harry’s dad whispered across Harry’s shoulder to me as he came in closer. Harry backed up, forcing me to back up also.

“Grace. Grace,” Harry turned around and murmured in my ear. He held my face in his hands. “You have to go.”

I frowned and nodded. Harry gave me a quick hug, forcing chills up my back and sending me off walking back into his house to grab my backpack. Suddenly, I heard a couple of yelps come from Harry. I spun around, and Harry was spread out flat on the ground while his father held his fists up.

“Harry!” I yelled. I rushed over to help him. Harry’s dad practically galloped to the back of the house, no words coming from him. He was totally drunk.

I knelt down on the grass and held Harry’s face up. His left eye was bruised, and there were cuts on the side of his cheek.

“Are you okay? Harry.” I worriedly spoke. Harry could barely open his eyes.

“It happens… a lot,” Harry replied. His voice cracked. He grasped onto my elbows. “He gets… drunk and punches me.”

“This is not okay.” I told Harry.

“Let it go. Let it go, Grace…” Harry whispered. He shut his eyes closed.

I looked up from where I was, and Harry’s dad had another small car parked towards the top of the driveway. Mr. Styles slowly backed it up and sped away.

“He left.” I said.

“He leaves for a week and comes back.” Harry told me.

I looked back down at Harry, concerned.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered.

“I’m sorry, too.” Harry spoke under his breath.

Notes