3

"You saved me," Mary commented happily.

            "If anybody screws with you, they screw with me," Kyle replied angrily since he was still torqued at Weezer.

            "Thank you for that, Kyle."

            "I will do anything for the girl who loves me.  That's a promise!"

            They started kissing.  As they kissed, the porch light switched on.  Kyle and Mary looked and saw a man who was about 5-foot-9 with light red hair, blue eyes, and a red beard.  Kyle assumed the man was Mary's father.  He came out onto the porch and examined the young couple.  They both immediately got out of the swing.

            "Hey honey, how was your evening?" Mr. Steele asked intently.

            "Very well, Dad." Mary replied uneasily.

            "I see, who is this young man?" the man asked as he turned to Kyle.

            "My name is Kyle Dawson. I just met your daughter tonight, sir." Kyle answered.  He felt as if he had been placed under an electron microscope.

            "My name is Thomas Steele. How did you meet my Mary?" he replied.  He was acting like a robot devoid of emotion.

            "I saw her in the crowd at the football game and she waited for me afterward. We walked home and found that we had a lot in common." Kyle responded.

            "In what respect?" Thomas queried.

            "Well, he is an academic. He is the only person in the school who is worth talking to.  He is the only nice guy in the entire school as well.  At least, he is willing to talk to me unlike some other males and females at the school." Mary interjected.

            Thomas was surprised at his daughter's comments but he smiled since he trusted her very much.  He decided to test Kyle a little further.

            "How was your night overall?" Thomas posed to both teens.

            "We ran into trouble on the way home.  Some dork tried to paw at your daughter but I interceded.  I grabbed the invader by the neck and he let Mary go.  We both ran away from him in case he came back for retribution." Kyle stated in review.

            "Who did this to you?" Thomas's tone changed instantly.

            "A guy named Robert Westfall."

            "Really, isn't he that smartass, know-it-all son of Dusty Westfall?"

            "Yeah, that's him."

            "I don't like that kid. He deserves to have his a*s beat into the ground."

            "I sincerely agree. Someday soon I hope."

            Thomas Steele smiled at the young man.  He had emotion after all.

            "Nice job, Kyle. Thank you for protecting Mary. You deserve a reward," Thomas voiced.  The older man walked into the house.  Kyle and Mary looked at each other and shrugged.  Thomas returned with a bottle of premium Irish lager. 

            "Here, Kyle.  Don't let anybody see you with it," Thomas said.

            "Thank you, I didn't expect this," Kyle responded and he took the lager from Thomas.

            "Don't worry. Any man who is a friend of my daughter is a friend of mine," Thomas explained.

            Kyle was still baffled at the gesture so he just smiled.

            Thomas laughed, "I am going back into the house. I will let you two talk alone. Kyle, you can come over whenever you want. You are officially welcome here. Just don't do anything to piss me off." His last request was in a cautious voice. 

            Thomas disappeared into the house.  Kyle and Mary sat down in the swing once more.

            "Well, at least I know of one adult who likes me," Kyle suggested.

            "That was very strange. My dad has never shared his beer before, he protects it with his life," Mary remarked.

            "Must be some damn good beer then," Kyle popped the cap off the bottle.  He took a swig of the foamy fermented beverage.  He initially shook at the bitter taste.  Another swig it convinced him that the lager was quite pleasing.

            "Good gift, I must say." Kyle remarked.

            "My dad is very protective of me. You are the only boy he has ever approved of. In fact, you are the only boy I have ever had over here," Mary revealed.

            "Well, I am honored to be that only man."

            They smiled and kissed each other softly.  Mary snuggled in with Kyle and they both stared into the darkness of the backyard.  It was truly peaceful in their section of Mayfield.

            "I love nights like this. They are without bother and almost limitless in expanse. You can think and appreciate what you have in life. These nights are the most fun," Kyle commented without triteness.

            "True. I think tomorrow is going to be fun as well," Mary remarked back.

            "What do you want to do?"

            "You decide."

            "I want you to decide."

            "Are you being chivalrous?"

            "Yes, since you approached me, I want you to decide."

            "Well, why don't we go for ice cream tomorrow around 1pm?"

            "I can live with that. Would you like to go for a long walk after that?"

            "Like there's much to do in Mayfield to begin with. Let's do it."

            "Alright, Ms. Steele. Our date is planned."

            They smooched each other for a short time.  As they massaged lips and tongues, Kyle contemplated how late the hour was.

            "Hey, I should be getting back home." Kyle stammered.

            Mary gave him the evil eye, "Why are you in such a rush to leave?  Didn't you say something about your parents not caring for you?"

            Kyle instantly got her message, "Yeah, you know what?  Screw them for now, I'll go home when I feel like it." He came back with.

            Mary smiled at Kyle and they kissed again. After that, Mary went for more dirt.

            "So, why do you think the older Dawsons treat you badly?" Mary asked.

            Kyle responded, "I don't know why, I can't explain it. The taunting started three years ago. Every time I tried to tell my parents about it, they brushed me off. I am their in-box of sorts."

            Mary arched her brows, "Their in-box?"

            Kyle brought forth, "As a joke one time, my dad placed the garbage can in his office on his desk. It didn't make many of his fellow bureaucrats happy."

            She gasped, "That's horrible! How do you put up with it?"

            He answered in deadpan, "I just do. I really have no other choice since nobody else will listen."

            "Do you think it has to do with you coming to Mayfield?"

            "I have thought about it but I can't really say."

            "What about the coach? You called him Coach Jerkoff."

            "Oh, Edward Gregson. He hates me as well. For all I care, he should go f**k himself!"

            Mary gasped, "There is something wrong with this picture!"

            Kyle shook his head, "Picasso would say it's fucked up."

            "The coach should treat you equally. He is the leader and the role model for that team. He cannot let his personal emotions govern the way he coaches. That is so wrong in so many ways."

            "Agreed but people aren't necessarily ethical creatures. In this case, if someone will lead and the rest will follow. It's a perfect example of how sheepish his clique is. They hang on every word he says." 

            "That's just sickening, disturbing almost."

            "I know. People tend to have long memories as well. I reminisce and nothing comes to mind."

            "About what?"

            "Me slighting him, I am clueless of such an event."

            "That's really messed up. No, I retract that! That is f*****g wrong!"

            "I know.  Day in and day out, I long to leave Mayfield for another town where people will respect me for whom and what I am.  All I ask for is a little shred of respect.  A little 'way to go.'  No more taunting me for being me.  I want some dignity like it was before."

            "Where did you live before?"

            "I used to live in Terre Haute.  Dad was a CPA and Mom was a tax attorney. Some ranking member and or should I say reeking member of the town council hired them as city employees. Dad is now the town accountant and Mom is the town attorney."

            Mary raised an eyebrow, "Reeking member? Who has a reeking member?"

            Kyle suddenly gagged, "That is wrong on so many levels, Mary! You have a warped sense of humor!"

            "I know, the mood was a little heavy. It needed to be lightened a bit."

            "I would agree there."

            They beamed at one another and he kissed her on the cheek.

            "Remind me not to underestimate you ever," Kyle voiced.

            "Not a problem.  I am not that hard to figure out," Mary countered with a grin.

            "You're a challenge I am going to enjoy."

            "Oh really, what sort of challenge don't you enjoy?"

            "Living in this God-forsaken black hole day-to-day, trying to ixnay that little black cloud over my head.  Those are obstacles I don't enjoy facing each day."

            Mary looked over her boyfriend's head, "There is no cloud up there."

            "It's dark out here, you can't see it," Kyle replied sardonically.

            She just shook her head in disbelief, "You melonball."

            "What?" He replied with a slack-jawed stare.

            "Aren't you being a little melodramatic?"

            "A smidgeon maybe."

            "You don't need to be melodramatic with me. I get enough of that when I come home from school."

            "You got to love those after-school specials."

            "There is a grain of truth in those shows. It is a small portrait of life, only dramatized."

            "My life is nothing but drama. It's drama on a Dennis Lehane level."

            Mary sighed loudly, "You are a nerd."

            Kyle scowled back, "Thanks, I guess.  I hope you mean that endearingly."

            "I do, I really do. I just wish life was better for the both of us."

            "I wish it was but it isn't. When you don't have any fearful respect for the supervisor, things go down in flames and you get caught in the middle of it.  Even you are the target. Respect doesn't exist in that world, only entropy does."

            "Wouldn't people respect you anyway because of your parents' authority?"

            "Hell no! Since my parents don't intimidate anybody within a hundred miles, why should my harassers care?"

            "Good point, was life in Terre Haute different for you than here?"

            "Yes, by leaps and bounds. I got called the names but people left me alone. I even had some friends but my parents had to become public servants.  I sometimes wish they would have stayed in their own practices. My life was better off that way."

            "Why did they become public servants?"

            "Each practice went belly up."

            "I see."

            Kyle nodded and Mary placed her hand on his shoulder.  They hugged and smooched for a while.  The ball suddenly landed in Kyle's hands.

            "What about you?  What was Muncie like?" he asked.

            "It sucked. Not only did my father get laid off, he divorced for a third time in his life. The succubus cheated on my dad twice. My dad finally threw divorce papers at her and he vowed to swear women off," she stated in soliloquy.

            "Aah! Now I know what will happen if I do piss him off!"

            "I know you won't."

            "I know that I won't either."

            Mary and Kyle chuckled lightly and they smooched again.

            "So, where are you from originally?" Kyle inquired slowly.

            "Indianapolis. I was born there and I lived there for the first three years of my life. After that, I lived in Crawfordsville, Lafayette, South Bend, and Muncie." Mary divulged.

            "How did you find your way here again?"

            "My dad is a shift foreman at the ethanol plant near St. Anthony."

            "Okay. Where is your mother?"

            Mary bit her lip and Kyle's eased back into his chair.

            "Sorry, I didn't mean to tear open that wound," Kyle exclaimed.

            "I know and I understand. I just didn't expect it so soon," Mary countered.

            "You don't have to tell me. It's up to you."

            "I don't know. She gave me to my dad and to this day, my father has never divulged her identity."

            "That sucks. That really sucks."

            "I know. The thing I picked up from my father is that he still loves my mother. I think that is why his three marriages fell apart, he couldn't get over her."

            "Do you know what she looks like?"

            "I am not sure. I assume that she looks a lot like me though."

            "You have no old picture to base that assumption on?"

            "Right. I tried searching for one but I haven't found one yet."

            "That sucks."

            "Life is like that sometimes. You just have to wait and hope and life might throw you a bone."

            She just nodded at Kyle's statement.  The mental rehash involving her mother made her weep.  He saw this and he hugged her softly.  She grabbed onto him and they stayed that way for awhile.  Kyle and Mary kissed each other slowly. After that, Mary put her head onto Kyle's shoulder.  He smooched on the top of her head.

            "I love you, Mary Steele. I will always be there for you," Kyle voiced.

            "I love you too, Kyle," Mary replied.

            Mary slowly yawned and Kyle was aware of the time.  Kyle said he should he go and she agreed even though she wanted him to stay.  They both got out of the swing.  She went to the door and Kyle followed behind.

            "I will see you later," Mary remarked.

            "Yeah, I will be here at 1pm," Kyle commented back.

            "Alrightey, goodnight.  I love you."

            "I love you too.  Talk to you later."

            The young couple kissed quietly and Mary disappeared into the house.  Kyle slowly smiled.  He picked up his bottle of beer and left the backyard.  He consumed the lager as he trudged home.  He was still beaming because someone had found him and truly loved him. His contentment remained there when he arrived home fifteen minutes later. 

            There was no trouble during his walk home. Life had given him a small reprieve.  He finished his beer and chucked the bottle into the garbage can on the curb.  His demeanor suddenly changed as he realized that his parents might still be awake.  The parental units were the last people he wanted to face. It made him shudder as he walked inside.

            Aaron Dawson was watching a late-night movie. Kyle assumed that his mother, Danielle, was asleep. The young man kicked off his shoes and sat on the couch with his dad.  His father just stared at the TV screen trying to be dead to the world.  Kyle sighed slowly and glanced at his dad.

            "Hey dad, what's up?" Kyle asked him. 

            Aaron stared blankly at the screen.

            "Dad, how is it going?" Kyle spelled out in a mocking fashion.

            Aaron turned to face toward his son.

            "Shut up! I am trying to watch this movie!" Aaron yelled harshly.

            "Don't you want to know what happened tonight?" Kyle posed.

            "What did I say? What did I exactly say to you?"

            "Screw you, Dad!"

            "Screw you, Kyle! I don't give a s**t about what happened tonight!"

            "Dad, if you gave a s**t about me! Life would be happier around here!"

            "Well, I can care less about your happiness! Right now, I want to watch TV. You bugged me. I didn't bug you, so leave me the hell alone! If I want to know something about you, I will ask you. I don't really care about what happened tonight and I don't think I ever will. Go away if you have something to say because I don't want to hear it! Don't interrupt me again!"

            Kyle got up and stamped to his bedroom.  He slammed the door loudly making sure Aaron heard him.  He fell into his bed and screamed into his pillow.  His father's remarks were the harshest he had heard yet.  The verbal lashings kept piling up and he wondered how many more he could take.  With his happiness evaporated, Kyle stared at the ceiling and burst into tears.  This was his life and it happened like clockwork.  Crying himself to sleep was part of his daily routine and he expected it would be perpetual for sometime after that.

Reviews

[joshua deathdealer]

Wow very emotional ending. This is spectacular!! *claps*