We're All Just a Walking Travesty

I just decided to play everything out as if nothing had even happened. It would be easier on everyone else that way, especially me. I don’t want people thinking that my mind has finally erupted with the multitude of contents that make Pandora’s Box look non-violent. I’ve just got to forget about all of it. The tools, the insanity, Mikey..

-*-

I arrived at the front door of my house later on that evening, trying my best to not look like a shipwreck. I wonder what my mom is going to think, or is currently thinking. I had only been gone for a day, right?
The door opened smoothly, allowing myself enough passage to enter inside. A soft, but annoying creak gave the door character when I shut it. I almost immediately regretted the harsh thought toward the noise, because it broke the heavy silence that was thick in the air for just a brief moment. Every lungful of air I inhale coats my innards with the thick, black tar that is the oxygen within the front entrance hall.
“Mom?” I called out
“Ariel? Sweety? There’s someone here to see you,” my mom called out, her face making an appearance around the wall separating the entry from the living room. I cocked an eyebrow, curious as to who the fuck would be at my house at this time to see me. It’s only 7:50, swine. K thanks voice inside my head.
I kicked off my worn-down Chuck Taylor’s and swiftly moved my now-curly bangs from my eyes. I adjusted my jeans and oversized hoodie before slowly walking down the remaining few steps of the hallway into our old-fashioned room of living. On the old floral couch, as per usual, sat my mother. Adjacent from her sat...Jack? What the?
I flinched back a bit, stunned by his random presence in my home. He smiled at me before standing up, his face just bEING SO DAMN CUTE. I smiled back, awkwardly looking down so he wouldn’t see my face.
“Jack..what are you doing here?” I managed to get out.
His hand scratched the back of his head, the cute little awkward laugh that guys naturally have leaving his perfect lips.
“I just thought I would come see you.”
I don’t know whether it was the fact that Jack was still smiling at me or what, but I did more than just melt. I fucking separated. What do I mean by that? Every single little particle that makes up my body just totally isolated itself from every other little particle, and I just became a fucking mess.
“Me?”
“Yeah. I hope that’s not too creepy?”
“No, not at all..heh”
My mother stood up from the floral couch and exited the room. “I’ll leave you two alone, because cliché.”
Jack and I both laughed.
“Shall we sit?”
I nodded and flopped out onto the couch, kicking my feet up on the old wooden table. I know that mother hates it, but she isn’t in the room to yell at me right now. Jack took a seat right next to me, sending my heart meter racing. In a way, I expected this to happen, but the fact that I’ve known Jack for about a week and we’re already this buddy, buddy...well it’s kind of freaking me out. He also kicked his long, slender legs up and rested his feet on the matured oak.
“So….” He hesitantly spoke moments later. “What’s up?”
“Uhh...Nothing much. Just got home from roaming the park and neighborhood all day to find a wild Barakat getting cozy with my madre in the living establishments of our abode.”
“That was some pretty rad grammar usage there, Ariel.”
I smiled. “Why thank you, Jack.”
He grinned again, and I made a face that was a mix of a smile and a “don’t look dumb” face that ended up looking dumb anyways.
“You’re cute when you smile, you know.”
“Do huh?” He. Did. Not. Just. OIWEFJGs OH MY GOD.
“Hahaha, and it’s cute when you act like you don’t know what I just said.”
“I, uh..err..” My face turned as bright as a tomato gerard.
“It’s okay. I’ll just repeat myself because the sound of my voice is just heavenly.” I rolled my eyes at his opinion, but he was right about that one. “I said that you’re cute when you smile.”
“You better enjoy it now because I don’t smile like I used to.”
“Not since your dad died?”
Silence. Things got serious real fast. How the fuck? He clearly didn’t believe the bullshit story that I gave the other day when we were all giving out information about ourselves. I bet my mom spilled the truth, I bet she spilled it all. Every fucking thing about me! Damnit!
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“Your mom told me.”
“Oh…” ding ding ding “Well then I guess I should tell you the full story, now that you know.”
“Ariel, if you don’t want to talk---”
“No, Jack, it’s okay. I promise. It’s just I wanted to be the one to tell you that he’s dead. I couldn’t that one night, and I’m sorry. Things are rough.”
“Of course.”
“Okay, so where do I even begin…”

-*-

“Daddy? I’m scared,” I whispered too loudly, clinging onto his hand tightly. We were trailing down a barren path, kicking up puffs of dirt into the air behind us. The fairly new crimson welts on my forearms burned deeply. Fighting back tears, I forced myself to continue running. It felt like my chest was going to implodedue to lack of oxygen. “Can we stop?”
“Ariel, be quiet,” he said sternly. I put my head down, shut my mouth, and tried my best to keep up. My little legs couldn’t carry me very far, not when we were running like this for this long. Daddy was practically pulling my arm. Where were we going? We left Nikolai’s home so quickly that I thought maybe we were late to get back to Mommy.
“Why are we running?”
“Because Ariel,” he spit, “Daddy and his friends got into a little argument and tried hurting you.” He looked down. “It seems they’ve succeeded, too. Those fuckers will pay.”
I also looked down at my right arm dangling at my side. It was decorated in red marks. A few scratches that drew blood and burn marks, to be more precise. It stung and I frowned.
“Daddy I don’t remember getting these.”
“You were asleep, sweetheart.”
“Oh…”
We slowed down a rushed walk, which my 5-year-old lungs were grateful for. I clung myself to my father’s hip and looked up through thin tree branches into the night sky. The stars were brilliantly lit, illuminating the path we were taking. A certain constellation grasped my attention.
“Daddy, I found Aries!” I exclaimed
“Ah, yes. Aries. The constellation you were named after.” He bent down and threw me up on his shoulders. “I’d love to talk about it, but I--”
That’s when the bullet went straight through his stomach.
I wasn’t expecting it and I don’t think Daddy was either.
The next thing I knew, I was flung from his shoulders and hit the dirt path hard. I screamed, scraping my face and arms across the ground. It was one of the worst pains I had felt - the dirt digging into my skin and pores. I pushed myself up, tears streaming down my face, and turned towards my father. “Daddy?”
He lay face down in the dirt, his limbs sprawled in different directions, limp. “Daddy!”
I knelt beside him and pushed until his body and face were pointing towards the sky. His mouth was bloody, the liquid dripping from his lips.
“A-Ariel, baby g-g-girl,” he whispered. I felt the tears pour harder from my eye sockets. “I’m s-s-sorry. You-you have to g-go. L-leave me.”
“Daddy no!”
“You got-gotta promise me.”
“Promise what?”
“Hey! Is that his daughter? Get her!” A voice shouted from behind us.
“Run.”
-
“What happens next?” Jack asked after a long moment of silence.
I looked up at him and just kinda shook my head.
“Well, I ran. I ran as fast as I could through the woods until I came to a familiar road and then followed it back to our neighborhood. I told my mom everything that happened and well, yeah. Funeral. Police and arrests. Therapy. The usual.”
Jack nodded, not saying a word. He understood that I didn’t want to spew out any more details and that’s what I love about him. I choked a little bit, the memory of my father bringing my anxiety and depression levels back up.
“Aries, it’s gonna be okay,” he said, pulling me into a tight embrace. I buried my face into him and inhaled, breathing in everything that is Jack Barakat. He just smells so damn GOOD. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. Nothing.”

I can't believe it took me a month to write this shit
-Larken

Notes