The Secret Life of Trystan Scott

Chapter 12

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~TRYSTAN~
A car door slams and jerks Trystan awake. Early morning sunlight pours through Mari"s windows. Trystan sits up and looks down at Mari, still asleep. That noise woke him up, made him jump. Call it conditioning from his father, but if Trystan didn"t jump up and grab his things that second, he would be thrown out the window.
Trystan peeks out the bedroom door and sees Mari"s dad. He"s still wearing scrubs and is setting his things down on table in the hallway below. Panicked, Trystan doesn"t know what to do. He can"t sneak out. Her dad is blocking the way.
Trystan goes back to Mari and wakes her gently, kissing her cheek. She smiles and stretches. "Trystan." The way she says his name makes him reel, but he can"t afford to think like that. Not now. If Mari"s dad catches him, he"s dead.
Whispering next her ear, he says, "Your dad is downstairs. I need to hide."
Before Trystan has a chance to say anything else, the sound of footfalls reaches their ears. Mari sits straight up in bed, her brown eyes wide like dinner plates. She points to the closet. Trystan takes his things and ducks inside and closes the door just before Mari"s dad enters the room.
He bangs on the door and shouts, "Wake up, Mari. You"re going to be late." He flicks on the lights and it fills the crack under the closet door. Trystan can hear him enter the room. His heart beats harder, faster. He pulls on his shoes and shirt without making a sound. Trystan feels like a coward hiding. He should run out and stand up to the man, but he can"t. He can"t even take care of himself. And getting found out won"t help either of them.
"Mother said you apologized to Brie last night. I was glad to hear it. No more of this, Mari. Now get dressed for school. And mind your mother. She said no more tight clothes. Do as she asks. I don"t want to hear about my daughter looking like a street-walker ever again." The door clicks shut and he"s gone.
Trystan cracks the closet door open and looks at Mari. The life has been sucked out of her. Her shoulders are slumped and her skin is sallow. The color in her cheeks is gone. There"s no light in her eyes. He knows that look and wishes to G.o.d that he could take it away, but he can"t. Even if they were older, Trystan doesn"t have the money to save her from that man. Her dad crushed her just now and there was nothing he could do about it.
Mari glances up at him. She blinks slowly and smiles, but it doesn"t reach her eyes. "You better go before Mom comes home and decides to go through my closet. You can climb down the trellis like you wanted to the other day. Dad is headed for the shower. Wait a second for the water to turn on and then go. I"ll meet you in the bas.e.m.e.nt at the school and fix up your neck."
Trystan doesn"t know why he does it, but he does. He can"t stand that flat listless voice. He can"t bear to watch Mari like this. He crosses to her bed and pushes her back into her pillows while pressing his lips to hers. They both have morning breath, but he doesn"t care. Trystan loves her. He wants her to be happy. He wants that smile on her face again. Trystan tangles his hands in her hair and lays on top of her, kissing her so hard that he can"t breathe.
When he pulls back, she"s smiling shyly. It"s a perfectly Mari smile. "I love you," he whispers and bounces off her bed and heads to the window. Mari touches her fingers to her lips like she"s dreaming.
Trystan sneaks out before anything else can go wrong.

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