My Blue Eyes (5 page)

          
Chapter 11

     "Hey Darrel," Mary said as she swung her legs back and forth on the tailgate.  "How did the pH test turn out?"
     I walked slowly towards her pretending I didn't care what she had to say.  I sat my things on the tailgate next to her and proceeded to the passenger side door to retrieve the box that stored the items.
     "What's going on Mary," I stated emotionless.
     "I stopped by your house to see you, and your mom said you were coming here to check the water," Mary said as she smiled hesitantly knowing I was a little disgusted.  "My mom said you came by her work and asked about me.  That was nice of you Darrel."
     "What would have been nice, is if you had told me you were going to be gone for three weeks," I said as I packed my things in the box.
     "It's complicated Darrel," Mary claimed.  "Why do you care anyways?"
     "Why do I care Mary," I stated with disgust looking her straight in the eye.  "Are you serious?  I guess you already forgot about what happened the last time we were here."
     Mary acted oblivious to the emotion of that day.  "Are you talking about when we kissed?  It was just a kiss Darrel.  Haven't you ever been caught up in the moment before?"
     I thought, 
was I really hearing this correctly?  Was she really saying that kiss didn't mean anything to her?  
I slowly shook my head back and forth displaying my disbelief in what she had just said and went back to packing the items away.
     Without notice, Mary pushed my box away and scooted herself in front of me with both legs resting at my side.  She placed her hands on my cheek and stared me in the eyes and pulled my lips closer to her.  She closed her eyes and with a tilt of her head she leaned in and kissed me again.  I returned the favor by wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her tighter to me.  Her left arm wrapped around the back of my neck, while with her right hand, she gingerly ran her fingers through the back of my hair.  The kiss lasting longer and with more intensity verified by the throbbing coming from inside my pants.  I didn't want it to stop, but it did when Mary wrapped both arms around me, squeezing me tightly as she started to cry.
     "I'm sorry Darrel," Mary said wiping the tears from her eyes.  "It wasn't just a kiss for me. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't just a kiss for you.  I was so afraid you would be ashamed for kissing me."
     "Why would I be ashamed Mary?" I said pulling back from her ever so slightly.
     "Look at me Darrel!" Mary said emphatically with tears beginning to roll down her eyes again.  "You're Mr. Superstar and can have any girl you want, and I'm me!  The person no one ever talks to or even acknowledges.  I know I'm weird Darrel.  And I know I dress funny and don't take care of myself like I should.  I'm a complicated mess!  Wouldn't you be embarrassed to be seen with someone like me?"
     I thought carefully for a few seconds knowing what I said could impact any future I might have with her.  "I don't care Mary.  I don't care you seldom wear makeup, your shirts are three sizes too big, and your hair always looks a mess.  The only thing I care about is how I felt when we first kissed, and how I feel at this very moment.  I couldn't take my mind off you for three straight weeks Mary!  It was hell not knowing where you were, or if you were alright.  All I know is I want to be with you, and if anyone thinks I'm crazy, they can go to hell."
     Mary wiped at her runny nose and gave me a smile with a light chuckle, "You really think my hair is a mess?"
     We both laughed and hugged each other once again.  Mary pulled away from me looking me in the eye, "Are you sure you want this?  I'm telling you, I'm very complicated."
     "Yes, I'm one hundred percent sure Mary," I said pulling her closer and kissing her once again.  
Chapter 12

     My senior year was on the right track again with Mary present in my life.  No matter how strange it appeared to everyone else, Mary and I were officially a thing.  We couldn't get enough of one another, spending as much time as possible together.  Mary wasn't much for partying, but understood my need to hang with my buddies.  One weekend night I would go to a party with my friends, and the other weekend night she and I would hang out together.  Sometimes I would sneak out of a party a couple hours early and stop by Mary's house before I had to be home at curfew.
     It took a few weeks for Mary to show me her house and officially introduce me to her mother.  They lived in an old two bedroom home on the south side of town.  It wasn't a bad area, just not one you wanted to be caught walking down an alley in the middle of the night.  The house was clean with the exception of Mary's room.  Mary liked to draw and there were pictures randomly placed all over the walls.  She was pretty good, and she claimed drawing was her release from the outside world.  I didn't know if she hung the pictures on the wall to take away from the sporadic amount of paint chippings visible on the walls, or she just liked her drawings.  There were several areas of the wall with the paint chippings, which appeared to be taken off by someone deliberately.  Mary claimed the walls were like that when they moved in, and she refused to paint it because it added a certain aura to the room.
     I found out a lot about Mary over the next four weeks.  Unbeknownst to me, seventh hour science was the only class Mary attended at school.  Apparently, during her four year hiatus, she had completed a lot of classes, thanks to being home schooled by her grandmother.  This particular science class was the last class she needed to graduate, and she wanted to graduate while living with her mother.
     Mary didn't like to talk much about living with her grandmother.  I guess it was hard on her being away from her mom for so long.  I did broach the subject once as we were working on our project at Colapi Creek.  We were collecting pH samples of the water when I just had to ask.
     "Mary, why did you disappear for four years?"
     "That's not something I like to talk about Darrel," Mary said as she was waiting for the pH number.  "It's all in the past, and I only want to live in the here and now."
     Continuing to pry, "I know Mary, but I want to know everything about you.  Don't you think that was such a big part of your life you would want to share with me?"
     "I really don't Darrel," Mary said as she shook her head looking up at me with a mason jar in her hand.  "You wouldn't understand."
     "Try me Mary."
     "No Darrel," Mary replied with a sternness in her voice.
     I gave her a "whatever" and continued to work on my portion of the water samples.  She tried talking to me, but I just ignored her, pretending to be irritated with her.  It must have worked because the next thing I know, a splash of cold water went running down my neck.
     "Fuck that was cold!" I said turning around and seeing Mary standing close by with an empty mason jar in one hand and the other hand covering her smile.
     "I'm so sorry Darrel, it slipped," Mary slowly started walking backwards still covering her smile.  "Honestly, I wouldn't do anything like that on purpose."
     I stood up looking at Mary and gave her a conniving little smile, "You didn't do that on purpose huh?  Well.... then I guess I won’t throw you in the creek on purpose."
     With that Mary put the Mason jar down and took off running.  It didn't take me long to catch her.  I had the closing speed of a cheetah trying to catch his prey.  I caught Mary and scooped her up in my arms with one arm under her legs and the other around her back.  She was so light, probably around one hundred and ten pounds.  The only thing I knew about Mary's body was when she was soaking wet the first time we came here.  First base was as far as she would allow me to get for now.  I proceeded to walk her to the water while she screamed the whole time.
     "Darrel, no, please don't!  It's too cold.  Please Darrel!"
     "I'm not doing this on purpose Mary, remember?"  I playfully pretended to drop her in the water.
     Mary grabbed me so tight the only way she would make it into the water is if I went in too, and that wasn't going to happen.  She felt good in my arms and was light enough I could stand by the water’s edge pretending she was going in.  She gently kissed me on the lips and pulled away slightly to look into my eyes.
     "You have, the most unbelievable blue eyes I've ever seen Darrel.  I could never get tired of looking into them.  Your eyes are so bright and alive.  Did your mom or dad give you those?"
     "My dad has blue eyes," I smiled.  "His eyes are actually bluer than mine."
     "I hadn't noticed that." Mary paused for a minute as I put her down before my arms gave out.  She stood with her back facing me and grabbed my arms and pulled them together just under her breasts as I rested my chin on her shoulder.
     "I found my dad hanging in the basement when I was in eighth grade.  That's why I left.  I couldn't go back to that house and my mom couldn't afford to move.  The only alternative was to live with my grandmother in Iowa.  When my mom finally did move a year later, I still didn't want to come back.  I didn't want to be anywhere close to this place.  I hate him for doing that to me.  It just didn't make sense."
     I stood there in disbelief hearing the words Mary had just spoken.  I was looking for the right words to say and nothing was coming.  I was speechless and at a loss for words.
     "I'm sorry Mary," I said while kissing her cheek and squeezing her a little tighter.
     Mary tilted her head back enough to give me a kiss on the lips.  "It's alright Darrel, I'm in a better place now."
     "What made you come back," I asked hoping not to sound too insensitive.
     Mary thought a bit, "I really don't know Darrel.  I know my mom wanted me to come back so bad.  She begged me all the time.  I wasn't planning on it though.  Everything was good at my grandma's, but I was missing something.  Maybe that something was you Darrel."
     Goosebumps covered my body as I dug my chin deeper into her shoulder, while engulfing her in the arms of my embrace.
     "I'm glad you came back Mary."      
Chapter 13

     Halloween was just two days away, and if there is anything my town is known for, it was their haunted houses.  The local Jaycees would put on one of the scariest haunted houses in the area, and this year it promised to be bigger than ever.  Having been open for two weeks, the haunted house was getting rave reviews.  My buddies and I made it a tradition to go on the night of Halloween, and we were all pumped for this year.  One problem, Mary was very adamant about not wanting to go.  
     I begged and pleaded with her to go and her answer was always the same, no.  We had been together for almost a month, and the only thing I could get her to do was go out to eat.  She always claimed people made her nervous or she wasn't comfortable going somewhere with people she didn't know.  She would, from time to time, come over to my house when my friends and their girlfriends were there.  The majority of the time she would be in the house talking to my mom.  My friends thought it was odd and gave me grief about it often.  I didn't care though.  As long as she was close by and within reach, I was happy.
     I had talked to my mom about Mary's unwillingness to go to the haunted house and asked if she could talk her into it.  Mary loved my mom.  Mary's own relationship with her mom wasn't always on the best of terms.  Mary resented her for her dad's death, and I think her mom resented her for leaving during that tragic time.  Neither one would budge, so they basically coexisted.  Mom said she would try her best, but warned me not to be upset with Mary if she still refused to go.
     I don't know what my mom did or said to Mary, but it worked.  She agreed to go, and I could tell the day of Halloween she was a nervous wreck.  I picked her up at 5:00 P.M., and the plan was to go grab a bite to eat with Matt, Lisa, Mark and his girlfriend Suzy.  Afterwards, we would make our way to the haunted house and hopefully arrive by 6:30 P.M., when it was good and dark outside.
     Mary didn't talk much during supper.  I think she took a nibble from her burger, which I gladly finished for her.  I spent most of the time talking about the upcoming baseball season with Matt and Mark.  This was going to be the year we won state and we were all pumped.  We talked about colleges, and Mark was the first one to announce where he committed.  He chose to stay home and play ball for a local junior college.  Matt and I wanted to attend the same college, but his chances of getting a scholarship to any of the schools I had offers from were slim.  His parents had a lot of money, so if he didn't get an offer, he was planning on walking on at the school I picked.  I hadn't made up my mind yet, but was leaning towards the University of Alabama. Matt and I were planning on visiting the campus in January, and then I would weigh my choices and pick a school.  Matt was okay with me deciding, because he wanted us to share the college experience together.
     Lisa and Suzy did their best to engage Mary in conversation.  Mary never had much to say when they tried to pry something out of her.  I think she preferred to listen to me talk about baseball and college.  I believe she was intimidated by Lisa and Suzy.  Yes, they were drop dead gorgeous and captains of the dance team, but Mary could hold her own.  Since our first kiss, she was taking the extra time to fix herself up more.  I don't know if it was just me seeing this, since I was so into her, or if others saw it as well.  It didn't matter to me.  The only thing that mattered was the way I felt when I was with her.  She was beautiful to me.
     We arrived at the haunted house shortly after 6:30 PM, and the line stretched for what seemed like blocks.  We got in line and I could tell Mary wasn't digging it.
     "Mary, if you don't want to go in we can leave."
     Mary wrapped her arms around me hugging me tightly.  "I do Darrel, just make sure you don't let go of me when we're in there."
     "I promise Mary," I said reassuring her as I gently kissed her on the forehead.
     Mary stayed wrapped around me until we got in the front door.  Matt and Mark were all pumped up giving each other high fives.  I noticed Mary was starting to shake slightly as we entered the building.  In ten minutes, we would officially be in the haunted house getting the crap scared out of us. However, I didn't like seeing Mary in this state of panic.  I knew she was only doing this to make me happy, and I was feeling guilty.
     "Let's just go home," I whispered in Mary's ear.
     Mary stood up straight, exiting my arms, "No Darrel, I need to do this."
     "It's fine Mary.  Let's just go home."
     "I'm staying Darrel," she said as she stood in front of me reaching for my hands to wrap around her.
     We entered the first part of the haunted house, which consisted of little kids walking around like ghosts.  There were flashing lights and fake blood splattered on the walls. The sound of children laughing was being played on the speakers.  I was freaking a tad bit because little kid ghosts scare the dickens out of me.  Mary was hanging onto me so tightly it was getting hard for me to breathe.  
     The second area was a pitch black maze.  Mary had to let go of her full embrace on me due to the narrow paths of the maze.  She grabbed my hand and held on tightly.  I couldn't see it due to the darkness, but I knew Mary had white knuckles from squeezing my hand too tight.  I didn't mind.  No matter how scared she was, I knew she was doing this for me.
     The next section after the maze was the part everyone warned us about.  It was supposed to be the scariest section of the haunted house.  We had to wait in the pitch black behind a curtain.  Then all of a sudden, they opened the curtain and a bright light blinded us all.  I remember thinking this absolutely sucked and was a horrible trick.  My eyes were adjusted to the dark and the light brought a piercing pain to my head.  I had to let go of Mary's hand to comfort my aching eyes and all of a sudden, some realistic looking zombies jumped out yelling and chasing us.  Everyone screamed as I tried to regain control of Mary's hand.  I couldn't find her as everyone else headed towards the next section away from the zombies.  I didn't know if Mary was with them or not, but knew I needed to reach her.
     "Mary!" I yelled trying to locate her.  Then I heard her make a blood curdling scream.  One of the zombies had grabbed her and taken her away a short distance.  Her screaming continued and intensified as I made my way to her.  They still were holding her as she covered her ears screaming.
     "Get your fucking hands off her!" I said as I squatted down trying to comfort her as she was screaming and shaking like a mad woman.
     "I'm not touching her dude," the man in the zombie attire shouted back.  "What the fuck is wrong with her?"
     She wouldn't stop no matter what I tried.  I knew I had to get her out of there, but there were four sections left and it would be difficult to navigate my way out carrying her.  At this point, I had grown completely aggravated with the uselessness of the staff working the haunted house.
     I lifted her up quickly, "Turn the fucking lights on so I can get her out of here!"
     The reply was not what I was wanting to hear.  "We can't do that kid.  Just get her out of this section and go through the rest of the haunted house."
     I thought, 
Did he really just call me kid?  
Hearing this response brought my blood to a boiling point.  "Then get us the fuck out of here!  If you don't, I'm going to start kicking down these fucking walls and tear the shit out of this place!"
     Realizing the seriousness of my statement, they quickly guided us out of the haunted house.  Mary had stopped screaming as I carried her through the droves of people and to my truck.  She kept her head buried in my chest knowing people were laughing and pointing at her.  This was completely humiliating and embarrassing, causing me to quicken my pace. My arms were burning from the distance I carried her. I was so thankful when I finally reached my truck.  I opened the door and gently placed Mary in the passenger seat.  Mary brought her knees up to her chin and clutched her hands together around her shins, rocking ever so slightly back in forth.  She wasn't crying, but I could tell she was terrified.
     "Mary, are you okay?" No response.  "Mary, talk to me please!"
     "Just take me home Darrel."
     I drove back to her house as fast as possible.  Mary stayed in the same position not speaking a word.  I had no clue what was happening.  I prayed her mom was home when we got back to her house so she could provide some kind of comfort for Mary.
     We reached her house and Mary didn't move.  I ran around to the passenger side door and scooped her into my arms and walked rapidly to the front door.  Mary wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my left shoulder.  I banged on the door for what seemed like forever until Mary's mom answered.
     "What the hell happened to her Darrel!" she shouted leading us inside.
     I placed Mary down on the couch, "I don't know Ms. Wizcowski.  We were in the third section of the haunted house and one of the workers grabbed her and she's only said five words since.  Why is she acting like this?"
     Her mom sat down on the couch next to Mary comforting her by rocking back and forth and singing softly in her ear.  “I can take it from here Darrel.”
     "I want to stay with her!" I reached for Mary placing my hand on her shoulder.
     "No Darrel, you need to go."
     "Please Ms. Wizcowski, let me stay with her."
     "Darrel, please!  I will have Mary call you first thing tomorrow.  Now please, go and let me take care of this."
     I got in my truck and started it, debating if I should leave or walk back in.  I felt useless.  I felt defeated.  I couldn't comfort Mary in her time of need and I broke her promise by letting go of her hand.  My eyes started to fill up with tears as I closed them tightly trying to prevent them from escaping.  One or two managed to escape down my cheek when I feared Mary would never want to see me again.  A night with so much potential had turned into a nightmare.   
Chapter 14