Sorry for the looong build-up. Finally some release.
*****
The Meadow was a clearing near the railroad tracks, in the woods behind the library. Burnout kids used it on weekends as a place to drink and get high. Keith was a regular, but Kendra had never been. Typical for a weekday afternoon, it was deserted.
Old-growth forest populated the twenty or thirty acres of land, split by a scar of rail ties but otherwise unscathed by man. By teen was a different story. Beer cans and cigarette butts were everywhere.
"Except for the empties, this place looks like something out of 'Bridge to Terabithia!' I love it," Kendra said, snapping a walking stick.
"Hey, don't put on your hiking face. It's just a couple of acres," Keith teased.
Kendra stuck out her tongue and ran ahead of him, giddy as a 5-year-old. She loved nature, and though her house was on ten acres, she rarely did much exploring due to her busy schedule.
"Keith, over here!" she called from deeper in the woods. He followed her voice until he found her standing in a copse of slim trees. Their branches had grown together, weaving a natural canopy overhead penetrated by only a few shafts of sunlight.
"It's like an emerald chapel," she whispered.
"That's lucky then, cause I just happen to have picked up some wine."
From his backpack, Keith produced a bottle of Wild Irish Rose he'd bought from a lax convenience store clerk. He fished a tightly rolled joint from his pocket and spread out his trench for them to lay on. On their backs, looking up at the roof of leaves, they got pleasantly high and drifted from topic to topic.
"So, I hear you might not be at State next year."
"Who told you that?"
"Your dad, this morning."
"Damn, what else did you guys plan for me? Am I getting married off, too? I was only five minutes late!"
They both laughed. "Well?" he asked.
"My dad wants me to go to Spelman, or Barnard or Smith. He's got a real hard-on for private women's colleges."
"Mm-hmm. No dudes. I see the logic."
Kendra laughed. "I don't think that's his main focus. He wants me to be roommates with a future secretary of state, or at least attorney general."
He paused for a minute, taking a drag on the weed. "You thinking about it?"
"Hell, no. I want to have some fun in college, not sit dissecting post-post feminism with a bunch of vegans. Besides," she hugged closer to him, "I'd miss you too much."
Her embrace warmed him, but she pressed his back and he involuntarily tensed. She pulled back immediately.
"Did I hurt you?"
"No, I'm okay."
"Let me see."
"No."
"Why?" Her voice was unsettled in the peaceful woods.
"Because you'll freak out. And it's done and he's gonna be straight for another couple days and I don't want to waste our time together talking about him."
"Just let me see the damn thing so I can take the picture. It won't take a minute."
He shook his head, frustrating her.
"You know I'm not going to let it go till you show me," she persisted. Kendra wondered why he was so reluctant, when she'd been photo-documenting the injuries and bruises for most of the year. Finally, he relented.
"Okay, but it probably looks nasty. I can't see it, but it hurts like a bitch."
Keith twisted around and lifted his shirt hem. By the sudden way Kendra clapped her hand over her mouth, he guessed it looked worse than he thought.
"That m-motherfucker," Kendra whispered, tears bright in her eyes. Her hand shook so, she could barely aim the cellphone camera. Her eyes brimmed over and she could no longer see, but she felt his arms encircle her while she cried.
"It's okay, it's fine now. I'm a big boy," he tried to joke.
"No!" Kendra shook her head. "It's escalating; he's really trying to hurt you." Hot tears streaked her face. "He hit your kidneys over and over—your lower back is almost black. You might need to go to the hospital. What asshole does this?"
"Shhh, shhh. Just two more months, remember?" Keith kissed her forehead, then a tear as it slid down her cheek. "Don't cry, K. We'll be on the road and college bound soon. Okay?"
He continued kissing her tears, then laid back and drew her down with him. She melted onto his chest, letting him stroke her hair until she stopped sniffling.
He felt ironic comforting her when he was the one injured, but Kendra hated his father even more than he did. She's a good friend, he thought. But holding her so close was doing decidedly unfriendly things to him. Her hair tickled his chin, her skin was soft and smelled like mangoes. Her sweet tits pressed into his chest as her breathing evened and he felt a stab of pleasure as she shifted against his groin. She felt so good, he was afraid of what he might do if he let her go. He had to get ahold of himself.