Lighting Up the Shadows

   I had a surprise all ready for when Pony came home from the hospital. He opened the door to the bedroom.
     "SURPRISE!!" I yelled, waving my arms frantically. Pony stared in bewilderment, "I....I can't believe it!" He stared at the single twin bed, draped with a navy striped comforter and accented with a stuffed white pony sitting upon the pillow.
     "MY OWN BED?" He was in a state of utter shock.
     I nodded. "It's all yours Pones." He jumped in the air and came crashing down on top of the bed, then immediately gripped his side in pain, forgetting he had just been in the hospital.
  
   That night we had a 4th of July party in the vacant lot. There were red, white & blue shooters, stars and stripes themed cookies, and of course fireworks. We shot off black cats, bottle rockets, and had a roman candle war. At the end we brought out all of the big stuff, and somehow ended up shooting one off in the direction of a soc's house, but no big loss right? Then came the streaking, by yours truly, accompanied by Dallas and Steve. We ran around bare-ass naked dancing about in circles with a sparkler in each hand. Just the typical greaser Independence Day celebration. Besides a few of Shepard's boys, I was amongst the last to leave. I started in the direction of my house when something on the ground caught my eye. I picked it up and pressed the button, lighting up the screen. Someone dropped their cell phone, and it just happened to be Jelly. I figured I'd do some good and return it, despite our current issues. I paced the dark streets, taking in the warm night air that sparkled with liveliness of the evening's celebrations. I was four houses away when I noticed someone approaching me. My hand slid over the switchblade bulging from my back pocket. As I got closer, I noticed it was Jelly herself.
     "Hey. Just thought I'd bring this by." I waved her phone in the air. Her hanging head glanced up at me, the moonlight catching on her wet cheeks.
     "Jels?" It wasn't till she stopped right in front of me that I noticed the puffy bruises outlining her left cheekbone, and blood trickling from a swelling lip.
     "Who the hell did this to you?" I demanded. She took the phone from my hand, just staring at the ground, shaking her head.
     "It's nothing." She spoke softly
     "You've been assaulted. Who the hell did this to you?" I tucked her hair behind her ear.
     "My dad gets a little carried away on my parents anniversary." She said, not looking me in the eye.
     "Your father did this to you?" I shouted. Her confirming nod made the blood in my veins boil. And by her reaction I gathered that this was not the first time this happened. My immediate thought was to take a crowbar to the guys face, but my common sense had to kick in and suggest otherwise.
     "And you haven't told anyone?" I ran my hand through my hair. "He should be in jail Jels."
     "Exactly!" She shouted back. "He's all I have..."
     "You have me." I said. Her eyes finally meeting mine.
     "I should go." She turned back towards her house. I grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back in my direction.
     "There is no way in hell I am letting you go back to that house."
     "It'll just make it worse if I don't." She said.
     I sighed. "Then I'm coming with you."
   We sneaked through the house into Jelly's room, which wasn't too hard considering her dad was passed out on the couch wasted. We sat awkwardly on the bed.
     "So how's it going with all your girlfriends?" Jelly spoke up.
     "It wasn't like that Jels." I sat twiddling my clammy thumbs. The countless, faceless, women meant nothing to me. They were just a crutch, and excuse.
     "I know." She said. I wasn't surprised that she was aware of why my recent actions took place, after all, she always knew me better than I knew myself. She suddenly broke out into sobs.
     "I'm so sorry." She looked up at me with pleading eyes. "It was an accident. I didn't know what I was doing. I would never intentionally do that to you Soda." I couldn't help but wrap my arms around her and hold her against my chest.
     "I know. I'm sorry for turning into such a dick." I added. After a moment she broke away. 
     "I'm tired." She pulled off her jeans, leaving just a pair of underwear and a tshirt. I pulled my shirt over my head and kicked off my shoes.
     "So what, you're just going to sleep in my bed every night now?" I slipped in under the covers next to her. A feeling I did not realize how much I had missed.
     "Are you opposed to that?" I asked. She brought her lips up and softly met mine.
     "Not at all."