Delivering Blu Skies (BWWM)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My cigarette break was always during break.

It was never long enough. See, if I was American my break would be at least an hour long not a measly twenty-five minutes. That wasn’t enough time to copy Simon’s homework, share his lunch and savour my cigarette.

Simon was late. He got held up by his fellow rugby players. Being captain of the team and kept him busy. But never too busy to bum a smoke with an old friend on an abandoned hockey field. See, Simon was the over-achiever type. The type of guys that pushed himself so hard that he often had to break off some steam. I, was lazy as s**t. Simon was social. I was not. Simon did serious relationships. I didn’t.

So of course the first thing to fall out of the guys mouth before handing me a lighter was, “You hear about that girl Blu girl?”

“Blu girl?” I asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

“Her name’s Blu.” He exhaled.

I thought about it for a second. “This isn’t another pregnancy scare is it?” Simon chocked air.

“No, dip-s**t. Summer’s sister and her sister are friends. Said she’s been crying all week because Blu slit her wrists a bit too deep. She popped a few pills too. “ He sighed. “Terrible s**t man.”

I tried – with little effort – to remember this Blu girl. Nothing. “She dead?”

Simon took a long drag. “Nobody knows. “

Leaning against the oaky tree, I finally asked. “So why the f**k are you telling me this?”

“Kinda reminds me of the time you –“

“Say one more word, I dare you.” I say, knowing this could head south very soon. That was in the past.

“Fine man, “ He raised his arms in surrender. “But since you bunked English, you should know that Mr Ruit wants us to write letters to the dead girl.”

An open letter to a ‘dead’ girl. The attempt was pathetic on Mr Ruit’s behalf, half of the school had probably only heard of this girl this morning. Well… That’s at a least what I thought before curiosity began to chew at me. I was beginning to hear her name in every conversation everywhere I went. I’d walked past her locker and wasn’t surprised to find flowers below it. And in the corridor there was a huge poster of the girl’s face staring at you, with the words; Pray for Blu, in bold.

I knew this girl. Not personally or anything like that but I knew her face. She was a social butterfly. She hung out with everyone – like a drifter. She was pretty. Why I hadn’t noticed her sooner is beyond me. She wore a bright fake smile. It looked like it physically hurt her, if you asked me. I couldn’t imagine this being the girl’s happiest moment. Anyone with a brain could see her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

I’d probably spent five minutes in front of that poster and the girl’s face still haunted me. Her straight teeth. Her brown skin. Her braids tied up into a bun at the top of her head. Her outfit; a pair of pj shorts and a tee shirt. She wore a crown on her head and a birthday sash. I liked to think girls like her would look happier on their birthdays… Her empty eyes proved me wrong.

And even on my way to fetch Livvy, I couldn’t help but think about Blu. Trust me, it wasn’t a choice. I did not need to be catching feelings for a dead girl especially while trying to teach Livvy her seven times table.

“Kai?” I glanced over at her. Her school uniform was beginning to fade, just like mine. Her black curly hair was tied into pig-tails. Her eyes we still watery from the time she accidently scraped her knee while running to the car. “I’m done with my homework. Sign my diary please. Mommy forgot to sign it yesterday. Ms Holly wasn’t happy.” She signed before glancing out the car window. “Can I come to work with you today?” She asked a little hopeful.

I couldn’t say no. Not because it was literally physically impossible to say no to Livvy but because Rick could be there. So Livvy did what she always did when she came to work with me, she sat behind the counter, on the floor and watched a few DVDs on the house. I worked at a Blockbuster. Also known as a Zombie shop. Business was slow which meant I could look out for Livvy and study. Usually I don’t, but I needed a distraction from Blu and studying the human endocrine system temporarily distracted me.

“Hey Kai,” Mr de Wet called from the back room. He pretty ancient but he brought Livvy and I dinner every night. I didn’t mind him. He was like the grandpa I never who just so happened to pay me at the end of each week. Whether or not I pitched. He understood. Everything.

“Yeah Wettie?” I answered still knee deep in the thyroid gland.

“Tonight it’s the mevrou’s boerekos. I tried to stop her but she insisted you and Little Livvy-Pop liked it. “ The man was apologetic, I couldn’t understand why. He was giving us food, we weren’t picky.

“Thanks Wettie.” I took the warm container out of his shaky hands. He sighed before briefly glancing at Livvy.

“I saw you mom today.” He paused. We both knew what the silence meant. I nodded. I was just happy that someone saw her. She doesn’t like being around us after a fresh fight. “You know Kai, if things ever get too hectic at home… There’s always a warm bed for you and Livvy-Pop. Vroukie and I are always happy to help,” He my back before giving a small smile. Wettie and his wife were always ‘happy to help’, they’ve been like that since the beginning.

Livvy quickly grabbed the food, stuffing food down her throat. She’d occasionally glance up at me and offer me a bite. I never took too much. See Wettie fed Livvy and Simon’s mom fed me. She’d pack lunch for both her son and me. The perks of being a charity case, I guess? That’s how I got my car. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

What was bad however was seeing my mom crying when we got home. She tried to act like she wasn’t but her face was red. Livvy was thankfully already asleep, everytime she saw mom cry she’d cry. I tucked her into bed but she wrapped her arms around my neck tightly.

“Kai, I’m scared. Can I sleep in your room tonight?” I didn’t answer. I carried her into my room and tucked her in. She smiled softly before she fell asleep. Walking back into the kitchen, I noticed mom still in tears. I didn’t know what to do.

Sure I was fuming but Rick wasn’t around so I didn’t have anything to punch. I pulled her in for a hug. Mom was shorter than me. She had black curly hair like Livvy and pale skin. I swore sometimes she was translucent. Fragile. Sometimes if I hugged her too hard, I was afraid I’d snap her neck. She was sporting a busted lip and her wrists were wrapped up.

“He left.” Her voice was croaky. “I think he’s drinking again.”

“Of course he is.” I gave an empty chuckle. “Hopefully he gets into an accident.” Mom looked horrified before she cupped my cheeks. Her fingers were cold.

“He’s still your father.” She whispered.

“And you’re still his punching bag therefore I still hate him.” My never liked my bluntness. She never liked hearing what needed to be said. And what needed to be said was; Leave this fucker. But I was tired of being a broken record.

“Kai, I want you and Livvy to go stay with Wettie until its safe, okay?” She bit her lower lip.

“Mom –“ I had worked out the prefect sarcastic response to that but she stopped.

“Kai.” She warned. I knew better than to upset my emotional mother.

“Fine.” I caved.

“Go to bed baby.” Her words were soft but I was needed to let off some steam. I grabbed my car keys.

“I need to go for a drive.”

Mom didn’t argue. She slept in my bed with Livvy and locked the door. I made sure the door was barricaded before I left. And then I drove off. I liked midnight drives. Especially on cold winter nights. Everything had a frostiness about it.

I don’t know why… But I parked at the hospital. It was a huge white building with small windows. I found myself think about on which floor, in which room would Blu be in, if she was here. Last time I was here, I had shared a room with a guy named Roger.

Roger was pretty upset his attempt never worked out. He liked to keep to himself. Although when he did speak, it was always funny as s**t. He’d needed a way out from all the bullying. Being gay and overweight didn’t work in his favour at his school. I think he left a lot unhappier than he can in but every week I’d check the obituaries. He was still alive.

But Blu wasn’t or that’s what everyone thought. I took out a cigarette, lighting it and took a long drag. I was on the fourth floor. That’s were they kept the crazy people. She was probably there too. But Blu was probably one of those girls who’s daddy would have gotten her a private room to recover. Exhaling I started to wonder… Why’d she do it? What was wrong? Why couldn’t anyone save her? Like how someone saved me…

“Hi there.” I heard a voice. It was a girl. I tried to follow the voice but all I saw was the lights in the parking lot and a few cars. “Up here.” She said. This time I found her. She wasn’t facing me. Her long hair hid her face. She sat on the roof of my car. How the hell did she get up there?

I took a quick drag before I spoke. “Can I help you?”

She jumped down from the roof soundlessly. Walking towards me, I noticed how much shorter than me she was. Grey shorts and a tank-top was all she wore. I felt cold just looking at her. I won’t lie, she had great legs and her shirt stained a little across her chest. She looked up at me…

Holy f**k.

Pushing back her hair, I saw her face. Her brown eyes. That lips. Her skin. She was cuter in person. And then she flashed me a shy smile and I couldn’t help but smirk right back. She was nervous.

“Well… I guess… Its more I can help you to help me to help you.” She bit her lip.

“How the hell can you help me? You’re not even supposed to be here?” I don’t get surprised very often but when I do, it’s usually cause I’ve rolled a really sick joint. I quickly glanced at my cigarette. Pure nicotine. What the f**k was in this? “I’m going f*****g crazy.” I muttered.

Her eyebrows furrowed before she laughed. She had a nice laugh. A bit loud but it made everything a lot more real. She gave a goofy smile. “I’m Blu.” She stretched out her hand. “You’re Kai right?”