Exile - 19

The night was cool and clear as we left the pack house. A slip of the growing moon broke through the treetops of the large yard. Michael and I had said little as we walked around the perimeter of the yard. When we got near the pool, I leaned against the side, dipping my hands into the water. The smell of chlorine made my nose itch. Michael stopped next to me, his gaze up into the stars. We didn’t speak for a while.

I wasn’t sure about him, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. It had hit me, as we walked, that this was the first time since my family’s death that I felt normal. Just a girl enjoying a date with a guy she liked, and I liked Michael. Yes, he was broken and violent. Yes, he could be mean and a bully. I knew little about his family, but I suspected all that was the face his father made him wear.

“What did you want to b