preTTy in pink - Kathleen Brien

I could cross the street to avoid them, but I live on this side. If I cross it now, it would only draw their attention to me. People are always like this in the city, doing private stuff in public. And I can pass them without alerting their attention. It’s too late to move to the other side anyway. The girl raises her voice and pushes on the boy’s shoulder with the flat of her hand, causing him to bob slightly. His curly hair bounces with the impacts.

“Fuck. You.” She beats his chest with the side of her fist, punctuating each word with a hollow thud. “Fuck. You. Fuck. You fuck you. Fuck youfuckyoufuckyou!”

He absorbs the blows in silence, his body flinching at her touch. Then he grabs her thin wrists but does not push her away. He holds her there, his arms still bent. She struggles half-heartedly but not painfully.

“Stop. You’re always like this when you drink,” he says, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes you did. Yes you did!”

They sense my presence when I am a few yards away. The girl glances at me briefly, but does not stop wriggling or cursing the boy. The scent of beer wafts from their mouths but their speech is not slurred.

The girl’s voice grows louder. “You worthless motherfucker, you can’t do anything right.”

He releases a wavering sigh. “Please.”

“Cocksucker. Deadbeat motherfucker. You can’t do anything right!” Her laughter sounds like balloons popping. “Nothing!”

His resigned face says he’s heard these words before. He stares at his shoes and loosens his grip. The boy turns as the girl wrenches her wrists free.

“I’m sorry,” he says to me. “I’m so sorry.”

I want to tell him that I’m sorry too. I’m sorry for both of them. I’m sorry I saw anything. I don’t know what I can do. She won’t hurt him, she won’t, not really. She isn’t strong. The cops won’t care. They’ll just say it’s a private matter.

I’ve only got a second as I pass, and I don’t know what to say. He’s looking at me. He’s waiting for a response.

I shrug, palms facing up as if the right words could just fall into them, and pick up my pace until I get home.