Saviour

N/B The story was inspired by the lyrics of the 30 Seconds to Mars song, Savior.

Chapter One

Little Scarlet Hill sat on the steps of her stoop, swinging her legs in an erratic motion. Strands of dark hair fell across her eyes and she pushed them back furiously, tucking them behind her ears, wishing like crazy she could have thick blonde hair instead of thin black hair. Life could be so unfair. Not only did she have wispy black hair, but her Daddy had just been sent to jail. Thinking about not seeing him everyday brought tears to her eyes, but she wouldn’t cry. Her Momma cried constantly, Scarlet wouldn’t cry in front of her - it would only make her more upset. Scarlet didn’t want that.

Sitting with the sun beating down on her skin, Scarlet never felt so alone. She didn’t have any friends. No one wanted to play with the daughter of a jail Daddy. School sucked. Third graders could be soooo immature.

The tears fell in big, fat droplets, staining the material of her jeans. With the back of her hand she wiped them away, angry she’d let them fall in the first place. She had to be strong, be mature to take care of her Momma.

“What ya crying for?”

Looking up, Scarlet blinked as the sun radiated around the girl standing in front of her. In this light, she looked like an angel. An angel sent for Scarlet. When the sun slide behind a cloud, Scarlet sighed. Not an angel, just Mia Torreto.

Mia was in the same grade as her. Although she wasn’t unpopular the kids mostly left her alone. She never got teased, everyone was too scared of her brother, Dominic and his friend Vince. You mess with Mia, you mess with them. Dominic and Vince were know for fighting dirty.

Scarlet shrugged. “I’m not crying.”

“Yeah, you are. What’s the matter?” Mia sat down beside her.

Prickling at the close contact, Scarlet scowled. “Nothing’s the a matter, okay? I got some dust in my eye.”

The silence lengthened as both girls listened to the distant sounds of children playing, both wishing wistfully they had someone to share laughter with.

“I know about your Daddy.”

Scarlet turned and glared at Mia, waiting for her to start making fun, or poking at the wound that was a gaping hole in her heart.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet.” She patted her arm in a gesture that was extremely mature for an eight year old girl. “I know if my Daddy went away I’d miss him like crazy.”

Scarlet sniffed and blinked, blinking away tears at Mia’s kindness. “Thanks.”

Mia grinned and with that smile Scarlet thought she was the prettiest girl she’d ever laid eyes on. “So, you wanna come over to my house and play?”

Thinking about the proposition for a heartbeat, Scarlet grinned. “Sure, okay. Right now?” When Mia nodded, Scarlet jumped up. “Gimme a second, I gotta go tell Momma.”

Wow. An invitation to play at the Torreto house. How cool was that? She only hoped that Dominic and Vince weren’t there. They scared her a little. Both boys were so intense - and smelly. Boys were always smelly. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. She’d never have a boyfriend like some of the girls - boys sucked.

After telling her Momma, she bounded down the stairs and followed Mia a couple of houses down from her own. The Torreto house looked warm and inviting. There were potted plants on the porch, the house was newly painted and she could smell the newness of the paint. She remembered seeing Mr Torreto painting it with the boys one day as she and her Momma drove by to go see her Daddy.

“C’mon, Scarlet.”

Mia stood on the top of the porch steps, motioning her to come on in. Scarlet hadn’t realized she stopped and stared. This was a real family house. Mom, Dad, kids. Something she wouldn’t have until her Daddy came home - if he came home. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she ran up behind Mia.

“We can go play out back. We got a couple of swings and stuff.”

Leading her to the back of the house and out into the yard, Scarlet asked where Mr and Mrs Torreto were.

“Oh, they're at the store. Dom is babysitting me.” Mia rolled her eyes. “Like I need babysitting.”

As Mia opened the door to the yard, Scarlet heard the rhythmic beat of a basketball. Peeking around Mia she spied two boys in basketball jerseys and long shorts running around a small make shift court. On the cusp of manhood, she noticed the boys had begun to fill out. They moved and twirled in a way that fascinated her.

Shaking her head, she tried to dispel unpleasant thoughts. Boys were smelly, bullies and well…boys.

She knew who they were - Dominic and Vince. Definitely bullies.

Noticing the two girls, the boys stopped played and headed over to them. Suddenly, Scarlet felt a little shy. She wasn’t used to boys, and they surely knew about her Daddy. If they teased her she vowed silently she’d kick them in the shins - she would not cry!

“Hey, Mia. Whos's your friend?” Dominic smiled as he threw a sweaty arm around his sister.

Mia grimaced and shuffled out of his grasp. “Ewww. Gross. This is Scarlet. She’s in my class at school.”

“Scarlet from down the street?” Dominic smiled down at her, but the look in his eyes said he knew exactly which Scarlet she was. Great, she and her family must the talk of...well, everywhere.

“Yeah. I’m Scarlet from the down the street.” She jutted her chin out in defiance. Just let him laugh or tease. She was really spoiling to hit something.

“Cool. Hey Scarlet, I’m Dom.” He slapped his friend on the chest. “This is Vince.”

Turning to look at Vince, Scarlet’s heart beat faster as she looked up into the bluest pair of eyes she’d ever seen. They weren’t light blue, but dark, dark like the dark blue ink that came out of her fountain pen. His hair was an angled mess of blunt edges. He nodded at her.

“Hey, Scarlet. How’s it going?”

His eyes held hers and after what seemed like an eternity he offered her a smile.

Scarlet’s heart melted.

And that was how it all began.