2.Rooftop

I opened the door to see, with no surprise, a familiar face. Taned skin, curly ebony hair, body covered with bruises as always, he just was a real punk.

I sighted heavily. Not that I was not happy to see him ,on the contrary, but annoying him was cruelly funny.

"-What the heck?want me to punch you in the face?

-I would win if we fight. I'm a head taller than you. Shorty.

-Shut up height doesn't make everything fucking pole. Anyway, you're not coming to play?

-I'm busy.

-Doing what?

-hanging the clothes.

-Want me to help?I'm bored."

I looked at him like he got some weird disease but then smiled.

"-Hew ! sweet you actually proposed to help me this time, are you sick Amador?

-Shut it."

He entered the house as if it was his own. Amador and I were friends since the moment we were born. Literally. Our mothers gave birth to us the same day in the same place (like a lot of children in the area), and since they knew each other for long, we were forced stuck together.

I could not quite gap our relationship, we were best friends for sure, but we seemed ready to punch each other on the face as soon as we had the occasion. We actually fought a lot with our first, but not once did we stay on bad terms.

Amador went to greet my parents, giving them a box of cake his mother certainly made.

"Amador! did your dad beat you again!? how is your mother?!" said my mother infuriated.

-No prob' aunty. Mom is fine, she hid in the bathroom. I put some sleep pills in my old man drink he is calm now and mom didn't get really hurt today.

-Oh my god! Come here I'm going to treat your bruises. Honey stop sleeping on the table and go get me the First aids kit.

-Hu? said my dad waking from is snoring. Oh is it the young Salvatore? You look in bad state today Amador.

-Just the usual sir. Nothing to get interested in.

-Stop it young men. Your not fooling us. Remember you can always come here if it goes to far.

-It's ok aunty I swear ! He's going back Tomorrow morning anyway one day is not a big deal."

The atmosphere got a bit tenser the moment he talked about his dad going back to work. I guessed it made my parents uncomfortable to bring back a conversation they tacitly accepted not to have anymore. Or maybe was it the way Amador was making is state seem like it was nothing. As a matter of fact, He was not the only one, bunch of other children where in the same situation as him in the building

Many did die from their parents hands and many will. It was a common situation but my parents could not just accept it like everyone else.

Amador looked a bit uncomfortable being the center of the attention because of his situation. He begged me with his eyes to put an end to this akward situation.

I calmly stared at him. I wanted to let him in this situation, but to put it frankly ( even if it could have been really funny to see his betrayed face) it was also making me uncomfortable and I didn't want my parents to be stuck in it too. Moreover, for him to help me doing something ment he really wasn not feeling well.

"Don't forget to help me Amador, there's a lot of clothes.

-Oh god! Marica ! Don't give him your work! how long has it been since i asked you to do it huh?! Are you serious?! can't you look at him? "

without saying more, I left my mom nagging alone while my dad was laughing. The mood became livelier and I saw Amador face telling me how much he was thankful. Well he just did not know it's was not gonna be free.

After a few minutes, the young boy came to help me , although I was almost finished. I said there were a lot but that was a lie we did not have much and we could not afford much anyway. As he saw the nearly empty bag he just smirked and said.

"-Oh, you did very well all alone, me helping will just be useless right? I guess am gonna wait for you here

-I don't care , you're useless anyway.Oh amd Don't think what I did for you was free.

-Hu?! You're not serious?! You're not making me pay for this!

-I'm dead serious. "

He left out an noise of discontent finally came to help. Not like it was going to change anything ,I left him do, and just observed him. He was really shorter than me, or was it me who was very tall? both my mom and dad were tall so I could get where it came from, and Amador's mother was a real shorty. The fact that he got abused a lot, left multiple scars on him like on he had on the top of his forehead. Most of the time it was hidden by his hair but I could see it. His red t-shirt and black shirt were loosened and drilled. If I did not have a lot of clothes, it was worst for him. Somehow he always looked very aggressive because of his dark highbrows.

"-Hey stupid why are you staring at me like that? are you a pervert?

-Don't mind her she has been like that since the morning. Said my mom passing by to go to the kitchen."

I slowly made a disgusted face.

"-Don't look at me like I'm some shit!

-Ok ok, I was just trying to piss you of, my bad. Have you finished yet? do you want us to never leave this place?

-I've finished. Just let's go already. "

I went back looking for a bag where I puted a book, a bottle of water and a snack.

"-We're going to the roof top." I said simply living my parents and the babies alone in the appartment.I heard a "Comme back before dinner!" ,comming from the kitchen before the door closed itself.

********************

To reach the rooftop, there were only one possible choice, the stairs. In the building, there were a stair and weird metallic rope going from way up until down to the lower floor. We never knew what it was for.

In every floor a number was written to specify in wich floor you were and thanks to them, i learned how to count from 65 to 100.

Every day, or almost we would climb the stairs from the 75th floor (where Amador and my apartments are)to the 100th floor where the rooftop is located.

After climbing 25 floors as usual, Amador went running like a crazy head yelling swears. He looked dumb.I quickly decided to ignore him and just went sitting, back againsr the small wall supposed to protect us from certain death. I opened my book, tried to read but couldn't because of all the noise he was making.8

"Shut up! "

To my greatest surprise, not a sound came out of his mouth. He quietly came to stend next to me looking over the walls, head down.

"You know , If we had a thing called Police. We could have done something about your father.

-What the fuck are you saying. Is it one of your stupid books thing again?

-They are not stupid. Manny things in them could change our lives. It's because of them that i understood that staying stuck in the four walls of my home was not the only option.

-Hmph....and what is that thing?The police I mean.

-If I understood correctly, It's a group of people that exist to protect the population of a country. Against crime, they arrest people like your dad and take them to a prison.

-Isn't it the same thing as the men with the uge black thing on the head?

- What are you talking about?

-I never saw them, My old men told me about Bunch of men coming to take those who don't want to work, or don't pay their billsor whatever.

-They do?

-Whow, miss "i know everything cuz i read books" don't even know that.

-We would have seen them. It's stupid.

-I don't know, That's my dad words, he got mad at my mom just for that. Whatever. I don't need your Unexistent police. I just want him to die already.

-hmmm..."

For a moment only the sound of the omnious fans, and his sobbing could be eard.

"-You're crying again.

-I'm not! "

I stood up to took him in my arms. We would never cry in front of anyone but each other. This was our way to keep our nerves from exploding. Same was for why we always faught with our first. We where each others stresse realize.

Once he finished crying, we came back to ourselves like nothing happened, both looking down to the unreachable ground.

"-One day,Let's go down there."