Forgotten

Jonathan plopped down onto the couch and spoke into the phone his mother had just handed him. “Hello?”

“H-Hi,” Caden’s tentative voice spoke.

“Oh, hey.” A few long moments of silence. “Are you still there?” Jonathan asked.

“Y-Yeah, sorry,” Caden muttered.

“It’s okay. So, uh, Liv’s mom is really nice,” Jonathan said, immediately feeling stupid for his lame attempt at conversation.

“Y-Yeah, Mrs. Gibbons is great,” Cadey said, his voice coming through stronger. He was clearly thankful to have something to talk about. “She always lets me stay when I need a place. I’m gonna be here for the rest of the week.”

“Home away from home,” Jonathan said (once again feeling incredibly dumb).

“M-More of a home than my r-real one. Uh, I mean…” Cadey trailed off uncertainly, embarrassed for having admitted this truth to someone he barely knew.

“I wish I had that,” Jonathan muttered earnestly. “I mean, my mom is fine and I can deal with my brat of a little sister but my dad and I really don’t see eye to eye.” Jonathan heard a beep. “Oh, can you hang on? There’s a call on the other line.”

“Sure.”

“’Kay, one sec,” he switched the line. “Hello?”

“Yo!”

“H-Hey, Brett,” Jonathan said slowly.

“What the hell’s going on with you?”

“Nothing!” Jonathan said, not bothering to keep the aggravation out of his voice.

“Dude, come on! Yesterday, today…?”

“Didn’t we already go over this today at lunch?” Jon asked exasperatedly. “What do you expect me to say? ‘Oh yeah, I’ve thought about it and hey, it was actually really cool of you guys to beat the shit out of the fag!’” Jonathan sneered sarcastically. “I mean, you guys have done some lame crap in the past but beating on Caden was just path--”

“Caden? You’re on first-name terms with the little cocksucker?” Brett asked incredulously.

“So?”

“Jonathan, you’ve got a fucking image to uphold. You’re the captain of the football team. You can’t be known as the guy who hangs out with the artsy little fag. If you ask me, we did you a favor. That kid’s like your stalker or something -- he had like five naked drawings of you. Little freak with an obsession.”

“Can you stop with the name-calling? It’s bad enough you cracked his fucking ribs. Literally insult to injury, it’s a little bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“Jonathan?” Brett paused for a moment and Jon waited for him to speak again. “Why are you acting like his knight in shining armor? You keep on defending him like this people are going to start to wonder about y--”

“So what if they do? What the fuck does it matter?!” Jonathan yelled. He was too angry listen to anymore of Brett’s bullshit. He hung up the phone. He suddenly remembered Caden on the other line and turned it back on.

“Caden, are you there?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Sorry I took so long,” he apologized, still trying to calm down.

“I-It’s okay,” Cadey murmured. Jonathan heard Liv say something in the background.

“So, um, I should probably get going. My dad’ll probably start yelling if I’m not off the phone soon. It’s kinda late,” Jonathan said.

“Oh, yeah. Of c-course,” Cadey muttered, disappointment clear in his voice. Jonathan didn’t know what to say.

“But I’ll call you tomorrow,” Jon assured Caden.

“Do you have the number?” Cadey asked quickly.

“Yeah. It’s on the caller ID,” Jonathan said.

“O-Okay. So… goodnight,” Caden said, whispering the last word.

“G’night,” Jonathan replied. He paused for a second before hanging up the phone. A small sigh escaped his lips before he even realized it. He heard the floorboards creak behind him and turned to see his father standing there.

“Hi,” Jonathan said quietly. Daniel nodded in response, taking a seat beside his son. Jonathan sat there stiffly, waiting to be yelled at for some reason or other. He was surprised when his father’s voice came out softly, understandingly.

“So, who is she?” he asked.

“W-What?” Jonathan asked, taken aback.

“I know that sigh. That’s the sigh of romantic woe.”

‘Romantic woe’? Since when have you been romantic? You act like bible-thumping is your point of living. Jonathan thought, annoyed. His father looked at him expectantly.

Jonathan shrugged and came up with the simplest lie he could. “Well, there’s this girl… Liv and she’s really cool,” he muttered.

“Cool, huh?” Daniel asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Jonathan murmured. They were silent for a moment until Daniel spoke up.

“Well, tell me more about her, son.”

Jonathan hated being called “son”; he never felt like Daniel Whyte was his father and having to be reminded that he was an unpleasant experience. He sighed again but began to speak.

“She’s smart, strong-willed -- very strong-willed,” he said, remember the death threat Liv had given him in the hospital room. A small smile graced his features knowing that at least someone was looking out for Caden.

Daniel smiled encouragingly, waiting for more details.

“She’s pretty, but not like the girls with blond hair and big chests, you know?” He pictured Caden in his mind and smiled again. “She’s got this dark hair with bright pink tips,” -- brilliant red hair, so bright you can hardly believe it’s his actual color. -- “A-And these deep blue eyes,” -- beautiful green eyes. -- “They look a little sad but even so, when h-she smiles it just lights up the room. And I always thought that that was a really cheesy expression but it’s true,” Jonathan said, mind still lingering on the image of Caden.

“Sounds like a very interesting girl,” Daniel said, happy that his son was finally showing interest in someone (though he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about bright pink hair).

“Yeah but more than that… She’s really sweet and talented -- an amazing artist. H-Her sketches are so beautiful,” Jonathan said with a small grin.

“Sounds like you’ve got it bad,” Daniel said with a knowing smile.

“Yeah. I guess I do.”