Status: Active: Updates on Monday.
Wall Paper Flowers.
Three.
“All I’m saying is that you have all this money, and you wear the same shirt every day.”
Chance had been obsessed with getting me to ‘think outside of my box’.
“That’s not true! I wear a different shirt every day.”
“But it’s the same…” He tugged on one of my folded sleeves and pulled his mouth into a straight line.
“You need to change it dude, were sophomores in high school, do you want to be in the year book as the kid that always wore the same outfit? Most likely to never change?”
“It’s not like I have anything to offer… I’m 16 and I can’t do the same shit as you.”
“What? Have sex? Oh my god dude really? Oh I can’t have sex help meee!”
I swatted my hands at the air around him. “Dude! Were in public.”
I looked over his shoulder to the middle aged blonde woman who was sitting with her child and waved with a smile, she looked away in disgust.
“So when Ashley spent the night with you?”
“Nothing happened. I told her about Medusa because she asked me to.”
“Speaking of Medusa, I thought you should know that she’s coming back to our school.”
“What?”
“Yeeeah, Emily heard it straight from her too.”
“But Emily hates Macy…”
“Yeah but when she comes into your job you can’t really jump over the conveyer belt and strangle her with a grocery bag.”
That definitely had given me a visual that made me smile, and wish that she could have done it.
“Yeah… But I mean why? What she did wasn’t enough for her I guess.”
“Exactly… So I figure if she’s trying to come back and apologize to you? Fuck that, she knew she had it but she slept with you anyway, that’s fucking heartless. And if you forgive her so help me god I will hurt you.”
“You really think I would forgive her? It was like oh hey you lived through cancer but now you have herpes and did we mention that doesn’t have a cure?! How wonderful!”
The middle aged blonde woman grabbed her child and got up leaving the food court, making Chance laugh.
“You’ve never said it like that.” He wiped his eye. “Dude that was funny, good job.”
“Why do you always wear those glasses?”
“Because I can… Sorry for being repetitive, please forgive me. You have no room to talk.” He pointed at me and I looked down at the white dress shirt and black tie. I sighed.
“So are you telling me that I have to change because Macy is coming back?”
“No. You gotta make her think you did. I mean the girls at school already like you, but they all know about your harness and we go to school with a lot of whores…”
“That probably have the same harness.” I took a drink from the panda express cup in front of me.
“Not Brittney, she wants to fuck you… she told Emily and she knows that you have the harness but she said she didn’t care.”
“Im not going to do that, it would make me feel bad, and I guess that’s why she tried to get me to drive her home on Thursday.”
“She would have driven you to bed.” He laughed. “I mean… Anson, no homo but you’re a good looking guy, I can’t lie to you about that, your well-toned and that stuff so is it really a surprise that girls like you?”
“Well yes. I’m weird. I write books and scripts, I like horror movies from 1942 and I listen to weird music, I can play the harmonica… Dude I’m not normal.”
“Yeah, but they don’t care, your house is huge and they know you have money because their parents know who your dad is and you’re a sad boy case, your mom left and you’ve had cancer before and you have your harness and they all know the Macy story so they feel bad for you, you come off like your sad and depressed… I don’t know man.”
“I come off depressed?”
“A little… You’re always quiet.”
“So now quiet people are sad people?”
“Does your mom even know that you had cancer?”
“No.”
“Did Jackson come home even once after your dad called him and told him?”
I thought about the day that I found out about my cancer. I didn’t get to go home that day, not for two months, for two miserable months I was in the hospital, dying and Jackson didn’t care… He did but not enough to come home to see me.
“No.”
“Is your dad still drinking all the time?”
“No… He’s gotten better.”
“That. Is like the only thing good for you… Your dad isn’t drinking as much as he was.”
“Im not depressed though. At all, Im fine.”
“Alright dude… Im just saying I think you need to show Macy that you don’t care about the harness.”
“But I do…”
“You know it’s only contagious during a break out, Taylor and his wife are married and have sex all the time but he still doesn’t have it. And before you say anything Taylor doesn’t use condoms.”
“So that means I should risk giving some poor innocent girl an STD that kind of ruins your life?”
“No. Unless you want to, this doesn’t make you the bad guy… At all. It just makes you a guy.”
So your brother-“
“Don’t call him my brother he’s Taylor.”
“Whatever.”
“Anyway?”
“He really doesn’t have it? Are you sure that his wife does?”
“Oh I’m sure; when they got engaged she told Carla and Randy.”
“Carla and Randy?”
“My ‘parents’ so they call themselves.”
“ANSON!” I turned around to see Emily bounding toward us with a huge smile on her face, holding multiple bags.
“I think your girlfriend wants to- Heyyy Emily, whats up?”
“Take that stupid tie off. NOW or I’ll do it for you and embarrass you in front of everyone.”
I looked over at Ashley who was with her then over to Chance who just shrugged.
“Uhm, alright…”
“What a good boy you are!” She kissed me on the cheek and my eyes got wide as I set my tie on the table.
“Now.” She said unrolling the sleeves of my shirt and smiling at me. “We’re gonna take this off too.”
“I don’t have anything on underneath…”
“Oh well, like anyone here will mind to see you half naked. Come on take it off! She grabbed at the buttons and I stood up smacking her hands away. She giggled and Ashley set another shirt on the table we were at. It was a deep V-neck that was black and had some kind of huge logo on the front, band shirt I guess.
Emily came back at me and succeeded in getting three buttons.
“Stop it! I can change in the bathroom.”
“No I want to see you with no shirt on.”
“I’ve gone swimming with you before!”
Chance just laughed as she attacked me and started to pull the shirt over my head getting me to yell at her, and getting attention as well.
“Now you’re topless in the middle of the mall!”
I scrambled to grab the shirt and threw it on taking my seat back at the table.
“But the show was just getting started party pooper!”
“NO! If I wanted to have no shirt on then I wouldn’t have worn one!”
“Oh look whose here.” She pointed in the direction and I turned to see Macy wave at her and walk toward us.
“What the fuck!” I grabbed my shirt and tie and got up to walk over to the Hot Topic that was across from the food court. Ashley followed me and took the tag off the shirt I was now wearing and put my shirt and tie in one of the bags that she was carrying.
“Is that girl Macy?”
“Yes and why did Emily have her come over there?”
“Will you just come back with me?”
“You knew that she was doing this? That’s really not cool, I told you everything last night, and I let you sleep in my bed, meet my dad. I know you like me and now you just lost a lot of points.”
“Anson, I told her not to do it I promise.”
She really did like me, she jumped right into excuses.
“Why… Why do I need to go back?”
“Emily was… She was going to tell her that I was your girlfriend.”
“No. I don’t want to lie to her, I don’t care that she lied to me. Im not going to change my own personal rules just to make her think Im okay or whatever it is this is all about…”
“Can we just go back please?”
“Fine. If it will make you shut up.”
She looked hurt by what I said and I looked down at her.
“Im sorry, that was rude.”
“Don’t worry about it!” She hugged me tightly and we walked back over to the table they were at I didn’t sit down but remained standing.
“Hey Anson… How are you?”
“Herparific.”
She looked down and I looked away from her.
“I wanted to tell you that-“
“Im gonna stop you right there. You’re a cunt, and whore, a bitch. And I fucking hate you; don’t ever try to apologize to me. And Emily. Thanks a lot for ruining my day. I came back so I’m going to leave now.”
Emily looked over at Macy and laughed.
“Im sorry but I agree with him, you coming back to our school isn’t going to change anything.”
Chance stood up. “Welp, it was nice to see you Med… I mean Macy.” He held out his hand to shake hers and as she was about to take it her pulled it back. “Never mind I know where your hands have been.”
She looked at all of us like she was disgusted, but really she was just mad that Emily had lied to her, Chance was a dick and to her it appeared that Ashley was a new girlfriend.
XXX
I walked out to my car with Ashley who had apologized for not telling what Emily had planned. I didn’t care though I wasn’t mad at her. I walked around to her side and opened the door.
“It was kind of brave of you to stand up to her like that.”
“It was rude, but she deserved it. It’s true.”
“I like you better without the dress shirt…”
“Yeah, everybody does, why don’t you get in and I’ll take you-“
Before I could finish what I was saying she kissed me, just a little kiss, but it still counted. I smiled.
“I’ll take you home.”
“Sounds cool… Thank you.”
When she got in the car she was blushing.
“You said you would drive me home in your dad’s Camaro.”
“I can… If you want me too.”
“I do but it would be out of the way, maybe next time.”
“No I’m not busy, I don’t have to work today and Im not doing anything else, it would be fine really.”
“No, it’s fine really.” She laughed.
“Alright…”
“Do you remember how to get there?”
“Yeah.”
We were silent the whole car ride, even when she got out of the car she just waved goodbye to me and I stayed to watch her walk up the stone path. When she walked in the door and I knew she was safe in the house I drove home.
When I pulled into the drive I realized that she still had my shirt and tie I pulled out my phone to text her, and then remembered that she didn’t have a phone, but I had a text from Dalton another from Chance.
Dalton’s message said ‘Hey dude you might have to come in today after all Reid broke his hand.’
I sighed. Trying to think up a reason that I couldn’t go.
‘I can’t loads of homework.’
He didn’t text back so I decided to see what Chance had to say. I grabbed my keys and started to walk up the stairs to the door.
‘Remember what I said today, she’s gonna be at the school tomorrow.’
I didn’t want to see Macy, ever again. But I decided maybe Chance’s stupid meaningless idea might as well have a shot. I walked in the house, the smell of one of dad’s famous home cooked meals. I started to walk up the stairs.
“Hey! I haven’t seen you have dinner all week, so I decided I would make your favorite… That uh chicken alfredo pasta that you love so much.”
“Thanks… Um, I’m gonna go call Jackson real quick… Is that okay?”
“It’s fine.” He nodded and walked back into the kitchen.
I walked into my room and over to the fish tank sprinkling a good amount of food into it, the fish quickly darted to the bits. Harvey the beta. He was red and blue and use to try to fight his reflection in the mirror but I stopped holding the mirror up years ago. I sat on my bed letting my body fall back so that I was looking up at the stars we had stuck to the ceiling again. It made me miss Jackson, and mom every time I looked up at them.
I grabbed my phone and went through my address book slowly reading every name until I got to Jackson’s. I pressed his name and it started to ring as I brought it to my ear. He probably wouldn’t answer.
I was right.
He was too good for his broken, Darwin Theory family.
I put the phone down and walked down stairs, into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
“It’s like since he found out about the herpes that I’m a horrible person or something, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Anson don’t say that. He’s talked to you since then and you know it.”
“He didn’t come home for Christmas or Thanks giving, he didn’t even call or send a card on my birthday.”
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you, he’s just busy.”
“You’re busier than he is and guess what you make time to spend with me. He’s just… I don’t even know.” I ran my hands through my hair and sighed.
“I mean he didn’t even come home when we told him that I had cancer. He didn’t care.”
“Well… I care and Im here… Im sorry if that isn’t enough for you.”
“Dad… Mom doesn’t even know that I had cancer, that I have herpes, or even how old I am! She stuck around long enough for Jackson why does she hate me?”
“Can we keep calling it the harness please, and she doesn’t hate you… She hated me and she hated herself. Im gonna keep on hoping that she’ll come back but she probably won’t. If you ever want to see her again your probably gonna have to go and find her.”
“Yeah I’ll get right on that.”
“I’ll tell you what. Ask your aunt Bethany. She won’t tell me anything but your different, you’re her son not her husband that she hates for entirely no reason.”
“Are you telling me that Aunt B knows where mom is?”
“Well she’s certainly led me to think that she does.”
“I’m going to go call her… Where is her number?”
“It’s on my desk in that spinning address book thing.”
I got up from the table and went into my dad’s office that was basically in the living room. I looked through the address book.
Bethany Richmond: 765-345-9874
I dialed the number and sat down in my dad’s desk chair. I waited patiently for the ringing to be interrupted by the voice of my Aunt B or her answering machine.
“Hello?”
“Aunt B… It’s Anson.”
“Oh sweetheart how have you been?”
“Im good… I have a job doing well in school all that stuff. I was wondering if you could.”
“Tell you where your mama is huh?”
“Um, yes. Please. I just want to know so I can talk to her… Ask her why she left. Let her know that Im okay.”
“Well, I’ll tell you where she’s working and that’s all. And you had better not tell your father.”
“I won’t… I know she left because she didn’t really like him… I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“She works at a printing company called the spot in Huntington Park… It’s about an hour away from LA… You should go up there tomorrow after school… She works Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.”
“Thank you aunt B… It means a lot.”
“No problem sweetheart… Just remember.”
“Don’t tell dad, I got it.”
She hung up and I went back into the kitchen where dad was already eating.
“Well?”
“She told me where she works… But I promised that I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Alright… Can you atleast tell me where you’re going?”
“Tomorrow after school… Huntington Park.”
“You need to take Dalton with you.”
“Is that a bad place?”
“Yes, and you’re not going alone.”
“Why Dalton?”
“Because Dalton has a hand gun.”
“Jesus dad…”
“No Anson, that place is bad news and I really don’t want you going alone.”
“Alright but.”
“It is that bad… Just take him with you okay.”
I nodded and sat down to quickly to eat and go take a shower.
Before I took my shower I called Dalton.
“Oh hey homework boy!”
“Shut up.”
“Were only open for five more hours so if you need to talk to me that bad you’ll get your pretty self up here huh?”
He hung up and I sighed.
I grabbed my work shirt, name tag, keys, and wallet and ran down the stairs.
“I have to go to work dad!”
“Okay, see you when you get home.”
Lie. He would be in bed. I then ran back in the house with a smile on my face.
“Can I take the Camaro?”
“Sure. The keys are the last on the rack, left side.”
I stuffed my keys in my pocket and grabbed the keys to the Camaro on the rack that was next to the door that led to the garage I turned the light on and waved goodbye to him as I walked down the few stairs that went to the garage floor I got in the car and smiled even more. I pushed the button that opened the garage and pulled out of the drive way going down the road in this car was always amazing; too bad I left my iPod at home.
I pulled into the parking lot of the Starbucks. When I got out of the car Harold was outside with the trash and scoffed.
“Where the hell did you get the money for that beautiful thing?”
“My dad… We’ve been over this. Author, Director, Producer.”
“Directors make enough for that?”
“And about four more in the garage, including mine.”
“Owners of Starbucks… We make enough for a mustang… Just one though.”
“So trade it for a Camaro.”
I walked in the back door pulling my work shirt on and then walked into the bar and Dalton waved at me with a sarcastic smile.
“When I saw the beast I wasn’t sure if it was you, but apparently we really need to talk… Oh god, are you coming out to me?!”
“Shut up. I need you to.”
“I knew you needed me… Im so sexy after all.”
“Dude! Seriously.”
“Alright what?”
“I need to go to Huntington Park tomorrow after school and my dad won’t let me go alone he wants you to go with me because you have that stupid gun.”
“It’s not stupid! And yeah I’ll go… Since you really did come in to let me leave early.”
“Wha-?”
I looked over his shoulder to see Reid leaning against the counter.
“My hand… Is not broken. And I walked to work today… Thank you.”
Dalton laughed and walked out the back door.
“Really?”
“Look I told him not to lie to you but he said he had to… Apparently he has some important poon to tend to.”
“The drive thorough speaker is on…”
“Oh… Um. Welcome to Starbucks how may I help you?”
He walked over to the cash register by the window with his head down and his face red. I started to laugh and he turned to flip me off.
Hopefully I’ll be able to see my mom tomorrow… Let her know that what she did kind of helped me grow… Just to see her face when I tell her that I had cancer and she didn’t even know. To tell her that Jackson left just like she did. She would know that one of her children was selfish like her, and it wasn’t me.
Chance had been obsessed with getting me to ‘think outside of my box’.
“That’s not true! I wear a different shirt every day.”
“But it’s the same…” He tugged on one of my folded sleeves and pulled his mouth into a straight line.
“You need to change it dude, were sophomores in high school, do you want to be in the year book as the kid that always wore the same outfit? Most likely to never change?”
“It’s not like I have anything to offer… I’m 16 and I can’t do the same shit as you.”
“What? Have sex? Oh my god dude really? Oh I can’t have sex help meee!”
I swatted my hands at the air around him. “Dude! Were in public.”
I looked over his shoulder to the middle aged blonde woman who was sitting with her child and waved with a smile, she looked away in disgust.
“So when Ashley spent the night with you?”
“Nothing happened. I told her about Medusa because she asked me to.”
“Speaking of Medusa, I thought you should know that she’s coming back to our school.”
“What?”
“Yeeeah, Emily heard it straight from her too.”
“But Emily hates Macy…”
“Yeah but when she comes into your job you can’t really jump over the conveyer belt and strangle her with a grocery bag.”
That definitely had given me a visual that made me smile, and wish that she could have done it.
“Yeah… But I mean why? What she did wasn’t enough for her I guess.”
“Exactly… So I figure if she’s trying to come back and apologize to you? Fuck that, she knew she had it but she slept with you anyway, that’s fucking heartless. And if you forgive her so help me god I will hurt you.”
“You really think I would forgive her? It was like oh hey you lived through cancer but now you have herpes and did we mention that doesn’t have a cure?! How wonderful!”
The middle aged blonde woman grabbed her child and got up leaving the food court, making Chance laugh.
“You’ve never said it like that.” He wiped his eye. “Dude that was funny, good job.”
“Why do you always wear those glasses?”
“Because I can… Sorry for being repetitive, please forgive me. You have no room to talk.” He pointed at me and I looked down at the white dress shirt and black tie. I sighed.
“So are you telling me that I have to change because Macy is coming back?”
“No. You gotta make her think you did. I mean the girls at school already like you, but they all know about your harness and we go to school with a lot of whores…”
“That probably have the same harness.” I took a drink from the panda express cup in front of me.
“Not Brittney, she wants to fuck you… she told Emily and she knows that you have the harness but she said she didn’t care.”
“Im not going to do that, it would make me feel bad, and I guess that’s why she tried to get me to drive her home on Thursday.”
“She would have driven you to bed.” He laughed. “I mean… Anson, no homo but you’re a good looking guy, I can’t lie to you about that, your well-toned and that stuff so is it really a surprise that girls like you?”
“Well yes. I’m weird. I write books and scripts, I like horror movies from 1942 and I listen to weird music, I can play the harmonica… Dude I’m not normal.”
“Yeah, but they don’t care, your house is huge and they know you have money because their parents know who your dad is and you’re a sad boy case, your mom left and you’ve had cancer before and you have your harness and they all know the Macy story so they feel bad for you, you come off like your sad and depressed… I don’t know man.”
“I come off depressed?”
“A little… You’re always quiet.”
“So now quiet people are sad people?”
“Does your mom even know that you had cancer?”
“No.”
“Did Jackson come home even once after your dad called him and told him?”
I thought about the day that I found out about my cancer. I didn’t get to go home that day, not for two months, for two miserable months I was in the hospital, dying and Jackson didn’t care… He did but not enough to come home to see me.
“No.”
“Is your dad still drinking all the time?”
“No… He’s gotten better.”
“That. Is like the only thing good for you… Your dad isn’t drinking as much as he was.”
“Im not depressed though. At all, Im fine.”
“Alright dude… Im just saying I think you need to show Macy that you don’t care about the harness.”
“But I do…”
“You know it’s only contagious during a break out, Taylor and his wife are married and have sex all the time but he still doesn’t have it. And before you say anything Taylor doesn’t use condoms.”
“So that means I should risk giving some poor innocent girl an STD that kind of ruins your life?”
“No. Unless you want to, this doesn’t make you the bad guy… At all. It just makes you a guy.”
So your brother-“
“Don’t call him my brother he’s Taylor.”
“Whatever.”
“Anyway?”
“He really doesn’t have it? Are you sure that his wife does?”
“Oh I’m sure; when they got engaged she told Carla and Randy.”
“Carla and Randy?”
“My ‘parents’ so they call themselves.”
“ANSON!” I turned around to see Emily bounding toward us with a huge smile on her face, holding multiple bags.
“I think your girlfriend wants to- Heyyy Emily, whats up?”
“Take that stupid tie off. NOW or I’ll do it for you and embarrass you in front of everyone.”
I looked over at Ashley who was with her then over to Chance who just shrugged.
“Uhm, alright…”
“What a good boy you are!” She kissed me on the cheek and my eyes got wide as I set my tie on the table.
“Now.” She said unrolling the sleeves of my shirt and smiling at me. “We’re gonna take this off too.”
“I don’t have anything on underneath…”
“Oh well, like anyone here will mind to see you half naked. Come on take it off! She grabbed at the buttons and I stood up smacking her hands away. She giggled and Ashley set another shirt on the table we were at. It was a deep V-neck that was black and had some kind of huge logo on the front, band shirt I guess.
Emily came back at me and succeeded in getting three buttons.
“Stop it! I can change in the bathroom.”
“No I want to see you with no shirt on.”
“I’ve gone swimming with you before!”
Chance just laughed as she attacked me and started to pull the shirt over my head getting me to yell at her, and getting attention as well.
“Now you’re topless in the middle of the mall!”
I scrambled to grab the shirt and threw it on taking my seat back at the table.
“But the show was just getting started party pooper!”
“NO! If I wanted to have no shirt on then I wouldn’t have worn one!”
“Oh look whose here.” She pointed in the direction and I turned to see Macy wave at her and walk toward us.
“What the fuck!” I grabbed my shirt and tie and got up to walk over to the Hot Topic that was across from the food court. Ashley followed me and took the tag off the shirt I was now wearing and put my shirt and tie in one of the bags that she was carrying.
“Is that girl Macy?”
“Yes and why did Emily have her come over there?”
“Will you just come back with me?”
“You knew that she was doing this? That’s really not cool, I told you everything last night, and I let you sleep in my bed, meet my dad. I know you like me and now you just lost a lot of points.”
“Anson, I told her not to do it I promise.”
She really did like me, she jumped right into excuses.
“Why… Why do I need to go back?”
“Emily was… She was going to tell her that I was your girlfriend.”
“No. I don’t want to lie to her, I don’t care that she lied to me. Im not going to change my own personal rules just to make her think Im okay or whatever it is this is all about…”
“Can we just go back please?”
“Fine. If it will make you shut up.”
She looked hurt by what I said and I looked down at her.
“Im sorry, that was rude.”
“Don’t worry about it!” She hugged me tightly and we walked back over to the table they were at I didn’t sit down but remained standing.
“Hey Anson… How are you?”
“Herparific.”
She looked down and I looked away from her.
“I wanted to tell you that-“
“Im gonna stop you right there. You’re a cunt, and whore, a bitch. And I fucking hate you; don’t ever try to apologize to me. And Emily. Thanks a lot for ruining my day. I came back so I’m going to leave now.”
Emily looked over at Macy and laughed.
“Im sorry but I agree with him, you coming back to our school isn’t going to change anything.”
Chance stood up. “Welp, it was nice to see you Med… I mean Macy.” He held out his hand to shake hers and as she was about to take it her pulled it back. “Never mind I know where your hands have been.”
She looked at all of us like she was disgusted, but really she was just mad that Emily had lied to her, Chance was a dick and to her it appeared that Ashley was a new girlfriend.
XXX
I walked out to my car with Ashley who had apologized for not telling what Emily had planned. I didn’t care though I wasn’t mad at her. I walked around to her side and opened the door.
“It was kind of brave of you to stand up to her like that.”
“It was rude, but she deserved it. It’s true.”
“I like you better without the dress shirt…”
“Yeah, everybody does, why don’t you get in and I’ll take you-“
Before I could finish what I was saying she kissed me, just a little kiss, but it still counted. I smiled.
“I’ll take you home.”
“Sounds cool… Thank you.”
When she got in the car she was blushing.
“You said you would drive me home in your dad’s Camaro.”
“I can… If you want me too.”
“I do but it would be out of the way, maybe next time.”
“No I’m not busy, I don’t have to work today and Im not doing anything else, it would be fine really.”
“No, it’s fine really.” She laughed.
“Alright…”
“Do you remember how to get there?”
“Yeah.”
We were silent the whole car ride, even when she got out of the car she just waved goodbye to me and I stayed to watch her walk up the stone path. When she walked in the door and I knew she was safe in the house I drove home.
When I pulled into the drive I realized that she still had my shirt and tie I pulled out my phone to text her, and then remembered that she didn’t have a phone, but I had a text from Dalton another from Chance.
Dalton’s message said ‘Hey dude you might have to come in today after all Reid broke his hand.’
I sighed. Trying to think up a reason that I couldn’t go.
‘I can’t loads of homework.’
He didn’t text back so I decided to see what Chance had to say. I grabbed my keys and started to walk up the stairs to the door.
‘Remember what I said today, she’s gonna be at the school tomorrow.’
I didn’t want to see Macy, ever again. But I decided maybe Chance’s stupid meaningless idea might as well have a shot. I walked in the house, the smell of one of dad’s famous home cooked meals. I started to walk up the stairs.
“Hey! I haven’t seen you have dinner all week, so I decided I would make your favorite… That uh chicken alfredo pasta that you love so much.”
“Thanks… Um, I’m gonna go call Jackson real quick… Is that okay?”
“It’s fine.” He nodded and walked back into the kitchen.
I walked into my room and over to the fish tank sprinkling a good amount of food into it, the fish quickly darted to the bits. Harvey the beta. He was red and blue and use to try to fight his reflection in the mirror but I stopped holding the mirror up years ago. I sat on my bed letting my body fall back so that I was looking up at the stars we had stuck to the ceiling again. It made me miss Jackson, and mom every time I looked up at them.
I grabbed my phone and went through my address book slowly reading every name until I got to Jackson’s. I pressed his name and it started to ring as I brought it to my ear. He probably wouldn’t answer.
I was right.
He was too good for his broken, Darwin Theory family.
I put the phone down and walked down stairs, into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
“It’s like since he found out about the herpes that I’m a horrible person or something, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Anson don’t say that. He’s talked to you since then and you know it.”
“He didn’t come home for Christmas or Thanks giving, he didn’t even call or send a card on my birthday.”
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you, he’s just busy.”
“You’re busier than he is and guess what you make time to spend with me. He’s just… I don’t even know.” I ran my hands through my hair and sighed.
“I mean he didn’t even come home when we told him that I had cancer. He didn’t care.”
“Well… I care and Im here… Im sorry if that isn’t enough for you.”
“Dad… Mom doesn’t even know that I had cancer, that I have herpes, or even how old I am! She stuck around long enough for Jackson why does she hate me?”
“Can we keep calling it the harness please, and she doesn’t hate you… She hated me and she hated herself. Im gonna keep on hoping that she’ll come back but she probably won’t. If you ever want to see her again your probably gonna have to go and find her.”
“Yeah I’ll get right on that.”
“I’ll tell you what. Ask your aunt Bethany. She won’t tell me anything but your different, you’re her son not her husband that she hates for entirely no reason.”
“Are you telling me that Aunt B knows where mom is?”
“Well she’s certainly led me to think that she does.”
“I’m going to go call her… Where is her number?”
“It’s on my desk in that spinning address book thing.”
I got up from the table and went into my dad’s office that was basically in the living room. I looked through the address book.
Bethany Richmond: 765-345-9874
I dialed the number and sat down in my dad’s desk chair. I waited patiently for the ringing to be interrupted by the voice of my Aunt B or her answering machine.
“Hello?”
“Aunt B… It’s Anson.”
“Oh sweetheart how have you been?”
“Im good… I have a job doing well in school all that stuff. I was wondering if you could.”
“Tell you where your mama is huh?”
“Um, yes. Please. I just want to know so I can talk to her… Ask her why she left. Let her know that Im okay.”
“Well, I’ll tell you where she’s working and that’s all. And you had better not tell your father.”
“I won’t… I know she left because she didn’t really like him… I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“She works at a printing company called the spot in Huntington Park… It’s about an hour away from LA… You should go up there tomorrow after school… She works Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.”
“Thank you aunt B… It means a lot.”
“No problem sweetheart… Just remember.”
“Don’t tell dad, I got it.”
She hung up and I went back into the kitchen where dad was already eating.
“Well?”
“She told me where she works… But I promised that I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Alright… Can you atleast tell me where you’re going?”
“Tomorrow after school… Huntington Park.”
“You need to take Dalton with you.”
“Is that a bad place?”
“Yes, and you’re not going alone.”
“Why Dalton?”
“Because Dalton has a hand gun.”
“Jesus dad…”
“No Anson, that place is bad news and I really don’t want you going alone.”
“Alright but.”
“It is that bad… Just take him with you okay.”
I nodded and sat down to quickly to eat and go take a shower.
Before I took my shower I called Dalton.
“Oh hey homework boy!”
“Shut up.”
“Were only open for five more hours so if you need to talk to me that bad you’ll get your pretty self up here huh?”
He hung up and I sighed.
I grabbed my work shirt, name tag, keys, and wallet and ran down the stairs.
“I have to go to work dad!”
“Okay, see you when you get home.”
Lie. He would be in bed. I then ran back in the house with a smile on my face.
“Can I take the Camaro?”
“Sure. The keys are the last on the rack, left side.”
I stuffed my keys in my pocket and grabbed the keys to the Camaro on the rack that was next to the door that led to the garage I turned the light on and waved goodbye to him as I walked down the few stairs that went to the garage floor I got in the car and smiled even more. I pushed the button that opened the garage and pulled out of the drive way going down the road in this car was always amazing; too bad I left my iPod at home.
I pulled into the parking lot of the Starbucks. When I got out of the car Harold was outside with the trash and scoffed.
“Where the hell did you get the money for that beautiful thing?”
“My dad… We’ve been over this. Author, Director, Producer.”
“Directors make enough for that?”
“And about four more in the garage, including mine.”
“Owners of Starbucks… We make enough for a mustang… Just one though.”
“So trade it for a Camaro.”
I walked in the back door pulling my work shirt on and then walked into the bar and Dalton waved at me with a sarcastic smile.
“When I saw the beast I wasn’t sure if it was you, but apparently we really need to talk… Oh god, are you coming out to me?!”
“Shut up. I need you to.”
“I knew you needed me… Im so sexy after all.”
“Dude! Seriously.”
“Alright what?”
“I need to go to Huntington Park tomorrow after school and my dad won’t let me go alone he wants you to go with me because you have that stupid gun.”
“It’s not stupid! And yeah I’ll go… Since you really did come in to let me leave early.”
“Wha-?”
I looked over his shoulder to see Reid leaning against the counter.
“My hand… Is not broken. And I walked to work today… Thank you.”
Dalton laughed and walked out the back door.
“Really?”
“Look I told him not to lie to you but he said he had to… Apparently he has some important poon to tend to.”
“The drive thorough speaker is on…”
“Oh… Um. Welcome to Starbucks how may I help you?”
He walked over to the cash register by the window with his head down and his face red. I started to laugh and he turned to flip me off.
Hopefully I’ll be able to see my mom tomorrow… Let her know that what she did kind of helped me grow… Just to see her face when I tell her that I had cancer and she didn’t even know. To tell her that Jackson left just like she did. She would know that one of her children was selfish like her, and it wasn’t me.