The Deep End
Chapter 22
It was hell for Alan; listening to his mum explain his and Austin's 'brief almost friendship' and his aunt's outrage at both of them. Tears pooled and stung his eyes; he didn't try to quieten his sobs. He wanted them to know his pain, to know that he felt emotion for Austin in a subtle way.
His ear was pressed against his bedroom door. He could still hear their loud conversation through it. His sobs morphed into sniffles, until his aunt told his mum that she did the right thing to stop Alan from seeing Austin before he "changed" Alan.
Their conversation died down dramatically after that comment, and Alan's tears diminished. The silence held no comfort for him, it was cruel and reminded him of how alone he was.
by the time his conscious had made the decision he haD already stumbled down the stairs. He was going to retrieve his phone from downstairs and call Austin.
Well, he was going to try anyway.
His vision was still blurry from his sobbing so he braced himself with one hand on the banister as he made his descent. He stumbled to the living room, peering inside the crack of the doorway, only to see his aunt and uncle still there, only talking in hushe's tones with his mum. His phone lay on the coffee table.
Shit. He was going to have to apologise.
He nudged the door with his hip to reveal himself. They all turned to look at him. Hesitance visible, he edged into the room. He started:
"Um, I'd like to apologise. For, uh, talking to you all like that. I was having an off moment, sorry." He bowed his head whilst walking so he was definitely within the boundaries of the room now.
His aunt stared him down like a predator eyeing it's prey. His mother looked almost guilty. His uncle remained as stoic as ever.
"Well, it's about time, young man." His aunt's blatant lack of guilt caused anger to simmer inside of him. His mother just nodded with a faint smile, signalling for him to sit down.
He perched on the seat, listening tentatively to their gossips. Some girl got pregnant at only 17, his aunt said it was her boyfrienD that had "changed" her. Unease settled in his stomach the way snow lays in winter. He felt slightly better that the topic was not about him, still he wanted to talk to Austin.
Every time he edged towards his phone his aunt would send him a pointed deathglare that was a cold declaration of 'Bite Me'. He resigned himself to the fact that it was an unobtainable goal.
Then his phone vibrated. It was a text message. He could from the amount of hearts surrounding the person's name that it was Austin. That dweeb had changed his contact months ago and Alan's fond persuaded him to keep it that way. He could see at the end of the message was a ridiculously long line of smiley emoticons and kisses.
A smile bloomed on his face, he was going to kiss Austin stupid when he next saw him. His aunt picked up on this, enquiring:
"Who's that?"
Alan continued to smile, trying and failing miserably to find some kind of fuck to give. "A friend."
She, of course didn't buy it.
"Really what's their name?"
"Carl?" He sounded questioning, but his aunt just seemed glad to not hear the name of Austin.
He took this as an appropriate time to grab his phone and dismiss himself, making his way upstairs. He was already dialing Austin's number half way up the stairs. He pressed the cold plastic to his ear, the beeps only sounding like hope. It cracked.
"What's the password?" A voice mocked.
"Stop being an ass, I need love and comfort right now."
"Awww, babe, what's the matter? Is this about your maths grade? I already told you that your grades don't equal your wort-"
"No, it's about something else. My aunt was being a bitch and I got angry and stormed out of the room." There was an empathetic sigh from across the line.
"Alan babes, it's okay, if you just need to vent and you'll get over it, I'm all ears."
"I'd rather rant to you in person, and I think I need a hug." Alan's reply came out in a whisper.
"I'm literally five minutes away from the park if you want to meet up there?"
"Okay, see you there. Love you."
"Love you too."
His ear was pressed against his bedroom door. He could still hear their loud conversation through it. His sobs morphed into sniffles, until his aunt told his mum that she did the right thing to stop Alan from seeing Austin before he "changed" Alan.
Their conversation died down dramatically after that comment, and Alan's tears diminished. The silence held no comfort for him, it was cruel and reminded him of how alone he was.
by the time his conscious had made the decision he haD already stumbled down the stairs. He was going to retrieve his phone from downstairs and call Austin.
Well, he was going to try anyway.
His vision was still blurry from his sobbing so he braced himself with one hand on the banister as he made his descent. He stumbled to the living room, peering inside the crack of the doorway, only to see his aunt and uncle still there, only talking in hushe's tones with his mum. His phone lay on the coffee table.
Shit. He was going to have to apologise.
He nudged the door with his hip to reveal himself. They all turned to look at him. Hesitance visible, he edged into the room. He started:
"Um, I'd like to apologise. For, uh, talking to you all like that. I was having an off moment, sorry." He bowed his head whilst walking so he was definitely within the boundaries of the room now.
His aunt stared him down like a predator eyeing it's prey. His mother looked almost guilty. His uncle remained as stoic as ever.
"Well, it's about time, young man." His aunt's blatant lack of guilt caused anger to simmer inside of him. His mother just nodded with a faint smile, signalling for him to sit down.
He perched on the seat, listening tentatively to their gossips. Some girl got pregnant at only 17, his aunt said it was her boyfrienD that had "changed" her. Unease settled in his stomach the way snow lays in winter. He felt slightly better that the topic was not about him, still he wanted to talk to Austin.
Every time he edged towards his phone his aunt would send him a pointed deathglare that was a cold declaration of 'Bite Me'. He resigned himself to the fact that it was an unobtainable goal.
Then his phone vibrated. It was a text message. He could from the amount of hearts surrounding the person's name that it was Austin. That dweeb had changed his contact months ago and Alan's fond persuaded him to keep it that way. He could see at the end of the message was a ridiculously long line of smiley emoticons and kisses.
A smile bloomed on his face, he was going to kiss Austin stupid when he next saw him. His aunt picked up on this, enquiring:
"Who's that?"
Alan continued to smile, trying and failing miserably to find some kind of fuck to give. "A friend."
She, of course didn't buy it.
"Really what's their name?"
"Carl?" He sounded questioning, but his aunt just seemed glad to not hear the name of Austin.
He took this as an appropriate time to grab his phone and dismiss himself, making his way upstairs. He was already dialing Austin's number half way up the stairs. He pressed the cold plastic to his ear, the beeps only sounding like hope. It cracked.
"What's the password?" A voice mocked.
"Stop being an ass, I need love and comfort right now."
"Awww, babe, what's the matter? Is this about your maths grade? I already told you that your grades don't equal your wort-"
"No, it's about something else. My aunt was being a bitch and I got angry and stormed out of the room." There was an empathetic sigh from across the line.
"Alan babes, it's okay, if you just need to vent and you'll get over it, I'm all ears."
"I'd rather rant to you in person, and I think I need a hug." Alan's reply came out in a whisper.
"I'm literally five minutes away from the park if you want to meet up there?"
"Okay, see you there. Love you."
"Love you too."
♠ ♠ ♠
There are mistakes in this but I can't be fucked to correct them so just ignore them please :) PS there are like two chapters left :)