The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

My room is in the basement; I took it so my family wouldn't hear me cry and scream in my sleep. It's a plus because it's soundproof and just up the stairs the washing machine and dryer are to the left in a separate room, so I could wash my sheets and blankets. I have my own bathroom, my own mini fridge; my walls are painted an orange color with movie posters on the walls, mostly Tarantino films, my favorites. I have my dad's coffin book shelf that's over flowing with my book collection and notebooks I had written in; I was lucky my mom didn't come down and pick one of those up. I have a vintage sea foam green Stratocaster guitar that I love too much to play next to my desk that houses my laptop, knickknacks, mostly pictures of my family and pictures Sue draws me; she gives me a new picture every day. The only thing I don't have is a TV, my mom says I can't have a TV because if I did I'd never come out, so I have to head upstairs to watch TV if I want to.

I went back inside after talking with Jasmine, who was already onto her next rally, this time with clothes. I was set to go down to my room and write when I heard one of my siblings screaming; it could've been any one of them, they all sounded the same. But I saw Max riding Apache, our golden retriever, into the kitchen, he was the one who was screaming. Then, Sue rushed in, her long dark hair trailing behind her; her hair is insanely long, I love to braid it. After Sue, my dad came in, laughing; "Get off Apache, Max!"

"No!" He giggled.

Apache rounded the kitchen table and immediately stopped when he passed me. I caught Max from falling to the hardwood floor, placing him on my hip. He giggled and buried his face into my side, "You saved me!"

I smiled and patted his bottom, "You're welcome."

Sue stopped in front of me, "Lewy will you play with us?" She spoke with a little lisp due to her two front teeth missing.

I set Max down, "In a little bit, okay?"

"Okay!"

Sue and Max were off again with Apache. My dad and I looked after them, then he looked at me, "I saw Jasmine on the news."

I chuckled, "Hey, it was for a good cause."

"Andy wasn't too happy," my dad shook his head, "I wouldn't be either if it were Sue."

"Yeah, well, you know, Sue likes to be naked in the house."

My dad laughed, "I'm so happy she's out of that phase. What's up with you, buddy?"

"I was gonna go to my room and hang out."

"You hang out by yourself too much," he came and put his arm around my shoulders, "we don't talk, Lew. How's school? Your mom was telling me about your SAT scores."

Me and dad headed to the living room; I didn't want to talk about school. I didn't want to talk about anything.

"Yeah...I passed, I got 1460."

My dad grinned, "Holy shit! We should throw you a party!"

I moved away from my dad and plopped down on the couch, hearing Max and Sue laugh and chase each other. My dad sat next to me, "I don't want a party," I said.

"Why not? It's not everyday a kid passes his SATs! Your college acception letters should be coming in soon."

"I didn't apply," I told him.

He frowned, "Why not?"

"Cuz I don't wanna go to college."

"You've got to do something, Lew, you can't just stay home."

"I'm gonna get a job, don't worry," I murmured. I quickly changed the subject, "Where's Benji?"

"Mom's picking him up from his band practice," my dad smiled at that.

Benji was in a band with his friends from school, James, Cameron and Randall. They're pretty good, he plays the drums, but they don't have a name yet. They've been a band for about 2 years, I'm not even sure if they're serious or not. But, Benji plays lacrosse and would go to college on a scholarship if he wants. He's definitely got what I wish I had.

"Oh," I mumbled, "cool."

I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. I could feel my dad looking at me, I tried to avoid it, but dad opened his mouth, "What's wrong, Lewis? You okay?"

I've been lying to them for so long, I almost started to believe the words "I'm fine" were true.

"I'm fine," I said, "nothing's wrong."

"Hey, if something's bothering you, you can tell me. I won't tell your mom, I won't tell anyone."

There was a lot I could have said, but I didn't. I licked over my lips, lying, "Dad, I'm okay, nothing is bothering me."

Dad nodded his head, from what I could see out of my peripheral vision; "Alright, Lew."

We grew quiet, watching some reality show rerun. The silence was interrupted when Max and Sue stormed in; Max plopped himself in my lap, breathing heavily, "No more runnin' fa me," he exasperated.

I patted his back, smiling down at him, "Alright, Maxy."

Max is like a puppy, or a cat; he's very loving and seems to know when people are sad. He'll come down to the basement sometimes, he'll climb into my bed, usually after I've had a nightmare, and just lay on my stomach. Before he was born, I thought it was crazy that my mom was having another baby, but as soon as he was born, I loved him...and I know it's bad to say, but he is my favorite. I just don't know what my parents were thinking when they named him. My mom wanted to name him after the little boy from Where the Wild Things Are, and my dad wanted to name him after his friends, and thus, we got Max Joseph Andrew Patrick Wentz...yeah, I was confused when I heard it and looked at his birth certificate.

Sue was in dad's lap, changing the channels and talking her head off. My dad talked with her; they both could talk for hours, while me and Max watched TV quietly. He was falling asleep, because he was rubbing my arm up and down; that's what he does, and he was sucking his thumb. He had fallen asleep by the time my mom and Benji came home; my mom had come in and smiled at us; "Aw, is he bothering you, Lewy?"

I shook my head, "Nah, I'm good."

Benji came and snatched the remote and sat on the other sofa, flipping the channels. My mom sat next to me and started waving the mail at me with her smile, "Your letters to from UCLA and Berkley came, Lew."

"I never sent any applications to them."

"I know, I did. They were just sitting on your desk."

I sighed, "Will you stop going through my stuff?"

She frowned now, "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't pass up college. Abbey just graduated from Berkley, and she says it's great there."

"He doesn't want to go to college, Navy," my dad said, petting Sue's hair.

"Why not?" She asked me.

"Cuz I don't," I muttered. "I'm gonna get a job..."

"Hey," she patted my shoulder, "do you want to intern at Spin magazine? I heard they're looking for writers and interns."

I shook my head, "No."

My mom tweaked her lips, "Are you sure? You'll be doing what you like, and you'll be able to move to New York..." She paused, "Oh no, I can't let you leave."

I looked at her, "I could?"

"Yeah, but, Lew I don't think you living there by yourself would be a good idea. You're only 16."

"What if I had Jas with me?"

"No way," my parents both said.

I had to laugh, "Why?"

"Jasmine is sweet, but you know, she's a radical hippie, I don't want her to get you into trouble," my mom stated.

"Jas is not like that. She's not bad," I defended.

"Just wait till you're 18, Lew," my mom went on, "but I still think you should go to college. Maybe go to DePaul or the University of Chicago."

"Maybe," I mumbled.

"What about your book?" She asked now, "Why don't you sign the contract? You'll do book tours and--"

"Because I don't want to," I said shortly, "I didn't want it published at all; it was just a bunch of short stories I wrote."

"It's really good, Lewis," my mom rubbed my arm. "I was blown away when I read it, and when I saw the pictures," she grinned now, "you're amazing! I love it so much I want other people to read it, for everyone to be proud of you like I am."

I bit at the inside of my lip, moved Max from my lap to my side; he didn't even stir; "I'm gonna get some food," I mumbled.

As I walked out the room, I heard mom ask dad, "What's wrong with him?" She sounded sad, and I felt like a jerk.

I went to the fridge, looking for something to get my mind off of stuff. Food always helps. I grabbed a pop can and grabbed cold pizza from the night before and heated it up. Before the microwave beeped, my mom came in, still holding the mail.

"I'm sorry," I said before she could speak. "I just don't want to do anything right now, mom."

She nodded, "It's okay, baby. But can I tell you some good news?"

"Yeah?"

"You got into Berkley and UCLA," she smiled, "and there's something else I want to share with you, and only you."

I frowned slightly, "What? You want me to go to school so I'll have something to do? Or are you gonna try and tell me something motivating?"

She shook her head now, "No, Lew, I get that you want to be left alone. You're a teenager, things are changing for you, especially since you graduate in a few weeks, you're young and you deserve to have fun, I just want to help you. Whatever you wanna do, I'll support you. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah," I answered, "I know that, mom."

"And you don't know what you wanna do?"

I shook my head, "Not right now."

"Is everything else okay, though? Something's up."

"No, nothing's up...I've just been tired lately."

"Do you wanna see Dr. Sabah?"

"No," I muttered, "I don't need to see a therapist no more."

"Okay, well I was just wondering. If anything is wrong you can tell me. I won't judge, you know."

"I know."

She smiled and hugged me, "I love you, baby."

"I love you too, mom."

We parted, to which mom took a hold of my forearms, "I have something exciting to tell you."

"Yeah?"

She looked like the sun would burst through her chest, "I'm pregnant."

I almost choked on air. I looked at her with wide eyes, "What?"

"I haven't told dad yet, but I'm going to tonight. Isn't this exciting?"

I was happy, but I felt even more dumb for worrying her, "Yeah mom! This is awesome! Congrats," I hugged her again, "how far along are you?"

"About 10 weeks," she said, "you don't think I'm too old, do ya?"

I laughed, "Nah, mom, I don't. I'm happy for you. Sorry if I stressed you out."

She patted my cheek, "I'm not stressed, just a little worried about you. You promise you're okay?"

I swallowed and nodded, "I promise."