Stepping Into The Light With You - 4. Chapter 4

“Kevin?” Lucas’ whisper echoed through the darkened room. “Are you awake?”

He was but he couldn’t reply.

It was way past midnight and apparently, neither of them could sleep. Kevin’s mind couldn’t stay calm even for a minute after knowing what Lucas had suffered in the past. Growing up in a safe world under his mother’s protection, it was hard for him to relate to living a life like Lucas had. He couldn’t understand why Lucas and his mother would continue staying with a psycho even after what they endured day after another.

No, he didn’t say it out loud when Lucas told him everything but that was the first thing that came to his mind. He knew his mother would be up and gone along with him and Spencer, if she had been in a similar situation – not that she ever dated a guy. Kevin had encouraged her to do so time and again but she’d stop talking whenever the topic was brought up. It was a topic - he had learnt – which was quite sensitive to her. But Kevin didn’t think his coward father deserved the loyalty she showed to him because he was the one who had left them high and dry when Spencer was merely two days old.

His mother, on the other hand, prayed every day for his return. She believed he would come back to them because of their love. That’s why she would never let Kevin talk ill of him even once and he respected her choices. That didn’t mean he had forgiven the man.

Never.

Turning to lie on his right, he fumed. The bad memories of his father combined with the thoughts of the man who had hurt Lucas made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t understand why after all these years, his father could still manage to push his buttons up. Kevin had to get over him, move on.

But he couldn’t.

After a while, the bed became unbearable to sleep on and Kevin sat up. By then, Lucas had gone to sleep. He snored so lightly that it was barely audible. Without making any sound, he tip-toed out of his room and closed the door.

For Spencer, his mother usually left the hallway light on. So, it guided Kevin decently to the kitchen. Every single time when something bothered him in the night, Kevin found his tummy grumbling in hunger. And tonight was no different.

He opened the refrigerator to fetch some milk and he remained transfixed at the light emitting out of it.

Kevin was told by his mother that Lucas’ father had died when he was young. So, he might have not remembered him that well. The man who took his father’s place in his life was cruel to him. He beat him and his mother up for no reason. Kevin’s situation was nowhere similar to his. However, he could still empathize with the guy. They both had their mothers as their sole support in their lives and now that Lucas had lost his mother, he must have definitely felt too lonely right now.

At that very moment, Kevin realized why his mother felt the need to bring Lucas to their house and have him stay in his room.

“Kev? Is that you, honey?” His mother’s voice came from the living room and Kevin was brought back to reality.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s me. Just getting some milk.” He took the carton out and kept it on the counter, watching his mother enter and approach.

“What’s wrong? Couldn’t sleep?” she asked. Her hair was all over the place and her eyes looked puffed out.

“Nothing like that,” he lied through his teeth. “I actually woke up a while back feeling a lot hungry for some reason. So weird, right?” Even though, he laughed it off, Kevin knew from her looks that his mother wasn’t buying it. “Why are you up?”

“Just getting some water,” she whispered and continued staring at Kevin as he poured the milk in a glass. Her gaze made him nervous and he prayed that she’d look away. But she didn’t and she watched his actions closely when he moved to keep the milk back in the refrigerator. Only when she moved to grab water for herself, did Kevin manage to gulp down his milk. “You and Lucas were up way past your bedtime tonight. Anything serious you kids were talking about?”

She knew.

His mother had come to check on them more than once noticing the lights were on. They’d both assured her that nothing was wrong but it was obvious that she wasn’t convinced. Kevin decided he had to tell her something to calm her down. “Well, it depends on who you’re asking,” he said and chortled. “Lucas is worried that he might have difficulty fitting in at my school. So, I was just telling him about how everything rolls to calm him down. I mean I didn’t think it was a big deal, but I understand where’s he coming from.” His mother listened intently with an expressionless face. “You know, that’s why I took him tonight to meet my friends and it seems he and Frank hit it off pretty smoothly. So, it’s all cool.”

“Hmm,” she said after a while. Kevin had emptied his glass and washed it off in the sink. “I’m glad you’re being there for him, Kev.” She finished drinking her water and walked up to him. She rubbed his bicep and said, “You’re growing up now and I trust you to make the right decisions. You…” She stopped, hesitated for a bit and continued. “I understand you may not want to tell me everything.”

“Mom …”

She held her other hand up. “And that’s fine. You teenagers need your own space. I get that. But there are certain things that I’ll need to know, being your mother and I hope you feel comfortable enough to share those with me.”

Kevin smiled slightly. “Yes, mom.”

She looked at him and lovingly brushed the hair off his forehead. “That’s all I needed you to know,” she said. “Come on, go get some sleep. I know you don’t have to be up for school tomorrow but that doesn’t mean you get to oversleep. I need your help cleaning up the house anyway.”

“Oh yay, fun stuff.” He mocked and led the way upstairs.

*****

Since it was Lucas’ first day at the new school, Kevin skipped the bus ride and his mom drove them in her car. Kevin sat in the passenger seat, while Lucas and Spencer sat at the back. His mom was verbally ticking off stuff for Lucas and telling him what to do at school. Kevin couldn’t figure who was more nervous about Lucas’ first day. “Kev, please take him to the admin person. Mr. Gomez told me Lucas will be given a class schedule today before he begins. Wait, do they also allot lockers to all the students? They must be, right?”

“Yes …”

“Good, then ask for that too. Lucas will need a locker.” She nodded, agreeing to herself.

“Mom, chill out.” Kevin spoke in exasperation. “I’m gonna be there with him. And anyways, they must have already taken care of everything he’d need.” He saw Lucas in the side-view mirror smiling at him and smiled back.

“Alright. I’m just saying.” She shrugged and looked at Lucas through the rearview mirror. “Lucas, sweetie, are you nervous?”

“No, not really. A bit, I guess.” Lucas said, rearranging his backpack on his lap. “But I’m glad Kevin’s there with me. And I already know Justin and Frank, they’ve been great to me. So, I’m not too worried.”

“Great.” She smiled.

“Why are you so quiet, kiddo?” Kevin twisted in his seat to look behind him. “Oh, look at that. The brat is in his dreamy land.”

Lucas giggled. “I did not realize he went to sleep.”

“That’s his routine now. He sleeps all the way to his school.” Keeping her eyes on the signal, she took a turn on the street where Kevin’s school was. Within minutes, she’d parked the car across the street. “Alright, boys, get going. Remember what I said and Lucas, you have a good day, okay?” She said as they got out of the car.

“‘Kay, Aunt Gwen. Thank you.”

Kevin quietly opened the back door and leaned over to kiss Spencer on his head. “Bye munchkin,” he whispered. Spencer stirred a bit but did not open his eyes. When he looked up, Lucas was looking and smiling at him from the other side. He closed the door and said, “Bye mom.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come inside with you?” She asked, looking a bit tensed.

“Mom! Just go. We can handle it. I’ll help Lucas figure out what he needs to do, okay?” He reassured her and this time he did it quite convincingly. Her troubled forehead relaxed and she smiled genuinely for the first time that day.

“I trust you, honey,” she said.

They watched as the car drove off. “She’s like that all the time,” Kevin said and turned to Lucas, “I tell her to stop worrying so much, but she still won’t.”

Lucas smiled. “That’s how all the mothers are.”

There was an unmistakable sadness in those blue orbs but the grief from his past had now been somehow lightened. Kevin had rarely seen him feeling gloomy like before. His mother was right. All they had to do was be there for him, show him that he was not alone anymore and everything would be back to normal.

And it was – not only for Lucas, but also for Kevin. Even though he still struggled at times, accepting Lucas in the family had become a bit easier for him. He couldn’t complain really. Lucas was actually good to Kevin’s mother, Spencer as well as Kevin himself. It became harder to hate having him around day after day.

Kevin smiled back and they crossed the street. Frank and Justin waited for them outside by the foyer. As soon as Frank saw Lucas walking beside Kevin, his face brightened. “Wassup man! Peed in your pants yet?” He gave him a half hug, then turned to Kevin to offer him a nod.

Lucas made a face. “You’re gonna keep asking me that all day, aren’t you?” They all laughed and he shook his head. “Honestly, I’d like to get this over with.”

“First days are over-rated.” Justin rolled his eyes.

“Says the guy who got a fucking wedgie on his first day.” Kevin said with amusement and high-fived with Frank.

“But that was way back in fourth grade!”

“And he still runs at the sight of those dumb-fuck jocks who bullied him back in those days.” Kevin told Lucas.

He visibly shivered. “Kay, if you were trying to scare the shit out of me by telling me about it, you’ve done a pretty good job.”

Frank laughed and so did Kevin. But Justin ignored them and stormed off.

Kevin put his arm around Lucas and tried to calm him down. “Why do you have to worry, man? If anyone around here tries to mess with you, they’ll have to answer to us.” He winked and ruffled his hair the way he would tease Spencer. Lucas ducked his head. He broke into bouts of laughter as Kevin pulled him inside.

The school was celebrating their win from Friday night’s game. Banners were put up all over the place and the hallway buzzed with the excitement. Every single kid had something to share about the game. From what Kevin gathered, their team had kicked some serious ass and he knew how important this game had been for the school. For the past several matches, their team had suffered losses back to back and now that they had won, Kevin couldn’t help but feel the disappointment for missing it.

Frank met a few of his mates in the hallway and they separated promising to meet directly in the homeroom. As Kevin guided Lucas toward the office talking about random stuff about their school, he heard a girl scream in ecstasy and they turned to watch the winning team marching in. Everyone chanted the victory slogan in one voice. Kevin glanced at Lucas, who had joined in as well with a big grin.

Slicing through the crowd of happy teenagers came a group of cheerleaders dressed in the skimpiest short skirts ever – dancing, singing, doing athletic jumps. Following them were the jocks, howling and giving high fives to whoever offered. As soon as the captain caught up with them, everyone went crazier than ever. After all, Drake Warren had led a winning team – a team which had suffered several, embarrassing losses before that game. Everyone spoke of it, bitched about Owen being the lousy captain before Drake had arrived. He’d transferred from Michigan at the beginning of the school year and everything was suddenly in the past.

The team picked him up and carried him on their shoulders cheering like mad monkeys. Drake laughed and waved at the crowd. Kevin and his friends congratulated them loudly as they passed, trying in vain to be heard. However, as Lucas’ “Woohoo” was quite audible. Unexpectedly, Drake turned to look down at him and his gaze had stayed glued at him for longer than was necessary before looking away.

As they walked away, Kevin turned to Lucas to say something but stopped. The confusion Kevin felt from within could be seen on Lucas’ face too as Drake kept turning back evidently looking at him. There was a distinct twinkle in his eyes – the kind Spencer had in his eyes when they’d visited Disney World the previous year.

Lucas giggled and Kevin still didn’t get it. “Maybe I was wrong,” he said, “Maybe … this school year isn’t gonna be all that bad after all.”

Kevin kept looking at Lucas, then at Drake and back at Lucas again.

That’s when it hit him.

Lucas was Drake’s Disney World. And from what he could see, the feelings were no doubt reciprocated.

A sudden rage coursed through his vein which even Kevin himself couldn’t explain and without thinking, he held Lucas by his arm and yanked him toward the school office. “Ow.”

“Come on. We don’t have all day,” he said, “Thanks to you, I am going to be late for my class.”

Let me know what you think of my characters so far
Also, would appreciate if you took some time to check out my other on-going stories:
1. Art by Adonis: will be updated every Sunday!
2. Dear Stranger: will be updated every Monday!