Shane - 6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A week later Shane was pulling more of his father’s crushed up beer cans out from under his father’s couch when his father came out of the hall in a three piece tuxedo. Shane’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he’d never in his life seen his father in anything but jeans and a ratty T-shirt or flannel shirt. He wanted to ask where in hell he’d gotten it but new better and kept his mouth shut.

His father walked over to the mirror by the door in the livingroom and adjusted his bow tie which caused Shane to hold his breath so’s not to laugh right out loud at the big fat man tying his little bow tie. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as his father cleared his throat and puffed out his chest posing in the mirror. A moment later he was gone and the old Rust bucket clanged to life.

Shane waited about five minutes after the truck roared out onto the road then went to his room gathered up his laundry and pack and left the house himself. He’d gathered his last quarter the night before. He got to the laundry mat and dumped his load in the washer then took his pennies, dimes, and nickels to the counter to exchange them for quarters. The girl that had been giddy and flirty with Derek two weeks before only gave him a very annoyed look as she counted out his change.

“I need a box of that generic soap too please.”

She nodded curtly gathering up the last of the change. She dropped them in the register and handed him a bunch of quarters and his box of soap. He turned and loaded up the washer with his quarters and started up then saw he only had two quarters left which did not give him enough money to use the dryer though he was certain he had collected enough.

He turned back to the counter and waited for a man in front of him to get his change then stepped back up in front of the girl. “You didn’t give me enough quarters I gave you four dollars.”

“No you didn’t.” she snapped her eyes narrowing.

“I did.” Shane said not to keen on arguing with the girl but knowing he had to get his clothes dried and knowing he was right.

“I said you didn’t, you think I don’t know how to count?”

Shane realizing by her sarcastic look that she was fucking with him for the fun of it let out a sigh and tilted his head to one side. “I need to dry my clothes. I know I gave you enough money. I realize you all like to have your fun but this isn’t fair.”

Her eyes narrowed even more. “You think pretty highly of yourself if you think people even think about you long enough to plan a trick. I’m not giving you another quarter. You got the same amount of money back that you gave me. You’ll have to dry your clothes somewhere else.”

He turned away from the counter and walked over and took a seat he knew it would be no use to argue further and had been too stunned at her comment of thinking to highly of himself to try it. He couldn’t imagine feeling any less about himself but certainly hoped he did not come off as some idiot with a big ego.

His load finished washing twenty minutes later and he pulled out the clothes and shoved them back into the trash bag figuring he’d just hang them around his bedroom. He just wouldn’t be able to wear any clean clothes that day.

When he got back to his house Derek’s car was waiting there in the driveway. Shane knew the second he got out that he was pissed and had no idea what the reason would be. Derek followed him silently up into the trailer then shoved Shane so hard he stumbled and fell over onto the floor his pack nearly falling off and his bag of clothes sliding across the floor in front of him.

Before he could even start to pick himself up Derek grabbed him by his shirt collar and hauled him back to his feet where he delivered two sharp slaps to his right cheek. “Where the fuck were you?” He screamed his face less then and inch from Shane’s.

“I did my laundry.” this answer only brought another slap and he could not figure out why this was a problem.

“Did you forget I was meeting you here?” he seethed shaking Shane to and fro by the hair.

Shane grimaced standing on his tip toes to ease the pressure on his hair. Derek flung him sideways sending him stumbling over the bag of laundry and falling back down on the floor flat on his back. His wind was knocked out of him and he looked up at Derek fearfully praying he would not launch another attack.

Derek screamed and yelled and Shane could not really tell if he was the one being yelled at or if Derek was yelling at himself. He did not have any recollection of them meeting that morning in fact last he knew Derek was going to his brother the Buzz’s wedding.

He flinched as Derek walked over and stood over him. “Why you make me do this Shane? You think I like getting this mad at you? I love you and I don’t want to hurt you. You just frustrate the hell out me sometimes.”

Tears burned Shane’s eyes not from the insulting parts but from the love part he hated when Derek said that as far as he knew when someone loved someone they did not hit them and Derek had hit him three times in the last week. He was always real quick to apologize and apologized real well but it made Shane uneasy and leaving him confused about how Derek felt about him.

Derek dropped down onto his knees and pulled Shane up into his arms. “I’m sorry baby. I hate to see you cry.”

Shane thought maybe if he stopped hitting him he’d stop crying. He had no right to complain though Derek was better to him then anyone had ever been. He loved their relationship and thought he may love Derek. He just didn’t like not knowing what was gonna set Derek off but figured over time he may figure it out.

They drove to Providence again after Shane hung his clothes in his room making sure Derek stayed in the livingroom so as not to see his room was just a room with no furniture in it. They spent the day at the bar and the night in the hotel then returned to town the next morning.

This was the ritual for the next month a month of bliss with minimal interruptions of Derek being pissed off at him which never lasted long. He still had to deal with his father’s rage a few times but was gone from the house most of the time his dad was home so he’d had very few run ins.

On the last weekend of February Derek told him they could not get together that weekend because of the state championship and parties that would result whether they won or not.

His father was home that weekend and when he got up Saturday morning his father was already up and sitting at the kitchen table nursing another hang over leaning over a cup of coffee. “I don’t want you coming home tonight. I’m having company. I leave tomorrow at six so you can come back then.” He grumbled then hacked for a minute while Shane retreated back to his room and put on extra layers of clothes.

He walked back out five minutes later where his father was leaning over the trash either puking or trying to hock up a phlegm ball. He didn’t stick around long enough to find out.

He walked down the road of the trailer park and stopped to play with Shep who greeted him like he always did except lately instead of getting a lick he was given the ball which Shane always threw to him a few times before he went on his way. “I’m gonna have to stay with you again tonight, if it’s okay.” He said patting the dog’s head. “I won’t come too early though. I’ve gotta wait til your mom and dad go to bed.”

He played with Shep for a good hour turning once to see a Green and rusty car pulling into the park with a bright red haired woman behind the wheel. She looked out at him seemingly studying him from head to toe as she slowly drove past. Shane watched her drive into the park then pull into his driveway. He watched her get out of the car and look back over at him again then go up and knock on the door. His father opened the door and put his arms around her then they both disappeared inside.

He looked back down at Shep with a small grin. “Guess someone is gonna get lucky tonight.”

He spent most of the day in the library glad such a small town had a library with fully functioning hours so he could hide away til five o’clock most days there was no school or recently, not with Derek. He read two books in the time he was there and spent some time day dreaming his dream of the two great parents tons of friends and him being the star of the diving team.

He left the library at five with a huge smile on his face the dream fresh in his memory. He spent the rest of the evening wandering the streets in his never ending search for spare change. If only he were sixteen he could get a job, that would keep him out of the house more plus give him plenty of money to get him food or whatever the hell else he wanted.

He started home when the clock on the bank said midnight. He stopped just past the post office which was the last building out of town. He thought it was his birthday or something as he looked down and saw several coins glinting in the street lights. There were quarters, dimes and nickels dozens of them. Like a whole money bag just opened up and spilt it’s contents and the owner either didn’t know or didn’t care.

He knelt down on one knee and started collecting them up going for the quarters the biggest prize first. He’d only gotten three when a sharp pain erupted in his head and he shot his arm out sideways to stop him from falling over all together.

He tried to turn his head to see what was going on but didn’t need to as three members of the basket ball team walked around in front of him. “Tonight you learn a lesson you god damn fag.” Bart the king of Jocks sneered his arms crossed across his chest and his feet spread like a cowboy. Shane saw him sneering and looking over behind him and he chanced a glance around turning his head only and saw he was completely surrounded by another five members on top of the original three of the basketball team.

He slowly got to his feet his body shaking all over strictly from fear as it was not a cold night out at all. “Just leave me alone.” He knew it would do no good but felt it had to be said. Two cars screeched to a stop outside the circle and Shane was punched too many times to count then dragged into one of the two cars. As the car moved down the road Shane was beaten more. Barely able to stay conscious he could do nothing to ward off the attack.

The rest of the night was very hazy he knew he was taken to a house where there was music blaring and tons of people perhaps the whole school he was carried through the house and the crowd to a back room with a dim light. He felt more pain that night then he’d ever felt in his life and it lasted for hours. Every part of his body was hurt in ways he did not know he just knew the resulting pain that throbbed in every conceivable and non conceivable spot. He’d heard tons of laughter and tons of cursing at him. Calling him every name and throwing every insult possible at him seemingly all at the same time all night long.

Derek was there he’d seen him shortly after being thrown down on the floor and heard his voice several times in the night even through his fading awareness. It was Derek’s fist smashing directly into his nose resulting in his head slamming into the floor that was the last thing he remembered that night.