The Good Son - 18. Chapter 18: Life Line

“Man, it’s been so long since we’ve hung out,” Kaiden said and tossed his lanky arm around Joe’s shoulders. The noirette nodded, looking down the dark alleyway they used to take as a shortcut with Morrison to the more frowned upon part of the city.

“Sorry.”

“Well, it’s okay, just like… why’d you stop hanging out with us and stuff?” Kaiden looked at Joe. The noirette shook his head and shrugged.

“I guess I… I told you, it’s kind of dumb to keep doing all that childish shit.”

Kaiden laughed. “What? Joe, I get you want good grades and stuff, but hanging out with a faggot and prep aren’t going to get you those. Just saying.”

Joe looked at Kaiden, who looked at his “friend” with a smile. He rolled his blue eyes and ducked out of Kaiden’s arm. “It’s not like that,” he said. Kaiden snorted.

“Then what is it? Joe, you, me, and Morrison have been friends for years- why are you trying to drop out now?”

“Why are you harassing Daniel?”

Kaiden stopped walking to look at Joe with narrowed eyes. “What?”

Joe sighed and also stopped, putting his hands in his pockets. “You and your friends, you keep like, messing with him. Why?”

“Um, I don’t know? Maybe because he’s turning you into a pussy,” Kaiden shrugged and Joe squinted.

“Dude, you’re an asshole.”

“So are you! You just ditched me!”

“That’s kind of not the same.”

Kaiden groaned in frustration before shaking his head and holding up a hand. “Forget it, never mind.” He started walking again, and Joe followed suit, annoyed that Kaiden was so… annoying. Then the skinny brunette spoke up again, his tone of voice having some confidence in it. “You want to know something, though? Daniel’s only here because his dad tried to kill him,” he said. “He probably didn’t like the fact he had a gay son.”

“Shut up, Kaiden,” Joe muttered while walking. Kaiden looked at the noirette, who was watching the end of the alley as they walked. He scoffed.

“No, think about it! What if he was like, trying to get with his dad? Like, “Hey, Pa, let me suck your cock,” the brunette spoke the last part in a mocking accent and burst out laughing at himself.

“I said shut up!” Joe turned to shove Kaiden, and the brunette stumbled before catching himself. He looked surprised that Joe pushed him and held up his hands in defense.

“...I’m just joking, man,” he said while Joe ran a hand through his black hair to pull some loose strands from his face. Kaiden cleared his throat and dusted his coat like he had been shoved into dirt. “What’s with you two? Are you dating or something? Because, I’ve noticed there’s something going on,” he said with a frown. Joe watched him with narrowed eyes. “...Are you guys banging?”

“No, we aren’t.”

“Then why the hell are you getting so defensive? He’s doing something to make you… be his friend- is he blackmailing you?”

“Like how you blackmailed him? No.”

Kaiden threw up his arms. “Then what’s going on? God- I only wanted to make him feel bad because you’ve been hanging out with him.”

“Why the hell would that make you bully him so excessively?” Joe asked. “It’s like you’re trying to ruin him.” Kaiden groaned.

“Because I am! He’s an asshole who acts all high and mighty- and he’s crazy! Have you ever actually seen him? He killed a dog just so I wouldn’t tell people about his scars!”

“Just leave him alone!” Joe pointed down the alley. “You can go ahead yourself, I’m going home. Just leave him the fuck alone.”

Kaiden squinted at Joe and shook his head. He started walking down the alley again. “I knew you two were fucking banging,” he called over his shoulder bitterly. “Why else would you care so much? Fucking fag-”

Joe started after Kaiden and threw an arm around the teen’s neck, pulling him against him so that he could hold him tight. Kaiden immediately reached up to start pulling on Joe’s arm, but the other teen just pulled tighter. He could hear Kaiden struggle against him for air.

“Joe,” Kaiden strained, “Let me go!” He threw an arm back and his bony elbow struck Joe in the cheekbone. The noirette grunted in pain but didn’t let Kaiden go. He held him tighter around his throat. He could hear Kaiden croaking.

Kaiden’s gave up on trying to pull Joe’s arm from his throat and turned to pulling the noirette’s hair, but he was too weak to do any damage. His breath hitched as Joe tightened his arm even more, and then, after a long moment of struggling, Kaiden’s arms fell down to his sides. Joe held the brunette for a minute longer to make sure that he was dead before dropping him. The teen fell to his knees before falling limply against the alley floor on his stomach, his head turned to the side. Joe stood over Kaiden’s body, panting heavily from the anger that was burning inside of him. He took a deep breath and reached up to smooth back his disheveled hair before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He called Daniel, the phone only ringing twice before being answered. He could hear fire crackling in the background.

“Hello?” Daniel asked into the phone.

“I killed him,” Joe breathed, “I killed Kaiden.”

Daniel hummed into the phone. “Are you sure?” It sounded like he was teasing. Joe gave a shaky breath, the anger in him burning away into fear as he started to realize what he had actually done.

“Yes,” he said.

“Send me a picture.”

Joe looked down at Kaiden’s body, the corpse lying breathless and limp on the ground, eyes staring vacantly to the side. But then his head started to move, turning backwards to look at Joe with loud cracks from his neck.

“Joe?” Kaiden asked and smiled at the teen, his grin spreading too far to look nice. One of his arms reached up, the shoulder cracking at it reached up for Joe. “Joe?” Kaiden laughed, his laugh echoing in the alley. His arm started stretching for Joe, growing longer- the noirette screamed in terror.

“Joe. I’m trying to sleep,” Daniel muttered. Joe looked around, breathing quick and harsh, and sweating. He was in the shed in the woods, sitting up on the bed frame. He looked to his side, where Daniel lay sleeping. That was right. Joe had come to Daniel’s after…

“I killed Kaiden,” he murmured to himself. He climbed off of the metal bed frame and dragged a hand down his face. He couldn’t get Kaiden’s grin out of his head. After killing Kaiden, he had come to to abandoned shed, where he and Daniel had laid down a pile of blankets on the metal bed frame to make it comfortable for laying down.

Joe pulled his phone out of his pocket to call Kaiden. Had he really killed him?

Ring ring ring- He quickly hung up. If he had killed him, the police could track the call to him.

The bed’s rusted springs squeaked and he looked at Daniel, who was sitting up and looking at his own phone.

“It’s three in the morning, what are you doing?” he asked Joe, looking at him. The noirette swallowed dryly.

“...Are they gonna know I did it?”

“If you left any evidence behind, probably.”

“Daniel!”

“What?” Daniel sighed. “It’s okay; they’ll think it was just a mugging gone wrong. You did take his wallet, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t take his phone… oh, fuck!”

“Calm down. You took his wallet, that’s enough for the city police. They don’t really look too close into muggings.” Daniel rubbed his forehead, his head still throbbing from the car crash. Joe bit his lip.

“What if they question me?”

“Then you were here with me. Staying the night at a friend’s. Ugh, my head.” Daniel lay back down and closed his eyes. Joe watched him.

“...But what if they’re really smart?”

“Just go back to sleep, Joe- they won’t suspect a thing. He’s a little rich boy, isn’t he? He just turned up in the wrong place with the wrong crowd. That’s what happens to bad kids.”

Joe sat on the bed and shook his head. “How do you know all of this stuff? Seriously Daniel, who are you?”

Daniel didn’t look at Joe. He yawned and lay there for a while before answering with, “You just survive, Joe. That’s what this is.” He opened his tired eyes and glanced at Joe, who was barely able to be seen in the dead of night. “If you stick with me, then I’ll make sure you’re alright, alright? ...Just don’t ever get in my way.” He closed his eyes again and sighed in exhaustion. After a long time, Joe finally lay back down beside him, his body warmth helping to warm the bed in the cold shed.

l.l

“Did you hear what happened?” Laura asked Daniel after school. The brunette nodded.

“My teachers told me.”

“God… I can’t believe it. I really can’t believe that happened.”

“Accidents happen, Laura,” Daniel looked at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She gave a small nod, her lips pressed together tightly. Kaiden Mauer had been found dead. Murdered. The school had found out just before last hour, when his presumed missing or kidnapping ended in him being found. There would be a memorial set up in the high school tomorrow.

“...It’s just… sad.”

“Don’t dwell on it, you’ll just depress yourself. I’ll see you Monday.” Daniel offered her a smile and she nodded again, her eyes on the ground.

“...Okay.”

Daniel squeezed her shoulder to comfort her, his eyes finding Joe in the parking lot, the noirette looking at him in wait. The foreign teen let go of Laura to walk over to Joe, but she caught him by the arm and he looked back at her.

“What’s wrong, Laura?” he asked. Laura let him go to hold her hands in front of her.

“I… kind of want to visit Morrison. But my parents won’t be home. ...Can you give me a ride to the hospital?” she asked quietly. Daniel furrowed his eyebrows.

“I can’t drive, Laura. What am I to do?”

“Could your dad give me a ride? I’m just… really sad.”

Daniel snorted. “Wouldn’t seeing Morrison be the last thing to do when sad?”

“Don’t joke, Daniel!” Laura’s eyes looked betrayed. Daniel sighed and glanced back at Joe, who was standing nervously in the parking lot. A kid walking by bumped his shoulder and he jumped. Daniel looked back at Laura.

“Please don’t bring up Joe,” Laura said before he could speak. He blinked.

“What?”

“You’re my best friend, Daniel; can you please just help me now? You guys are always going off and things, leaving me alone. We’ve barely even talked since you left to that funeral.”

Daniel sucked his teeth and brought a hand up to smooth back his hair. “Mm… I suppose I could ask Arty, if it means that much to you,” he said. Laura smiled, taking in a deep breath like she had been suffocating.

“Thanks, Daniel. Morrison’s just been so alone in the hospital, and now that Kaiden’s...”

“Yes, I know. Come on.” Daniel took her by the wrist and started walking to the parking lot. He could see Arty’s car, the man sitting inside with his head back against the seat and eyes closed. He had been keeping a close eye on Daniel, but he had also been avoiding him. Jack seemed to be being the good guy now, since he was secretly very upset about his brother being in the hospital and Arty wasn’t being the support he needed to be. Daniel walked by the car to Joe, who looked like he hadn’t slept. He hadn’t. He stayed up all night in the shed thinking, and then he drove to school in the early morning so that Arty or Jack wouldn’t ask why there was another car in the yard.

Joe looked from Daniel to Laura as the two approached, and then he looked back to Daniel, on edge as though he suspected Daniel of telling Laura something. Daniel bit his cheek.

“I’m going with Laura to the hospital,” he said. Joe looked at Laura again, who smiled kindly at him, the stress on her shoulders lifted onto Joe’s. He looked at Daniel again.

“But we were going to… study,” Joe said slowly. Study, as in: make sure all of Joe’s tracks were covered and to properly dispose of Kaiden’s stolen belongings. Daniel nodded.

“I know, we’ll do it tomorrow. Care to join us and visit your ol’ pal?”

Laura gasped. “Yeah, Morrison would be happy to see you!” she exclaimed. Then she cleared her throat and looked down. “...I’m sorry about Kaiden.” Joe glared at her with a scowl and Daniel snapped his fingers, watching the teen. The noirette tore his blue eyes away from her and she looked at Daniel curiously at the sound. He just motioned.

“Come on, Arty’s already here.”

Laura looped arms with Daniel happily and he started walking with her to the car. He turned his head back to looked at Joe when he didn’t hear the teen’s footsteps, and Joe decided to follow after a moment of frustration, his arms crossed over his chest. Daniel walked the teen and Laura to Arty’s car, where he rapped his knuckles against the window. Arty opened his eyes and looked at the trio, exhaling through his nose and unrolling the window.

“What’s up?” he asked, giving a well played, fake smile to Joe and Laura to appear as though nothing was wrong. Daniel noticed the look as something that Arty often wore around Henry. It was upsetting. Laura smiled in return.

“Hi, Mr. Ma-”

“Arty, kiddo,” Arty chuckled. Laura blushed.

“Arty… can Daniel come with me to the hospital? We want to visit our friend Morrison, since...”

Arty shifted in his seat, sitting up to look at Laura better. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Shouldn’t you be going home? The school told all of us parents about that kid, aren’t your parents wanting you home?”

“It was a friend of mine, Kaiden,” Joe spoke up, looking at Arty’s blue eyes with his own. “Our other friend Morrison’s been in the hospital for a long time, so he’s been lonely. And now that Kaiden’s… We’d just appreciate it a lot if you could take us to see him. He probably doesn’t know what happened, so I’d probably tell him.” Daniel nodded in silent agreement, proud at the well thought out words Joe had spoken. Because they seemed to work Arty through. The man sighed, nodding.

“Alright,” Arty said, “Go ahead and hop in.”

The teens piled into the car, Laura and Joe getting into the back with Geil. The boy looked overwhelmed at the teens’ sudden arrival. He remembered Joe from the last time they rode together, but his mind had been played with so much that he started crying; Daniel plus Joe whom he really didn’t know plus a stranger… Laura looked at Arty when she got in, shutting her door.

“Um...”

Arty looked back at Geil, Joe looking at the kid like he didn’t want to be there, and Laura looking at him like she had accidentally hurt him. “It’s okay Geil, it’s just Daniel’s friends. That’s Joe, remember?”

“I wanna go home,” Geil cried, trapped in his seat belt between Joe and Laura. Arty huffed.

“We’re going home in a little bit, we’re going to the hospital real quick.” Arty turned in his seat to start driving, resting his elbow against the window and putting his head against his hand as a headache started working its way up. Joe looked at Daniel for help with Geil, but the Scottish teen was watching the road, virtually leaving Joe and Laura to Geil’s mercy. Laura offered Geil a smile.

“Um, hey. My name’s Laura.”

Geil put his hands over his eyes while he cried. “I want Daddy...”

Arty gave a slow breath and reached out to turn on the radio. Daniel smirked to himself at the rudeness of that.

Laura reached between her legs to unzip her backpack, which she then pulled a granola bar from. Opening the wrapper, she held it out to Geil. “Hey, I have a snack for you. It’s chocolate, do you like chocolate?”

Geil wiped his tears away and looked at the bar. He swallowed down his crying and sniffled, wiping his nose before taking it from her. She smiled big in happiness, overloaded by his cuteness. Joe watched the two with his eyes before looking out the window beside him. Daniel watched the road while Arty rubbed his aching forehead, listening to the radio’s music of Sam Smith’s Nirvana.

Once they were at the hospital, Geil had warmed up considerably to Laura, to the point of the two halving another granola bar together. Then it was agreed that Arty would take Geil home and come back to take Laura and Joe to their own houses. So, Joe, Daniel, and Laura took an elevator to the fourth floor, where Morrison was in room 408. He was well enough for friends to visit, as long as they left in time for his physical therapy.

Joe knocked on the room’s door. There was no reply, so he peeked the door open to see if Morrison was awake. He was, watching TV and laying in bed. He probably expected it to be a nurse or someone, because he didn’t even look over. Until he heard three sets of foot steps. Then he glanced over.

His eyes widened, his real one larger than his fake. He grinned at seeing Joe, and it seemed to make the noirette smile too. Morrison sat up in bed.

“Hey,” he said happily, “What are you guys doing here?”

Joe chuckled and pointed at Laura. “She suggested it- how are you doing?”

Morrison looked at Laura as Joe pointed. He hadn’t expected to see her, so he quickly tossed his blanket over himself. “Um… hi, Laura.” Laura smiled shyly.

“Hi.”

Morrison watched her for a long time, admiring her. Daniel wasn’t lying before. Morrison liked Laura and she liked him back. Morrison changed direction to look at Daniel. “What are you doing here, Daniel? And what happened to your arm?” His words were curious, rather than accusing or offensive. Daniel shrugged a shoulder.

“Supporting Laura. And this,” Daniel rose his cast arm, “Just a car accident.”

“...Are you guys...” Everyone was quiet for a moment before Daniel and Laura looked at each other. Then they both looked at Morrison and shook their heads.

“No, no, me and Daniel? God, no,” Laura said with an awkward laugh. Morrison laughed.

“Okay, that’s good. I mean, not like that,” Morrison cleared his throat.

“It most certainly may be like that,” Daniel said. Joe smirked as Laura elbowed Daniel.

“Not now, you butthole!” she exclaimed. Morrison laughed before dying down. He looked at Joe while smiling.

“Where’s Kaiden?” he asked. Laura looked at Joe and Joe swallowed while watching Morrison. He glanced at Daniel. “...What?” Morrison sounded. Daniel rose a hand up.

“I’m going for a drink, does anyone else want one?” he asked. No one answered, Morrison watching them in suspicion. Daniel took this time to walk by Joe and leave the room. When he was close to the teen, he leaned into his ear. “Keep them occupied,” he whispered. Joe blinked at looked at Daniel, watching as the brunette left the room.

Daniel turned down the hall and left to the elevator, where he took it to the third floor. Down that hallway, in the east wing, he walked by various rooms until he was at room 302. A nurse walked by him and he gave her a nod and a smile, to which she smiled in return while walking passed. She walked to the end of the hall and turned the corner.

The hospital had various sections that were still designed in the eighties. The maternal unit, children’s unit, and burn unit had all been remodeled recently, but the rest of the hospital was left in the dark. Including the special care recovery rooms and ER, which bore no cameras in the hallway. The walls were old, yellow stained by their age. And some rooms’ monitors were really loud. Down the right hallway and to the left was a bathroom, as told by the hanging direction signs. That would be Daniel’s escape.

He opened the door to room 302 and stepped inside.

There was a steady beep, along with the dropping air of the life support machine. The machine rose and fell, mocking lungs. On the bed in the room was Henry, with tubes going inside of his body and chords stretched across to various machines. He had a neck brace and he looked close to death, bandages wrapped around his head and his eyes swollen from his head trauma. One of his legs were propped up to steady the blood flow.

Daniel walked to the bed and looked down at Henry’s abused face. He reached out and poked the man’s cheek, but he didn’t respond in any way.

“I’m sure you’ll end up a vegetable,” the teen spoke softly, “But I can’t take any chances. You should know, yes, Uncle Henry?” He looked at the chords, following them to see where they went. “I’m very curious as to how you could work the courage to sleep with your brother-in-law. That’s a very rude thing to do.” Most of the chords went to the monitor, where his vitals were shown. Another to his IV and another to a small, brown/yellow container that read EPIDURAL. Beneath the bed was a urine container, which meant that he had a catheter.

Daniel walked around the bed to the other side, where the life support machine was kept. Dropping to his knees, he followed the chords from it that led to a plugin in the wall. He grabbed the cord and glanced back at Henry.

“It’s nothing personal,” he said. Then he laughed. “I lied, it’s actually very personal.” He yanked the cords from the wall and the heart monitor’s digital, humped lines, fell into a flatline. The slow beeping followed it, turning into a long, dead tone. Daniel quickly got up and ran out of the room, running down the hallway to the bathroom.

“Code Blue, Code Blue,” the intercoms spoke around him. He was forced to fall into a natural walk when doctors and nurses started appearing, running passed him to Henry’s room. He took a turn and stepped into the bathroom, where man looked at him from the sink, eyebrows raised.

“That doesn’t sound good,” he said. Daniel shook his head.

“It doesn’t.”