Bad Seed - 3. Chapter 3

“Get your lazy ass up already!” Kyle shot out of bed as his father’s deep voice shouted up the stairs, more than surprised by the sudden interruption of his peaceful sleep. His movement quickly reminded him of his injuries. He took in a sharp breathe as he sat up in his bed and tucked his right arm into his side. He was in pretty bad shape this morning to be sure. “I expect this house to be clean when I get home, son. If you think you're going to lie around all day on your pathetic ass you’re wrong." Kyle grimaced halfway through his father’s tirade. That word, 'son', it always seemed so odd coming from his father's mouth. Needless to say, Kyle knew the man meant every word of what he said and as he heard the sound of the front door closing, he let out a long sigh and fell back into bed.

It wasn't his choice to stay home today, not really. In truth he was in no shape to go to school or to be cleaning the house for that matter. He knew the score, he looked like a train wreck and his father, the leading commercial representative for one of the top companies in the state, didn't want his son embarrassing him. He didn’t have to say it and Kyle didn’t ask, he knew he was staying home today even before his father’s outburst this morning. Mr. Wellmen was overbearing, strict, uncompromising, and downright mean at times. Despite his emotional and verbal abuse he'd only dared to put his hands on his son once. It was a few weeks after his wife had passed away. Kyle was depressed and angry at the world. No one could reach him, not friends or family members and his father didn't help much at all. He had no respect for his grieving son's feelings and was just as overbearing and mean as always during this hard time.

One day things got very heated between the two, and Mr. Wellmen ended up smacking Kyle around that afternoon. Having woken up in the middle of the night with a knife to his throat, held by the trembling hand of his 10-year-old son; Mr. Wellmen began to see things differently. While he knew that his son was a failure in several ways and may indeed be in need of a severe butt kicking he only now realized that his troubles ran deeper. Kyle was forced to see a therapist 3 days a week for 6 months. When all was said and done, he played the part. He went to the sessions and fed the therapist a bunch of B.S. about his childhood and how hard it was on him losing his mother. Truth mixed with well placed lies got Kyle out of the therapist’s office and back to having free time after school. He didn’t care much that the woman had been trying to help. The fact was that other than school, the few hours following when his father was still at work was the only time he had to himself.

Despite him doing his best to get out of going to therapy back then, Kyle was getting the help he needed, from the only place he’d accept it. Kyle’s cousin Jacob was the same age and all their lives they’d been as close as brothers. Kyle was outgoing and adventurous and Jacob was as friendly and caring as any little kid could be. The two were all but inseparable whenever they got to visit one another. Back then when things were at their worst, talking with Jacob seemed to be the only thing that helped. Just as he had then, this summer when everything was just too much to take he turned to Jacob. He could remember one of their last conversations vividly.

“Hey cousin, how’s it going?” asked Jacob obviously happy to be talking with Kyle. They were always close but hardly ever got to see one another during the school year.

“It’s not; I got no friends and no life...” replied Kyle dryly.

“Oh and what about me jerk?” asked Jacob

“We’re family, you don’t count.”

"You know people aren't nearly as bad as you think, not all of them."

"Majority rules... isn't that what they say? And before you say it, no I don't mean you and no you don't count."

"That's the problem Kyle, who does count with you? It's like you’re disappointed with the whole world."

"I didn't mean anything by it Jacob... it's just"

"No I know man, we've always been cool but it's sucks that you feel like this all the time. How long can things be like this before that disappointment becomes resentment and resentment becomes anger? It will eat you up bro."

"Drama queen much?"

"Haha whatever, I'm serious. When things are bad it's ok to feel like it. Just remember that awhile ago things were ok and eventually they will be again."

"Yes, Master Yoda."

"Asshole"

"That's not very Zen master of you to say."

"Haha, I have to go mom is calling me to dinner, she's trying to make sure I eat early instead of just before bed like normal. Maybe that will help with...you know.”

"Yeah, it will, your mom's probably right"

"You still miss your mom? Asked Jacob

"Everyday"

"Yeah, she's calling again man, I gotta go, chin up bro"

"Later cus."

Kyle had just finished washing the last night’s dishes and was now straightening the living room. He didn’t spend much time in this house unless he had to but he sure did handle all the cleaning and up keep. The roof had been leaking one morning after a bad storm and all his father had to say about the problem was to toss a phone book at him and tell him to have it dealt with by the time he was home. As he was plugging in the vacuum he tripped over his backpack he didn’t remember leaving it there last night but he’d been surprised he was able to keep it on his shoulder at all on the long walk home. He, like most kids that were home on a school day found himself thinking about school.

What period he’d be in now, whether or not anyone noticed that he was gone. Normally he’d wonder what his friends were doing right now as well but as things were, his mind drifted to the more likely scenarios of what they were saying about him and what cruel jokes they were making. Knowing Martin was bragging about what they’d done to him was nearly enough to make him head to school. Except that he was in no shape to take on the world today. And he wasn’t crazy enough to miss out on an extra day away from that hell hole.

Martin and his friends….they were his first thoughts when he awoke in the morning, followed quickly by the realization of the stiff aches and pains all over his body. This time…all bets were off. They’d been in plenty of fights since things fell apart between them. Plenty of fights, shouting matches, and practical jokes; but they assaulted him and left him lying in a puddle. The feelings running through him were unlike any he’s ever felt before. He was always quick to defend himself and never be a push over. He couldn’t stop them from targeting him but he didn’t have to stand still and make it easy for them. And now, he felt the urge to go beyond self defense. At what point do you decide to no longer be the victim and go on the offense? When is enough, enough? For Kyle, that breaking point was moving off in the distance behind him, he’d passed it and in his mind was sprinting forward. Having finished with the cleaning for the time being he headed upstairs to start a hot bath and soak for a while. His body was still aching and more importantly he had a lot of things to think about.

By the time his father came in from work Kyle had bandaged up his cuts and scrapes and worked out all the stiff aches he could. His leg and arm were no better than they had been when he’d first awoken that morning. Although seemingly his new acceptance of and tolerance for the pain had settled in. He was up in his room reading when he heard the sounds of the front door opening and his father coming in. From the sounds of it he’d returned with more than the briefcase he’d left with. Mostly that meant another long afternoon of work, totally ignoring Kyle and anything else. That would no doubt be followed by a night of ESPN and beer.

He had already put his book aside before the knock on his door came. His father poked his head in and from the look on his face it was the first time he’d really taken notice of the state his son was in. Looking towards his bruised up son, he made his way into the room and came to stand at the foot of his bed. He was already reaching into his back pocket when he began to speak. “I see everything’s taken care of here, thanks for that son”. Kyle cringed again at the word “son” and reached out to accept the money his father was handing him. He accepted the money with no thank you or enthusiasm. It was his father’s quick fix, a temporary band-aid on any problem. The amount he’d been given this time was rather large, most likely because of the bruises.

As his father hesitated to leave the room, Kyle noticed his behavior was a bit off. He was on edge but not in the normal sense. After a few awkward moments Kyle slowly began to realize that his father might have thought that he himself was the cause for Kyle’s appearance. He sat there looking up at his father, a man he little more than tolerated. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to allow the man to believe he was the guilty party or set him straight. Allowing the guilt to play out wouldn’t dish out any real benefits; his father would buy him things and throw money at him for the next few weeks but not much else. When the guilt wore off things would be back to normal. But maybe if he took a different route…..no something like that would have to be done with total determination and at the moment his body just didn’t have enough left to give to that type of confrontation.

His father eventually made his way from his room when he saw that his son was going to offer no condolences to his guilt ridden mind. Kyle sat there watching the figure of his father leave his room and the second the door closed behind the man he was up and getting dressed to leave. Despite his aching body, he knew he couldn’t stay in the house with him. There was a new game out called ‘Bully’ that he’d heard about. Apparently guys were able to makeout in this game and that had his interests peeked. More importantly, it was something that could keep his mind off of things for a few hours each day.

All this time he had been avoiding the old hangouts, perhaps out of fear of a revelation such as this. So many drastic changes had taken place since the summer and he seemed to be the only one affected by them. Everyone else seemed completely unaware, that is until the time came to try and break him down further. It was only then that they took notice. His best friend kicked the shit out of him, his own father couldn't stand him, he had no friends, and his mother was dead. Yes, when the crucial moment came to drag all his suffering and shortcomings into the light; it seemed everyone was paying close attention.

He continued on his way to the videogame store, stopping only to checkout a few of the new boards in the skate shop. Kyle couldn't bring himself to go into the skate shop. Randy Rushelow from school worked there. Looking in from the window he could see Randy putting up a display of new boards. While a number of his buddies milled around the store. Randy had been a pretty decent friend to Kyle in the past. He was always fun to have around, and it didn't hurt that he was a cutie that played on the basketball team. These days Randy wouldn't even look him in the eyes.

He wasn't far from the game shop when he spotted that strange kid again. Nathan was with some chick. She was older looking but there was an obvious family resemblance. He didn't recognize her from school though, admittedly, until yesterday he hadn't really noticed Nathan either. Kyle kept his head lowered and his eyes to the ground. Something he'd become used to doing as of late. If you didn't look people in the eyes you couldn't see the looks they were giving you. You didn't have to face the awkwardness as you passed someone you know without greetings. Though it appeared that wouldn’t be an issue and they all grew closer to each other. Attempting to make his way to the game store a little faster was a useless effort. After he turned and made his way into the small shop area, Nathan and his sister turned into the store as well once they reached it. Maybe this Nathan kid would know enough to just leave him be.