Finding Myself - 5. Chapter 5: Home Sweet Home?

July 5 2017

I woke up to more sunlight streaming into the window. It was 9:30 AM. It was nice to sleep in, cause I needed it from being sick. I stretched my arms and stood up. I stuffed my dirty clothes bag into my duffle bag. Jake was still asleep, snoring and sprawled across his bed, sleeping on his stomach.

My stomach growled. It had been a while since I last ate, so I made my way to the kitchen where breakfast was ready. “Morning, Aedan,” Mrs. Grant greeted me. “Jake’s still asleep?” she asked, setting down a plate with a couple waffles for me.

“Yes, ma’am,” I nodded, sitting down.

“I’ll go wake him up,” she said. “We’re leaving in less than an hour. Are you packed?”

I nodded for yes, since my mouth was full. Jake’s mom went into our bedroom. I soon heard a little bit of yelling. I stifled a laugh, managing not to choke on my food.

Jake walked out; he had an obvious bedhead in his blond hair. He hadn’t even gotten dressed. He was wearing only some oversized basketball shorts and socks. I finished breakfast quickly and went to get my bag and put on my sneakers. Jake came in ten minutes later with a glass of juice and threw on a t-shirt and some sneakers.

“Ready to go?” Jake asked, scratching his stomach and yawning.

“Uh huh,” I sat on my bed, which I had made and tidied up.

Soon afterwards, we left the beach house and made our way home.

---

Later that day, Avalon, Connecticut

We arrived at my house in time for lunch. Jake’s parents let him stay with me and my family for the afternoon.

“Hi mom,” I said, entering the kitchen after Jake and I took off our shoes and left my bag at the door.

“Hi boys!” she said in a slight southern accent. She kissed my cheek, and I blushed. She then hugged Jake. “How was your trip?”

“It was fun,” I nodded, brushing my bangs out of my face. “I’mma go unpack. Uh, is dad home?”

“No, hun. He’s out looking for work, I hope. I’ll make lunch for you boys if you’re hungry.”

“Thank you,” Jake smiled.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said..

“Aedan. Are you sick?” She reached out and felt my forehead.

“Mom, it’s just a cold,” I sighed. “I’m fine.” I coughed.

I grabbed my bag and led Jake downstairs to my room, which I shared with my brother River, who is 11. He was laying on the carpeted basement floor playing a video game on the Xbox.

“Oh, hey Aedan, and hi Jake,” he said.

“Hey, bro,” I said as he fist-bumped me and high fived Jake. “I need to unpack my stuff, okay?”

“Sure,” River said. “I was just finishing.”

My brother looked a lot like me, but he was shorter, and less thin. It’s not like I was too thin, I was just growing taller fast. “Also, put on a shirt, dude,” I ruffled his hair before he grabbed a green t-shirt from his bed, turned off the Xbox, and left the room. Jake and I laughed.

Our room was pretty messy. River slept in a bed in the back left corner by the window, while I had a mattress in a small loft on the left side. Under the loft was my desk where I had my laptop and art supplies and a comfy stool to sit on. In the middle there was a couple bean bag chairs and a Tv was on the right wall. In the back right corner was the door to the closet. Just to the right of the entrance door was the bathroom, which had the hamper for dirty clothes and the other usual bathroom stuff.

“This room hasn’t changed much since I was here for Memorial Day,” Jake laughed.

“Uh huh,” I nodded before tossing some dirty beach clothes into the hamper pretending it was a basketball shot. “Thanks for the awesome trip, Jake. I had a lot of fun.” I sat down on my bed

“Anytime.” Jake paused and stretched his arms and popped his back. “Hey, uh, you are gonna tell your mom, right?”

“Yes, Jake,” I rolled my green eyes. “Stop naggin’ me like my mom does!” I laughed. This afternoon would be a perfect time to tell her, since dad’s not home yet to beat the shit out of me for telling mom.

We ate our lunch in the backyard, sitting on the back porch. The yard was fairly well kept, as I had to mow the grass every couple of weeks. After lunch, Violet, my older sister, came out to sunbathe in the backyard. She was in a bikini, and I had to elbow Jake to stop him from staring and/or drooling.

“Aedan, get out of here please. I don’t want you goofing off with your friend when I am relaxing.”

“Pfft, okay,” I chuckled. I was a couple inches taller than her despite being younger by three years. Her skin tone was a bit lighter than mine, and her hair was shoulder length. I led Jake back inside where we played on the Xbox until he had to leave.

I went upstairs to talk with mom alone. Violet and River were napping. She hugged me saying she didn’t get one when I first came home. Her hug reached my sensitive ribs and I grimaced a little. “What’s wrong, babe?”

“I, uh, just have a couple bruises there, mama.” I lifted up my shirt a bit. They had turned yellow and were mainly on my left ribs off to the side of my abs. “Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

“Aedan how did you get these?" She asked seriously. “Don’t lie to me.”

“It... it was dad,” I stuttered, explaining what happened in context.

“What?? Hank did this?” I nodded. “I’ll have to have a word with him when he gets home. I know he has his anger issues…”

“Thanks, mama,” I hugged her again.

“Now, get to your room, sweetie. You need to rest. You’re injured, and also sick.” She handed me some orange juice.

“You cain’t tell ‘im I told you,” I said, my southern accent coming out more so than usual. “He’s gonna... you know...” I blushed and blinked a couple of times.

“Oh, don’t worry, hun, I won't let him do anything,” she ruffled my hair. “Just go rest, okay?”

I wandered back to the basement and climbed the ladder into my bunk bed after taking a sip of juice and setting the cup on my desk. Home sweet home... I thought as I laid down, already anxious about my dad again.

---

July 27 2017

I was curled up in my bed drawing in my sketch book, trying to forget the world. I had the room to myself for a while since River was down in Mystic with some friends visiting the beach. It had been over a week now since dad last hurt me, since we started “family therapy”. Pretty sure Violet wasn’t too thrilled about it either. Dad is super hard on her for being a lesbian. Also, my parents had decided they are going to file for divorce as a result of all the abuse and family tension over the past few years that’s gotten worse since we moved into our townhouse this past December. I really want to just run away and never come back.

As I was lost in a drawing, I heard a knock on the door following footsteps that were unmistakably Jake’s. “Come in,” I said without looking up from my drawing. I heard Jake walk in.

“Hey, Aedan,” I looked up from my drawing to see him. He was in his wrestling clothes with a orange tank top, black shorts, and barefoot. His dirty blond hair had grown out and become messy. “You weren’t at wrestling today,” he said as he climbed up the ladder to my loft and sat on the edge of my mattress a couple feet away from where my feet were under the blanket.

“Yeah, I wasn’t...” I said absently before setting down my sketchbook. “I just wasn’t feeling it.”

“Are you sick again? Are you ok?” Jake asked me.

“It’s just been a hard day after family therapy this morning. I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, resting my hands on my bare torso.

“Why can’t you talk about it? Aedan I’m your best friend. You can trust me.” He patted my knee, which was under the grey and red plaid blanket on my bed.

“I just don’t want to talk about it right now, Jake,” I sighed.

“Fine,” Jake huffed. “Figure it out on your own, Aedan! I’ve tried to help, but you don’t let me anymore.” He got up and began to descend the ladder. “Let me know when you have figured it out.”

“What the heck, Jake?! No need to get mad,” I scoffed.

“Bye, Aedan.”

“Fuck off, Jake...” I slumped back into bed as he stormed out of my room and closed the door. Even Jake turned against me, I thought. Why do I have to be so damn problematic?!

I got out of bed in just my boxers and put on a tank top and some athletic shorts. I was hungry from not eating since breakfast which was before the therapy meeting in the morning and it was now 4 PM and I wanted a snack before dinner. I threw some dirty clothes into the washing machine in the basement before going to the kitchen to make some nachos. As the cheese was melting in the microwave the house phone rang. I answered it and sat on the countertop. “Hello?”

“Hey, Aedan,” I recognized mom’s voice.

“Hey, mama, what’s up?” I asked, swinging my legs a little as they hung over the edge of the wooden countertop.

“I just wanted to call to let you know I won’t be home for dinner. I had to pick up an extra shift so I’ll be here at the hospital until midnight,” she said. Mom was a nurse at the local hospital, and she often had long weird hours. Me and my siblings were often home alone for long periods of time especially with a dad being gone a lot as a full-time alcohol and gambling addict. He used to work in the mines back in Appalachia, but those closed down a few years ago and he’s been collecting unemployment and welfare since, as small of a payment as that is. I let out a sigh. “You and Violet will have to figure out dinner on your own.”

“Again?” I groaned. We had thankfully leftovers for the last few days, but those were all gone and now we were stuck having to go out to a gross fast food joint.

“Aedan,” she sighed. “I’m sorry that I have to have a job! Especially with what your father does... Look, there might be leftovers...”

“There’s none. The fridge is empty.” I interrupted in an irritated tone.

“You know where the money is, in the blue piggy bank, to go get dinner. I have to go. I’ll see you probably in the morning, baby.”

I groaned as the beeping hang up sound went off. I pulled the cheese out of the microwave and ate some tortilla chips as a snack. Afterwards, I played some games on the Xbox for a bit until I heard Violet walk downstairs. “Where’s mom? Is she home yet?” the 16 year old girl asked.

“Naw, she picked up an extra shift and is workin’ ‘till midnight.” I said, not looking up from the screen and picked some of the food out of my teeth.

“Ugh, great,” my sister groaned.

---

Within the hour, Violet and I were walking down the street to the McDonald’s. The blue piggy bank had only 6 bucks in it. Likely thanks to Dad taking some of it for booze or poker gambling. This part of town isn’t really all that safe at night. We walked past some pawn shops and other stores, all of which, had metal bars over the windows and we walked quickly past the dark alleyways at each intersection. Violet would have driven if there was a car available, but we only have one car in the family, which mom and dad take turns using.

At McDonalds I got a bacon cheeseburger and Violet got some chicken nuggets and we shared some fries. The whole thing cost like 5 bucks which is insane. Afterwards I was super full, but Violet wanted to hang out with her goth friends in the park while they smoked nasty cigarettes and goofed off. While they did that, I sulked off to the swing set and sat there. It was a hot, clear summer night with a few clouds. Avalon was a small enough town to where light pollution wasn’t much of a problem and you can see stars at night. I made out a few constellations before moving over to lay down on the soft grass. I was getting too big for the swings anyways. The boredom had driven me crazy. I didn’t bring my phone with me.

After a while, the heavy food in my belly began making me sleepy. As I was about to doze off, I heard a familiar voice. “Hey, cutie.”

“Gah! Who’s there?!” I yelped as I sat up, looking around.

“Relax, it’s just me,” Nina, my crush (it’s complicated) sat next to me as I leaned back down. “Why are you out here alone?” She asked.

“I could ask you the same thing…” I said, rolling over onto my belly.

“Got me there,” the Hispanic girl leaned back. “I enjoyed our date,” she began playing with my shaggy dark hair.

“Oh, uh, me too. Yeah,” I blushed again. My memories of that night were tainted by my dad’s abusive behavior.

“What’s wrong, Aedan?” She traced her fingers along my back.

“I don’t know how to say this. I hate bein’ at home so dang much. My folks are never ‘round and when they are it’s usually drunken beatings from my dad and mom not giving too much of a care… and both of them fightin’…” I vented, a few tears dripping from my eyes. Nina wiped them off with her finger. “It’s why I’m at Jake’s so much and why I went on that trip with him.”

“I’m sorry, Aedan. I had no idea,” Nina frowned. “You want to come by my place?”

“I dunno,” I sighed. “Whatever is secluded and not my house.”

“I know the perfect spot,” Nina smiled and stood up.

She helped me up. “Where to?”

“It’s a secret,” she smirked. “Maybe go tell your sister?”

“Naw she’s too wasted with her goth friends to give a real shit about me.”

I followed Nina past the park’s football field and on a trail into the woods. It started feeling muggy when surrounded by dense trees. We soon reached the stream. It looked really nice in the moonlight.

“Wow,” I muttered. “Why’re we here?” I asked.

“We’re going swimming, country boy!”

“What?!” I giggled as she pulled off her pink t-shirt and got into the water wearing just a bikini top and daisy dukes. I dodged the water that splashed up and almost hit me when she landed. “Are you insane?!”

“Get in, Aedan, the water’s nice!”

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes and pulled off my tank top and jumped into the water in my basketball shorts. “Shit, it’s cold,” I shivered a bit.

“You get used to it,” Nina giggled. I shivered, crossing my arms over my chest.

Nina waded over and splashed me. “Ack!” I yelped, jumping a bit. “It’s too cold for that,” I whined.

“You look really nice without a shirt on, though,” Nina smirked and playfully poked my chest, making me blush a little.

“Not as cute as you in a bikini,” I splashed her.

“You little pervert!” she giggled and started to swim away, but I caught her, both of us laughing.

“I really like hangin’ out with you,” I said, looking into her chocolate brown eyes.

“Your accent is so cute,” she reached up with her hand and brushed my shaggy black bangs out of my face before our lips met for a kiss. My lips didn’t want to let go, but I needed air after a couple minutes of making out. “Aedan, I don’t want this night to end.”

“Me neither. Anything is better than being at home right now.”

“Let’s get out of this water before you get hypothermia, country boy,” she playfully splashed me. “You can come to my place.”

“K,” I agreed before dunking my head underwater for a second to cool off my now warm face. We grabbed our shirts and I followed her to her house nearby. Her home was in a middle class suburban part of town near our school. We rinsed off with the hose and dried off with towels from the garage. I pulled my shirt on before entering the home, to be somewhat modest for Nina’s family.

“Where have you been?” A man, presumably her dad, asked. “And who’s this?” I blushed.

“I was out at the park. And this is my boyfriend, Aedan.” She kissed my cheek.

“Hiya, sir,” I held out my hand awkwardly. He shook it.

“You didn’t think to introduce yourself when taking my daughter to the movies last month?”

“Uh, I’m really sorry, sir. I was in a rush because I had…”

“It’s alright, kid,” he patted my back. “Nina hasn’t stopped talking about you since you moved here and joined her art class in school.” I blushed.

“Dad!” Nina blushed.

“I’m sorry for the rough greeting,” he shook my hand. “Call me Robert.”

“Thank you, sir,” I politely nodded.

“Can Aedan spend the night?” Nina asked.

“Nina...”

“But, dad…”

“It’s alright. I prolly should get home soon. Dad might be in a foul drunken mood as usual. I’ll see you tomorrow at the school for the art club mural.” I kissed Nina. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
tnv

“Wait. You can stay in the guest room,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to go back to a home you don’t feel safe in,” the middle-aged Hispanic man said.

I smiled. “T-thank you... so much, sir.”

---

After a nice shower, I heard a knock at the guest bathroom door. “It’s me, Nina,” I heard her voice.

“One sec!” I quickly wrapped my towel around my waist and opened the door. “Hey, babe,” I smiled.

“I convinced my brother to let you borrow some pajamas.”

“You better bring them back!” I heard a teenage boy’s voice came from another room in the house. Nina’s older brother Juan was fifteen and going into his sophomore year in high school.

“Thanks Juan!” I thanked him.

“No problem little dude!” he said. I laughed.

---

July 28, 2017

The next afternoon, I decided it was time to return home, since mom would likely be worried about me being gone the previous night. I was nervous about how my dad would react and beat the shit out of me as he usually did when I ran away. The middle school wasn’t too far from my neighborhood I kissed Nina goodbye, removed my paint apron, and got my stuff to leave. Thankfully, paint didn’t get on my clothes. A little bit got on my arm just above the elbow, and a little bit on my bare feet. I put my flip flops on and began to walk home. I stepped up to the porch of the grey brick town home, when I heard my dad’s gruff southern accent say “where the hell is that damn bastard? He needs to be taught a lesson in respect!”

“Hank, honey, calm down.”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!” I knew what happens next. I took off again, and ran down the street to the park. It’s a place I usually go to relax when home is too much for me.

The summer air was hot, and I was sweaty from running, so I took off my tank top. I went for my usual shaded spot under hemlock trees at the Avalon East Park’s entrance, with my shirt draped over my shoulders but I found Violet in my spot. “Gah!” I jumped back.

“Shit, Aedan, you scared me,” Violet said. Her dark hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a crop top and skinny jeans. I have no clue how she wears jeans when it’s this friggin hot out.

“You’re in my spot,” I said.

“Sorry. I came here because I know you like to come here.” She moved over so that I could sit. “It’s a nice getaway.”

I blushed a little. “How did you know I come here?”

“When you turn left from leaving this house, this park is the only thing in that direction, dork. You either come here or the cornfield a couple blocks down.”

“Oh, uh, ok,” I rubbed my arm a little nervously before leaning back with my shoulders against the tree trunk. Sweat dripped off my face and down my bare chest in this gross heat. “About mom and dad...” I began.

“The divorce can’t come fast enough,” Violet sighed.

“I... agree...” I muttered. Her eyes widened. “I’ve been his punching bag for too long.” I felt a few tears well up in my eyes as I looked down to the now yellow bruise marks on my ribs and abs.

“Shit... Aedan...” she hugged me. “I didn’t realize it was that bad. You and River are way too young for this.” I nodded silently.

---

August 15 2017

I woke up early in the morning at 7 to the sound of my alarm clock. I groggily sat up and turned it off. “What the hell, Aedan?” River complained from his bed.

“Mmh... sorry bro...” I sleepily ran my hand through my messy black hair before climbing down the ladder from my loft. I walked upstairs and entered the living room/kitchen in my pajama pants.

"Sweetie, take this box to pack your things," mom handed me a box.

"Mom, we're moving?" I whined. Just the thing I needed to hear upon waking up.

"Well, yes, sweet pea. Your... father... technically owns this townhouse, and has given us until the end of August to move out now that the divorce papers are done." She sighed. "But he probably won't be evicted before long. All he does is drink and gamble, so that deadbeat doesn't know how to pay rent..." she chuckled.

“Well, uh, thanks for the box. I’ll put some stuff in after practice.” I nodded. I poured myself some cereal and grabbed some juice and bacon to eat before flag football practice. Tryouts were in a week and a half and I was getting in shape.

“So, you have football tryouts soon?” she asked. I nodded; my mouth full. “Stay safe, baby.”

“Mooommmm...” I whined. “I’ll be fine. It’s just flag football.”

“Ah, okay,” she chuckled.

“Bloody hell...” my dad stumbled in the kitchen. He was clearly hung over. “Hey, Aedan... hey... Nancy.”

“Hello, Henry...” mom addressed my dad. “Are you hung over again?”

“NO WHAT THE F----”

I quickly put my earbuds in from my pockets to listen to music on my mp3 player and drown out another of my parents fights while I tried to eat.

I quickly finished my food and then grabbed the box mom gave to me before getting dressed in my room. I put on some athletic shorts, sneakers, and a sleeveless shirt.

“Bye mom, bye dad,” I said, about to leave. They didn’t acknowledge me and continued bickering over something. “Um, y’all...?” Still no response. “Forget it. I’m leaving. I’ll be back after practice.” I grabbed a cold water bottle from the fridge and my football from the counter before exiting the door.

---

Flag football practice was on the shared football field between the middle school and high school in town. Practice went well. I didn’t know too many of the other boys there, except Ian, a guy I knew from math class in seventh grade. I was still known as the “new kid” in middle school even though I’ve been here for eight months now. I guess my accent makes me stand out as not being from around here.

We played scrimmage games after doing push-ups, sit-ups, stretches, and running exercises to warm up. To distinguish easily between teams, we played shirts vs skins. It was a warm morning for sure, but thankfully practices are held in the mornings when it’s not too hot out. It would suck to play in the afternoon heat.

Practice ended around 11AM after two hours. The coach, Mr. Lincoln, also a history teacher, handed us Gatorade bottles, and we hung out and cooled off in the shade. After finishing my water, I tossed the empty bottle in a recycling bin and went to join Ian and some of his friends who were sitting in the shade of a hemlock tree near the field. “Um, hey, Ian,” I smiled as I sat next to him. My shirt was draped on one of my shoulders. I opened my Gatorade and began sipping it.

“Hey, Aedan,” Ian said. His cheeks were flushed pink. “Damn, it’s hot out here.” He used his t-shirt to wipe sweat from his face. The boy had nice abs and arms.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “This is pretty normal where I’m from though.”

“I’d expect Tennessee to be pretty hot,” Ian chuckled.

“Who’re your friends?” I asked.

“Oh, this is Connor, and Vincent,” Ian indicated the two brunet boys with him. They had also removed their shirts to cool off. They both waved back.

“Nice to meet y’all...” I smiled. I was glad to at least have more than a couple friends.

“I bet you get a lot of girls with that accent,” Vincent said. He had a slight New England accent, and didn’t seem too friendly.

“Eh, I get bullied about it more often than it gets me dates,” I shrugged.

“When did you move here?” Connor asked.

“December.” I answered. “Mainly cuz of my mom’s job.” I shrugged.

---

After practice, I walked home, in a much better mood than at breakfast, which was ruined by my parents. Meeting new friends had certainly improved my day. The door was unlocked, meaning at least someone was home. We lived in a part of town where it was unsafe to leave your home unattended and unlocked.

“Yes, Gran...” I heard my mom’s voice as I closed the door. I’m not sure if she heard me enter as she was on the phone. “I know. I’m glad to be leaving him behind. It’s for the best.” I stepped towards the kitchen, but paused. “Yes, Gran, you were correct. I really shouldn’t have married my cousin. It was a huge mistake.” My jaw dropped. Mom and Dad are COUSINS?... A wave of nausea washed over me, and I hurried to the bathroom to puke. “Aedan... sweetie... are you okay?” I heard mom at the door a couple minutes later.

“I think so...” I groaned. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

---

August 22 2017

“That eclipse was crazy yesterday...” I overheard Connor and Kevin talking as I was stretching before the final bi-weekly (hehe I said bi...) flag football practice before tryouts Friday. “Did you see the eclipse, Aedan?” Connor sat next to me and began stretching too.

I nodded silently. My parents, River, Violet, and I were over at Jake’s place for the eclipse. Jake’s really into astronomy and stuff. But, as usual, like during summer wrestling camp on Thursdays, he ignored me. He had his other astronomy friends over too, so of course he’d ignore my lame ass for them. “Who didn’t see that eclipse?! Looked like the end times or somethin’...” I muttered.

“Right. The sun going dark for like eight minutes. Wild stuff, bro,” Kevin ran a few fingers through his hair.

“You guys ready for tryouts this week?” Ian walked up and sat next to Connor and I.

“Yeh...” I stood up, fastening the flag belt around my waist, over my shirt, just above the waistband of my shorts and grabbed a football. Some of the other boys were already tossing footballs around, so I walked up to the 20 yard line and punted the ball into the field goal.

“Damn...” Connor put his hands on his hips. “You can kick...”

“Thanks,” I brushed the shaggy bangs out of my face.

“Wow, stupid hick boy’s all famous now,” Vincent said smugly.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“It’s called sarcasm,” Vincent crossed his arms.

“You called me stupid...” I gritted my teeth and my vision darkened.

“Aedan... cool off. Don’t listen to him.” Ian pulled me back. “He’s just being a jerk.”

“Remind me why he’s your friend...” I grumbled.

During practice, we played a scrimmage game as usual. This time, I was on a team with Ian, Connor, and Kevin, among a few other boys. We were on the skins team, and it felt nice to play shirtless. I was playing as a wide receiver during one play. I caught the ball from Kevin, and began running towards the end zone for a touchdown. At around the 15 yard line, I was tackled by someone from the other team. I landed on my ass. I looked over to see Vincent on the ground too. It was he who tackled me. What a dickhead... “What the fuck, man...?” I sat up. My torso was bruised up and dirty. “This is FLAG FOOTBALL... no tackling, you idiot!!”

“You okay, dude?” Ian helped me up.

I nodded. “Just a little bruised. My head didn’t get hit.”

“That’s good,” Ian nodded. “Vincent... what the hell happened?”

“Sorry, guys, I guess I forgot it was Flag Football and not Real Football.”

“Bullshit...” I crossed my arms.

Coach had me sit out for the rest of practice, while Vincent had to run extra laps and then sit out.

“Thanks a lot, hick boy... You got us in trouble...” Vincent sighed.

“What the...? You’re the one who tackled me!” I punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow...” he whined. “Aedan punched me, coach...”

“Jackson. Run a lap,” the coach said.

“DUDE!” My jaw dropped. “I didn’t actually hurt him.”

“2 laps...”

“Fuck it... I’m out,” I stood up and gave Vincent the middle finger before leaving the football field area.

I heard footsteps behind me. “Leave me alone, Vincent...” I gritted my teeth.

“Aedan... are you okay?” I heard Ian’s soft smooth sweet voice.

“That jackass Vincent is getting on my nerves. He hates my guts,” I huffed and sat down before taking a long sip of water. “The coach does too.”

“You’re really short tempered. Is anything wrong?”

“Well, my parents got divorced...” I shrugged. “But, I should be happy for that. Mom, my siblings and I will be leaving my drug addicted loser dad...”

“Dude. My parents got divorced when I was in fifth grade.” Ian comforted me. He was starting to look really hot without a shirt on. Hot enough to kiss those abs... NO! STOP IT BRAIN! “It can be hard to deal with. But it gets easier, I promise.”

“That’s so cheesy...” I scoffed. “I think it’s not that though. Like I said. My dad’s a lowlife.”

---

August 24 2017

River, Jake, and I were in the last session for summer wrestling at the local YMCA. I got up off the mat, a bit sweaty from wrestling with Jake, one of the few boys who was in my weight class. “Hey, Riv… mom’s gonna pick us up…” I looked around for River after putting on my slides. “River? Bro?” I shrugged. “Great, I lost my brother,” I muttered. I found him in the corner talking with none other than Jake. “Hey, bro. There you are,” I grinned sheepishly, wiping sweat from my forehead. “Hey, Jake,” I blushed. “Riv… mom’s taking us to see another place.” My little brother nodded in agreement.

“Hmm. Your parents got divorced and now you’re moving out?” Jake asked.

“How did you know?” I asked, my cheeks as pink as strawberries.

“Dude… our moms are great friends. My mom told me about it the day after our fight,” Jake said. I facepalmed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it’s so embarrassing,” I sat down in my gym shorts. “And you’re already mad at me…”

River stood up. “Is mom here now?” I shook my head and showed him the email that said she’d be here at around 4pm.

“Hey, um, guys,” Jake began.

“Wait… um, before you go. I should apologize. I was a shitty friend to you.” I said.

“Aedan it’s okay. I’m the one who should be sorry. I created a fake treasure hunt, and maybe pushed you too hard instead of giving you space. I don’t know what divorce is like, but I’m still here for you. You too River,” he fist bumped my brother. “Oh, uh, I’m also sorry for ignoring you at the eclipse party. I was kind of nerding out with my astronomy club buddies,” Jake blushed. “So uh where in town is the apartment you’re looking at?” Jake asked.

“Um, in the Waterworks District. Near the hospital mom works at,” I responded.

“Eew, gross. That part of town is so ghetto,” Jake scoffed.

“Well, it’s somewhere to live...” I muttered.

---

August 25 2017

I was at the field warming up for tryouts. The grass was still a bit wet from recent rainfall. “Jackson, you’re back,” the coach smiled.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry about before, by the way.” I stood up and blushed. “I was being immature.”

“I spoke with your mother over the phone. I’m giving you a second chance. So don’t blow it.” He said. I nodded. “I have to ask. Is everything alright at home?”

“Um, yeah,” I shuffled my feet. “It’s really great...” I paused. “Thanks again, sir! I appreciate it. I won’t let you down!” I tripped over my feet as I stepped away backwards. I sighed as the coach went to grab some equipment and Ian helped me up.

“Aedan, I’m so glad to see you!” Ian said cheerfully.

I blushed. “You are?”

“Vincent isn’t going to mess with you. I set him straight.” Ian explained. My eyes glanced down at my now wet clothes. I scoffed at my clumsiness.

Tryouts went fairly well. When we were rehearsing different plays, I was tackled again by Vincent. My vision darkened and my blood felt like it was boiling. Conveniently, the coach was talking to someone else. The ground was quite wet, and I had landed in a muddy patch. When I got up, I charged at Vincent, and bumped into him with my shoulder, tackling him down.

“Aedan, woah...” Ian and Connor each grabbed a shoulder to pull me off of that arrogant asshole.

“He tackled me again!” I pointed at Vincent when the coach confronted me.

“I didn’t see him do it…” the coach said. “You’re out of here, Jackson. I gave you a second chance and ya blew it, kid. I don’t need a hothead and a rule breaker on the team.”

“Fine… whatever…” I scoffed. “Bullshit…” I muttered to myself, unfastening the flag belt from my waist. Vincent smirked.

“Bye, Aedan…” Vincent smirked. “See you in school.”

“Oh like you give a crap…” I rolled my eyes. I sat down on the bench to watch the rest of tryouts. I laughed in amusement when Vincent got thrown out like I did for attempting to tackle Ian. Ian was thankfully nimble enough to not go down, but Vincent got his shirt and left cheek covered in mud. “Nice, dude,” I snickered when Vincent sat down next to me.

“Oh shut up. You’re out too.” Vincent wiped mud from his face and got it on my arm.

“Hey!” I scoffed.

---

Inside, I was going to shower in the locker room, as I had to go to the art hall to help Nina finish the mural. Outside the door, I saw Jake in his soccer gear, and I stopped to talk to him. “Hey, Jake,” I sat next to him.

“Oh, hey,” Jake smiled and looked up from his Pear Phone. “Why are you here? And why are you covered in mud?” Jake stifled a laugh. I explained what happened at flag football tryouts to him. “Oh shit… I’m being replaced by your new friends…”

“Pfft… No you’re not,” I playfully punched his chest before pulling off my cleats and tank top.

“Hey, um, I talked to my parents about your housing situation. They want to meet with your mom.”

“Really? Live with you instead of in a shitty apartment? Sounds awesome…” I paused. “And expensive. My mom can’t afford much more than like 1500 bucks a month right now. We were actually going to move into the new apartment this weekend.”

“Just… come by for dinner. I think she may like the offer…” Jake smiled.

---

That evening, mom and I showed up at the Grants’ estate with Violet and River. The house was huge and elegant. Very different from my rough impoverished redneck upbringing. The house was 8000 square feet and had 12 bedrooms, compared to our 2000 square foot townhouse with just 3 bedrooms. I was in a pair of jeans, and a polo shirt. Some of the nicer clothes I own for church. Jake and I hung out in the living room flipping through channels on the TV. We ended up watching Dragon Ball Z until dinner time.

Dinner was ready and I sat between Jake and River at the table. I got to try lobster for the first time in my life. After dinner, us boys went to get some banana pudding for dessert. My mom had made some to bring and contribute to the meal. We ate the pudding at the table while the adults discussed things. I was really hoping mom would agree. It would be so awesome to live with my best friend in this super cool house. Best of all, they were wealthy enough to not need to charge us anything to stay for a while. Mom insisted she pay something, like helping out with utility and food costs. Violet and River went with Jake and I to hang out in the backyard since it was getting boring listening to adults discussing finances. “So um, thanks for, like, offering to let us live with you, dude,” I smiled.

“Yeah, seriously,” Violet agreed. “Even if you are a little creep,” she teased.

“Violet, shut up!” I glared at her before opening my can of sprite.

“You guys would have your own rooms, so there won’t be any creeping from me,” Jake joked.

“I can’t say I’ve ever had my own room,” I blushed a little. “I’ve always had to share with this gremlin,” I pointed at River with my thumb.

“I’m not a gremlin.” River whined. “You’re the gross one.”

I let out a loud burp. Violet rolled her eyes, while us boys laughed hysterically. “You ain’t wrong, I guess,” I chuckled.

A few minutes passed before mom came out to the patio. “Hey, kids,” she said. I lazily waved at her. “I think we’ve made a decision.”

Please be yes! Please be yes....... I crossed my fingers, hoping she decided to stay here. Living with my best friend would be so awesome.

“And that is??” Violet questioned.

“We’re going to be living here. At least for a little while. Until I can afford a house, okay?”

“Mom you’re the best!” I ran over and hugged her tightly.

“Oh...” she yelped. “Baby... you’re squeezing too tight...” I guess I don’t know my own strength.

“Oops, sorry...” I blushed, ending the hug.