--- KING –
"Aye! Look who it is!" Tyler shouted across the cafeteria as I walked down the steps, narrowing my eyes at him and the rest of the guys. I wasn't even going to come to school today, but my dad pissed me off so I left in the afternoon, making it in time for lunch."
Mans gotta get out of jail card or something." Peter added with a snicker when I was close enough as he took a bite out of the sandwich on his tray meanwhile Jackson just stared at me with a face void of any emotion. Clearly, they weren't drunk enough to forget about what had happened which only made my anger rise again.
"You thought that was funny?" I asked through clenched teeth as I sat opposite Tyler, beside Jackson and took the apple off his tray. I hadn't had breakfast and I was starving. An apple would do me good for a few hours.
"It was hilarious!" Tyler said as he joined Peter who was practically howling with laughter. They banged their fists on the tables and I clenched my jaw, feeling the need to punch the both of them in the face, badly.
'How's your leg?" Jackson asked, glancing at me sideways and sipping his coke through a straw. I stopped chewing on the apple in my mouth and turned to look at him.
"You literally stabbed someone and you're asking about my leg?" I whispered to him harshly, not wanting anyone else to hear. How was he being so carefree?! He actually had stabbed someone, a human being, yet he didn't even seem in the least bit worried about the guy or whether or not he was dead.
"I'm sure he's fine." He shrugged as if he were talking about the weather or something, not even a tiny bit of concern showing in his eyes or his posture, rather he looked quite relaxed, as if he had gotten his daily dose of violence and was calm until his need for it would appear again.
"You're all the biggest ****** I know." I muttered as I left my half eaten apple on the table, Peter taking it and finishing it off as I stood up. "By the way, he forgave all of us for what we did." I muttered angrily. "Not that you give a crap.' With that, I stalked off and out of the cafeteria, not knowing what to do. Truth be told, I don't know why I had gotten so riled up about the whole thing, but I guess just the fact that the guy, Ahmad had chosen to forgive us, yet the guys couldn't even care less about him made me mad.
I heard heels clicking, my man senses catching them quickly. I turned around and looked to the side corridor, seeing Helena walking towards me, a book in her hand that she was sifting through, probably going over notes for a test she had that she didn't study for because she was too busy partying all weekend. She was probably the only girl I always went back to, only because she was pretty hot and wasn't clingy either. I think she had a dream that one day I was going to realize she was the one for me and we were going to get married, but until then, I'd use her for what I could get.
"Hey, angel." I called with a smirk as I ran my fingers through my hair and changed my path, turning towards her, watching as she smirked back at me and shut the exercise book in her hands. I guess her studying wasn't as important.
What better distraction from all these thoughts than a girl? Luckily I still had the janitor closet key from when my dad made me help them for a week.
"Where are you off again!?" I heard my dad yell from his office as I walked passed while putting my jacket on, my keys in my hand.
"Out." I replied simply, rolling my eyes as I continued towards the staircase, hearing his wheeled office chair slide across the floorboard before his steps could be heard.
"Out where, young man!? I Demand an answer!' He shouted behind me, I repeated his last sentence in my head, smiling internally. It had been years, and he still asked the same questions over and over again, knowing that I never ever answer him anyway.
"I'm going to see mum." I said back as I walked down the stairs. I'd let him have an answer for today, only because I couldn't be bothered with his nagging. I heard him huff beforehis door slammed shutand I shook my head.
Attitude
"Tell her I said hi, King." His wife said from the couch where she was sitting, a magazine in her hands that she was flicking through, probably looking at the new clothes in fashion for the month. His wife, Nadia, was an Albanian woman, about ten years younger than him who was nice, I guess. It was obvious she was only with my dad for the money, but she did me no harm so I was cool living with her. I gave her a simple nod, opening the front door and leaving, shutting it behind me and getting into my car to go see my mum.
| | | |
"King Patterson." I stated. "Where's the other lady?" I asked the receptionist after giving her my name. The other one who was always here knew my name so I could just walk through, but this one was one who I hadn't seen before.
"On maternity leave." She said simply before telling me I could go through. Maternity leave? Since when was she pregnant? The lady was pretty hot. I guess I couldn't see her stomach since the desk was high. I always chatted her up a little when I came in though and she never told me she was married. The thought made me smirk as I walked into the facility and to the lounge where my mum always sat.
"Hey, ma." I called softly from behind her, seeing the top of her head over the cushioned leather couch that she practically owned. The doctors told me she would sit here all day sometimes and just watch outside through the window. There wasn't much to watch. The only thing you could see through the window was a tree in the middle of the grass area where other patients would sometimes walk around with their nurses and a few benches that they sat on.
"King?" She called, lifting both of her arms in the air for no apparent reason, not even standing up or turning around to face me. I sighed, walking around in front of her and holding her arms, pulling them down and placing them back on her lap.
'Oh, move. You're blocking my view of the kids." She spoke, swatting away at my head. I moved to the side to let her see 'the kids' and kneeled beside her.
"What are they doing, mum?" I asked her as I didn't let go of her hands, looking up at her constantly smiling face as she watched through the window, her face tilted sideways. I guess I had gotten all of my features from my mum. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, a fairly tan complexion. My dad on the other hand had jet black hair that was beginning to gray slightly with hazel eyes."They're swinging on the branches of course!" She said as she lifted one of her hands and pointed outside the window, no movement besides the slight swaying of the leaves in the wind.
"How many kids?" I asked as I dragged over a chair and sat beside her with a sigh, my shoulders slumping. She began whispering numbers, squinting her eyes as she started 'counting' the kids.
"One ... two ... three ... uh, four ... Oh, what comes after four, sweetie?" She asked her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at me for the first time ever, her fingers between her teeth as she obviously tried figuring out herself.
"Five." I answered softly and her eyes lit up as she turned back to look out the window, her brown eyes glittering with excitement.
"Five. Five kids. There's a swing there too." She said with a small laugh as she leaned further back in her chair, smiling as she looked through the window, making me wonder yet again how her brain worked to see things that weren't even in existence.
"What did you eat today?' I asked her simply, wanting her to talk to me. She hadn't forgotten who I was. She knew I was her son. Yet it was like she almost didn't care that she hardly ever got to see me. When she and my dad got divorced when I was fourteen, I wanted to live with my mum, and I did, for a whole year, yet one day, men from the rehabilitation center came and took her away. I remember crying and trying to get them off her, but at fourteen years old, my strength wasn't enough. My mum was crying too. She wasn't this sick back then. She just had mild visions and hallucinations, yet now, five years down the track, she was in her own world. She no longer cried and bugged me happily when I came to see her, but instead it was like she never missed me.
That same day they took her away, my dad came to the house. He forced me to go home with him. not that I really had a choice since he had already gone to court and they were the ones who decided it wasn't suitable for a fourteen year old to be living with a schizophrenic mother. I had been with my dad ever since. Every time I told him I wanted to move out, he would shut me down by saying that the day I moved out was the day he'd cut all funds to my accounts.
What was I supposed to do with no money for rent, food, bills, alcohol...? Nothing. So I was stuck with him until I finished school and found a bloody job that would get me by.
"What did I eat?" She repeated my question silently, bending her head down and shutting her eyes in thought to remember as she put her index finger to her temple. "What was that take away place you used to buy me sometimes?"
"McDonald's?" I asked her, a sad smile on my face as I watched her eyes light up with recognition, her mouth opening in excitement as if she was in fact a little kid whose parents had just told her she was going to McDonald's.
"Yes! That's it! That's what I had to eat." She said with a nod, but even that was all made up in her mind. They didn't let patients take them away. All they had was steamed vegetables and a bit of steak or chicken for proteins.
"I love you, mum. You know that, don't you?" I asked her softly, tilting her head to look at me and staring into her eyes that were once filled with love and adoration every time she would see me. "Yes, I know. You tell me too many times." She said, moving my hand off her face as she looked back out the window, making me sigh.
Perhaps she'd be the only woman I ever did love.
| | | |
"How old are you, bro?" A guy slurred to me drowsily as I sat on the couch at someone's party, taking the blunt from his hands and inhaling it myself, welcoming the damaging chemicals that gave me a temporary escape.
'Nineteen." I said back just as drowsily, feeling like I was going to fall asleep. I don't know how I had found this party, but it definitely wasn't one with anyone from our school at it. I think it was a college party? People aged over twenty for sure.
The alcohol here was better. So was the weed. I guess they had better dealers than the people who got them at our school. I handed the blunt back to him before stumbling to get off the couch and leaving the house, feeling like I was gonna throw up.
It didn't take long for that feeling to leave once I was on the front lawn and inhaling much needed oxygen. Man, these college kids were crazy. It was a Wednesday, yet this big of a party was being thrown. I couldn't wait for college. The thought made me scoff. I'd never make it into college.
I laughed loudly at my thoughts as I stepped down the lawn and shook my head, passing countless couples who were literally spread out over the floor. Clearly the house didn't have enough rooms to accommodate.
I stumbled down the path, not knowing which way I was going but hoping it was the way home. Where was home? I didn't even know my bloody address. It felt like hours until I finally saw a familiar face walking towards me from up ahead slowly.
'Aye!" I screamed, looking at him as I held a tree branch so I wouldn't fall to the ground. My legs were tired, man. "Ahmad!" I shouted his name again and he narrowed his eyes, looking for whoever was calling him, until his eyes landed on me.
"What the hell, man?" He said with wide eyes as he tried running to me, only he was half limping and pressing a hand to his lower abdomen. Clearly his wound hadn't healed completely yet. I mean, it had been three days so obviously it'd still be fresh.
"How's your cut doing?" I slurred as he cringed his features, clearly off-put by my alcoholic/narcotic smelling breath. He held my arm with his, trying to support me so I don't fall.
'It's fine. Where are your friends?" He said, looking around, clearly trying to find someone who could deal with my drunken state since I couldn't myself.
"To hell with them." I muttered. I hadn't seen them for three days. Even when I went to school, just so I could be marked present and wouldn't fail, I would see them and turn the other way. None of them texted me either, the dogs.
'Astaghfirullah.' as he muttered exhaled and word put I didn't me onto even the ground, probably telling me swearing at me, and got his car from down the road. I nodded to stay put while he went and laid my head against the tree, closing my eyes and feeling darkness engulf me.
"Hey. Hey. Get up, man." I woke up to someone jabbing my shoulder and shaking me. I looked up to see Ahmad. Man, this guy just kept popping up everywhere. "How do you fall asleep? I was gone for one minute." He muttered. One minute? It felt like a new day to me. "Get up, I can't lift you." He spoke as he hooked an arm undermine and pulled me up flimsily, cringing in pain as he held his wound and took in deep breaths. I was drunk and he was still making me do most of the work.
He helped walk me to the car where he placed me into the passenger seat and I heard him release a deep breath. He held his hand on his abdomen again and took deep breaths in and out for a few seconds before he shut my door and walked to the driver's side all the while I fade in and out of consciousness, not understanding any of the questions he seemed to be asking me.
I think he was asking me questions ... I wasn't too sure.
Eventually I fell asleep for a while along with the low rumble of the car. It had smelt nice in here when I first came in, but now all it smelt like was alcohol, thanks to me. Yet again, Ahmad woke me up and took me out of the car. I half opened my eyes to see we were at the temple again. I opened my eyes slightly to look at the place. Ahmad led the way to the main entry door and sat me down as he took off my shoes, then his own shoes before pulling me inside and leaning me against a wall. I didn't manage to stay up straight, my body flopping to the side as my eyes adjusted to the bright lighting before I slowly fell asleep again, a second one thought at the running interior of through the temple my head before as falling I slowly asleep looked around for a second at the interior of the temple before falling asleep.
So pretty