Foul Play

A/N: Another, regrettably short, chapter. I’m positive when things progress a little more, I’ll be able to write something of a decent length! ... Hopefully!

Chapter Two: Troubled Childhood

x.x.x.x

Alec lives with his stepdad.

It took approximately seven months of hanging out before I finally got to venture into his side of the neighbourhood, which meant for the majority of tenth grade, we hung out at mine.

Both of my parents had stable jobs. Six years ago, when Vanessa was born, my mother quit her job as a travel agent to stay at home; but now that my sister was grown up for the most part, she reinstated herself at the nearest decent-paying company. Our house was comfortable, with a spare bedroom because I chose to make the basement den my sanctuary, and we always met together once a week for dinner.

At best, you could say I was sheltered. It was why Alec, after staring my faux space ceiling from his usual place on the couch, was especially apprehensive to invite me over.

We were still partially new to one another. I knew his favourite arcade game, endured his deafening trombone skills – something he quit well into eleventh grade – and understood that his favourite processed lunchmeat was black forest ham. We were awkward in our friendship, stuffing shared iPod buds into our ears and taking turns listening to each other’s worst bands, and borrowing quarters without feeling embarrassed for the vending machine. But our companionship was mostly superficial.

It was a Thursday in January of tenth grade. The snow was melting away into the sewers thanks to the out of place warm weather. My jacket was unzipped, exposing the hoodie underneath. Alec’s jacket was torn off all together, his bare arms only slightly marred with gooseflesh.

“Well, I’ll see you later.” I wiped the dampness from the humid air off my forehead, turning to Alec at our fork in the road. I called it that for dramatic purposes, while, really, it was just the point where we split up due to the fact we approached the upcoming dead-end of my block.

Alec’s neck craned to stare at the gloomy sky, his hair a little longer – enough that it reached the tips of his ears – than it was now. The toque he wore was grey and cotton, disheveling his fringe so that it scattered unevenly across his eyebrows. “It’s a long weekend.” He stated out of the blue, his lips slanting in distress. “My turn to do the dishes...”

I laughed, taking his discontent at face value. “Lucky you.” With a lingering smirk, I heaved my backpack onto my shoulders to prepare for the walk toward my fence. I didn’t get very far before an onslaught of slush was kicked at my knees. “What the...”

Looking all too pleased, Alec raised a brow as he shoved his dirty sneaker into another snowy puddle. “Hey Olsen!” I stared devastated at my muddy shoes, but at his call my chin pointed upward in question by instinct.

“You freaking –” I was cut off by another hailstorm of melted snow as he pelted it higher, droplets hitting my hair, turning it a dirty blonde by the literal sense of the word.

“Fucking.” Alec paused thoughtfully, stopping his torture just as I was about ready to begin my own. “Not freaking.”

I looked confused as he walked toward me. “Huh?”

“If you’re going to come over to my place, Quin, you’re gonna have to get used to being uncivilized.” He offered a mysterious grin, and at once, I felt intrigued. The most Alec had told me about his home life was that he was an only child – and that was only goaded out of him after my nonstop complaints about my little sister.

Without further explanation, he tilted his head to the direction he usually walked in. I knew immediately that the area was a bit shadier, but I didn’t care as I watched his sweaty fringe slide to one side of his forehead with the gesture. “You’re not uncivilized.” I pointed out. Because Alec was probably the most courteous kid I knew.

His reply was a mere laugh, and he pushed me in the direction of his home. “It’s easier to hide in a person than a household.”

I didn’t quite understand until I got there.

He had the type of house that had the potential to be extravagant. There was a weedy garden in front and washed up paint on the fence, even a porch. It was relatively tiny, but if it was only him and his parents, I couldn’t fathom why he expected a huge house anyway.

I felt irrationally guilty, knowing my house was in better condition, but he didn’t seem too bothered as he pulled out a keychain from his back pocket. “You know how I told you I don’t have any siblings?”

A bit startled, because neither of us had said a word for the longest time, I nodded. “Yeah?”

“Well, kind of like I’m an only child, my dad’s an only parent.” He paused, grinning at his choice of wording. “Just so you don’t say anything awkward about where my mom is or anything – because I totally see you doing that.”

The calmness of him revealing something so personal struck me. I was close to both my parents; we fought, they won, but we always made up. I expected Alec’s confession about his mother to be less careless, less apathetic. I don’t know what I wanted from him exactly, but I knew him randomly throwing out a sentence about his situation as I stood on his steps for the first time wasn’t it. It wasn’t wrong of me to assume that moment was supposed to be more intimate and private, but Alec seemed to disregard the seriousness of the issue and swung open the door.
He lived in the type of house in which, no matter how many times you replaced the light bulbs, the hallways were always dimly lit and dingy. He threw his shoes off to ones side and stared at me anxiously, moving his back against the wall and gesturing with a hand for me to come inside. “Umm. Upstairs is that way.” Alec pointed to the staircase with a wry smile.

I didn’t question how he didn’t offer to show me around first, but followed him up the carpeted stairs with a heady grip on the railing. The house seemed almost like a new side to Alec – kind of like when the greenest grass turns yellow. His room was next to the bathroom, and though things were relatively neat, I could still feel weak floorboards beneath my socks.

“Quin.” Alec’s voice was a whisper, and I turned my head to his questioningly. “Before I let you in, I think you should know my stepdad is a raging and abusive alcoholic that drove my mother to suicide. Don’t mind the bloodstains on the carpet.”

I literally choked on my own spit in shock, and immediately after, Alec choked on his laughter. I realised it was a joke a little too late, my face red with embarrassment and, admittedly, I was completely appalled. “What the Hell?”

Alec smiled mischievously. “You looked like you’re expecting it, like I have a dozen secrets and a troubled childhood. I don’t, so you know.” He walked into his bedroom, which was decorated simply with a large bed and computer desk on one side, while a huge dresser occupied the opposite. “My stepdad’s at work. He’s a cook at this pizza place, I’ll take you there one day.”

My spirits lifted. It seemed, contradicting Alec’s past, I was a little troubled myself in my previous years. I wasn’t often invited anywhere in middle school, I even stayed home for my ninth grade graduation, and Alec promising to show me things and take me places was part of the reason I grew so attached. “I hate your taste in pizza.”

I followed him to his bed as he sat down, kicking off a few pillows from the surface in the process. “Because you’re weird, dude. Who doesn’t like pepperoni?”

I shrugged as I sat down, feeling a little out of place. “Lots of people. We have an entire club, you know.” I grinned at his eye-roll, watching as he leaned back to stare at his own ceiling. There were no elaborate psedu-space stickers, but merely the crumbly and ordinary paste of every other one I’d seen. “So...”

“So...?” Alec hadn’t moved, his gaze not leaving the ceiling and avoiding me completely.

“Well, what actually happened to your mother then?” My voice was hesitant as I propped myself against his wall, watching his face skew with emotions that I don’t think he knew I ever saw.

“Well, before I met you, just two weeks in fact, I lived in a little rural area just outside of the city. One by one, we noticed the cows were being skinned and even, at times, eaten. My mother was the first human victim of the cannibal –”

“Forget it. Don’t you have dishes to do?”

Alec laughed, green eyes squeezing shut as he avoided dishes by any means. “Depends. When do you want to eat?”

He made dinner that night. Apparently, the only thing that family knew how to make was pizza. And I got stuck helping with the dishes.

It wasn’t until later that night, when his father had finally come home at nearly midnight and we were both fighting sleep by blasting the stereo did Alec’s last words catch me before I finally drifted.

“Cancer. In her ovaries.”

He smiled at me, well past the issue. Somehow, the cannibal seemed less tragic.

x.x.x.x

Have you ever seen Quin Olsen fall sleep? If you have, you’d understand my situation completely.

He has this way of trying to keep his eyes open, but all he really manages to do is blink futilely, hazel eyes bloodshot with the pressure of staying awake. He enters this mismatch of consciousness, where he thinks he’s asleep. It’s a state that he’ll allow himself to be completely honest in.

What stands out the most were a couple of years ago: the first night he ever stayed over. He was just succumbing into sleep, his eyes refusing to open any longer. Quin told me in a voice clear of deceit, that I was the best friend he’d ever had. It was common knowledge, but it was his tone that really struck me.

Hazy and thick with drowsiness, it almost sounded as if he were infatuated too.

x.x.x.x

A/N: So the POV is all good then? Yay for clarity!

I’m glad you’re liking Alec and Quin so far. I want to build up their relationship as friends, so you can judge for yourself by the end of it how close they are. :)

Thanks for the reviews, I’ve decided to try and reply this time!

2aki: Thanks so so so much for your support of this story and Cultured Spirit! I’m so stuck in a writer’s ditch for the former that I need this to get me writing again. Now I have so many works in progress that when I get bored of one, I have another to turn to, haha! I’m very flattered that you enjoy my writing, and I hope to continue writing for a long, long time. :)

2Selow: Ahh. I always feel that my syntax is sometimes overly awkward, so it’s always a relief to hear that my writing has flow!! The POV change was sort of an inspiration to add Alec’s thoughts into the story while keeping it strictly Quin-First-Person. I can’t keep you guys TOO curious about what he’s feeling, after all. ;)

2Illyric: I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying it! Transition has always been a work in progress for me, so any tying together that I’m managing to do appropriately is a huge relief, haha! I was hoping the POV switch wouldn’t smack anyone between the eyes with confusion, and it seems it hasn’t yet, so thank you for the encouragement!

2Carmen: I’m glad to be back and to see your reviews again! You are such a loyal reader, you make me feel guilty for not keeping up with reading my favourite work! Haha! Thanks for all your encouragement and compliments. :)

2Jane.r: I really enjoy writing the format as I have it. It sort of ties in together both boys’ thoughts while still staying true to being a narrative. I’m glad you’re liking it too :)


Thanks again, readers and reviewers alike!