Misc.

boy stuck 4

The car door snapped shut abruptly, but Alan didn't flinch. His brother got into the drivers side and started the car, visibly frustrated, Alan could tell that much.

Owen didn't say a word the entire drive back, too disappointed to even speak. He wished he could be more direct about what happened, but nothing stirred to trigger such a response. He was painfully aware of his brother's actions and mindset, but never had it in him to change it. Owen tried anyways.

The car parked in the dingy little gravel driveway in front of the house they had the audacity to call home, and Owen broke the silence, sighing.

"Theft, Alan?"

"Fuck off," he snapped, trying to open the door, only to find it locked. "Open the fucking door."

"No," Owen said, quieter than he wanted. "They told me you were arrested on accounts of theft. Alan, they said you tried to steal milk from the convenience store. We- we fucking have milk in the fridge!" he said, desperately.

"Open the fucking door."

"You broke the law for milk!?"

"Let me out!" Alan shouted, still trying to open the door. He didn't want to talk about this right now.

"Not...until you tell me what happened."

"Was the explanation from the cops not good enough?" Alan was done with talking reaching over Owen to unlock the doors himself going inside.

"Is the fact that you broke the law not concerning to you? You're a fucking minor!" Owen called after him, receiving only the loud slam of the front door in response.

He sat in the car by himself, the silence ringing in his ears. He swallowed the lump in his throat and got out of the car following his brother inside.

Alan had already isolated himself in his bedroom and Owen fell onto the couch, staring out the front window.

Fuck.

The silence that had swarmed Owen in the car caught up to him in the living room and choked him once more.

--

Alan figured he got off pretty lucky. He didn't have to serve time and his brother would take care of the fine. Owen always figured shit out, that was his job.

He fell asleep a few hours later, fatigue drowning him into a world of blissful oblivion, to a place where he didn't have to think about anything. Owen dozed off on the couch, too tired to deal with the situation at hand right away. He would figure things out. That was his job. It was his job to make sure- to take care of Alan.

Owen woke around ten in the evening, roused by the vibrating of his phone on the table.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

His boss answered, asking him to pick up a shift the next morning. Owen worked at the museum in town as a guide. He showed people around the building, watched them gawk at the same dinosaur bones, the same exhibitions and the same displays. It wasn't his favorite work, but he was better off there than working at a grocery store. It was the only thing keeping them afloat; the only thing that allowed them to eat an actual meal. Owen took the offer, assuring his boss he would be there at nine the next morning.