THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

70

||ETHAN||

In front of me was a glass pane, through it sat Kenny on one side of the table and an officer at the opposite. I wanted to keep an eye and company as I observed, dad stood beside me. "So, Kenny's your friend huh?" He sounded sorrowful, attention towards the two. I nodded in response.

Coming from the speakers, a beep went off followed by the man's voice from the other room, "alright, state your name and age," he asks.

"Kenny P. Russel. 18 years old."

"Kenny, this conversation will be recorded for future purposes. Please, make your voice clear and cooperate truthfully as much as you can. Do understand the circumstances and we will proceed to the questions."

Kenny nodded obediently, though fingers fidgeted. I shuffled on my spot as a set of papers slithered out of an envelope that the man brought out. There, he clears his throat, "okay, first off..."

"Your guardians are Trent Russel and Jaylen Russel, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you know if they have any aliases?"

Kenny pauses for a moment, "I-I'm not sure, I'm not that associated deep into their business, if they have any..."

"Do you have any other close relatives?"

"No, I'm the only child and I don't know any cousins."

"Do you know anyone associated with this drug line?"

With a shake of his head, "no, no one ever knew about this. I-I don't have many friends, and I kept my distance from everyone as much as I could to keep it classified..." there was a tight pang on his tone. I felt the wringing sensation as he said how isolated he felt.

Pity overwhelmed me and winced.

He distanced himself his entire life, no friends, no other family members, he was lonely for so long and had almost no one...

... for the sake of keeping his secret hidden.

The man sighs understandably with the same empathy, "how long has this project been going on?"

Closing his eyes, trying his best to recall, "From what I can remember, possibly 5 years ago, but that's when I discovered about all of this. Truth is, I don't think they ever did this when I was born. When I was very young, they were actually loving, until something must have happened, that I noticed, both my parents became less interactive, as well as caring for unknown reasons...

One day, coming home from school, I entered our house to see them arguing on the phone.

'What do you mean the truck cartel got into an accident! The supply won't reach the boss and the cops are tracing down the sources to us?' My dad roared onto his device in a fit of rage and anxiety.

Suddenly, when they saw me out of panic, they shut me up and ordered to remain quiet of everything or we'd all be in trouble. Their eyes held fear, the look branded in my memory.

Weeks after, we moved out of our old place into the one where you recently seized..."

-

The entire time, Kenny opened up more of his story. The more he ranted, information spewed more specifically of his personal life. But, when they questioned about his parent's current whereabouts, he couldn't reply. All he said was that he didn't know because he ran away without a care after they were compromised.

I knew what happened after that, but of course he wouldn't tell.

It lasts about half an hour before they concluded. Still, he reminded Kenny that they're still in the search for his mother and father. Guilt projected on the man's face to which Kenny reflected. He must feel awful being here as if he was leading his parents to their imprisonments.

When the operation was done, he was assisted out of the room to which I waited outside. Kenny's legs were wobbling. Seeing them, I went to give him a comforting hug. For a while, he was unfazed until he wrapped his own arms on me in return. "What... am I gonna do now? What will happen to me..." Kenny whispered.

Dad's face crinkled with a frown, "we'll figure something out..." then, the sound of a stomach growling rumbled. We stared down at Kenny's belly to which he laid a palm over.

"Sorry, it's been an entire day and a half since I've eaten..." he murmurs.

Dad shook his head and placed a hand on his hip, "here, come to the cafeteria," he motions us to follow. Trailing behind, dad silently, I noticed how Kenny started limping while the sound grew louder and frequent.

"You haven't eaten?" I said with concern.

"I could barely... my appetite's been gone."

Upon entering, we reached the area with a few tables. To the side, a bar full of food which was tended up someone. Dad turns to Kenny with a tender look, "get as much as you can. I'll pay for everything."

Kenny stares at him softly before trudging over to the display of various meals. With a tray at hand, he points out what he wants and the person places it on his plate. It wasn't a surprise of his overflowing plate. Kenny was very skinny, it was worrying. Dad went over to converse with the lunch person, "alright, have your fill okay?" He waves before leaving us alone to do something. I glanced over to Kenny and walked alongside with him to a table. Just as he set it down in front, I heard a sniffle from him, a tear trickled down to his chin, "Kenny, what's wrong?" A hand placed on his shoulder.

"It's just that... I envy you so much."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"I wish things went back to normal. I wish my dad was just as loving as yours...

I miss the old him, Ethan...

I know, I said I hated my parents before. But, deep down, I've actually always wished they were the same affectionate people until everything went to shit...

I still love them..."