St. Bill

Chapter 8

(Dipper pov)

The bell rings and everyone gets out of their seats rushing out the classroom door. Me and Robert exit the class together as we talk. We've become really good friends since I broke his nose. He even got his other friends to leave me alone so for the first time in my life I'm actually liking school. He's been over to my dad's house when I was there last weekend visiting him and my sister Mable.

"Your dad seems like a chill dude. At least he wants you around."

"Yeah, it was my mom who didn't want me to have anything to do with him. If she had given me an option at the time, I probably would have chosen to just live with my dad full time instead of going with her and only seeing my dad half the time."

"That's a woman's problem. They need to learn to just let shit go sometimes."

"Agreed."

".....I've been seeing a therapist recently."

"That's cool."

"My Ma is making me. Thinks me acting out is because my dad left and because I have no positive male role model in my life. So I do bad shit for attention. "

"What does the therapist think?"

"He says that Ma is overbearing and controling and that I'm actually trying to rebel against her."

"That makes more sense."

"That's what I've been fucking Thinking."

We exit the school and I see my mom waiting there for me still in her hospital scrubs with the flower patterns on them. I go over to her and as we walk home I notice a spanish lady following us.

"Is she with us?"

"Your father's idea of safer child care."

"What's her name?"

"You got a voice, ask her yourself."

I turn looking back at the woman. "What's your name, ma'am?"

"Amelda." She answers in a heavy spanish accent.

"Hi, Amelda."

I turn forward again as my mom speaks up again. "It's going to be like this everyday, and same when you go to your dad's ever other weekend too. That's the deal now, you get shuffled between him and I."

"And Mabel doesn't?"

"No....because I took off with you, he got full custody of her."

".....he is my dad....and I know that you hate him because he cheated on you a bunch of times and that's why we left."

"How do you know about that?"

"Was it supposed to be a secret? You'll tell anyone who will listen. Grandma, Aunt Judy, all the cousins....it's also your Facebook status."

"I've been meaning to change that.....I should probably just say I'm single."

We get home and head inside, Amelda coming in with us. "Mom, I know that I'm not supposed to talk to Bill anymore, but can I go over and say goodbye to him at least?"

She sighs slightly. "Fine. But Amelda goes with you so make it quick."

Setting my backpack down I head ito the backyard and go into Bill's backyard seeing him sitting in a fold up chair, a box on a table in front of him. As I come over he rolls his sleeve down and I catch a glimpse at some cuts on his wrist that are scabbing over. On the table next to the box is what I think is a bloody razor.

"You're not supposed to be over here anymore." He looks like he hasn't slept or eaten in some time, his hair looking greasier than ever before.

"My mom said I could say goodbye."

"That my replacement?" His eyes glance at Amelda.

"She legal?"

"Si." Amelda speaks up.

"Hate to report your mother to INS."

"Mr. Dipper, one minute." Amelda goes back to my mom's backyard and waits for me there.

"She was my dad's idea, not my mom's." I clarify but Bill doesn't look like he even cares. I glance at the box on the table. "What's in the box?"

"My mom." I look at him again, his eyes and whole posture being almost lifeless.

"She died?"

"No, she shrunk herself and lives in that fucking box now." Taking a cigarette out of his pocket he lights it, seeming to be doing anything he can to avoid really looking at me.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Never really understood why people always say that."

"Maybe because they don't know what else to say."

"Well it's a shit saying. Maybe ask about her. Like what was she like? Do you miss her? What are you going to do now? What kind of fucking monster do you have to be to lock your own fucking mother up, convincing yourself it was the right thing to do when really you just didn't want to fucking deal with her not even able to use the fucking bathroom anymore?"

I go silent not sure what to say and he takes a minute to compose himself again before he talks again, still not looking at me.

"Do yourself a favor and get a life. Stop trying to live in mine, it hasn't been for shit."

"That isn't true."

"The fucking hell do you know about me?!" He stands up angrily glaring at me. "You think I'm some kind of role model? A hero because I saved you from one ass kicking or some kind of father figure because your old man couldn't keep it in his fucking pants? How stupid are you?"

"Guess I am stupid, for thinking that you were anything more than some mean, drunk, cigarette smoking asshole who hurts himself the minute things don't go his way and can't be bothered to even take a shower more than half the time." I rub the heel of my hand against my eyes trying to force the tears away that I felt stinging my eyes.

"Don't fucking cry in a fight."

"Don't teach me anymore gems, Bill. Save them for for someone else. Oh, wait, I just remembered. You have no one else in your fucking life! Besides the stripper that is living here until some gross guy decides to pay for her services!"

"Gotta be me, kid."

"Yeah. That's the sad part."

Angrily wiping my tears away I go back into my own yard and head inside the house going right for the stairs.

"Mason, are you alright?"

I freeze hearing my mom behind me. "Yeah, just going to go work on some homework. Yell for me when dinner is ready."

I head upstairs locking myself in my room before I sit at my desk angrily putting my head in my hands. I glance at Felix in his cage.

"Least you don't have to deal with all of this shit."

I take out my textbook and start working on homework, my eyes glancing over the paper explaining the Everyday Saints assignment. That one I really don't get. I don't know anyone that can really be considered saintly.

Hearing something outside I look out the window and see Bill leave a big box of things by his garbage can.

Wondering what that was about I wait for him to go back into his house before I sneak outside over to his garbage can and take out a picture fram from the box. The picture shows a younger Bill in an army outfit and there's other soldiers standing alongside him in the picture. He can't possible be more than 16 in the picture.

Looking in the box I see it's filled with other pictures, some with him and his mom when he was younger and one with Pyronica when they were younger and before she was pregnant. In the picture they both look really beat up but are smiling with their arms around each others shoulders.

I bite my lip as I an idea comes to me but I need to do more research on who Bill really was before I can think of doing the idea. I get my phone out of my pocket and call Robert. "Hey, I need help with something. Your bike can have passengers, right?"

"Hell yeah, I'll be there in 5 minutes."