Written in the Stars (W.I.P.)

Chapter 12

One year later...

Dean
I sat in the interrogation room with my feet up on the light gray table.
"Okay Mr. Silvers, you can go now." An officer said with a controlling tone of voice.
"Thank you, sir." I said, getting up and walking past him.
He gave a brief nod as he escorted me into the police station lobby.
"Get in the car, boy."
I didn't have any time to respond or protest before Glorion Silvers grabbed my arm and dragged me out to the parking lot.
When we got in the car, he asked me, "Why vandalism, boy?" Glorion asked.
I didn't have an answer for him.
Really, it mainly just came as a distraction from everything to me.
The entire car ride was silent after that, and I knew I would get a beating when I got home.

When we arrived to our house, the white paint on the outside crumbling, I step inside after him.
He laid a hand on my shoulder, and for a second, just a split second, I looked at him and saw something of the old Glorion in his eyes.
The Glorion that picked us up and spun us around in the air when we were little, the Glorion that took us out on the boat by the lake in the forest, the Glorion that hugged and kissed my mother, the Glorion that loved his children to the bottom of his heart.
But in a flash, he was gone, and his hand fell back down to his side.
He raised the brown leather belt into the air and struck my chest with the key ring still on.
A hard, gold key, with a particularly sharp end, dug into the skin on my chest and scraped all the way across before letting go and leaving a long gash behind.
Another scar to add to all the others.
I stood stiff and tense as he threw his next blows.
I stood there, 'like a man', Glorion would say.
"Get out of my sight, boy." He demanded, his rough, raspy voice coming out firm and hard.
"Yes sir."
I made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom, standing in front of the mirror on my door.
I lifted my shirt over my head and let it fall to the ground from my hand, examining the bleeding gash cutting into my chest from one side to the other.
I took my shirt and dabbed it against the wound, just enough pressure to stop the bleeding.
I didn't want to do all of this anymore.
Bing!
I dropped my shirt to the floor and let it bleed down to my abdomen for a moment before making my way toward my nightstand.
I turned on the phone and looked down at the Lock Screen, a text from Gage sitting at the top.
My heart felt like it had just shattered in my chest and I picked up the phone, sat down on my bed, and read the message from the Lock Screen.
'Hey Dean, I know it's been a while, but I was wondering if you wanted to meet up at the park today.'
Why hadn't I deleted his number sooner?
I quickly got that job done and stood up, walking back over toward the mirror.
I hadn't spoken with Rhys since last year after I drove him home after our 'chill and Netflix' and stuff.
It wasn't because I didn't want to talk to him, but because I didn't want things to go too far again.
I wasn't about to put him through all of that suicidal business a second time.
I picked my bloodstained shirt up off the ground and threw it into a laundry basket at the corner of my room, walking over to my closet to grab another.
There was a swift knock on my door before I could get a shirt on, and I whipped around to face it.
"Hey Dean, are you decent?"
I knew that voice anywhere.
"Hang on a minute."
I made my way over to the closet and grabbed a black shirt with a low neck cut from the middle of the pole holding up the shirts in the closet, and quickly put it on.
I turned around, walking over to the door, and opened it.
"Dorion, welcome back-" I could barely get the words out before he embraced me, and I suddenly felt like crying into his chest.
He was taller than me, six foot two to be exact, I was six foot, and he was about the same as I'd remembered.
He wore a tight black tuxedo with a black bowtie attached to the collar and black dress pants and shoes.
Not something you'd see anyone but a Silvers boy wear every day.
I haven't gotten that committed to our reputations yet.
"Come on downstairs, Julien and his most recent boyfriend, Ian, and Skye, are waiting down there for us." Dorion said, smiling sweetly at me, his British accent more pronounced than I last remembered.
He hadn't mentioned anything about our parents, but I could guarantee that they were down there waiting with everyone else.
"Ok, let's."

Rhys
I sat on one of the campus picnic table benches, my legs hanging under the table and my phone beside my arms which laid on the wood playing 'New Perspective' by Panic! At the disco.
I finished the last thing on my stack of study papers and stuffed them into my binder of folders and stuffed that back into my backpack, which lay on the ground on the opposite side of the picnic table bench than my legs.
The text tone on my phone went off and I paused my music, picking it up and reading the text.
As I had expected, another text from my mother.
'Everything going alright out there?'
'Do you need me to get Melissa to come over there on her bike?'
'Why haven't you and Dean been talking?'
'You really used to like him, right?'
I ignored the texts about Dean and simply typed, 'Yes, mom, everything is going fine. Thank you for being concerned.'
The reply came immediately.
'You're welcome, sweetie! I'll leave you alone now.'
I turned off my phone, rolling my eyes, and unpaused the music, setting it back down on the table and reaching into my backpack.
I pulled out my book, thick with its off-white pages and little black letters printed neatly on top, and began to read.
This was what I lived for.
Reading at the college campus, like a Dawn would do.