bambi eyes || tradley

9. the past is a maze

The twenty-one-year-old's parents weren't home a lot, which had its advantages. It was easier having Bambi in the house without his parents witnessing the curly-haired boy's strange behaviour. But in a larger house, Bambi was becoming a job. He was too curious, having an unbearable urge to explore every inch of the house, and it was so sudden that it was too easy losing the small boy in the large area. Tristan had to constantly run around to find him. He didn't want Bambi hurting himself or getting lost in the house - not that he cared or anything.

"Bambi!" Tristan called from the top of the dark staircase. Silence was his only response.

The blond let out a sigh of frustration and flicked the light switch on, partially illuminating the intimidating journey into the basement. He scanned the crowded area, hoping to see a glimpse of the brown-eyed boy, but he was only met with the neglected boxes and the creepy, dusty dolls lined up on the shelf that seemingly every household has stored in their basement.

Tristan hated going into basements, especially his own. Ever since he moved into the house at eleven-years-old, it gave him a strange feeling. Going into it was like asking to be murdered. But he sucked in a breath and inched down the staircase at the sound of movement inside of it, even though he didn't want to. Tristan was convinced he was too caring about people.

"Bambi!" he shouted again. He quickened his footsteps down the staircase and safely reached the bottom, sighing of relief that the weak staircase didn't collapse under his weight.

Tristan frowned at the moonlight shining through the window and casting a distorted shadow onto the wall. Wrapping his arms around himself, the twenty-one-year-old ran through the streak of light and turned to the other side of the basement where he spotted a glimpse of the curly-haired boy scurrying underneath the staircase where the light dimmed.

The blond let out a shaky sigh and ducked to follow him under the stairs. "Can you please come out, Bambi? I'll give you some of that strawberries and cream trifle you liked."

"Food?" he heard his voice come from the other side of the staircase. Tristan smiled. Bribery was always the key to getting what you want.

"Yes, food."

"Coming!" Satisfied, the twenty-one-year-old turned to make his way back towards the staircase when suddenly a crash sounded throughout the abnormally large space followed by the loss of light, pulling the two boys into darkness.

"Oops," the young boy voiced from somewhere in the basement. Tristan let out an exasperated sigh, redirecting his eyes towards the only light source coming from the door at the top of the staircase.

"Bambi," Tristan carefully said, struggling to hold back his frustration, "what the hell did you do?"

"I hit a light switch, and then everything went blind," Bambi poorly explained. "Glass fell - at least I think it was glass... Yes, my finger is bleeding, I can confirm it was glass."

"I'm coming towards you, Bambi. Don't move." Extending his arms out, he cluelessly felt around the dark space, steadying his trip with the help of the wall before the cracking of glass sounded from underneath his Converse shoes followed by two pairs of arms snaking around his torso. Tristan attempted peeling him away, but it only caused the smaller boy to cling onto him tighter. "Let's go upstairs now."

"Wait," the curly-haired boy said. Suddenly, his small arms were pulled away from him and his presence was no longer palpable. Tristan let out a sigh and extended his arms towards the direction his voice came from before and helplessly felt around the space, the sound of more glass cracking underneath his shoes.

"What are you doing?" the twenty-one-year-old questioned, exasperated.

"Found it!" Bambi exclaimed before his body knocked against Tristan's, nearly sending the blond falling to the floor. "Now, time to eat."