The Tragedies of Chemistry

Chapter 13- The Lockwood Brothers

Charlie's POV.

I woke up to the smell of waffles. But not any waffles. Bailey's red velvet, cream cheese topping waffles. I got ready and downstairs within thirty minutes. Bailey used to be the cook of the house before she left to college and after Mom left. Dad wouldn't get up in time to make breakfast so Bailey would cook. Mostly she's made omelets or pigs in a blanket. Sometimes she'd make different flavored waffles, only on special occasions though. I guess this morning was a be-on-dad's-good-side-again occasion. I didn't mind. Red velvet was dad's favorite desert. Bailey snacked on a granola bar as she prepared dad's food. I sat down at the table gulping down the waffles bit by bit.

"So what's new Charlie?" She asked me.
I shrugged, "Nothing, really. School is school. Dad is dad."
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah I sometimes wish he wasn't."
"You just have to give him some time Bailey." I encouraged, "He's getting better than you think."
"I sure hope so."
I bit my bottom lip. "So are you going?"
"Going where?"
"To the wedding."
"Hell no!" She snapped. I shushed her. "Are you?"
"I don't want to but dad's going!" I argued, "He needs someone Bailey. This is harder for him than I thought. He needs to have his daughters be there for support."
Bailey's face went crooked. She was always soft when I pulled the daughter card. "Alright," She sighed, "But I'm not gonna so as much look at the woman. She doesn't even deserve any of us being there."
I shrugged, "Maybe we all need this. Some closure, I mean."
"No reason is a good enough reason to leave and not call for three years." She muttered.
I poured myself a glass of juice.
"So is Andy still Andy?" Bailey asked. I looked at her as if to say Obviously.
"I can't believe you still hang out with her." She complained, "You stick to her like a fly on shit."
"You cuss too much."
"I'm just jealous you guys get to have her grandma's cabin all to your guy's selves for winter break."
"That's the plan."
"Maybe if wouldn't be so bad as to bring a few boys there with you guys." Bailey smirked. If anyone dared me to do dubious things, it was Bailey. She basically encouraged me to go out and reek havoc. She was a troublemaker herself, but not as serious as getting arrested. The topic of boys only brought one specific person to mind.
"There's this new guy at our school." I mentioned. Immediately Bailey whipped around and arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? A new guy, huh?"
I explained myself before she got the wrong idea.
"Oh stop it. He's an old friend of Andy's. Apparently they were childhood friends. He was homeschooled almost all his life and he traveled in Europe with his parents. They finally let him resume to public school for his senior year."
"Why would he come back here?" She questioned but I understood. I asked myself the same question.
"Because he just wanted to come back to his hometown I'm guessing." I said, "But his parents practically begged him not to. I think something happened to him here or maybe his family. I don't know."
She looked stumped, "Maybe he got into trouble. Or maybe he fell in love with a girl his parents disaproved of." I tried not to make the disappointment on my face evident. "Maybe he had a death in the family."
Something in my mind flickered. "Well, he kept talking about this boy named JJ."
"JJ?"
"Yeah."
"What's his name?" She asked.
"I don't know. I don't think I know any JJ."
"No, not him. What's the boy's name?"
"Oh, Noah Lockwood."
Her eyes widened. "Wait a minute. Noah Lockwood? As In Lockwood? As In Jordan Jr. Lockwood? As in JJ Lockwood?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed, "JJ Lockwood! Where have I heard that name before though? Maybe I met him before. A name that like couldn't go unnoticed."
Bailey's face grew solemn. "Charlie. JJ Lockwood went to our school."
The pieces suddenly came together, "That's right! He was the quarterback! I remember now! I went to one of the high school football games with Andy to watch him when we were in middle school! He's Noah's older brother! Oh shit, and they look so much alike too!"
"I bet." She murmured.
I looked at her and no smile lingered on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Don't you remember what happened to him Charlie? Remember that day that you, me and Mom drove to the school at nine o'clock at night? I was only a sophmore back then but he was known around the entire school."
I started to go back to that day. I can't remember much by all I can remember were candles and flowers and.. crying. It hit me. I pictured JJ Lockwood's portrait in my mind. The one I seen at the shrine outside of the school. The same one they keep in the office, in a huge glass case.
"JJ killed himself, didn't he?"
Bailey nodded. "They found him in his room, dangling from the ceiling."
"Oh God." I groaned. No wonder why his parents wouldn't let him come back to this town. It reminded them too much of the loss of their son.
"Why though?" I thought out loud. She shrugged.
"He was a good kid too," She added, "He already had a scholarship locked and loaded, everybody just about adored him, he had God worthy looks. "
How a kid like that just one day decide to commit suicide? The thought just struck me.
"So does his brother."
Her eyes snapped to me. "Charlie, do you like him?"
"Of course I do, he's a nice person."
She waved my response off, "No, no. I mean as in like like. As in I wanna date him."
My eyes widened, "Of course not!"
"Well this is the first time you're ever mentioned a boy to me!" She said as a matter of factly.
"I've talked to you about many boys!"
"When?"
I stayed silent. Bailey and I were close so of course I would talk to Bailey about boys. But the fact was, there was no boys to talk about.
Suddenly I heard a honk outside and the day was too beautiful to think about that.
"Gotta go, Andy's here!"
"We're going to talk about this later!"

Andy practically cackled when she heard of Bailey getting into trouble with the law. They really did shoot each other down when they had the chance to. I didn't tell her about my mom or the wedding invitation. Not yet. Nor did I tell her that I knew about Noah's brother. I knew that Andy must have known about it longer than I have but it didn't feel right to talk about it with her without his permission.
As soon as we got to school, I told Andy I had to stop by the office because they marked me absent in a class. She groaned, "Oh come on, it's just one class."
"Every class counts."
She rolled her eyes, "Alright. I'm gonna go find Noah and pitch him my Halloween Party Idea."
"Don't go plan a party he hasn't agreed to!"
"Oh trust me Charlie, he'll agree." She winked. Even Andy could convince the Devil for her soul back. As soon as she was out of my vision, I rushed through the crowded halls and to the main office. I stood in front of the glass case that hung along the wall. There I saw the shrine and JJ Lockwood's portrait.
"They really do look alike," I said to no one in particular. They shared the same dent on their chin, the sculpted eyebrows, the dimples on both sides of their cheeks, and the silver green eyes. Underneath his picture, it said: In Loving Memory, Jordan Junior Lockwood. Rest In Peace JJ.
A football and his jersey hung out on display.
I felt a tug at my heart and I suddenly felt like seeing Noah. It must of been hard for him to lose his brother. Even after all this time, all he wanted was to come back to his hometown and go to the same high school his brother went to. The modesty of it.