Friends Forever

Gabriel and Silas

"Fuck this!" the boy across the parking lot yells at the police woman standing beside him. He's fisting his dark brown hair in his hands, and I think that he's crying too. He looks like he's about eleven or twelve, same as me. He sees me staring at him and spits, "What, you want to add to this shit storm? What're you gonna do, jolly green? Beat me? Who the fuck cares? That bastard kills my mom and brother and then gets off easy by wrapping his car around a goddamned pole? Take your best fucking shot!"

He takes a couple of steps toward me, like he seriously wants to fight someone almost twice his size.

"Calm down, Gabriel," the cop says, grabbing him by the shirt. Her southern drawl is thicker than others here in Charleston, and I have a bit of trouble deciphering what she's saying. "Y'all're gonna get pulverized by a kid his size." She looks me up and down and shakes her head as this Gabriel storms away from her and over toward a park bench across the street.

"Sorry kid," she says up to me. "His dad just died, and he's a might worked up."

I shoot my eyes over to the boy and feel empathy for him. I know what it's like.

"It is of no problems, Ma'am," I say, bungling my words as I impulsively head toward Gabriel. I hate that I can finally think pretty well in this strange language, but still jumble it when I speak out loud. It's harsh on my tongue, and not as lyrical as Greek.

I sit beside the other boy, and he jumps when he sees me. He sighs and slumps back in the seat. "Just fucking do it already," he grumbles, closing his eyes and clenching his fists like he's waiting for me to strike.

I lean back too and softly say, "I'm sorry for your sadness." I groan and try again when he looks at me strangely. "I also have the feeling of the sting of losing a parent. My mother was killed the year before now and it is a hole inside of my chest that never closes."

Gabriel tilts his head and looks at me like I'm from another planet. When he doesn't say anything, I clear my throat. "I like the colors of your clothing," I say stupidly.

He pulls his head back sharply, like I'd slapped him, and then begins laughing hysterically. "Holy mother-fucking shit! That was just what I needed, Hercules!" He doubles over, clutching his belly and smacks his knee a few times. "I'm sorry 'bout your mom, but the way you said that had me thinking of gaping chest wounds and oozing pus, and I thought you were going to pound me into hamburger, but you compliment me instead?"

He chokes a little, and I slap him on the back a few times to help him clear his airway. He takes a deep breath and wipes his eyes. Once he has regained his composure, he offers me his hand. "I'm Gabe Coleman," he says as we shake.

"Silas Korba," I respond.

He squints at me critically and pinches my shirt. "Now that we're buds, Si, I've got to be honest with you. This shirt doesn't do shit for you. You're what, twelve?" he asks and I nod, a little stupefied with this American custom of being so open with strangers. "Well you look like a fucking high school linebacker, and you're already topping six feet, so you've got to stop shopping in the kids section and get something that actually fits you."

He squeezes my arm and I'm not sure if he's assessing me or hitting on me. "Shit, you've got guns! We've got to get you a shirt that shows these bad boys off, and you'll be beating the birds back with a fucking two-by-four."

I feel oddly connected to this boy I've just met, and I perk up at his usage of the term 'birds'. I mutter, "Door frame."

He pauses mid sentence and then tries to cover it by casually saying, "Pizza."

Just to be sure, I smile and reply, "Dog."

He grins back at me and slaps me on the shoulder. "You're Academy?"

***

"You're Academy?" I ask. He nods and I feel like shouting out with glee like the stupid fucking Christmas song. "How come I don't know you?" I wonder out loud. It'd be hard to miss this man-boy at camp.

"I joined in Greece, many years behind, but we moved here during this summer. My brother is in trouble, and my father is here at the police force untwisting the problem."

I'm going to have to help him with his English, but I'm pretty impressed he's as good as he is if he's only been here a month. Silas looks worried and a little pissed when he glares at the police station, so I think it's best if I steer the conversation away from this. "Do you have a team yet? I've been trying out a couple different ones, but the one I'm on right now could definitely use some muscle. What's your specialty?"

Besides being fucking intimidating...

He turns his intense brown eyes toward me and slowly says, "I am good with water. I do boating and pipes. Plumbing is a family trade, but my mother loved to sail."

I recognize the sadness that overcomes him and nod. "I'm sorry about your mom. My mom died a couple of years ago in the same accident that killed my baby brother."

We sit in silence for a minute, each thinking about our mothers, before he jumps to his feet and drags me across the street. "If you no longer are having parents, you will come to my home. My father could not turn you away, I will not allow it!"

His words crash into me and it hits home.

I'm an orphan.

I'm alone.

"GABRIEL JOSEPH COLEMAN, WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Or maybe not.

My dad's new wife, Pam comes teetering across the parking lot in her stilettos and throws her arms around me in a nausea-inducing cloud of chemical perfume and whiskey. She sobs uncontrollably into my shoulder while I pat her awkwardly on the back. Silas raises an eyebrow at me and I shrug and mouth, "My dad's new wife. Barely a month."

His eyes go wide and he whispers, "You okay to go with her?"

I look at her over-bleached hair and feel my heart open with pity. She hadn't been with dad long enough to know what an asshole he really was. Her husband just died.

"Pam?" My voice cracks. "Pam, do you want me to stay with you?"

She sobs louder and digs her claws into my back. "Of course you'll fucking stay with me! You're Harry's kid! You're all I got, and I'm all you got!" She wails for a minute, and I dig a handkerchief out of my pocket and hand it to her. "We gotta stick together now."

She straight-up faints on me, nearly knocking me over, but Silas scoops her up and carries her back over to our bench. "My offer is forever yours, my new friend," he says as he places Pam gently on the seat.

I look at the miserable wreck and know that I can't leave her. Not right now. "Nah, man," I choke out. "She needs me."

Silas looks skeptical and shakes his head. He clasps my shoulder and forces me to look him square in the eyes. "We are brothers now, Gabe. Family first. This woman is incorrect. You are not alone, and are welcome in my home whenever you wish."

I sigh and feel a tear slip past my guard. He's right. I've got the Academy. I'm not alone, and now, I have a brother too.

I smile.

"Thanks, Si. Now, about this shirt..."

***