More Than This

6 - Garrett

I've decided to go back and adjust Nico's age when his dad died from 10 to 17. I feel like for Nico to be as paternal as he is with Garrett that he should have had his dad around longer...

Song of the chapter - Pictures of You by The Cure

The way my emotions can spin out of control is disturbing. I think I cover it pretty well, but inside I'm losing it. Looking at that picture of Lisa and me, taken just before everything happened, was intense. I'd avoided that wall the entire time we've lived in this damn house.

I hung the pictures, but I didn't even glance at them while I was doing it. My mom liked the memories. I think having them up made her feel closer to them. To Lisa, and to my dad. Although I don't know why she'd want to feel close to that son of a bitch.

At least Nico's dad died honorably. He spent his life protecting others, and Nico had the same outlook. My dad died of an overdose when I was seven.

So you could pretty much say that my childhood sucked.

It pulled Lisa and I together. My mom had always had to pull double shifts and work two jobs to make enough as a nurse to cover the bills. My dad left us with huge gambling debts too. But my mom loved him, so she excused his behavior.

I didn't talk about what happened with Lisa because it hurt too much. We were so close, not having her was too much for me to take. I was still mad about it, that never seemed to go away.

To Amber's credit, she didn't ask me anything, but I could tell she wanted to. I'm not sure why I even gave her the information I did, it just slipped out without much thought. Then the ride to take her home was silent. She seemed to be waiting for me to speak, rather than fill the silence with small talk. Another thing I appreciated about her, she let me be when I needed it. I wasn't in the mood so I let the silence take over.

The ride back to my house, alone, was worse. My mind started to wander to the past. It was like flashbacks, which I used to have almost every day. Although the flashbacks weren't as bad as the nightmares had been.

My heart was racing and it started to feel like I'd hyperventilate if I didn't get out of the car soon. The second I put the car in park when I got home, I jumped out of the drivers seat and went back to the garage. I didn't have as good a set up as Nico, but he had given me some of his older workout equipment so I had a reasonable home gym.

That night I made good use of it.

Nico found me out there about ten minutes after I got home.

"There you are. I wondered where you had gotten to." He stood in the side doorway, arms crossed and leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah....here...I...am." I grunted between lifts. Curling twenty-five pounds in each hand made it difficult to carry on a conversation.

"What's up? It didn't take too long to drop Amber at her place."

"Was...it...supposed...to?"

"I don't know, you tell me." Now he was smirking. Some times I just wanted to knock him out, fucker.

"Nope"

"Right. So what's wrong." I raised my eyebrows at him, "because obviously something is, or you wouldn't be out here on a Sunday night when your mom is home and April and I are here."

I just gave him a long look while continuing to lift the weights. But he was right and we both knew it.

"She saw the picture of Lisa and I." I finally confessed.