The Evermore Dissociate(Creek)

0087

Distracted by video games, Craig hadn't noticed when Clyde entered the bedroom. He'd been too consumed with what was in front of his eyes, that he hadn't heard Clyde munching on the unappealing cookies his mom had left at the end of the bed. To Clyde, they weren't that bad. He was used to his dads cooking, which was somehow worse than Laura's. It made him think about his own mom, and how her food was the best he'd ever tasted. She cooked for fun, made pancakes on request, and put everything she had into her efforts. Now though, Clyde was lucky to have anything other than cereal for breakfast.

It was only when Craig was waiting to respawn, not long after, that he finally realised Clyde was there. He'd spotted him out of the corner of his eye, and to say it startled him, would be an understatement. With wide eyes, Craig stared at Clyde who grinned in return. "We're going shopping with your mom and sister later."

"What?" Craig frowned. "Why?"

"Because, I told her we would."

"Why would you tell her that?"

Eyeing the remaining cookie in his hand, Clyde shrugged. "Your moms cool." He said, with his mouth full. "You don't spend enough time with her."

"I spend plenty of time with her." Craig argued in defence. "I live with her!"

"I've already said were going. We can't back out now, or she'll hate me."

"I'm fine with that."

"With going?"

"No, with her hating you."

In the end, they were heading out of the house and settling inside of Laura's car. Craig had shoulder barged everyone out of the way so that he could be in the front, leaving Clyde and Ruby together in the backseats. The radio was on low, making Ruby and Clyde's pitchy duet the only thing that Craig could hear. Outside was getting dark, and with it, the temperature had dropped. Inside the car was snug and warm, but the cold air still managed to seep through the edges of the window that Craig stared out of. His mind went else where as he watched the trees and houses pass by too fast.

Beside him, Laura glanced through the rear view mirror, at the two happily singing in the back as they mimicked playing guitar and drums. She smiled to herself as she listened to their voices, but then her attention flickered over to Craig. It had been a shock to the system when Clyde had told her they'd be joining the grocery shopping expedition, but what surprised her the most, was how her son had agreed to come along. Even if it was reluctantly.

They arrived outside of the store not long after their departure, and as Laura parked the car, she shook her head at the eagerness of the seatbelts being clicked open. The car had barely stopped when the three of them swung the doors open to climb out. With a drawn in breath, Laura turned off the car, before reaching over to grab her bag. When she stepped outside and closed the door behind herself, she noticed the others were already walking off, leaving her to stroll across the parking lot alone.

The heater above the entrance doors blew Clyde's hair out of place as he stepped inside. It was bright in the store, and at first, it took his eyes some time to adjust. Ruby had stuck around to wait for her mom, while Clyde and Craig began to wander off, further down the aisles. They walked side by side, offhandedly looking at the food on the shelves as their footsteps carried through sound around them. Clyde briefly looked to his friend, then back down to his shoes in thought. "Hey, um- I was thinking..." he began, drawing in Craig's attention. "I'm going to visit my mom on Wednesday, before school, do you wanna - uh, do you want to come?"

The question stunned Craig momentarily, but as he robotically nodded his head in agreement, he replied, "yeah sure." He couldn't exactly say no. Maybe Clyde needed support, and what kind of friend would Craig be to refuse? This year had been the hardest anniversary for Clyde. Craig knew. He knew it was because his dad was seeing someone else, and he knew that no matter how hard Clyde tried to act okay with it, that deep down, it actually bothered him.

In relief, Clyde smiled across to his friend, before picking up his pace to browse at some snacks. He left Craig to slowly catch up, giving him time to think about tomorrow. Soon, Ruby and Laura rejoined the group, with a shopping basket so full, that it made the woman walk distortedly. Rather than offering to carry it for her, both her children continued to add more items to the basket, much to Laura's annoyance. After leaving the check out, the bags were spread out between each of them, though somehow, Clyde only had a small, light bag, whilst Ruby and Craig had multiple heavy ones.

As they carried the bags across to where the car was parked, which was quite far away, a gentle shower of rain began to fall from the skies. They each looked upwards, with the rain landing on the skin of their faces, trickling down the bridge of Craig's nose. In a way, it was refreshing. At least, it was until more rain began to fall, heavier than before. With a squeal, Ruby ran to the car, leaving the others to watch her retreating form. Looking to one another, the boys sniffed in sync, with Clyde's hair becoming flat, whilst Craig's hat sagged from the rain.

"Last one to the car likes hairy balls." Clyde rushed out, before racing away, laughing over his shoulder as the bag he carried rustled against the wind.

The unfair head start made Craig mutter profanities under his breath as he ran to catch up. The rain blocked his view, and by the time he'd made it over to the car, Clyde was already there, tugging on the handle. The car was still locked, so the three of them shivered as they waited for Laura to arrive.

"Craig likes hairy balls." Clyde grinned through chattering teeth. His statement cause Ruby to snort in agreement, whereas Craig frowned in objection.

"No, mom does. She's last."

The three of them glanced over as Laura huffed, struggling to pull the car keys from her bag, whilst carrying multiple shopping bags. When she unlocked the car, the bags were quickly dumped into the back, before each of them hurried inside, where it was nice and dry.

"Doesn't count." Clyde said, as he fastened his seatbelt. "It was just between us."

"It does count." Craig drawled in protest. "She was there with us when you said it."

The heater was switched onto full power, with the sound of sniffles filling the car. Laura wiped the wet hair from her face as she began to drive them back home, but after a few moments of silence, she added to their conversation. "Doesn't count." She agreed with Clyde. "Sorry Craig, but you like hairy balls."

From her peripheral vision, she could see her son scowling at her, causing a small smile to tug on Laura's lips as she refused to look in his direction. She kept her eyes on the road as she listened to Ruby and Clyde playfully taunting Craig. The childish mood only increased throughout the ride, with Craig unsuccessfully trying to reason his way out of it. There was no malicious arguments, or bad intent. It was something new for her family, now that Thomas was out of the picture, and for that, she smiled.