"Thank you for letting me know." I hung up the phone, staring off into the empty road. My throat was tight, and my eyes stung, but I wouldn't cry. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes, taking one out slowly and taking multiple attempts to light it. The lighter wouldn't do more than spark each time, and the more I tried the shakier my hands got until I was so frustrated I threw the lighter down.
That's what I always did. I tried and tried and then gave up. It's why I would never amount to anything, why despite my efforts I'd never truly change a life for the better. I would always give up. I sat on the porch, my breathing shaky and cigarette in my hand unlit. I heard the front door open, could see someone come out and sit beside me. They picked up the lighter and lit it smoothly, holding it up to the cigarette until it lit and then moving it up to my mouth. I inhaled the smoke, taking my first full breath in since I read the caller ID.
I knew who it was beside me, in the way they breathed and helped me before questioning why I needed help. The person I knew intimately, who's breaths I've shared and who's bed I've woken up in after drinks and assaults and tears. The person I've relied on most, who knows my very being better than even I do. The person I'd have to tell just lost the only person they've ever been attracted to.
The call was from a hospital, a dainty rundown one that was going to be shut down soon from lack of funding and workers. I'm the emergency contact for several members, and on the family list for the rest, but it'd never mattered until today. Everyone was always so well taken care of, that I never expected to get a call about one of them from a hospital that was basically 3 rooms and a morgue.
I breathed out the smoke, the trembling soothing the more I smoked and the raw emotions flooding through me becoming more hollow, bearable. Tyler knew something was extremely wrong, of course, and I could tell he was worried in the way he rubbed my back with a small stutter, like he had to remind himself to keep moving his hand.
"Mini is dead." The words came out as a croak, leaving my throat feeling raw and my words shaky. It was the only way I could get them out, and I knew Tyler understood. His hand paused, and he took my cigarette to his own lips for a long drawn out moment before putting it back up to mine and blowing out the smoke.
"What happened?" I inhaled the smoke, wiping at my eyes as tears began falling. It was quiet between us, the air around us comfortable even as we were both deep in our own despair.
"His father.. he found him. Beat and killed him, got arrested." Tyler leaned against me, the two of us staring down at the cigarette in his hand like it'd solve things for us. If we just.. believed it would.
"I hate that drunk bastard." Tyler's voice was wet, giving away his state and making him sniffle. I leaned my head on his shoulder, giving him comfort in the only way he truly appreciated. We sat for a while, listening to the crickets and looking up at the night sky, glad we'd asked to stay another night so we could have the time to mourn together. I didn't know how to tell the rest of the gang, didn't know if I should. Maybe it was better for them if they believed he left of his own accord.
"Is everything ok? You two were out there for a while.." Jonathan asked as I slunked into bed. He hadn't joined us outside, despite us being out there for several hours. I just turned to him and hugged him, burying my face in his chest so he couldn't see the tear stains or cheeks red from crying.
"Yeah.. just.. talked a lot." Jonathan wrapped his arms around me, a hand in my hair combing through it. It was relaxing, allowing my body to fall back to the steady dripping of tears that'd been going on for hours.
"Ok.. just get some rest. You really need your sleep." I nodded, fully agreeing with Jonathan. Tyler had agreed with me that nobody needed to know, and we were going to make a game plan in the morning.
Word count: 769
STAI LEGGENDO
Please Don't Go- H2OVanoss (COMPLETE + REWRITTEN)
FanfictionThe banana bus squad is in a gang of criminals called "The Vanoss Crew". Vanoss, being the leader, finds Delirious and adds him to the group. Unfortunately for Delirious, he came along a bit too late, as the gang faced more hardships than they were...
