Better Off Without Me

Chapter Four

Jack pulled into the driveway of Alex's house and honked the horn. Seconds later, Alex ran out the door and joined Jack in his car, smiling. "Hey Jackie, just on time!" Jack smiled back before noticing Alex's black eye and swollen lip. Alex must have noticed Jack's concern, because his smile faded and he looked down at his hands.

Jack cleared his throat and focused on backing out of the driveway. "So what did you do yesterday?" he changed the subject. "Nothing really," Alex replied, "just watched TV and waited for today." Jack blushed and turned on the stereo, blasting New Found Glory. He listened to Alex sing along to the lyrics, smiling the whole time as they finished the short ride the Jack's house.

"Well hello, you must be Alex," Jack's mom closed the door behind the boys. "I'm Joyce." Alex only smiled and nodded, not knowing what to do around new people. "Come on Alex, let's play video games downstairs," Jack grabbed Alex's hand and weaved their fingers together, watching his mother disappear into the kitchen. Alex blushed deep red as he let Jack hold his hand.

Jack led Alex through a large empty room, down a set of stairs and into a huge basement. There was a  foosball table in the middle of the room, a red sectional couch facing an 80" TV that was mounted onto the wall, surrounded by shelves of DVDs and video games for every console that ever existed. 

"Pick out a game," Jack instructed as he opened the fridge and grabbed two cans of soda. Alex browsed the large collection of video games before making his final decision. He handed it to Jack, who put the disc in the Playstation and handed Alex a controller. The boys sat next to eachother on the couch and played video games for the next two hours.

"Jack, I'm kind of sick of playing video games, can we do something else?" Alex asked, taking Jack's hand in his own. Jack blushed and smiled, looking into Alex's eyes. "Like what, Lex?" he asked. Alex just shrugged and watched Jack's eyes search his face, probably wondering about the bruises.

Alex let out a sigh. "I know you're concerned, Jack," he let go of the younger boy's hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you want to tell me, or..." Jack looked down at his feet, waiting for Alex to reply. The older boy began telling the entire story...

"When I was eight, my mother left. She just dissapeared one morning after her and my dad were fighting. I don't remember much, I just remember that it was over something stupid, as always. They used to fight all the time. About two weeks after she left, my dad got a call saying that she had filed them for divorce. We haven't heard anything from her since then. My dad got really depressed after that, and he started to drink more and more. By the time I was twelve, my twenty-one year old brother was an alcoholic, too. But I loved my brother, his name was Tom. He basically raised me through all of the fights between our parents and my dad's constant yelling and drinking. But then Tom took it too far, one night when he was drunk he just shot himself. It was so sudden, I never would have expected him to take his own life like that. But he did. And ever since then, my dad has abused me. He told me that it's my fault they're gone. Before I was born, they were a happy family. But when I came along is when everyone started fighting. Tom couldn't handle the stress of raising his own brother, which is why he killed himself. My dad punishes me every day for that, and for everything else I do wrong. But I deserve it. I deserve everything I'm put through, every bruise and every scratch. Because I ruin peoples' lives by simply being alive. I never bring anything good to anyone, so I just try my hardest to stay away from people. And that's why I was surprised that you ever wanted to talk to me in the first place."

Alex finished his story and looked up at Jack to find tears rolling down his cheeks. "Jack I'm so sorry," Alex said in shock, "I'll just leave. I won't come back, you don't have to deal with me anymore." Getting up off of the couch, Alex was suddenly tugged back down and his lips were met with Jack's. He was surprised at first, but he melted into the soft, tender kiss. His mind began spining as Jack's tongue grazed across his bottom lip. They sat on the couch dancing their tongues together for a moment before Jack pulled away.

"Don't  you ever, EVER, feel like I don't want you around me. I love having you around me, Alex. I know we just met, but I'm already beginning to fall in love with you. I love the way you're so shy around everyone, I love the way you laugh at the stupidest things, I love the way your eyes light up when I call you Lex and I love the way you sing louder than the car speakers. I want to protect you, Alex. I want to always be there for you. Lex, be mine?"

Alex's eyes lit up more than ever, and the smile on his face wasn't forced one bit. He took Jack's hand and nodded before leaning in for another kiss.