The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 10: Sweets

Wednesday...
                    3:49pm...

The room was cold, and the steady breeze blowing in through the window didn't help. The cold wasn't unbearable, but rather an unusual temperature for a bedroom. Then again, it was Cush's bedroom. Black walls, cold and practically empty.

Elias chuckled. It resembled his heart. He was in the middle of tutoring Cush when his mother had called him down stairs suddenly, leaving Eli to his thoughts and that was the first thing that came to mind.

There was something about it though--about how the room made him feel. Maybe it was because this was an unfamiliar area, or perhaps it was the array of drawings surrounding him that made it delightfully captivating. It was like he was touring a small art museum with his eyes; each piece was unique. The more he looked, the more he realized they weren't all women. There were wilting roses, other faces, and random doodles here and there. There was one, however, that held interest.

A warm lamp was sitting on the corner of his desk, spilling its light behind it across a picture deeply carved into the black paint. It wasn't a full drawing, no, but the parts that were drawn were exceptionally detailed. It was a drawing of hands clawing out a pair of eyes. Gruesome, yet simple and well done. It wasn't colored, but he could tell the long streaks were blood. It had no censor. Everything was raw and explicit. Nothing like he'd ever seen before.

Maybe that's why he found it appealing. Though, it made him wonder. What's the story behind his drawings?

"Are you hungry?" Cush's voice came from the frame of the door. Elias was a bit surprised. If he didn't ask it with such distaste, Elias might've thought he actually cared if he were.

"Not really." Elias replied, trying to find where they left off. "Let's try to finish this now."

"I told her to stop wasting her time with these things." Cush sighed, making his way back over to his bed.

"With what?" Elias asked, flipping through the pages.

"Peh...baking." Cush sat down pinching the bridge of his nose. "I hate sweets. She knows that."

Elias gave a short laugh that caught Cush's attention.

"What's funny?" Cush rose a brow.

Elias shook his head. "Nothing, just...Ava and I'd love anything that didn't have to go in a microwave."

"Ava." Cush paused on that. "Your sister?"

"Yeah." Elias felt funny that he assumed that Cush had already known. "Younger."

There was a pause.

"Take some home." Cush insisted. "I won't eat them."

Elias glanced up at Cush for only a second. It was different. He almost mistook it for genuine kindness, but Cush's dark eyes reminded him of that impossibility though. He was only doing it for his benefit. "I might thanks."

He'd finally found the page. "Did you do the reading?"

Cush paused at that, turning away. "No. I mean I...I got distracted."

Elias nodded. "It happens. Just have it done by Friday. You need to know that stuff--and pay attention to the events chronologically. He takes points for that."

Cush nodded, and Elias took that as his cue to start again.

The rest of the session had finally passed, and Cush was happy to send Elias on his way. Moving down the stairs and towards the front door, the sweet, warm smell of brownies filled his nose. He hummed in delight. They smelled heavy with chocolate and were fresh. Man, did those smell good.