Buzz

Chapter One- A Single Text

The ceiling fan flicked on as Isaac flipped the switch and crawled into bed. He stared up at the ceiling, assessing the small cracks and bumps. He grabbed his phone and checked the time for the third time in 5 minutes. 3:25 am. He had been up pondering life for quite some time now. It had only been 2 hours since his girlfriend of 8 months dumped him over text. He couldn't pinpoint why she had decided to break his heart, and why now. Why, after 8 months, did she decide to do this? Was it something he had said or done? He didn't know and didn't want to ask. He just lay in bed sighing heavily. The clock changed to 3:26 pm, and Isaac threw his phone across his bed. The darkness filled the room as the fan whirred in the background, filling in the white noise. There was a feeling deep in the pit of his stomach, but he didn't know what to call it. Depression? Possibly. Emptiness? Most likely. Isaac felt completely and utterly empty. Maybe he could fill the void. Food didn't seem to be appetizing, neither did stealing a beer from the refrigerator while his dad was asleep. The only thing he could do was stare at the ceiling and wallow in self-pity. The empty feeling continued to grow until he was not motivated to keep his eyes open. He lay on top of his sheets and embraced the cold air until a single tear fell his cheek. An endless river poured from his eyes as he buried his face in his hands. Not once before had he felt such sorrow. The emptiness consumed him. The urge to vent was becoming imminent. No way did he want to tell someone he had his heartbroken, but if he didn't, he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
Just then, a faint buzz came from the opposite end of the bed. As he sat upon the bed, he wiped the tears running down his cheeks and picked up his phone.
"Hey, I saw your post on SnapChat, are you alright man?" his friend Chris had texted him. He had forgotten that he had posted some depressing lyrics from god knows what song. Chris had always been there for him since the second grade, ever since he got picked on by the older kids. Isaac wasn't always the best at socializing, but as he got older, he grew well out of that phase. Chris, however, stayed a shy boy; the opposite of his best friend.
His thumbs danced over the keyboard as he pondered what to say. "Honestly man I'm not. Jackie fucking dumped me."
"Oh, shit Isaac I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
There was a long pause between the two. "Not really... can we go for a drive?". He couldn't stand to mope in bed any longer, he needed to get out. The emptiness filled his room like it filled his soul. He sat at the window and minutes later he saw headlights light up the street. He slipped on his shoes and threw some cigarettes in his backpack while quietly zipping it up. The window squealed as he slowly lifted it and climbed out.
A truck was parked on the side of the street, from the window he could see Chris slowly moving his head to whatever music he was playing. He stared until Chris turned his head and waved to him. Shaking his head, he snapped out of his trance and walked towards the truck, swinging his bag over his shoulder. The car door swung open and the sound of classical music filled his ears. "Dude, really?". Chris's face turned a shade of red, "Leave me alone man, you know Beethoven slaps.". Isaac chuckled as he leaned his seat back and pulled a cigarette from his bag. Chris gave him a concerning look. "Isaac, I thought you quit smoking, remember?". His motherly instincts were kicking in, and he had no intent on simply letting Chris have a cigarette in his truck. "If my dad notices my truck smells like cigarettes, he'll kill me, you know, that right?".
Chris 's father was a large, burly man. He was an ex-police officer and had taken his anger out by drinking his nights away. Mr. Burlock was an intimidating man, especially knowing his personality. He tended to act out in violence after a long day of work, and unfortunately, Chris had no escape from this. Usually, he would sneak out, and on nights like this he stayed out as long as possible. He needed a way to escape. Multiple times Chris has shown up to Isaac's house to sleep over after his dad had gotten into a drunken rage. For a quiet boy like him, violence was too much for him.
Chris started the car and drove down the street. Isaac wiped his cheek with the sleeve of his hoodie and stared out the window, watching the headlights pass by. "Are you okay?" the level of concern in his voice rose, he knew he wasn't okay. It was obvious he wasn't just slightly inconvenienced by this. Isaac turned to Chris, his lip trembling and eyes watering. Isaac was never the kind of person to show his emotions, but at this point, he couldn't help it. "Oh, Isaac... hey, do you want to get a milkshake? Will that cheer you up? I can pay for yours; I don't mind." Isaac sniffled as he nodded his head. He buried his face in his hands, clearly embarrassed. He had never felt so humiliated, but with Chris, he didn't feel completely uncomfortable. He had cried in front of him only once before when he broke his arm after falling out of the tree in Chris's front yard. The two were young, climbing the tree pretending to be pirates. Isaac couldn't explain why they were climbing trees as pirates, neither could Chris. All they were sure of is that Isaac had grabbed a weak branch that snapped under his weight, causing him to tumble towards the ground, landing on his elbow. Tears poured down his face as he laid there, writhing in agony. Chris climbed down the tree after him, comforting him before his father burst out the door in a drunken state.
"What in the hell are you two doing out here?" said Mr. Burlock, slurring his words. Chris was terrified, but Isaac remained confused. He didn't know why his father was angry. "N-nothing dad, Isaac just tripped but he's okay.". Isaac wiped his tears with his other arm, "Yeah I'm okay, sorry if I was too loud.". He still didn't know what he had done wrong. Were they not allowed to climb the tree. Chris later confessed about his father's alcoholism and abusive ways, and Isaac was shocked. He had never heard of this before. The idea of abuse to him was a very confusing concept, but one he, unfortunately, came to know too well.