Explosive

40 || Here for You

My uncle is standing at the window in the hallway, hands linked together behind his back. Josh had instructed me to tell his dad to get lost. As much as I wanted to do just that, I can't bring myself to do it. Instead, I stand there and watch. This is the first time I'm seeing him so quiet and defeated.

"He doesn't want you here. You should leave," I say to his back. He tenses but doesn't turn around.

"I kind of figured," he replies.

It's early in the morning and the sun is just starting to peek out from the horizon. My aunt and I had been with Josh for the past three days. The two of us had claimed various chairs in the tiny room where Josh was staying. Our bodies are stiff and sore this morning. After talking to my uncle I'm planning on heading down to the cafeteria in hunt of caffeine.

"I don't know when it got this bad," my uncle says, collapsing in the chair beside the window. He looks like he didn't get much sleep last night.

"Not sure what you're referring to, actually." I spent the last few months terrified of my uncle's temper, always threading carefully around him at home. Sitting there with his head in his hands, my uncle seems a lot less intimidating. More similar to a mouse than the lion I always saw him as.

"What do you mean, kid?" he asks roughly, glaring at me.

Looking up at the ceiling, I take in a breath of air. The scent of disinfectant floods through my lungs, reminding me of the day I woke up at the hospital without my mom. That feels so far away now. The painful memory is starting to become blurry around the edges.

I can't believe I'm doing this.

I grab a chair and take a seat in front of my uncle. "Are you referring to your crappy behavior towards your family or Josh's suicide attempt?"

His eyes flash with anger as he shakes his head. "You know nothing about me," he mumbles. His response actually surprises me. I was expecting him to blow up on me or just flat out ignore me.

"I obviously don't. You have been nothing but mean to me since I arrived." I sit back, waiting for him to speak. As a kid, I always wanted a cool uncle. Uncle Peter is so far from cool that he has steam rising out of his nose.

My aunt rushes past us without even glancing up. The only thing on her mind right now is her son, nothing else. "We used to be so hopelessly in love. Things fell apart when the twins were born." His eyes search for his wife but she has already disappeared around the hall.

There is not much I can say to my uncle at this point. He burned all bridges leading to his family as soon as he lay a hand on them. Things are so far beyond repair. I sit quietly and let him talk. Even though my uncle is a terrible person, he doesn't deserve to deal with the pain of Josh's suicide attempt on his own.

"You're right. I should leave." He closes his eyes for a heartbeat. When he opens them again, they're red and glassy. "Tell your aunt that I will sign the divorce papers and mail them to her." His words are unexpected but also come as a relief. I'm happy that my aunt made the decision to separate from her husband. It's the best thing for her and her kids right now.

My uncle pushes against his knees and stands up. "You should apologize to them," I blurt and he pauses at the elevators. "Not right now but sometime in the future. It might not fix anything but it will be good for closure."

"Tell him I love him. I had a shitty way of showing it. But I really did love him." The elevator dings and slides open. My uncle shuffles inside, shoulders slouched and hands in his pockets. I never thought I would feel bad for a monster like him but I do. Though it's very faint like a whisper and easy to ignore.