Hello everyone! This is probably going to be a fairly long one, updated on Sundays :) I hope you enjoy!
Stray
When my uncle had told me that we were moving one day, sticking his head into my room, I hadn't much cared one way or another. I couldn't seem to manage excitement. I'd been too worried for that. Nor would I miss my school, the one I'd been going to for a couple of years and had yet to make a friend unless you called the guys I used to run with on track and occasionally exchanged 'hello's' with 'friends. No, I was more worried about the long car ride with my uncle. It hadn't taken long to pack my stuff into my single suitcase, the one I'd taken from my mom's house to my grandfather's after her funeral. It was mostly just clothes that barely fit, a couple of sketchbooks, and the few books I'd managed to accumulate through the years. Then the moving truck had arrived two days later, and we'd loaded everything into the back, him drinking beer after beer and me doing my best to follow his orders to a T. Then, when we'd climbed in the car, him in the driver's seat and me in the back, as far away from him as possible, we'd managed almost four hours of silence, the moving van behind us, until he'd pulled up outside a ratty looking house in a neighborhood full of ratty houses. Still, it was just as nice as our last place, if not better, and either way, I wasn't about to complain.
We'd only been here a few hours and already it was starting. Of course, I hadn't expected much different. He wasn't about to change just cause he'd found a new job. New town, same Aaron. We didn't even have curtains yet, and I knew the guy next door that I'd seen pulling in the driveway around the time the movers showed up had seen him. He'd glanced over, meeting my eye through the kitchen window where I'd stood, waiting for Aaron to finish yelling at me. My mouth automatically turned up a bit, and I started to lift a hand to wave, and then the punch had come. I'd nearly been knocked flat, stumbling at the last minute and backing away desperately. Sometimes Aaron wanted me to fight back, other times I was better off just taking my licks. The only problem was, I never knew which time was which.
I wasn't even sure what I'd done. I just left my room and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. After the first hit, he'd knocked the glass out of my hand, pointing at the floor wordlessly. Of course, like an idiot, I refused to pick up the glass shards from the kitchen floor, and the second punch hadn't been unexpected after that. Then the usual. He called me useless and worthless and stupid and everything else that used to bother me but doesn't anymore. Well, I tell myself it doesn't bother me. I'm a good liar. Then he'd hit me again, the blow bloodying my lip and making my jaw ache, and I'd decided to get out of there, which was how I'd found myself in this position.
The guy I ran into was solid, all muscle and rock hard chest. I felt my heart stop, my eyes going wide as I tried to push myself off of him. Three hours in this town, and already I'd run right into some giant muscled guy. His hand grabbed my elbow, but rather than restraining me, or worse, giving me another punch to the face, he just steadied me as I took a step back onto the sidewalk. Apparently, the guy had been getting his mail...I wasn't sure why else he'd be on the sidewalk, heading toward our new house. I hadn't seen him standing there on the sidewalk, probably because I had been staring back over my shoulder, wondering if Aaron was going to bother chasing me.
"Woah there, kid." The man, because he had to be in his twenties, was bigger than my uncle, with biceps bigger than my head. It was, on closer observation, the same guy I'd seen through the kitchen window. He didn't look mean, but that didn't mean much. My uncle hadn't looked mean at first. The concern in the guy's tone confused me, so I hurried to apologize before he could change his mind.
"Sorry, sir. I'm sorry." I mumbled, trying to back away, but he held onto my elbow.
"You okay there? You're bleeding." He'd seen my uncle hit me...he had to have. Adults usually either approved of my uncle's methods, probably because they used them on their own kids, or just sort of ignored it, so I wondered which one this guy was.
I nodded, keeping my mouth shut and leaning away from him. It was the first thing I'd learned. Keep your mouth shut and things would be fine. Maybe. Probably not. His eyes narrowed and he leaned in a little, and I realized I probably had a black eye to go with the split lip. I felt every muscle in my body tense and I scooted back some more, my legs aching to run. I wasn't sure I could outrun him, but I was pretty fast. His eyes softened a little and he gave me a half smile.
"Here." He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a somewhat clean handkerchief and tossed it to me. I caught it, my hand moving on autopilot, and held it up to my mouth.
"Thank you," I mumbled, my eyes dropping to the ground.
"You sure you're okay?" His eyes moved past me and I prayed that my uncle hadn't seen a stranger being nice to me. He'd be sure to even things out again if he had. I nodded quickly to the guy, starting to hold out the handkerchief but he held out a hand.
"Keep it." He hesitated. "I'm Darrel. Darrel Curtis." I opened my mouth to say something...maybe introduce myself, despite how much I hated my name, but then I heard a door thrown open behind me. Balling the handkerchief up in my hand, I took off, sidestepping the big guy, Darrel, this time, and making straight for the road.
Thankfully there was no traffic, and I was home free. I loved running. It was the one activity I'd been involved in at my last school up until I'd had to quit. I wasn't bad, either. I was free when I ran. No way Aaron could catch me. Neither could the guys that hung around my locker and threw spitballs at me at lunch or the girl that had pointed at my clothes and laughed with her friend. I was alone when I ran. My feet pounded the pavement and I was flying, past an empty lot where some guys were playing cards, past another lot where I figured I'd end up sleeping that night, by a park I'd try to avoid, and past some railroad tracks until I found a patch of trees. It was perfect.
Stepping into the little forest, I made my way carefully around the sticker bushes and, watching for snakes, sat down right in the middle. It was the first thing I'd done when I'd moved in with my uncle...found a place to hide. Several, actually. This would be my first one in a new town. The little patch of trees was big enough to hide me, big enough so that I would hear when someone was approaching, but small enough that I could escape if I had to. I glanced up at the trees but decided that there weren't enough branches to make climbing worth it. After a few minutes of calming my breathing, I found myself wishing I'd brought a book.
I could sit for a long time by myself doing nothing. It was something of a developed skill, thanks to my uncle. Usually, when he was after me, I didn't have time to grab a book or my sketchbook before I took off. Arms folded under the back of my head, I lay back, staring up at the clouds that passed overhead and wondering how long I'd need to stay away this time. He wouldn't be in any hurry to enroll me in school, and I could most likely stay away for a few nights. Course, this wouldn't be the best place to sleep. Usually, I could find an empty lot around town, or, even better, an abandoned building and sleep there. A coat would have been nice, but I could always sneak back in when the asshole took off for work or more beer. Plus he had to sleep eventually.
I waited until it was past dark to leave my hiding spot, walking along the railroad tracks and heading out onto the main road. It seemed like a pretty small town, but I hadn't explored much of it yet. I figured I'd have plenty of time to explore, though. I passed a drive-in, wondering if I could find a way to sneak into the movie house and catch a film. I loved movies but rarely had the money for them. I didn't care to sneak in, but I was always scared that the owner would call the cops or something and my uncle would find out. He'd really beat me then.
A DX gas station was closed up for the night once I came into the town, surrounded by hardware stores and drug stores, with a few back alleys and lots that would be good to explore later. I knew there was a park nearby too, as we'd seen it on our way to the house before the moving truck had come, but I knew from experience that a lot of people my age hung out at parks at night, and I did my best to avoid people my age...and people in general. The big guy that lived next door had seemed nice enough, but I knew I couldn't count on making friends with him. My uncle would probably get to him anyway. Convince him that I was trouble and that he just did what he had to do with me after having me dumped on him. That's how he talked to people like me, like I was a stray dog he'd been left with that he couldn't seem to get rid of. I guess I kind of was.
I paused outside the house next to my new house for a minute, staring at the bright lights through the windows. I could hear someone talking inside...or a few someone's talking, all at the same time. Then someone laughed, loud enough for me to hear them from the street and I found myself grinning a little. At least someone was having a good night. For a second, I let my mind go back to the big guy, Darrel, and wondered what he'd do if I knocked on his door, asking if they had anything to eat. I was about starving. Surely they were having dinner, if they hadn't already. It sounded like they were having a party in there, with the radio going and what sounded like lots of guys all laughing.
Pushing that thought away, I decided to leave them to it. No use thinking about things like that. I wasn't gonna get any help from a bunch of strangers. Even if they were the kind of people who'd give a hungry kid food, I wasn't a charity case. No way I'd beg for food from strangers. Just the thought made my ears burn with shame.
Focusing instead on getting my stuff, I opened our front gate as slowly as possible, grateful when it didn't squeak, and walked up the path to our front door. I glanced in the window that we still hadn't covered with curtains, and which my uncle probably never would. The TV was on casting a faint glow on the couch where he was asleep, three beer bottles sitting beside him on the floor. Considering he'd been drinking since before he'd hit me earlier, I figured I was safe to sneak in. Pushing the door open as quietly as I could, I slipped inside and went straight to my room.
I grabbed my old coat from the closet straight off, then grabbed my backpack which already had a book and my sketchbook with a pencil inside. I'd spent most of the way here from Kansas reading and was pretty much finished with The Carpetbaggers by then, but I could always reread it, despite the fact that I had a feeling I was probably too young to be reading it. I'd found it in a box of my grandfather's things with some old porn magazines, which I'd put back, and an Agatha Christie book with the price sticker still on it that I'd probably read next.
I thought about getting his wallet and taking a dollar but figured that would be pushing it. If he even suspected that I'd stolen anything from him, I'd really be in for it, and I'd just taken a couple of dollars from him the week before for groceries...which we'd need again soon. Instead, I tip-toed into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of soda and then threw together a bologna sandwich, glancing into the living room every few seconds to make sure he wasn't waking up. Through the kitchen window, I could see into the kitchen of the other house, where Darrel Curtis lived. Someone else entered their kitchen after a second, a blond guy with long hair. He laughed at something, shaking his head and holding up his middle finger as he opened the refrigerator. I watched him for a second, wishing more than anything that I was in that house instead of this one.
He turned suddenly like he could feel me watching him, and I shrank back as he turned and seemed to stare right through me, even though I was sure he couldn't see me with my kitchen light out. Still, I fought the urge to duck as he continued to stare, then shrugged to himself and went back into the living room. Wrapping the sandwich in foil and grabbing a second coke, I put both in my backpack and headed back out the front door, closing it softly behind me as I made my way back out our front gate, lifting a middle finger of my own at the window where my uncle slept.
Thankfully it wasn't too cold outside, so I figured I'd be fine outside all night, especially with my coat. Come winter, I'd have to figure something else out, though. I decided that the lot where I'd seen those guys playing cards earlier would be fine, so I headed that way, past Darrel Curtis's house once more, but this time not stopping. No use thinking about that. Those people didn't want anything to do with me, and that was fine with me. If I could just survive for four more years, I'd be free. Heck, maybe just three. He wouldn't bother looking for me if I left town. When I was around, it was like he had a second sense...he'd always come after me eventually. He liked having someone around to beat up, but if I left town, I don't think he'd bother. Sometimes I thought about dropping out of school at sixteen and finding full-time work. Then I could get away from him even faster. I hated the thought of being a high school drop out though. I wasn't stupid. I actually liked school...it was the people that bugged me. Either way, I just had to take it a day at a time.
I found a flat spot in the back of the lot, away from the road, and dropped my backpack, pulling out the sandwich and tearing off half as I leaned against the brick building behind me. On the ground were cigarette butts, some only half smoked, and I wished I had a light. I rarely smoked, since my uncle didn't smoke and finding cigarettes was tough, but it was always good when I could get my hands on one. Wrapping up the other half of the sandwich, I ate the part I'd torn off slowly, washing it down with one of the sodas. Then, since it was too dark to read or even bother to draw anything, I put my backpack under my head and curled up in the grass, staring at the stars until I fell asleep, glad I'd grabbed my coat as the temperature dropped.
I was shivering when I woke up from dreams of freezing to death. Groaning as the sun started to fill the lot, I sat up, rubbing my hands together and blowing on them. I'd slept outside when it was colder before, but I always hated it. Still, it was that or spend more time with my uncle. He started his new job that day, I knew, since he'd made a big deal about needing to get to Oklahoma as soon as possible, but he didn't go in until around noon. He was gonna work at a refinery, a new factory job that paid a few cents more an hour that an old friend had found for him after his old factory had shut down. It was a good half hour drive to get there, but that meant more time away from the house for him, which meant more time in the house for me. I still didn't count on sleeping there much, but I could at least get food and shower.
A few cars drove past, probably all on their way to work, and I opened my backpack, pulling out the other half of my sandwich and finishing it in a few bites, followed by the soda. Of course, I was still hungry. It seemed I was always hungry these days. The lot was too close to the house for comfort, though, so I stood, shouldering my backpack and heading back toward the railroad tracks. It wasn't too far, and I'd say it was probably about nine when I reached the spot I'd found the day before, climbing into the little clearing where I could hide from the rest of the world and pulling out The Carpetbaggers. Vowing to grab that Agatha Christie book later, I opened it to the last chapter and finished it quickly, turning back to the start and beginning again once it was done. I had plenty of time to kill huddled up in my coat, alternating the hands I hid in my pockets.
I waited until the sun was directly overhead, sometimes putting the book down and sitting still, staring at the trees and listening to the squirrels fight and play. A few times, my fingers itched to try and put them on paper, but they were always moving, never sitting still for long enough to really draw, and I wasn't in the mood to try and draw anything from memory. Besides, if I opened my sketchbook, the first picture I'd see would be my mother. She was in all of them...a desperate attempt to remember her face, but this last one had been drawn on her birthday, and I didn't want to look at it, not so close to my own birthday. Fourteen. I'd be fourteen, and no one would care. No one had since she'd died.
When it was finally around noon, I stood, packing up my stuff again and slipping out of the clearing, making sure no one was around before emerging from the little forest. This part of town seemed pretty empty, except for the occasional car that sped by, so I stuck to the railroad tracks once more, making my way back to the house. Once more, I passed the moviehouse and thought about seeing one, then the hardware stores and drug stores where I considered slipping in and swiping a candy bar. I figured the DX would probably be a better target. The trick was always to buy something. Slip two candy bars in your pockets, buy a soda or a pack of gum. I didn't really like stealing, but that trick usually worked. Filling stations usually only had one person working inside, so it was best to go when it was crowded. Glancing at the DX, I found a group of guys out by the pumps all gathered around an old car, one of them sitting on the hood, another smoking a cigarette. Two of the guys what looked to be DX shirts on, so I figured they worked there.
I passed quickly, keeping my head down, but I still felt their eyes on me. It was a small town, smaller than the last one I'd lived in even. I'd bet they all already knew who I was, or at least that there was a new kid in town. None of them said anything to me, though, and when I glanced back, they had all gone back to their conversation, so I tried to push them out of my mind. Whoever these guys were, they wouldn't want anything to do with me.
The driveway to Darrel Curtis's house was empty, and I wondered what he did for a living, not that obsessing about that guy did me any good. What he did for a living was none of my business. He probably worked at a store somewhere around, or maybe even at the factory. I hoped not. I hoped he didn't work with my uncle. He'd been nice...the first nice person I'd met in a long time, and I hated to think of him listening to my uncle talk about his freak of a nephew. I didn't want him to think I was as awful as my uncle did.
Thankfully, our driveway was empty too, so I headed inside, making another sandwich and drinking some water as I carried the plate into my room, shutting the door behind me. I'd hear him coming, and I could slip out the window if I had to. He wouldn't be done until at least 9, though, which gave me plenty of time at home, so I unpacked the single box of my own stuff, hanging up clothes and putting away socks. I took a shower, then, and brushed my teeth, changing out of my old clothes and dropping them into my hamper. The house was already a mess, so I spent an hour cleaning up, hoping against hope that this would make him less inclined to hit me. It had never worked before, but I always tried anyway. I hated living in a dump, even if he'd bury himself in beer bottles if I left him to it.
Out of things to unpack in my own room, I finished up the kitchen, putting away the single set of dishes we had, and stared across the road into Darrel Curtis's kitchen for a while. I couldn't see that well, but they had curtains at least, and I could see a dining room table. On the stove was a skillet, and there were a few dishes stacked by the sink. That was all I could see. Giving up on that, I went into my bedroom again and pulled out my book, but that didn't hold my attention for long. I added the Agatha Christie book to my backpack and curled up on my bed, not daring to fall asleep in case I slept too long. I hadn't slept too good outside, but it wasn't like I had to get up for school or anything.
Around five-thirty, a car pulled into the driveway next door, spooking me and making me jump up from the couch where I'd been watching TV. Shutting the TV off, I hurried to the window, but after seeing a car that wasn't my uncle's, I relaxed, watching two dark-haired guys get out, both wearing shirts and hats from the DX. I wondered if they were Darrel's brothers, or maybe his friends. I didn't know if he had a wife or anything...or maybe a kid. These guys were too old to be his kids, though. I watched from my window as they walked up the front steps, then hurried into the kitchen to see if I could catch a glimpse of them inside. Staring down at the sink and pretending to do dishes, I washed a cup over and over before one of them came into the kitchen. They both had long hair that they combed back, from what I could tell, but the darker haired one was the one that went into the kitchen while I pretended to wash a glass. The other guy followed him, and, not wanting to get caught staring at them like some kind of freak, I cleaned the glass one last time, drying it and putting it away before finally glancing back up.
They were both staring at me, the darker haired one looking upset for some reason, and I wondered if he was wise to me. I don't know why I kept staring at them...it wasn't like I could hear them from my kitchen or anything. I'd have been better off watching TV. I was just curious. They all seemed pretty happy, all of them hanging out in that house together, whoever they were to Darrel Curtis. At least, I imagined they were happy. I guess that thought made me feel better, anyway. The other one, the lighter haired one, caught my eye then, grinning a little and lifting a hand while he buddy looked over at him, looking amused now, and smirked a little. I lifted a hand in a hesitant wave, smiling a little, an expression that felt almost foreign, and quickly dropped my eyes, hurrying out of view of the window and going into the living room. I didn't have any business snooping on those people, so I figured I'd better get ready to spend another night outside.
Thank you for reading! :)