Larry closed his eyes and put his head on the table. He had move to a booth and sat alone there, nursing his drink to avoid Helen's glare. He usually just sat there drinking until he passed out. And usually Helen let him nap, just because she wouldn't risk getting Larry's wrath by waking him up. The boy just turned eighteen, but Larry was strong for a teen. And she wouldn't repeat the same mistake to have the teenager destroying her bar again. If Larry wasn't the mayor's son, people probably already called the Deputy and hauled his ass to jail.
The mayor usually just apologizes and paid whatever destruction Larry caused. If this wasn't a tight community and everyone knew each other, Helen would've kicked Larry out. But like most nights, he just sat there and stared to his drinks.
Everyone knew what happened. Half of the town population attended the funerals of those kids and that pilot. Many media outlet from the mainland was in Amity Island, and harassed most of the town people. After the funeral though, everything went back to normal – at least for some people. Not for these kids.
Larry could be seen during the day walking around town, drunk, and karate chopping some neighbors' picket fences. This summer had been hell for him and the rest of the town; he had some anger issue that stemmed from his close encounter with death.
Michael could be seen painting the latrines at the beach, ignoring others. After all, he had a summer job. If someone asked, "Hey, aren't you that kid…" He just shrugged and continued painting. It was one time when this guy didn't stop pestering him about what happened, and was talking ill about his father, the former sheriff of Amity; he poured red paint into the guy's head and walked away. Of course he was fired afterwards, but he didn't care.
Lucy could be seen at the church almost everyday, praying. Her boyfriend, Patrick didn't go in, just sat outside the church's steps, waiting for her while smoking a cigarette. But he usually flicked the cigarette away when Father Malone approached. Father Malone usually greeted him with a nod, and then shook his head after he was away from the boy.
The rest of the teens usually just huddled up in the Diner. They didn't talk much; just sit there in the booth while avoiding patrons' gaze and eating quietly. The boys were trying to play some arcade, but the younger kids were gawking at them so that activity was a bust. They've become local celebrities; teenagers who were stalked by a predator from the sea and survived. Two of their friends, and a pilot didn't make it though. It was huge sensations when those kids arrived save and sound, and their parents with local authorities were welcoming them. But the kids… it seemed they lost their soul somewhere at that cable junction island.
Brody was not the sheriff of Amity anymore.
The people who fired him were embarrassed to apologize twice in their lives, so they let the big elephant in the room. After the dust was settle, they would probably vote him back to the office without any brouhaha. In the mean time, Brody was going to enjoy his vacation a little longer.
Tina was the most talked about girl in town. Not because she was Miss Amity or she was popular, but because of Eddie, her boyfriend's death that made her walking around like a zombie. She hardly talked, and her face was so pale. Girls were giggling behind her back, because she looked like she never took a bath. But she ignored them most of the time. She was doing grocery with her mom when she noticed that several women were whispering and pointing at her. "If she didn't go with that boy to the ocean, he would still be alive…" Tina smashed a jar of pickles angrily and ran out from the grocery store.
Sean refused to play any outdoor activity, except when his mother forced him to play with his friends. When his friends came over, his mother had to drag him out from the bed. After some kicking and screaming and exchange words, he finally let himself play with his friends as long they wouldn't go near the beach. But in some nights, like this one, he had to cry himself to sleep.
Larry had to drink himself to sleep, like tonight. Tomorrow he would wake up with a huge hangover and dry mouth. He would sleep in the car most nights, because he couldn't stand living in the same roof with his parents. The Mayor, he called his father that, would try to bore himself to death with his story about Korean War and how he faced death everyday, so he told Larry that he knew how his son must have feel. Larry wanted to push his father to the ocean most of the time.
Bob, his best friend didn't know how to act in front of him. Everything seemed to be awkward for everyone. Bob was trying to have some conversation but he usually just brushed him away. When Bob walked away like a wounded puppy, Larry felt bad a little. But he need everyone just leave him alone and drown in his sorrow.
"You used to be fun to be around, I'm disappointed."
Larry glanced at her, and then stared back to his glass. He got used to her visit during binge drinking like this, although first time she appeared, it freaked him a lot. But he was drunk all the time, so of course he considered this to be a hallucination from his subconscious or from alcohol. Either way, he wasn't freaking out anymore. "Well, you were alive back then. So…"
Marge sighed and plopped herself next to him in the booth. She looked pretty with her short feather hair and her freckles. Larry used to have a crush on her but he was too proud to admit it. He felt that Marge was too nice and he wasn't worthy of her, so he chased after easy girls instead; like Jackie. Larry turned his head a little and looked at her with a smile.
"What?" She asked, smiling.
"It's funny that I know that you're not real – that you're a figment of my imagination, and I know that I'm talking to an empty seat… but I just have to say this." He tried to focus to her, afraid that she would disappear. "You look like an angel."
"I bet you say that to all girls." Marge smirked. "Before you get into their pants."
Larry smiled to his mirage. "I wished I said that to you back then."
"Why didn't you?" She asked. He looked at her, and then looked at his almost empty glass and gulped the rest of the liquor.
"Because you were dating Andy, and I don't chase my friend's girl." He said bitterly.
"It didn't stop you from chasing after Jackie, and you knew that she was with Michael." She interjected. Larry just chuckled softly and poured himself another drink. Helen already gave up serving him a drink, so she just put the bottle on the table. She saw that Larry was slurring with himself again, but didn't do anything. She would kick Larry out in a few minutes before closing time.
"Jackie wasn't Michael girlfriend, and she was looking for fun. Brooke just paired her with him because Michael was an idiot. At the end of the day, I rather kicked a screaming Jackie off the boat and let that thing killed her than losing you." He said gloomily.
"You don't mean that…" She said softly. Larry snorted. Of course he meant it. He didn't know Jackie, none of them knew her. She was a new girl who visited her cousin during the summer. When the summer vacation ends, she would go back to the mainland and return to her own life. She meant nothing to him. But Larry knew his friends all of his life; Brooke, Bob, Polo, Timmy, Michael, Tina, Marge, Andy, Patrick, Eddie, and Doug – and most of the time they were always together. When you stuck in a same island, you have no choice but to hangout with these people that you meet everyday. They may not be best of friends and occasionally you picked up some fights with them, but you were friends nonetheless.
"You're too kind..." He choked. "You were too kind." He felt a hand clasped his own. Marge was holding his hand and squeezed hard. "I really missed you."
"Get yourself together, Larry. You need to go home..." She said.
"What?" He was trying to focus, and he saw Helen was shaking his arm.
"I said you need to go home. The bar is closed." Helen repeated.