Chapter 20
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams part 2"
~Simon~
Simon sat in the hallway of the funeral home with the rest of the group waiting for Curtis, who was making funeral arrangements for his grandmother. Alisha and Kelly sat next to each other a few feet away from him whispering so softly he couldn't hear a word. If he hadn't seen their lips moving he would have no idea that they were talking. Nathan stood in a corner at the back of the room fiddling with his phone. Whatever he was looking at on his phone seemed to be upsetting him.
Simon stood up and went over to him. "Nathan?" Nathan looked up at him. His demeanor had changed sharply. He now looked annoyed, almost angry at Simon. "What do you want?" Nathan asked. Simon, taken aback by his reaction, felt his anxiety return. "I-I was just wondering were you okay?" Simon asked. Nathan's anger disappeared as quickly as it appeared, "It's nothing. Just leave me alone." Simon nodded. The door of the office opened. Curtis entered the room with an old man wearing a grey suit. They shook hands and Curtis went over to Kelly and Alisha. They chatted briefly before heading toward the exit in the room.
The sun was beginning to set on Wertham as they left the funeral home and entered the bar where Curtis had asked Nikki to meet them. Simon sat down on a bar stool. Behind the bar Andy stood drying a wet cup with a red and white checkered wash cloth. "I told you to piss off," he said looking at Nathan. "Pffff, as if I came here on my own," Nathan nodded at Curtis, "his new lady friend invited us here." Andy looked at Curtis, "what's he talking about?" Curtis rolled his eyes at Nathan, "Nikki invited us," Curtis explained to Andy. Andy grunted then went to tend to a customer.
The door opened and Nikki walked in. She was wearing her barmaid outfit. Her eyes met Curtis's immediately and she came over to him, but Andy intercepted her. "Nikki why don't you go ahead and take the night off?" Andy asked. "But Andy-" Nikki started but he shook his head. "I can't afford to lose anymore stock on account of this guy not paying." Andy's eyes darted to Nathan. Kelly, who had already sat down at the bar next to Alisha, glared at Nathan, "For fuck's sake."
~Superhoodie~
I turned on the lamp and sat down on my bed. "Here." Seth placed a first aid kit onto the bureau next to the door. I stood and went over to the mirror. My front tooth was chipped, but at least I still had it. A large bruise that was beginning to turn purple started at my left eye and worked its way down my jaw line and across my cheek. Seth leaned against the door frame as I examined my face in the mirror. I looked at his reflection. "It could be a lot worse," I shrugged. The simple movement made me wince, reminding me I had not yet taken off my suit to see what damage was there. "I'm not going in to work tomorrow," Seth said, "So rest up, you're my only body guard until I can replace Adam." He disappeared down the hall. I heard his bedroom door shut. I could tell he was upset, even though he didn't want to show it. I know how he feels.
I walked over to the bureau and opened the first aid kit. I looked over at my mask sitting on my bed. When I lost Alisha I didn't want to talk to anyone about it. I just worked to clean up the flat and when that was done, during my spare time I would work for Seth. He never asked for details on what I had been through nor how I felt. He's probably expecting the same thing from me now.
I took off my suit and patched myself up as best as I could then laid down on the bed. Rest for a day? I didn't want to lie around being useless all day. Seth is allowing me to live here rent free so I at least owe him that much. Seth no longer needed the money for ransom so tomorrow I would return it.
~Alisha~
As they walked to Alisha's flat sleeping arrangements were had already been decided. The girls would share Alisha's room, Curtis would take the couch, and Nathan and Simon would sleep on the floor. Nikki sat at the dining room table with Alisha and Kelly, fiddling with an old radio. "Honestly how old is that thing? Looks like it came out of the Stone Age," Nathan called out from the lounge. He sat on the couch next to Curtis somewhat watching the news. Alisha rolled her eyes at him, "That's my father's radio," she said tightly. Nathan shrugged and turned back to the television, "Didn't ask whose it was," he said nonchalantly.
Curtis shoved him, "Shut up man." He came over to the girls and sat down next to Nikki. "Let me see that," he said as he took the radio from Nikki, "my gran had one like this. It rarely worked." "Then why did she keep it?" Nikki asked. "It belonged to gramps," he explained, "He would buy old stuff that we didn't need at antique shops and stuff all the time. He swore that one day he was going to find something that would make us rich." "Did he ever find anything?" Kelly asked. Curtis shook his head, "the closest he ever came was a couple of old baseball cards that got him 80 quid." As he spoke the 'ON' light flickered on faintly then died again. Curtis scoffed, "Damn it." "It's okay if you don't get it working," Alisha consoled him. She didn't really care about the radio. It had been sitting in the kitchen collecting dust anyway, even when her parents were home.
She looked back at the couch. Nathan was gone. "Where did Nathan go?" she asked no one in particular. "He went outside," Kelly answered, "Alisha can I talk to you for a minute?" Kelly led Alisha to her room. After the door was shut she asked, "What are you going to do about Simon?" Alisha shrugged.
Kelly went over to the window. She could clearly see Simon standing outside, leaning on the railing. "What do you think I should do?" Alisha asked. Kelly smirked, "There are a lot of shit heads around here Alisha," she said boldly, "can't get any nicer than Simon." "I know," Alisha said. Kelly gave her a small shove, "well go talk to him." Alisha left the room and went to the front door. Simon turned around, cell phone in hand, as she shut the door behind her and walked over to him. "So have you spoken with your parents?" She asked. He shook his head. "I don't need to call them to know what they are going to say." "I don't want you to lose your family because of me. Just call them Simon," she said. "But I don't want to lose you either," he murmured. She looked down momentarily then back up again. "What I said before," she started hesitantly, "You never answered my question." She knew she didn't have to specify what question she was referring to. He already knew. Being interrupted by Kelly had saved him before but it looked like no one was going to intercept the conversation this time. He was on his own. "Simon," she said softly, "please answer me."
~Simon~
The reflection of the day's final moments of light glinted in his deep blue eyes as he stared into hers. His heart quickened to the point he could hear it pounding in his ears. "Simon?" Alisha repeated. Finally Simon made his decision, even with the dire consequences he knew would follow. His lips met hers. She stiffened with surprise then relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her.
~Nathan~
Nathan sat down on the staircase in the stairwell. Again his cell phone vibrated, but he made no motion to answer it until the caller gave up. He took out the phone. "15 missed calls/1 new voice message" it read. He paused, his finger over the button. It was from his mother, he knew that without even looking. He wanted to delete the message without listening to it. She never listened to him, so why should he listen to what she had to say? She never took into consideration of how he would feel if she married Jeremy. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, he was just not good enough for his mum. If she couldn't see that, how could he even deal with the situation? His thumb rested on the button, poised to delete the message, but he couldn't bring himself to push it. She was his mother. She had stayed to raise him while his father had abandoned them. He did owe her for that.
He played the message. "Nathan, honey...I know you're angry. If this is about your father I understand. I know Jeremy is not your father, but that doesn't make him a bad man. A good man is someone who cares about more than just himself. Someone who is willing to sacrifice himself for those he cares about, and someone who does not back down from what he knows is right, regardless of what challenges are thrown their way. I am not saying that you should think of your father as a bad man, but Nathan, Jeremy would do anything for me. He isn't like your father. He's not going to leave me with a four-year-old to take care of, while he drinks and sleeps with other women. He's the best man I've ever met. Like one I hope you become, a good man."
A.N- Next chapter will probably be in late March or sometime in April. :)
This chapter is titled 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' after the song by Green Day.