Chapter 13
The Following Chapter may contain a mature themes that might upset a few readers. Reading Discretion is advised.
Hillsboro Oregon, March 17th 2016
"Matt! Hey Matt!" screamed Ethan from afar. He was running late for class again, but he didn't care. He wanted to spend time with his friend Matt.
"Don't tell me your running late because you wanted to see me?" said Matt with a questioning look.
"I just wanted to see you and say that I'm coming over tonight." said Ethan.
"I can't. Dad invited a few of his drinking buddies and you know how he gets when he gets drunk." said Matt.
"I'm coming over anyway." said Ethan.
"I'll tell Marcos you're coming over. That way he can make himself useful and get us snacks or something." said Matt rolling his eyes, but smiling at his only friend.
"Wanna play Minecraft?!" asked Ethan.
"That game is boring me. How about GTA?" asked Matt.
"Oooh! Even better." said Ethan as he patted Matt's shoulder.
That night, Matt excitedly turned on the TV and got everything ready for his friend to come over. And to make things even better is that none of his Dad's friends were showing up. This was indeed a good day. Marcos was setting up the snacks and had everything ready for Ethan to arrive.
"Wierd that Dad cancelled his night with his homies. He never does that." said Marcos, Matt's older brother.
"Who cares. He won't get drunk tonight." said Matt as he sat on the couch.
"Matt, Mom and I are going out to get something from the store. You want something?" asked Marcos.
"No. I'm good." replied Matt.
"Okay. Just be a little... I want you to know something." said Marcos as he sat next to Matt.
Matt looked up at his brother and breathed in deeply. "You are going to be with Dad here alone. I don't like it. Come with us. He may not be drinking, but sometimes he hits with no good reason." said Marcos in a whisper.
"I'll tell him to stop. Don't worry." said Matt.
"But little bro, I have a feeling something bad might happen. They don't, but I always get the feeling." said Marcos.
"What feeling? Nothing bad is going to happen." said Matt shaking his head.
"I just don't want Dad near you. Especially since it's been a few days since his outburst and his beating on all of us. Mom couldn't calm him down. Not even me. You were his punching bag. I don't want him to hurt you." said Marcos.
Just then, they heard a knock. Marcos and Matt's mother answered the door to recieve Ethan and his mother. The grown ups greeted eachother and Ethan ran up to Matt in excitment.
Marcos felt relief, but not entirely. He looked over at Matt, then his mother. However, his mom was leaving and that meant that Ethan's mother was going to be the second adult here. She got along with their father well, and he had no worries. Marcos felt relief for a brief second once again and turned around to go with his mother shopping.
Matt and Ethan were then playing their game in the living room as Matt's father and Ethan's mother were tallking in the kitchen. They were both from the same class in High School and they were also close friends. Perhaps a little too close. But they were in the kitchen talking, and Matt felt relief and joy. With the cheerful talk in the kitchen and him playing video games with his best friend in the living room, it felt like a safe haven of sorts.
Ethan then began to rub his eye from time to time. Matt noticed, but paid no mind. Then, he began to rub it a bit more then usual.
"Something the matter?" asked Matt.
"Oh, it's my eyes. They have been bothering me for a while now. And they burn everytime I come to your apartment. I don't know if I'm allergic to something, but they always do." said Ethan.
"Wierd." said Matt.
"Oh yes it is. But I try not to think of it." said Ethan as he rubbed his eyes a bit more. He stood up and went to the kitchen. To his surprise, Matt's Dad and Ethan's Mom were not in the kitchen. And by noticing this, Ethan's eyes began to itch a lot more.
"Are you sure your alright?" asked Matt.
"I will need some water I think. I'll go use your bathroom." said Ethan.
"Sure. I got some eye drops in the bedroom. I'll go get some." said Matt.
Ethan went to the bathroom and began to put water in his eyes. He did just that and while he was drying his eyes out, he heard Matt scream. Ethan didn't go out just yet. He was still feeling itchy, but this time, the itch was dying down. He looked at the mirror and for a flash second, he could have sworn to see his eyes glow. A trick of the light. That must have been it thought Ethan. He heard Matt's screams loudly and he began to cry. He quickly got out of the bathroom to see Matt on the floor defending himself from Matt's naked father who was standing before him, slapping him and hitting him with whatever he found on the floor. Ethan was taken aback from this, and he saw his mother leave the bedroom. He saw that she had no bra and her breasts were out in the open. She covered herself with her blouse and took Ethan by the hand, leaving the apartment.
The following day at School, Ethan searched for Matt. He luckily found him in class.
"Matt! Hey Matt!" cried Ethan.
Matt turned around and scowled at Ethan angrily.
"Matt?" asked Ethan.
"The fuck was that all about?" asked Matt.
"What?" asked Ethan worriedly.
"Why was your mom fucking my dad in bed? Huh? Did your Mom plan this shit?" cried Matt.
Some classmates heard the conversation and felt troubled hearing this. Ethan took a step back.
"Okay calm down. What happened yesterday was... I don't know what happened." said Ethan.
"Mom and Dad are getting a divorce very soon." said Matt angrily.
Ethan sympathized with Matt.
"Dude, I'm so sorry. My parents are also doing the same thing. Please hear me out. I didn't know that was going to happen." said Ethan.
Matt flat out ignored him and Ethan quickly spoke.
"There's this new Clam Chowder place down the street. Wanna go there after school?" asked Ethan.
Matt then punched Ethan in the face and he fell backwards.
Matt then screamed out against Ethan fiercly. "I'd rather burn in HELL than go with you!" cried Matt as he stormed off the classroom leaving the classmates and the teacher speachless.
Ethan tried to find Matt after that. He went missing after this. Then he hears about the accident and learns that Matt was in a hospital. He bought him Clam Chowder and had it delivered to his hospital room. And that was the last time Ethan saw or spoke to Matt. After a few days, Ethan then learns a disturbing news. Matt was gone.
Ethan didn't know what to make of this. But Matt was the last person to worry about. The incident at Matt's place stained his family and his parents filed for a divorce and to top it all off, Ethan was abandoned by his own mother at Foster Care. It wasn't until a year later that a friendly couple from Gravity Falls would arrive and adopt him...
Matt and Ethan were both talking like old friends in the table. It was wonderful to see the boys in good spirits and Tyrone noticed. That night, Matt caught Ethan up to speed with everything that has been going on.
"And we are currently stuck trying to figure things out with this hacker guy. We don't know who it is, but we think it's all connected to some evil cult that once resided here." said Matt.
Ethan was processing everything he learned. "So if we don't stop this guy, then we all are in danger? Sounds way too... are you sure it's all real?" asked Ethan.
"Come with me tomorrow and meet the guys. Now that your here, we might need all the help we can get. And there's a new Clam Chowder place in town too." said Matt winking.
"Clam Chowder? Here? Sign me up." said Ethan smiling with joy. Just then, he began to rub his eye.
"Are you allergic with something?" asked Matt.
"I don't know. My eyes do that to me from time to time. Perhaps your right. I could be allergic to something, but I don't really know." said Ethan.
"Anyway, welcome home, cousin." said Matt as he hugged Ethan tightly.
That night, Matt told Tyrone the whole story of how he knew Ethan, and how their friendship was broken. Tyrone took a deep breath after he learned so much.
"Are you okay with him here?" asked Tyrone.
"Yes. It wasn't his fault. Ethan lost his family like I did, and he deserves to have a friend." said Matt.
"You told me you had Clam Chowder delivered to you by a friend in the hospital. That was him?" asked Tyrone.
Matt nodded and Tyrone smiled understanding the situation.
"I don't know if it's either luck, fate, or circumstances, but with Ethan here in the family, things will turn out quite interesting." said Tyrone.
