AN: Something in my house is beeping. It's driving me insane. And I didn't put Johnny in this chapter because I felt it just wouldn't fit anywhere. This story is supposed to be about Johnny and Jhonen's separate lives after the encounter. I think I'll be tying up the loose ends and finishing it with a grand finale soon, I hope.
November Air
Chapter Six: A Different Perspective:
Jhonen walked into the house with Alice. A painfully thin, sickly looking man in his sixties sat on a wooden chair staring at a TV that wasn't on. He had dark circles around his eyes, like he hadn't slept in weeks.
"Dad?" Alice asked gently. The man twitched, and fell to the side. He twitched again, and shot straight up like lightning.
"...Sin?" he asked, bleary eyed. His eyes were an electric yellow color, and blood shot.
"No, it's me. Alice."
"Oh. We thought you were dead." He said, rubbing his eyes.
"Dead? Why would I be dead?" she asked, glancing around for her mother.
"We thought that guy killed you." He stumbled to get up. Swaying a bit, he walked over to her, and squinted.
Jhonen was overwhelmed at the smell of marijuana that seemed to invade the house, among other things. The man Alice called 'Dad' reeked of alcohol, cigarettes, and weed.
"What guy?" she asked, "Mike?"
"I don't know what his name was. I just know he used to smack you around. Heh. What ever happened to that guy?" the man asked in a raspy voice.
"Yeah...Mike. He overdosed on some chemicals."
"Aw, man, he died?" a more feminine voice came from the kitchen. Alice's mother came into the living room and stood by the man.
"No. But he might as well be dead." She said.
"...What the fuck." She said.
Alice swallowed. "W...What?"
"When the fuck did you get here?" she asked, just realizing that Alice hadn't been in the house five minutes ago.
"I stopped by to talk to Sin." She said.
Her mother laughed. "You stupid whore. Who the fuck cares about Sin? She lives in the basement. She's not allowed out."
"...Mom...She's twenty two."
"Speaking of which, where the fuck have you been? You're grounded! You're only sixteen!"
"Mom, listen. Please, try to bring yourself back to now! I'm twenty seven! Wake up!"
"Abby, shut the fuck up. Look at this guy." Her father said, laughing.
"Who the fuck is he? He looks too much older than you."
"He's 31, he's my fiancé, his name is Jhonen." She said, blushing at her use of words.
"FIANCE! Fiancé? This fucking spic is your fiancé? You fucking slut! I'll kill you!" he screamed, and pulled his hand back to smack her across the face. As it was coming down, Jhonen caught it.
"I don't think so." He said in a low voice. Being much taller than her father, and much heavier in comparison (Jhonen shuddered to think how thin the man must actually be if this man made him look like a body-builder), the man backed off.
"You nasty fucker. You and your tainted fucking cum inside our daughter!"
"Why should you care? You thought she was dead. You don't seem to care much at all." He said, advancing on the man, tightening his grip on her father's wrist.
"Jhonen, please. I just want to get Sin and get out of here." Alice said.
"I can see why. Let's go." He said, letting go of her fathers arm and took Alice's gently. Her mother spat in Jhonen's face. He wiped it off with his sleeve. "That was very low class."
"Low class treatment for a greasy, low class spic like you." Her mom said, and flopped back on the couch, her father mimicking her.
Alice led the way to the basement door, and opened it. Climbing the stairs down, Jhonen close behind her.
"I'm so sorry they treated you like that..." she whispered. Her voice betrayed her. It was obvious she was holding back tears.
"Don't worry about it. Though I can't say I've ever experienced racial adversity in any real form. People like that crawl all over this planet. Take it from where it's coming from." He said.
"You're so patient. I love you so much." She said, and kissed the back of his hand.
"Sin? Sin, are you down here?" she called.
"...Mom?" a weak voice called.
"...SIN!" Alice ran to her side. A rubber strip was tied around her arm.
"Hey, man...Alice. I haven't seen you in years." She said, smiling. She looked like a scum bag. This was not the sister that Alice grew up with, that Alice loved. This was not her sister.
"C'mon...Let's get you to a hospital."
"Nah, man, nah. I gotta go to work in a few..." she said, rubbing her eyes. She removed the strip and rubbed her eyes again, and stood up, wobbly on her own feet.
"...What happened to you?" Alice asked, tears streaking her face.
"Nothing, man. Nothing happened. I'm fine."
"Listen to my words. You can't stay here. They're horrible."
"I know that. I need something to eat... My sugar's low."
"Sugar?"
"Yeah, man. About a year ago...I was diagnosed with diabetes. What...Did you think this thingy was supporting some kind of chemhead habit, man?" she laughed.
"Yes. Yes, I did!" She said, hugging her. Finding this out was a great relief.
"Why'd you come here?"
"This is my fiancé, Jhonen Vasquez. Remember, you read his c-"
"You're getting married to Jhonen Vasquez, bitch! What the fuck! You lucky bitch!" Sin screamed, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"Yes. And I want to move in with him. But I can't without finding a replacement for my roommate, Janice. You want my place?"
"...Are you serious?"
"No, I thought I'd randomly come here and play a joke on you."
"I'd love to, man. That's so fucking awesome. Man, this is like...The coolest day."
"Not really. Mom just spit in his face and called him a spic."
"What? They're so fucked up, man." She said, shaking Jhonen's hand.
"At least you have one reasonable family member." He said, "Now. Let's get out of here. Whatever you want to take, take. I have no intentions of coming back here."
"Jhonen...I have an idea. I don't need to take most of my furniture...Why doesn't she move in today and I'll take whatever I want and stuff from the apartment, and then she can take her stuff, and then later she can get her furniture by whatever means she wants, and I can move in to your place today." She suggested.
"...That sounds awesome." He said, kissing her forehead.
"Yay!" she said.
Hours later, Jhonen and Alice were lying on the couch watching a movie. He had been complaining through out the day of cold drafts randomly. Sin was moved into her old place, and Janice was not happy. She had no faith in this 'Sin' sister of Alice's.
But Jhonen and Alice, however, were quite content.
"Hey," he said, "I have a question."
"Yes?"
"Your parents...How did they raise you?"
"...Not much different from that except they weren't as burned out. They had more energy."
"How did you become such a smart, wonderful person if their child rearing skills sucked?"
"...I learned." She said, "I learned the hard way."
He looked at her face, illuminated by the screen.
"The hard way?" he asked.
"...I'd really rather not talk about it."
"We're going to be married soon. I wish you would tell me more." He said, "I don't want to feel like you're keeping anything from me."
"Why not? You're keeping so much from me."
"Like what?"
"Almost all of the exact same subject that you're insisting I enlighten you on." She said, looking up at him.
"...Fair enough."
"Spill it, Mr. Man." She snickered, pressing her cheek against his chest...
