Hey guys,

TW: Child Neglect and Suicide

Just a heads up for this chapter

TLP


We're Gonna Rattle This Ghost Town (pt.1)
(Walk The Moon: Anna Sun)

"So, Cath," John smiled sleepily, "What do you want to do today?"

Levi had dropped her off at his place before he headed off to see Jeanette's lawyer, just as planned, but it was much earlier than John was used to waking up. Cath felt more like an inconvenience than a guest, although his parents seemed to be excited to have someone over.

"I don't know... John, you really didn't have to babysit me," she blushed.

"I'm not babysitting you, we're hanging out."
"You know, Cath, we don't get visitors very often, so we're more than happy to have you here!" His mother poked her head into the room with a smile, "Are you hungry at all?"
"No, but thank you." She tried to smile back.

"What about some coffee? I'm about to make a pot!" His dad said, walking in from assumably his bedroom through to the kitchen.
"I'm alright, thanks."

John gave her a sympathetic look and stood up.

"I'm gonna go show her around the farm," he said.

"Are you sure you're not hungry, Johnny? You haven't eaten yet, and you aren't very pleasant when you don't have breakfast." His mother stepped out of the kitchen with a red smudge on her cheek.

His face dropped, "I'm okay, mom."

Cath followed John outside into one of the rows of strawberries. He looked like he was about to fall asleep as he leaned down to pick a little red fruit from the plant, but smiled wide with his teeth buried into his lip as he tossed it into her little wire basket.

"Sorry about my mom, she really likes having women over. I've never really had girlfriends or, you know, girl friends, so she never really gets to entertain anyone. I'm not sure she knows how to handle it."

"That's alright, she's nice," Cath smiled. "Much nicer than spending time with Marlisse."

"Mrs. Stewart is kind of intense. She doesn't really like it when her children date before marriage," he laughed.

"Apparently!" She giggled, "What about your mom though, doesn't she spend time with the ladies in town, they all seem to be very... close knit."
"They're a little too bitchy for Mom to handle. She's a humble person and the other women are-"
"Horrible."
"Exactly," he said, rolling his eyes under his wire-rimmed glasses. "I mean, they're all really nice people, but with all the church meet ups and book clubs there isn't a single secret in Arnold."

"Yeah, I've witnessed that firsthand."

Cath leaned down to pluck a few bright, red berries from the plant and listened to him talk about his parents. She remembered Levi telling her that his real mom had messed him up when he was just a little boy. He seemed so stable for someone that had such a horrible childhood. Although she told Levi she wouldn't bring it up, the thought wouldn't leave her head.

John watched her face for a moment as if trying to read her expression, then picked another few strawberries.
"You look like you have a question." He said.

Cath blushed, "Kind of, but I don't really want to ask it."
"Don't let it eat at you, I'll give you an answer if I can," he popped a little berry in his mouth and tossed a few more into the basket.
"Well, your parents aren't your real parents, right?"
His eyes darted to the ground, "no, Margret is my mother's sister."

"What happened to your birth mom?"
"Did Levi tell you about-? Of course Levi told you, that little fucker," he sighed.

"Sorry, John. You don't have to tell me anything, I was just curious."
"Don't be silly," he gave a little smile, "I told you to ask, you don't have to apologize!"
Cath looked up at him, gratefully, and realized how far she had to look up. He had at least twelve inches on her.
"You want to know the whole shebang?" John asked.

"That's alright," she shook her head.

"It's no biggie, I'd just like to get out of the field if you want me to tell you the story."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just follow me."

John led her into a little orchard with plum and pear trees. He gestured for her to sit in a little shady area and reached up for a few plums.

"Here," he said, handing her a purple fruit as he sat down. "This is my favorite tree, as dumb as that probably sounds."
"I don't think that sounds dumb at all," she took a bite and moaned as the warm, sweet juice filled her mouth. It was honestly one of the most delicious things she had ever eaten.
John just smiled and let her enjoy it before continuing.

"I'm not really sure how to start this, it isn't a story I tell very often..." He rubbed the back of his neck, "My dad- erh, my biological dad- left my birth-mom when I was born because he didn't believe I was his. It was a bad relationship anyways, but I guess I "didn't look enough like him"... But my birth-mom blamed me for it. She went a little off the deep end. You know, started drinking a lot, fed me less, uhm, started hitting me."

Cath took a bite of a second plum, not taking her eyes off of him.
"She would yell at me, and I remember she had this stupid paddle. I mean, like one of those ping pong paddles with the scratchy stuff on it. It was the absolute worst," his eyes were glazed over. "It wasn't an everyday thing though. That's what I've always thought was the weirdest thing about it. One second she was totally fine, the next she'd have that damn paddle. But when she was done, she'd scoop me up and tell me how sorry she was and how she was a terrible mother."

John took a moment to compose himself.

"One day, well it must've been several days, but either way, I ended up getting a diaper rash, because... that's just what happens when you're a baby... but it was so bad I kept screaming, and screaming and screaming and she just snapped. She took a kitchen knife and-"
His bottom lip was quivering and a couple of tears were dribbling down his freckled cheeks.

"John, please." Cath reached over to touch his knee, "You don't have to finish this story."
He looked down at her hand and took a deep breath, "She locked herself in the bathroom."
"Oh my god..."
"Yeah... I wore myself from screaming. And when I woke up I couldn't find her. I sat and waited until it was light out and then I crawled out the doggy door to find help. They found her body in the bathtub."
Cath wiped her eyes and moved in to give him a hug.

"You remember all of that?"
"I remember almost everything from back then," he shrugged. "All of my earliest memories are only around because they suck and I got therapy instead of suppressing them. At least that's what my doctor says. I must've been about three and a half when she died."

"Wow... So your aunt and uncle took you in right after that?"

"No, I lived with my grandparents for about a year, but they couldn't really take care of me all that well and that's when my aunt took me in."

"You're really brave, you know?" Cath smiled.
"No, I'm not. But I am lucky," John smiled back, "and I'm happy now."

"Levi says you're a bit genophobic, though."

He rolled his eyes, "Levi's got a big mouth. I love him to death, but really, I could kill him."

"Sorry, he actually asked me not to talk to you about any of this..."

"It's better that you ask me, he exaggerates a little. I don't think he remembers all the details fully, anyways. We don't really talk about any of it, and we haven't since we were probably eight." John was sitting with his knees pulled tight to his chest, "I'm not really a genophobe, as much as I am disinterested. You're the only other person I've ever talked to about any of this that wasn't part of therapy and that's because you're like an extension of Levi. Like, a little sister-in-law sort of."

Cath smiled at that.

"Because I'd been so self-conscious around women, I isolated myself from dating. And now it's hard for me to relate, so it's just awkward. I don't think I'm asexual, cause I think about it, sex, sometimes... just not as actively as, say, Levi."

"Is Levi super... sexually active?"
"Yeah, but what I mean is he's not sleeping with anyone that looks his way, he just likes to overshare all his thoughts with me."

She sighed with relief.

"Thanks for listening to me, Cath." He ruffled her hair.

"Thanks for trusting me."