Thanks for the tip about adding more detail about the friend's reactions. I didn't even think about that.
Chapter 4: Cruise Control (Steve's Point of View)
I couldn't believe the words coming out of Soda's mouth. There was another brother? Really and honestly, I can't believe he isn't more angry at his parents. I mean sure, he's parents are dead. And he was never one to hold a grudge, but how could you go about keeping something like this from your own kids? If you ask me, it didn't make sense at all. Luckily, he didn't want to know my opinion.
"So…I mean…do you know anything about him at all?" I ask down to Soda, who's buried underneath a blue mustang. Nice car, really.
"Not really. Just his name. His age. Where he lives." He answers. "Shit, can you hand me a towel, this car nearly sliced my hand open." I reach around behind me to the toolbox, and grab the oil-stained towel on top of it.
"Here." I say, handing it to him. I couldn't believe how calm he was about it. It was like we were talking about the goddamned weather or something.
"Yeah but I mean…have you talked to him? I mean, Sodapop, this is big! You have another brother that your parents never told you about! It's like…a script from a sitcom or something. How the hell come something like this happen? I mean, you had to ask yourself questions when your Mom suddenly gained a hundred pounds!" I said. He pulled himself out from underneath the car and gave me an exasperated look.
"Look, I really don't know, okay? You're my best friend, and I'm telling you everything I know. My mom…she went away to visit my aunt that was sick. Or at least that what's she told us-" He explains.
"And you guys didn't question it at all! I mean, golly, pal. What'd she say, 'bye guys I'm visiting Aunt Lucy, see ya in six months?!'" I exclaim.
"Steve…I really don't want to talk about it okay? I don't know why she did what she did. Hell, if it weren't for this accident, I still wouldn't know about him." Soda answers, looking tired. I shake my head, as if that would do any good.
"So…are you guys gonna see em'?" I ask. He shrugs.
"What would we say? 'Hi we're your brothers, please forgive our parents for not wanting you.'?" He asks.
"It's a start." I tell him.
Darry's Point of View
I left a note to Pony and Soda saying I would be working late. I hate to lie, but I couldn't tell the truth, and I didn't want them coming with me. Broken Arrow is an hour away, which meant an hour back, and I still don't know what I'm going to do when I get there. I tell myself I'm going there just to see what the kid looks like, and where he lives. I only hope I'm not lying to myself as well.
Because of traffic, it ends up taking about an hour and a half to get there. I have the address jotted down on a piece of paper I took from the hospital, and when I turn onto Lake Wood Drive, I'm surprised at what I see. It's not exactly the kind of neighborhood you would want to leave your car unlocked in. Or outside even. If I the neighborhood I live is bad, then this is hell itself, because it looks like the place was built especially for convicted criminals. I pull up beside a dilapidated ranch home, that's the right address, and I notice how dead everything looks. It's depressing really. There's a basketball goal in the driveway, covered with rust, and I wonder if Skywriter likes to play. I couldn't be too sure. I slowly pass the house, turn around in the cul-de-sac, and park across the street from the house. Now what?, I think to myself. I'm not going to knock on the door, so why in the world did I drive an hour and a half to see a junk-yard of a house? Just then, the garage door opens, and a green van with a busted fendor pulls out. It pulls down the driveway, and then slams on brakes, as the kid in the passenger seat jumps out.
"Lexan, get back in this van right now!" The lady in the driver's seat yells, hopping out as well. She looks like a stripper, with dark eyeliner, bad hair, and a short skirt. The kid looks young, with really blond hair. So blond it was almost white.
"Fuck you!" The kid screams, and I'm taken aback. It wasn't what I was expecting from the boy. I knew what kind of trouble I would be in if I had ever said that to my own mother. But looking at this lady, she wasn't old enough to be his mother. Maybe twenty-five at the most.
"I mean it Sky!" The lady screams, following the kid around the car. I kind of tense up at the name, knowing now that this is the kid I've been looking for. I study him closer. It's hard to take in details from across the street, but I can see he's a lot shorter than Pony. Five foot at the tallest, and probably with blue eyes. Looks more like our Mom than our Dad. It was weird, thinking our, instead of mine.
"I mean it too. You can go to hell for all I care!" The kid answers, turning around to glare at the woman. She huffs, gets into the van, and drives away. Skywriter flicks her off as she drives down the street, then stomps into the house, slamming the door.
Then it hit me. He was in there alone.