19. Whispers in the Night

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The past few days had been tranquil.

No, tranquil wasn't exactly accurate. There was tension in the air, which in turn made it awkward trying to interact with my family. So I hadn't spoken much to them. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

There hadn't been any murders attempted on my friends, family or myself since that night at Travis' house. No attacker. No speaking with my parents. Talking with my friends had reached a low as well. We spoke in school, sure. But we hadn't been communicating outside of school much. Or at least, they weren't communicating with me.

And to top it off, no new messages from Kevin since he agreed to meet at the shack of course.

The shack.

It was a perfect meeting spot. That was where Kevin and I would hang out when we got tired of people. Or school. Or our parents. Just life in general, really.

Tonight was the night. Saturday.

Eddie's home was closer to the woods where the shack was located. I still didn't want to go to Eddie's party, but it would be a good cover. My friends were suspicious of me and I was suspicious of them. Going out together would be a great way to ease some tension.

Then thirty minutes to eleven, I'll just say I'm tired and want to go home, but really I'll be heading to the shack nearby.

The downside obviously was having to spend some time with that douche. His party started at nine o' clock so I'd be there for at least a good hour and a half before I left.

I think the one of the most aggravating things though was the fact that Kevin had wasted no time in getting back to me when I threatened him.

The guy spent so long ignoring me. I hadn't heard back from him since our first meeting. He could've been dead for all I knew and he ignored me. I was worried sick about him and he couldn't have just said "Hey, I'm alive"? I at least deserved that much.

But no, I had to take drastic measures for him to respond to me. That pissed me off. It shouldn't be like this. If he wanted to come home so badly, why wasn't he trying his hardest to do so?

How fucking infuriating.

I was sulking on the matter when my phone rang. It was Luke.

"Yo," I answered.

"What's up, man?" He asked.

"Nothing," I replied simply. "Bored."

"Well, you're in luck because we're pregaming."

I pulled the phone away from my ear to look at the time. Then I put it back to my ear.

"It's one in the afternoon."

"Well, not now obviously!" Luke retorted. "Later. But before we go to Eddie's."

"You don't really pregame," I said.

"Yeah, it was Danielle's idea."

I rolled my eyes in amusement. "Of course it was."

Classic Danielle. She lived for a good time and it usually included drinking.

"Alright," I agreed. "When's this happening?"

"Swing by at around seven."

"It's a deal."

___

Seven o' clock was nearing which meant I was going out with my friends.

Currently I was downstairs, looking in the fridge for a quick snack. I sighed when I didn't find anything that really called to me and closed the fridge door shut.

I looked up to see Mom walking in, giving me a fleeting look before heading towards a cabinet. Then after a few moments she asked, "Will you be down for a late dinner? Your father is on his way home."

"No," I said. "I'll be fine in my prison."

Mom scoffed. "Suit yourself."

"That's all I can do at this point," I said dully.

I didn't wait for her to respond. I left the kitchen and went to my room. Quite frankly, I wasn't interested in having a confrontation with my mother. And seeing as how I was on punishment, I knew she wouldn't permit me to go out tonight.

But like I said, no punishment was going to stop me.

I went to my room, locked the door, grabbed my keys off the desk, threw on a jacket and put on my shoes. I went over to my window and looked down.

The home was only two stories and not very big. The jump wasn't far from the roof outside my window. Turning off my light, I climbed out my window onto the roof outside.

I closed the window and proceeded to the edge of the roof. I crouched low and put my legs over the edge in a sitting position.

Really, it wasn't that far a jump, but it was still a fair enough distance to where one would seriously need to be careful going down.

Taking a deep breath, I hopped down and hit the ground harder than I expected. I didn't hurt myself, but the impact definitely shook my legs a bit.

Nonetheless I recovered quickly and made my way to my car that was parked near the sidewalk. Hopefully Mom would still be in the kitchen and not notice me leaving.

Just then, another car was coming from down the street, and to my dismay, I knew who it was.

I had recognized my dad's car almost immediately.

He pulled into the driveway and I prepared myself for the confrontation that would surely ensue.

Once he parked and got out, he immediately made his way towards me.

"What are you doing?" He asked. There was no accusatory tone in his voice. Just curiosity.

There was no point in lying, I already wasn't supposed to be out.

"I was heading to Luke's," I admitted.

"Why?"

"Cause I wanna be with me friends Dad. I don't know, is that a crime?"

"No," he said. "Not at all."

He didn't seem concerned about the current situation. In fact he seemed completely indifferent to the fact that I was out of the house preparing to go see my friends, but still I could tell something was on his mind.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said shaking his head. "It's just... your mother and I haven't really been getting along."

"I know," I said.

I had heard their arguments here and there over the past few days. They weren't huge arguments. They were fleeting. Quick. Nuisances.

"Are you aware of what they've been about?" He asked, eyebrow arched. "The arguments?"

I shrugged. I wasn't stupid. They'd been having the arguments since that day I blew up on Mom and Raymond. Obviously that was related, but I didn't want to be the one to say it.

"Not my business really," I said.

He nodded. "I just... I'm lost here, son."

"That makes two of us," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He shrugged. "It's just that, I can't forget what you said. About the secrets and all."

I really didn't want to do this. Talking about this with Dad was seriously the last thing I wanted to do at the moment.

Not only because there was no use; I couldn't reveal a secret that I didn't know, but also because this was wasting too much time and Mom could pop up any minute.

"Dad, I know about as much as you," I lied.

I mean, it was half a lie. I didn't know much about what was going on between my mom and Raymond, but I did know things that he obviously didn't. That none of the others knew, in fact.

At least, I thought they didn't know. I didn't know who was lying or telling the truth much anymore these days. Or how much they knew about what.

"You don't think he would... You don't think that she'd..."

I frowned. "Dad, what are you trying to say?"

"Raymond... and your mother... They wouldn't..."

My eyes widened in realization. "Mom would never!" I exclaimed.

As sketchy as Mom was being, I don't think she'd ever have an affair. Especially with Raymond of all people. That was absurd. Ludicrous.

He nodded again as if trying to reassure himself. "You're right," he said. "I'm just being paranoid."

"Where's Raymond?" I asked.

Dad shrugged. "Guess he had a date or something."

A date? Probably Shawna.

"See? You have nothing to worry about," I said, attempting to ease his worry.

"Yeah. Okay."

"I'm gonna go," I half-said, half-asked. My dad was cool, but he usually respected Mom's wishes. To know if he'd actually let me go was uncertain.

To my pleasant surprise, he dismissed me with a wave.

I waved back and quickly got into my car.

___

"Holy shit, I love this stuff!" Jory exclaimed as he took another gulp of the bitter drink.

"Really?" I said. "I hate that brand."

Jory shrugged. "Beer is beer."

Danielle came over to the island in the kitchen where Jory and I were with her own can.

She winked at us before downing what must have been at least a half can of beer left in one gulp.

"Where can I find a woman like you?" Jory looked on in awe.

"We're in short supply," came Danielle's response, tossing the can in a trash can nearby.

I took a swig of my scotch. I wasn't drinking a lot. I needed to be at a good headspace for later. I didn't need alcohol getting in the way of that.

I looked into the living room and saw Sayora on the couch, on her phone and there wasn't a drink in sight.

I sighed and poured another shot of my drink in the small glass in front of me on the island's surface.

"Still not talking?" Jory asked. "I really thought you two would've made up by now."

"Well, she hates me," I said. "So no."

"She should get over it if you ask me," Danielle said. "It's been over a week now."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

Just then, I heard Luke coming down the stairs. He walked from the living room, waving at Sayora before meeting the rest of us in the kitchen.

"Hey, guys," he greeted.

Jory and I said "Hey" back, while Danielle gave him a kiss on the cheek before doing the same and adding "babe" after it.

"Must be nice," Jory commented.

"Yeah, stop throwing your perfect relationship in our faces," I said.

"Jealous?" Luke smirked.

"I'm not jealous of anything," I retorted.

"I am," Jory said.

"Well, I don't know how much hope there is for Jory," Danielle remarked, "but your hope, Ricky, is out there sitting on Luke's couch.

"I can't force her to talk to me," I said.

"You can encourage her."

"I'd rather not."

"How do you expect things to get anywhere if you don't try?" Jory inquired.

"I've tried, a plethora of times actually," I shot back. "She doesn't wanna talk to me."

"Well, she's out there, probably miserable," Danielle said trying to manipulate me. "She could use company."

"Well, you're her best friend. You go talk to her," I spat.

"Okay, talk to her, don't talk to her, I don't care," Luke chimed in. "Don't start any drama though, alright? This is gonna be a good night."

"Whatever," I said.

Luke sighed, went to the fridge and looked inside. "Damn."

"What?" Jory asked.

"We're running out of beer."

"Doesn't your dad have more?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah, he hides them in the shed."

"We're stealing your dad's beer?" Jory asked.

"Yeah," Luke said. Then with a scoff, he added, "Ask me if I care."

"Where is your dad anyway?" I asked.

"Work," came Luke's glib reply. "He's always at work."

Luke's mother had passed away last year. She'd lost a long and treacherous fight with cancer. We all knew it was coming and the toll it had taken on Luke and his father's relationship was apparent.

They argued a lot. Once, Luke had even broken a table lamp during one of their many screaming matches. I had the unfortunate 'pleasure' of witnessing that one first hand.

Luke had changed since his mother died. I mean, Kevin's reported death changed him, too. But after his mom died, he became gloomy. He was once a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. It's how we became best friends in the first place.

But he'd lost that quality long ago. He was more serious now. More of a no-nonsense type of guy. And sometimes he could be really bitter.

But he remained my best friend nonetheless.

"Ricardo, can you go get them?" He asked. "You know where they are."

"Why can't you go get them?" I questioned.

"Because I'm your best friend whose asking you nicely," he said. "Also I'm just lazy."

I let out a long sigh and stood up.

"Thanks, buddy," he smiled gleefully.

"Shut up."

I went to the back door that was conveniently in the kitchen and stepped into the back yard. It was dark out by now. It was a little after eight o'clock, we'd be leaving to Eddie's party soon.

The shed was only about twenty feet away and I went to it, opened the door and pulled the string that turned on the light above.

I went to a shelf that had a large toolbox placed on it and moved the box aside, revealing the cans of beer behind it. There were six of them, no box but held by plastic six pack rings.

Grabbing what I'd come for, I turned the light back off, closed the shed door with my foot and proceeded back to the house.

I could hear my friends talking as I approached, but they were whispering and I had to strain to try and hear them. The back door was closed, but I quickly realized I was hearing them from the screened window next to it.

I went to the window, crouched so they wouldn't see me and listened.

"We don't have time to talk about this now, he'll be back soon!" I recognized that it was Danielle.

"Yeah, stupid!" Luke snapped. "Why would you even bring it up?!"

"Sorry," Jory lamented. "It's just that it's been killing me! If Kevin really is alive—"

"Luke didn't mean to hurt Kevin," Danielle said.

My heart almost stopped.

"We thought he was dead—"

"Shut the fuck up!" I heard Luke snap again. "I swear to God, Jory, shut the fuck up!"

"Ricky could already know," Danielle said. "We saw the messages on his phone."

"If Kevin is miraculously alive somehow and told Ricky what we did—"

"What you did," Jory corrected.

"You're not innocent in this, man!" Luke retorted. "Look, I don't think Ricky knows the full story, if he even knows anything at all. Kevin wasn't a saint and you know that better than anyone, Danielle."

There was a long silence.

"Leave it here," Luke finally said. "We're not talking about this now."

"Fine," Jory said. Then, "Where the hell is Ricardo?"

"Yeah," Danielle said, "he's taking kind of a long time."

That was my cue. I crouched over until I reached the door where I finally stood and walked back in.

They acted normally. As if they hadn't just been casually whispering about whatever it was they had done to my brother.

It took every fiber in my being not to let all the emotions I was currently feeling show on my face.

"Sorry, I took a while," I said. "Forgot where your dad hid 'em."

"It's cool, we've still got time," Luke replied.

"Let's drink up!" Jory said.

"Yeah," I deadpanned. "Wouldn't want to be late to the party."

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