Chapter 10: Sweets

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Wednesday...
                    3:49pm...

The room was cold, and the steady breeze blowing in through the window didn't help. The cold wasn't unbearable, but rather an unusual temperature for a bedroom. Then again, it was Cush's bedroom. Black walls, cold and practically empty.

Elias chuckled. It resembled his heart. He was in the middle of tutoring Cush when his mother had called him down stairs suddenly, leaving Eli to his thoughts and that was the first thing that came to mind.

There was something about it though--about how the room made him feel. Maybe it was because this was an unfamiliar area, or perhaps it was the array of drawings surrounding him that made it delightfully captivating. It was like he was touring a small art museum with his eyes; each piece was unique. The more he looked, the more he realized they weren't all women. There were wilting roses, other faces, and random doodles here and there. There was one, however, that held interest.

A warm lamp was sitting on the corner of his desk, spilling its light behind it across a picture deeply carved into the black paint. It wasn't a full drawing, no, but the parts that were drawn were exceptionally detailed. It was a drawing of hands clawing out a pair of eyes. Gruesome, yet simple and well done. It wasn't colored, but he could tell the long streaks were blood. It had no censor. Everything was raw and explicit. Nothing like he'd ever seen before.

Maybe that's why he found it appealing. Though, it made him wonder. What's the story behind his drawings?

"Are you hungry?" Cush's voice came from the frame of the door. Elias was a bit surprised. If he didn't ask it with such distaste, Elias might've thought he actually cared if he were.

"Not really." Elias replied, trying to find where they left off. "Let's try to finish this now."

"I told her to stop wasting her time with these things." Cush sighed, making his way back over to his bed.

"With what?" Elias asked, flipping through the pages.

"Peh...baking." Cush sat down pinching the bridge of his nose. "I hate sweets. She knows that."

Elias gave a short laugh that caught Cush's attention.

"What's funny?" Cush rose a brow.

Elias shook his head. "Nothing, just...Ava and I'd love anything that didn't have to go in a microwave."

"Ava." Cush paused on that. "Your sister?"

"Yeah." Elias felt funny that he assumed that Cush had already known. "Younger."

There was a pause.

"Take some home." Cush insisted. "I won't eat them."

Elias glanced up at Cush for only a second. It was different. He almost mistook it for genuine kindness, but Cush's dark eyes reminded him of that impossibility though. He was only doing it for his benefit. "I might thanks."

He'd finally found the page. "Did you do the reading?"

Cush paused at that, turning away. "No. I mean I...I got distracted."

Elias nodded. "It happens. Just have it done by Friday. You need to know that stuff--and pay attention to the events chronologically. He takes points for that."

Cush nodded, and Elias took that as his cue to start again.

The rest of the session had finally passed, and Cush was happy to send Elias on his way. Moving down the stairs and towards the front door, the sweet, warm smell of brownies filled his nose. He hummed in delight. They smelled heavy with chocolate and were fresh. Man, did those smell good.

He couldn't resist popping his head into the kitchen to take a quick peek. It was like his senses were in heaven. Evenly stacked fudge bars sat directly in the center of the marble counter, perfectly shaped and moist. Surprisingly though, that wasn't the only pastry there. There were at least six more plates of other sweets. Some frosted, others not, but the only one he could smell were the brownies.

"Elias."

Eli jumped a little, backing away from the kitchen.

"Or--or is it Elliot?" Evan questioned himself, putting a finger to his chin. "I forget." As the laugh erupted from Evan's chest, Eli began to relax. "Jim?"

"Its' Elias." He corrected before he could go any further.

"Ah, Elias. Sorry bud, didn't mean to scare you." He patted his shoulder. "Time for you to go isn't it?"

"Yeah." Elias nodded. "Was just on my way out."

"Yeah right." Evan shook him before going into the kitchen. "Come on."

Elias hesitated before following him. "Sir?"

"Grab that plate over there." He pointed towards the neatly stacked dishes near the sink. Elias did as he was told, holding the plate out to Evan.

"No. No. No. That's not for me." He shook his head. "That's for you."

Elias gave him a puzzled face, glancing at the table of sweets. "Oh, no I-"

"Please." Evan insisted. "Arlette can't get enough of baking, but I can't stuff anymore down, and Cush won't get within three feet of them. And--see I know you were eyeballing something in here."

Elias glanced at the table once more, giving Evan another look.

"Help yourself." He laughed. "Seriously, whatever you want."

Elias wasted no time in taking a couple of brownies, setting them on his plate. He went for a few chocolate chip and sugar cookies before grabbing something he'd never seen that looked tasty. He turned around to catch Evan smiling in approval, his arms crossed over his chest. "You should see the look on your face."

Elias hadn't noticed until he said it, but he was smiling giddily. This kind of thing never happened to him, and he might've went over board. "Thank you." Elias gave a short laugh.

"Pfft, you're doing me a favor." Evan smiled. Elias liked his smile. He could tell it was genuine. Evan had the type of smile that went to his eyes--just like Mike. Though, Elias didn't get to see his very often. "Oh! You should try these."

Evan reached across, grabbing a delicate strawberry pastry. "My wife's special strawberry cheesecake puffs." He opened it up to show Elias the fluffy white middle before popping the whole thing in his mouth. "Here." He hummed, dumping the rest of them onto Eli's plate. "Give them to your girlfriend or your mom. Women love strawberries. Just take them."

Eli laughed at the mans desperation, but also at his own. He was getting that greedy sensation that comes when dining at a buffet. However, he already knew he wasn't going to eat all of it. He was mostly excited to see the look on Ava's face when he returned home with it all.

"What about your dish?" Elias asked as Evan helped wrap everything up.

"Oh, just bring it back Friday when you come for tutoring." Evan rubbed Eli's head, and the unfamiliar gesture made him smile. "Better be on your way, Elliot."

"Uh, Elias." He chuckled, correcting him again.

"God damnit." Evan sighed.

~*~

Once Elias was dropped off at his house, he thanked Benson before heading inside. "Ava-"

He was interrupted by her scream as Mike tossed her into the air. They were playing in the living room. Mike would slam Ava into the cushions and tickle her while Brie stood recording. For a moment, Elias smiled, but soon after hearing Ava's constant laughter, his smile began to fade. It almost felt like it wasn't his place to smile. Like he was intruding by just being there. He, himself, couldn't understand why he suddenly felt that way, but he did. Averting his gaze, he slipped upstairs. No one noticed him anyway.

Entering his room, he set his bag down, but decided to hold onto the pastries. He looked at them. The joy they brought a second ago was gone. They were for Ava, but the thought of giving her something that would make her happier made him sick. He was upset with himself for feeling this way, but his overwhelming sense of jealousy was in overdrive.

Elias loved Ava, but Elias hated Ava. At some point, one of the two feelings would prevail. It was just a matter of which and when.

He didn't know what to do with the sweets anymore. They looked amazing, but made him sick to his stomach for what they represented. He needed to get rid of them, and blow off steam, and he knew just the way to do it.

Opening his bedroom window, he kneeled grabbing a brownie from the plate. Taking a tiny bite, he brought his arm back before sending the brownie flying across the yard and into the woods. When he heard it hit one of the tree branches, he went for another. He continued this until there was nothing but the strawberry cheesecake puffs that Evan added last minute. He sighed. He knew Ava would've loved these especially. Guilt is such a powerful emotion, yet pride and jealousy prove to be stronger. He didn't want to think about doing the right thing or being the bigger person. He groaned, getting ready to dump the rest, but paused at the sudden vibration from his pocket.

It was Sunshine.

There was a sudden feeling of relief as he read the message.

Should I make cookies or no? 5:34pm

After staring at the text for a minute, Elias smirked. It was random and stupid, but seemed like just the right set of words to distract him. He'd almost forgotten that he was sneaking over Sunshine's house to stalk the Neet again tonight. Of course Sunshine was treating it like some type of sleepover. He texted back.

No. 5:35pm

Elias wasn't in the mood for sugar, but that wasn't why he said no. How could he forget about Sunshine's sweet tooth. Wrapping the puffs back up, he added.

I'm bringing something better. 5:37pm.

~*~

Night had fell, and it was time for him to go. It was getting increasingly easier to sneak out now, and he was able to make his way towards Sunshine's house with ease while keeping a close eye on the house across. Skipping up the porch stairs, he approached the door and as usual, Sunshine was there to open it.

Eli's breath hitched at his face. Sunshine had an awful diagonal scar, crooked with a surrounding faint purple hue on his nose. It looked painful, but the smile on his face said otherwise.

"What are they?" He asked excitedly, looking at the plate in his hand. His face turned as Elias stepped inside. "What...are they?" He said it with much less enthusiasm, making Elias glance down at the plate. Honestly, they looked horrible now-all squashed and mashed together underneath the plastic wrap.

"They've been through alot." Elias replied, remembering his window activities. Sunshine shrugged, taking the plate.

"I don't think desserts are safe around you." Sunshine started up the stairs. "You always seem to damage them."

"You have no idea." Elias chuckled. As they entered Sunshine's room, they began getting set up for the night, and as usual, Elias took first watch. Sunshine wasted no time in sitting down criss cross uncovering the sweets like they were a present on Christmas.

"Whoa..." Sunshine's face turned. "They look terrible."

Elias chuckled.

Sunshine brought the plate closer to his face, accidentally bumping the tip of his nose. Eli gave him a concerned look as he hissed in pain, covering it.

"You alright?" He asked.

Sunshine glanced at him with watery eyes, smiling. "Of course." He blinked it all away. "Just stings a bit here and there. I'm just clumsy." Sunshine laughed.

Elias frowned at that, turning back towards the Neet's house. He hated that Sunshine kept playing it off as nothing. It wasn't the wound that got to him anymore, it was Sunshine's attitude towards it. He couldn't understand that part of him.

"Mmm wow!" Sunshine's eyes lit up, and Elias looked back again at the boy chewing with white fluff around his mouth. "They taste amazing..." his voice dissipated.

"What?" Elias asked.

Sunshine stared at the pastries a bit longer. "They taste so...familiar. I can't put my foot on it." He took another bite.

"Well, they're strawberry..." Elias forgot the full name. "...somethings."

"Strawberries...that might be it." He smiled taking another bite. "Man they're good! I take it all back! You want some?"

Sunshine held out the plate, and Elias shook his head, looking back outside. "They're all yours man." Sunshine noticed something off in his voice. "You sure?" He tilted his head.

"Knock yourself out."

Sunshine continued to watch him, slowly stuffing his face. He got the feeling something was bothering him, but couldn't tell what. He'd just assumed he was bored.

"Oh! You wanna tell some scary stories?" Sunshine started with a yip.

"Uh no-"

"There was once a boy named..uh." Sunshine struggled, and Eli gave a short laugh shaking his head.

"Elias! Yeah that's his name, and he woke up one night-erm day and no one noticed him! His parents didn't even see him right in their faces!"

Elias sighed. "Relatable."

"And so he was very confused. He would say their names and touch them-wait no- he couldn't touch them...um but he would-uh...h-he was confused so he went to his bathroom...and looked in the mirror...he couldn't see himself! He was a ghost!"

Elias looked at sunshine for a moment before bursting into laughter. Sunshine frowned, taking another bite of the puffs. "It was supposed to be scary."

"Sunshine, it was so not scary it hurts." Elias shook his head, still recovering from his fit.

"It wasn't that bad." Sunshine quirked his lips.

"Oh, yes. It was that bad." Elias replied.

"Well what do you have?" He asked, moving closer, joining him at the window. Elias rose a brow at him before smirking.

"True story." He began. "I was living in Florida and I had this friend. His name was Donovan or something-this was a long time ago. I was probably eight."

Sunshine listened carefully.

"But he would always come to school with these stories about his neighbor. I'll never forget his name; Mr. Carter. A hunched back, sixty year old with too many small graves in his backyard. Now Carter was already known as the creepy dude on the block, but Donovan lived right next to him and everyone wanted to hear his stories."

"What were the stories?" Sunshine asked.

"Well, rumor had it that he was a cannibal, but he only liked to eat children, because they were pure, and that's why he had all the graves. Donovan said he saw him staring and licking his lips while he played in his back yard. So, he stopped playing back there."

Sunshine rose both brows.

"Of course, I thought it was all bull. I wanted to see for myself, so...we scheduled a sleepover...kinda like we're doing now."

Sunshine furrowed his brows, looking out the window. "Oh, I don't like this."

"And we watch from the clear doors on Donovan's back porch. Now see, the way the houses were set up, is that the backyards were facing each other, so we had a clear view." Elias sighed. "After a while, it started getting boring, so I decided that I was going to look in through the man's porch window. Don didn't want to come, so I went by myself."

Sunshine shook his head. "You're crazy."

"So." Elias continued. "I go outside, and I hop the fence and creep up to this man's porch. I start looking inside and it is dark as shit in this guys house-I mean I couldn't see anything. I put my hands up on the glass, and still nothing."

Sunshine just kept shaking his head.

"I look back at Don like I don't see nothing. Suddenly, the light cuts on from inside his house, and this shadow appears over my head and on the grass towards Don's house. He screamed and left me."

Elias looked at Sunshine. "He left me. So I don't look back, and I take off back to the house. I get caught and I'm thinking the man is about to take me and make some Eli stew."

Sunshine's eyes were wide now. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." Elias chuckled. "I was just caught on a low tree branch. Don woke up his mom and she got me down. She had a long talk with Mr. Carter and apologized. Turned out the guy was actually vegan."

"But what about all the graves?" Sunshine asked.

"Oh, he had a thing for dogs. When they died, he would always bury them in his backyard to stay close." Elias smirked, remembering. "He was just letting his dog out that night."

Sunshine shook his head. "I dont like that! No more scary stories about neighbors."

Elias smirked. "There was once a neighbor..."

"Elias..." Sunshine said low.

"I'm just kidding." Eli laughed at the frightened boy.

"No, Elias." Sunshine pointed. "Look."

Following Sunshine's gaze out the window, Eli's eyes grew wide as he leaned in.

A man stepped out. He was wearing a hoodie, but the boys got a quick glimpse of his face.

"That's the guy I saw last time." Sunshine whispered.

"You sure?" Elias asked, watching him walk down the street.

"Yea he's-"

"He's on the move." Elias interrupted "Come on."

Sunshine's eyes grew wide, but Elias was already half way down the stairs before he could protest his concerns. He followed Elias outside, but when he made it out, he was already gone.

Sunshine looked around, quickly walking down the street. "Hazel!" He yell-whispered. "I mean-Elias!" A small yelp left him as he was pulled to the ground. Elias covered his mouth, giving him a look before continuing his watch over the Neet. Sunshine pulled his hand off, covering his nose.

"Ow."

"Shh." Elias stared intently at the man turning the corner. "Come on."

Sunshine huffed, following.

They shadowed him, being sure to keep a safe distance, making every turn and tracing every step. Eli's heart was bursting with adrenaline. Clayton had finally stepped out and Elias was determined to find out what he was up to. He didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that this was his chance. He was so dead set on him that he had practically forgotten about the bubbly boy on his heels.

There was something off about him though that Elias noticed instantly. For a football player, he looked abhorrently out of shape. Granted, it had been ten years since he had stopped playing. However, he'd never seen someone so miserable looking. Elias could tell he definitely had a belly, and slouched with a small, but noticeable, limp. He kept his head low.

After some time of walking, they suddenly stopped in front of a building. It caught the two boys off guard as they watched the strange man walk into a bank. Sunshine kneeled beside Elias in the bushes.

"I was expecting something a little different." He said. "You know, like a warehouse with death written all over it."

"Yea, me too." Elias rose a brow.

It had only been a few minutes before the man stepped out again. They couldn't see his eyes beneath his hood, but Elias could tell he was surveying the area.

"What are you doing...?" Elias asked, narrowing his eyes. Just then, the Neet's head abruptly snapped towards them, and Elias felt paralyzed.

"He sees us-" Elias covered his mouth as Sunshine began tugging his arm.

"Shh." Elias didn't move a muscle. He mirrored the man, just still and watching. Though, the longer he glared, the more restless the boys became. He was facing directly at them, staring. They knew he was staring.

Sunshine tore his hand away from his mouth in a panick. "I think he sees us Elias-"

The faint noise of a clanking truck in the distance grew louder, and suddenly the headlights were visible spilling their light out onto the street. They were too focused on the Neet to notice it before. As it passed by, the man turned away shielding his face and began walking again,

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