Sacrificial Loyalty

Chapter 10- Next in line

It was a calm Sunday morning. Lachlan had messaged Melvin earlier that morning, asking him what he was up to on such a beautiful day. Melvin replied telling him he wasn't up to much, but was going to spend the day with his mother. Lachlan was more than happy with this.

It didn't take long for Lachlan to find him, but once he did, he could feel the excitement buzzing through him. Today would be the day.

'Hey dude!' Lachlan messaged.

It didn't take too long for a response.

'What the hell do you want? Aren't you Melvin's friend?' Came the reply.

'I don't pick sides :) Thought you were pretty sweet when I met you in the bar yesterday. Thought you might wanna hang out for the day.'

'Yeah cheers for the drink. I actually kinda appreciate it. It's good you don't pick sides.' Malcolm responded.

'Yup! Where do you wanna meet up then?' Lachlan messaged, smiling lightly as he sent the question.

'Okay hold on. This is a bit fast lmao. I guess we could meet somewhere though. Maybe at the entrance of Bottom Tap? Just promise not to hurt me yo.'

Lachlan laughed to himself as he read the last line, and then typed his last response.

'Yeah. Good stuff. See you in about an hour?'

'Sure.' Came the last reply from Malcolm.

An hour had passed, and Lachlan was making his way to Bottom Tap, almost skipping with fizzing excitement. He was so ready for today.

It didn't take long for him to find Malcolm, standing among a small crowd outside of the pub Bottom Tap.

"Hey dude!" Lachlan shouted from across the street, causing Malcolm and the small group of people to turn their heads towards him.

"Hey!" Malcolm shouted back, crossing the road to Lachlan. "Why did you want to meet me?"

Lachlan casually shrugged, smiling. "Just thought it would be pretty sweet for us to hang out. Melvin's been irritating me anyways."

"Yeah he's certainly something." Malcolm mumbled as they both made their way up through the busy town.

"So what are we doing then?" Malcolm asked.

Lachlan tried hard not to break out into a grin.

"I thought we could hang out at my place for the day. I've got a pretty cool house. You'll really like it."

"It's in Workington isn't it?" Asked Malcolm.

"Yup! Not that far away. Half an hour on the bus. I'll pay for ya ticket. Oh hey!" Lachlan clicked his fingers. "Did you tell your parents, or parent, not assuming, that you're hanging out with me for the day? Wouldn't want them to think you've gone missing!"

Malcolm chuckled lightly. "Yeah I told them don't worry. They asked for your second name but I don't know it so I just said 'I'm heading out with a guy from school called Lachlan."

Lachlan bit his lip and nodded.

"Name's Lachlan Brown." Lachlan confidently strode down the town's street like he owned the place, quickly looking back at Malcolm as he finished his sentence.

"Cool. I'll let 'em know."

The bus ride to Lachlan's home in Workington was uneventful. Lachlan paid for both of their tickets and sat down in the seat away from the window, next to Malcolm, practically blocking Malcolm in if he changed his mind about going to Lachlan's home.

Upon arriving at Lachlan's home, Malcolm was treated like the average guest, being offered a cup of tea by Lachlan, and even being offered a house tour, which Malcolm accepted.

It was a beautiful home. As they walked in, they were both warmly greeted by a medium-sized living room, decorated with light grey sofas with a dark brown coffee table in between them, a TV in front of the two sofas, though more to the right, small glass ornaments adorned the space around the TV, consisting of glass owls, glass pigs and a small glass cat with purple stones decorating its tail, and a red carpet to compliment the sofas. The wallpaper was a cream colour, similar to the outside of his house.

The kitchen was basic, with a grey carpet and cream-coloured walls, three small, round lights spaced out equally along the white ceiling, a light brown dining table with two chairs on either side of it, and the usual kitchen attire such as counters, an oven, a washing machine, a fridge and a sink. It was spotless.

There was also a downstairs toilet area, and upstairs consisted of two bedrooms and a bathroom.

One bedroom was nicely decorated, which was for guests or, as Lachlan said, mainly for his parents if they wanted to stay over.

Lachlan's bedroom was more interesting. He had red-coloured walls and a black carpet with black bedsheets and a black bed quilt to match, including black pillow cases with red roses across them. He had one small light above his bed with a red-coloured lampshade, a TV which was across from his bed, and a window that viewed out into his back garden. From the other side of his bedroom was a dark brown-coloured door that led to the bathroom; a basic bathroom including a shower, a bath, a toilet and a sink. Finishing up the room included white walls and a light grey lino flooring, and another window looking out into the back garden.

Malcolm was quite impressed with Lachlan's home as they moved around each room. It inspired Malcolm with his own home ideas.

They hung out in the living room for a while, chatting about school, paying bills, what Malcolm was going to do now that he'd left school, how Lachlan's car was broken. They talked about anything.

Things were going well.

"I'll be heading off shortly Lachlan!" Malcolm shouted from the living room to Lachlan, who was in the kitchen washing dishes.

"That's fine! I'll see you out in a minute!" Lachlan shouted back.

Lachlan dried his hands on a small towel, making his way into the living room where Malcolm was standing up and placing his jacket across his shoulders.

"I've really enjoyed today. We should do this again sometime." Malcolm said.

Nodding, Lachlan headed over to the door, unlocking it for Malcolm.

Malcolm smiled politely at Lachlan, grabbing the door handle and pulling it down, opening the door.

The air was fresh as he stepped outside, and Malcolm breathed the relaxing air in.

And then the breath left his lungs.

Within a second, he was pulled back into the house by his hair, and the door was slammed shut.