Malevolence

Chapter Two

The very first thing I do in the morning, as I do every morning after one of his breakdowns, is text Nick to wish him a good day, and remind him that I'll be around to talk if he needs it later on. Although it could be perceived as desperate, I know that that is what any good friend would do. Unsurprisingly, I don't receive a text back.

The day is spent playing video games and cleaning the house as quietly as possible because Mom is attempting to get some rest before the night shift starting at 6PM. Dad had already left before I even woke up and Mitch is gone all morning running errands and finishing some left over projects from the school year and gets back around 5:00 to play some stealthy Rocket League matches with me.

Jonathan comes over about 7:00, fully equipped with a suitcase and a backpack. If I hadn't interrogated Mitch last night I would assume he was moving in, but alas, the poor man is having his floors replaced due to some water damage that happened several months ago and will be living here for the rest of the week.

"What are your plans tonight?" Mitch asks me on my way back up the stairs.

"Probably watch Netflix and play some Cod. Why?"

"Jonathan and I are going to Clay's house for a little end-of-the-semester party. You're coming with, right?"

"Sure." I reply without much thought. Mitch informs me that it begins at 8:30 so I take my time changing and by 9:00 we're outside Clay's house, observing colorful light through the windows and the faint bumping of some shitty rap song. Upon entering, I see numerous familiar faces, but none of them are my friends.

Of course I didn't expect to know anyone. Becca would be at work right now and Niki spends her Friday nights with Wilbur. I make a beeline for the drinks table in the kitchen and pick Clay, George, and Tommy out of the crowd standing by the speakers, each sporting a red solo cup. As I pour myself a coke I see Mitch make his way over to the trio and right as I lift the drink to my lips, someone takes it from me.

"Thanks." Jonathan shouts over the amplified bass of Drugs by UPSAHL. The lack of expected charm made the action more irritating than endearing and I pour myself another while he scans the mass of twenty to thirty people in the cramped den, all swaying or dancing or actively talking over the music. I ritualistically check my phone for a message from Nick.

Jonathan clears his throat loudly, drawing my attention away from my lockscreen, blank of notifications. "Why don't you go find Clay and Tommy and them?" I suggest. After all, he isn't my friend. He knows these people better than I do, so I refuse to babysit.

He leans against the refrigerator and I notice how his grey t-shirt accentuates his torso in the lighting. "They're annoying." He explains bluntly, then adds without taking his eyes from the den, "And Tommy is fucking loud."

Mimicking his body language, I lean against the table and look out at the dancing college students and nod. All of Mitch's friends are like brothers to me, even though I don't know them that well. Perhaps they just all have that same "older brother" nich that Mitch does. What I do know, however, is that Jonathan is semi-correct. They're all either minutely self-absorbed or have an obnoxiously low self-esteem, which makes them painful to spend more than a few hours with at a time if you have a tendency to overanalyze others' personality traits.

As I glance at a couple a few feet away trying to swallow each other's faces, a particular movement at the door catches my attention. Nick walks through the front door with a busty blonde girl walking in right behind him. Another man and woman follow and I watch with a deep frown as the girl laughs and puts her hand on his torso playfully. He puts his arm around her waist and laughs as well.

Often Nick and I go weeks without even seeing each other, especially now that he has adopted a new friend group aside from my brother's, but I can recognize him the second he walks in a room. This isn't the first time he has turned up in a place like this at a time like this, but it is the first time he has brought a friend.