The Loner's Journey

Chapter 8

Archer's POV
As I get to the door I hear my dad slam the car door shut, grumbling about something. "Hello, father. Did you have a nice day at work?" I ask, trembling slightly. "Piss off you disappointment!" He yells at me angrily. I simply nod and move out of his way as quickly as I can. He storms passed me to the kitchen and grabs a bottle of whiskey he had stored in a cabinet. "Go make yourself useful and get me some cigarettes or beer." He says over his shoulder with a glare at me. He hands me $50 and shoved me out the door. I sighed and walked off towards the supermarket down the road. As I walked, I wondered how I was supposed to buy either of those things when I'm underage. Then I decided I'd just have to deal with the consequences and went to visit moms grave. Using some of the money to buy flowers to place on her grave. When I was approaching the cemetery I noticed Grayson was here too. He seemed to be lost in thought so I just continued past to my mothers grave, placing the flowers down before sitting in front of the gravestone. I began talking to her in whispers. Telling her about how dad and I are, how school is going, and how much I miss her. By the time I'm done the sun is setting and I'm in the verge of tears. I sniffle a little before standing, saying goodbye, and starting to walk home. I was about to exit the gate of the cemetery, when I heard someone call my name. I turned slightly to see who called me, only to come face-to-face with my crush, Grayson. I become flustered. "Did you need something?" I asked with a squeaky voice. " I just was wondering what you were doing here." He replied. 'Of course he would' I thought to myself. "Um.... that's kinda personal. I don't really feel comfortable or know you enough to tell you. Sorry." I say. He pouts a little. "But I thought we were friends?" He asks, a little confused and hurt. I quickly try to think of something to fix this. As I'm searching my brain for a solution, I begin hearing laughing. I turn to Grayson to see he's full on belly laughing at me. I stare, stunned for a moment, before blushing from embarrassment. "What's so funny?" I ask, defensively. He looks at me with tears of laughter before wiping them away and standing up straight. "I'm sorry. The face you made when you thought I was upset was hilarious." He replies, still trying not to laugh. I glare at him slightly, before puffing my cheeks in embarrassment and turning my back to him. He laughs at my reaction then tries to get me to turn around and look at him. I refuse. He starts poking and jabbing at me to make me laugh. I try so hard not to but he accidentally hits a really ticklish spot on arm and I loose it. I bust out laughing and bend over, holding my stomach. He looks at me surprised, then smirks and starts tickling me. I laugh harder and try to move away but he follows me. "STOP! I can't breathe!" I say through gasps for breath. "NEVER!" He exclaims, and proceeds to tickle me a bit more before finally stopping. I breath a sigh of relief as I catch my breath. I look back at him and notice he's smiling. I blush a little before finally catching my breath. "Well I should be getting home. It's really dark and my dad might be worried." I say. "Yeah, I should probably be getting back home too." He says. We say our goodbyes before heading in different directions to go back to our houses. When I get back home, I'm thankful to find my father passed out on the couch. I sigh and notice that the previously full whiskey bottle was now empty. 'Great, he's gonna be in an awful mood when he wakes up' I think to myself sarcastically. I make dinner for us both, quietly eat, and go to my room as quietly as possible. 'He'll eat when he wakes up' I think before closing my bedroom door to do my homework. Once I've finished my homework I decide to shower. I walk to the bathroom and shower quickly before heading back to my room in the same manner. I get dressed for bead and pack all my school stuff back up before laying on my bed to stare out my window. I eventually get bored and decide to play a game on my phone. Once I get bored of that I decide to read until I get tired but before I know it, my eyes droop and I fall into the blackness called sleep.