Cursed

≛ Chapter Eleven ≛

Zachery

I wake up and it takes me a minute to remember where I am. I put my head in my hands and rub the crust out of my eyes. Aurora's curled up on the couch opposite me. Hayden is nowhere to be seen. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that he's probably in bed with that random girl he brought home with us from the bar. I try to get up as quietly as possible but as soon as I do Aurora wakes up.

"Good morning."

I'm not entirely sure how to talk to her after the embarrassment of seeing me get so shit-faced last night. I watch as she smiles and gets up off the couch to stretch.

"Good morning Zach. I had a great time last night. But I definitely need to shower, I'm ready to head home"

"Me too. For the shower and home."

In the light of day looking around Hayden's apartment is a whole different experience. A foul smell fills the room that I definitely didn't notice last night. It doesn't take me long to sober up after breathing in that smell. I've been in some dirty places before but there is something off about Hayden's apartment. There's a toxicity lingering in the air and I know that if I investigate further I would find something that I really wouldn't like. I slip on my shoes and open the door for Aurora, who's already grabbing her purse and looking around anxiously. She's got the same look of lingering shame on her face so I motion towards the door.

"Let's get out of here."

When we get to the Hideaway parking lot we exchange numbers before getting into our separate cars. I get in my truck while she drives away and stare at her name flashing in my contact list on my cell phone. I think this means we're friends. It's a very shortlist. Hers is the only other name right under my parent's cellphones and the landline out at the farm. Any numbers I had gotten from people in the army were deleted on the plane ride home. I want to start fresh.

All the people I was close with in high school I've long since fallen out of contact with. My old best friend from school, Steve, had moved to the east coast and is now happily married with two kids, or so my mom's letters told me. I guess that means it's time to start a new chapter of my life and that includes Aurora. She seems like the kind of girl who wouldn't let me not be her friend anyway. I chuckled remembering how we teased each other over pizza at Torino's.

The thirty minute drive out to the farm is peaceful and my mind wanders over the memories I've already made with Aurora. Her genuine clumsiness and bubbly laughter makes me more at ease in my own way. After daydreaming longer my mind is jolted back to reality as the tires of my truck are met with bumpy gravel instead of smooth concrete. I'm almost home.

I pull up to the two-story white farmhouse and see my mom already coming out to greet me. I can barely get out of the truck before she throws her arms around me. I'm grateful for her embrace and I let it relax me momentarily. It's not her that I'm worried about coming home too anyway. It's him.

"Hey, mom."

"Oh, Zachery, I've missed you! Thank the heavens you're safe! I prayed for you every day, every single day, that you were gone in that god-awful place."

"I know mom. Thank you. Is he here?"

"Zachery, it's Sunday football."

So that means yes. I'm sure I'll find him with his ass stuck in his recliner chair and his eyeballs glued to the television. If his team is winning then my presence will hopefully go unnoticed. Which probably isn't what most son's who return home from the service want from their dads. But my dad isn't like those other dads unfortunately. I close the door to my truck and grab a suitcase from the back. I take a deep breath before my mom and I walk into the house. It smells like melted butter and fresh baked cornbread. I look around taking in all of the decor my mother always works so hard on. If it wasn't for my dad screaming at the television then the house would be a relatively peaceful place. I walk over to my dad's recliner chair where he's created a permanent indentation from sitting in it too much. The frosted mug of beer looks relatively full on the table next to him. His team must be winning, now's my chance to ask him.