Odd Jobs

Chapter 38 - Dear Mom, Dead Mom

"Papa? Where is mama?", the small boy asked, tugging at the jacket of the older man. The burning smell of a spiced liqueur filled the unaired kitchen, as the damp from slowly evaporating spilled alcohol poisoned the air. It hurt the sensitive nostrils of the small child.

"She's gone."

"Where did she go?"

The man groaned, pushing the child off of him. "Why the fuck should I know?! She's your mother, not mine, you stupid devil!"

The boy started sobbing. "I'm sorry papa-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He threw an empty beer bottle at the child, barely missing the poor thing's face. "I AM NOT YOUR PAPA! YOU ARE AN OFFSPRING OF THE FUCKING DEVIL!"

"I'm sorry-!"

"OH FOR FUCKS SAKE, SHUT UP!"

It would be okay. Mama would be home again soon, and it would be okay. She would take the child in her arms, tell her how much she loved him and give him the sleepy juice so he would sleep through the terrors of the night.

Only that night, she never came home. The last thing Yuichiro ever heard from his mother, was the hospital call breaking the news she had crashed her car and passed away on the spot.

~

Eight AM on a Saturday morning. A fucking Saturday morning, and Guren was awakened by the sound of the doorbell ringing again and again. Groaning, he got up from the couch he passed out on, switching off the TV and making his way to the front door. He opened it, revealing his nephew standing in the doorway.

"Whoa. Look at you, out of your bed on a Saturday before noon."

"Morning to you too, dickhead."

"Your words hurt my feelings.", Guren grumbled, moving to the side to let Yuu in his home. "What brings you here?"

"I need your car."

"Wow, calling me a dickhead and then demanding my car. You're more like your mother than I thought.", he chuckled. He walked over to one of the cupboards, grabbing two cups. "You have the car you share with Yoichi and Kimizuki, right? The Opel? Just use that one."

"Yeah, about that..."

"Did you crash it?"

"No.", Yuu scoffed. "Something fucky is going on with the breaks, so I need Shinya to look at it. I don't wanna drive Mika around in a car that breaks shitty." He took a seat at the table in the kitchen, opening the box of sugar cubes that was placed on it.

"Wouldn't want your little princess to get hurt, would ya?", Guren chuckles. He handed his nephew a cup of coffee, with the latter dropping a few sugar cubes in the drink. "You ruin the coffee like that."

"Your coffee tastes like ass anyways."

"Jeez, you're awfully feisty today. More than usual. What's up your ass today?"

"It's nothing."

"Liar. Anyways, Shinya's with his parents for the weekend. So he won't be able to have a look at your car until Monday."

Yuu grinned. "So I can borrow yours?!"

"When in fuck's name did you hear those words leave my mouth?" Guren sighed. "One scratch mark and you're a dead man."

"Come on, Guren.", Yuu leaned back in his chair. "I'm always super careful, you know that!"

"... Always super careful? Hence you ended up in the hospital fighting a drunk man?" The teen grew quiet. He glanced at the sleeping dog on the floor, as he took a large sip of his coffee. He grimaced at the taste.