After school ended that day, Dante stood outside the school waiting for Carmen. The sun was beating down on him, and the crickets were extra annoying. He just wanted to leave the school grounds so he could go watch MEGATORCH. Carmen, wherever he is, is taking a lot of time.
"I swear if I have to walk-" Dante gets cut off by Carmen dashing out the school. "About time, what was the hold up?"
"..." Carmen stays silent. Dante raises an eyebrow.
"It's Mr. Wright, isn't it?" Dante crosses his arms.
"No-"
"Whatever, let's just go."
October 27, Rocco's garage.
The commotion from the band's instruments could be heard from miles away. Even the ones six feet under could hear. MEGATORCH literally shook the entire neighborhood, to Mr. Gardner's dismay.
"I'm gonna file a noise complaint if you don't shut up!" Mr. Gardner yells, holding a flip phone in his hand.
"Chill out, man!" Gio yells back. "We're just playing music! We haven't done anything wrong!"
"Dad, can you please just come inside?" Says a boy, twiddling with the hem of his shirt.
"Luke. Get back in the house." Mr. Gardner points at the front door, glaring down at his son.
"...Yes, sir." Luke spins on his heels and hurries back inside.
Rocco and Cherry glance at each other, before looking back over at Mr. Gardner. They seem to have the same idea.
Gio, still raving to Mr. Gardner, gets pulled aside by Eve. Cherry whispers something in Gio's ear, and he nods.
Mr. Gardner continues yelling at the teenagers when Carmen and Dante show up. "Oh, of course there's more of you!"
Dante throws his hands up in front of his chest. "Hey, oldie, watch it." Carmen frowns, trying to tell Dante to calm down.
"Oldie? Really? That the best you can do, kid?" Mr. Gardner sneers.
Cherry bounds over, whispering into Dante's ear. Dante's mouth turns upward for a second, before he nods. "What're you gonna do, oldie? That not creative enough for you?" He shakes his hands, exaggerating 'creative.'
They continue back and forth, Dante aiming to keep the grown man distracted. Carmen retreats into the garage, getting filled in by the others.
"So, we saw how Mr. Gardner talks to his kid." Cherry explains. "We are gonna send Gio over to one of the windows to scope out the place."
"Isn't that illegal?" Carmen asks.
"Gio's been in jail before, he'll be fine." Rocco says.
"Yeah! What-" Gio gets pushed to the fence.
"Just go!" Cherry whispers.
"Fine, fine." Gio lifts himself up over the fence, sneaking to the house. "Better be worth it." Looking in one of the windows, he sees the living room. There's a woman sitting on the couch, holding a toddler. Nothing there. Continuing on, Gio reaches the kitchen window. There, he sees the stairs to the second floor. "How am I gonna get up there?"
Stepping back from the house, he looks around. "Breaking and entering is always an option. But, the police say otherwise." So, he decided to try and climb the drain pipe. The old, poorly painted, white pipe creaks under his weight. However, the pipe stays put. "The things I do-" He makes it to the second floor window. Inside, he sees a teen boy. Younger than him, but close in age. He was fiddling with some wild flowers he must've picked outside. Gio taps on the window, attempting to get his attention. The teen haults, gasps, and looks up.
Luke makes his way over to the window, opening it. "Hi?"
"Hey-" Gio flips over the window and lands on his face. "Nice room."
"Thanks? Who are you?" Luke puts the flowers on his dresser, pulling his sweater down more over himself.
"I'm Giovanni, but you can call me Gio." Gio holds out his hand, waiting for Luke to take it.
Luke hesitates, before grabbing Gio's hand. "I'm Luke." His face heats up.
Gio looked at their hands, noticing Luke's was scratched and cold. "Are you okay?" He asked, genuinely.
Luke seemed to think for a moment. "You shouldn't be in here. If my dad finds out I'm talking to someone like you he would never let me out of the house." Luke frantically walks around the room, ranting about his dad.
"Woah, woah, what does that mean?" Gio tries to get Luke's attention. "You could come with us y'know-" The front door slams shut. Luke looks at Gio.
"Hide." Luke says, pushing Gio into his closet. "Be quiet." Thumps can be heard coming up the stairs.
Mr. Gardner slams Luke's door open, seeing his son sitting on the bed. "Well?"
"What?" Luke asks, not making eye contact.
"You know what. Why were you outside? You know our neighborhood is dangerous." Mr. Gardner doesn't let Luke say anything. "In the Bible-"
"Dad, please. I know. Im sorry, I'll be better." Luke stands up.
Mr. Gardner sighs, rubbing his face. "Do not disappoint me."
Luke glances at the closet. "I won't."
Luke's dad smiles. "Good." He ruffles Luke's hair and leaves the room. Luke let's out a breath and flops onto the bed. Gio opens the closet, and sits beside Luke.
"Get out of here before he comes back. I can't risk that again." Luke frowns, looking up at Gio.
Gio opens his mouth, but for once is speechless. He nods, standing up and heading to the window. Before he leaves, he turns back around.
"I'll see you later, Luke." Gio winks, climbing back out of the window. Luke sits there, throws his hands on his face, and falls onto the bed. Meanwhile, Gio runs back over to the fence.
"Pull me up! Pull me up!" Gio whisper-yells to Rocco.
"What's the magic word?" Rocco laughs.
"I'm gonna make today your last -" Rocco grabs the collar of Gio's shirt and lifts him up.
Cherry runs over. "So? What happened?" Gio sighs.
"So, I went inside the house -"
"That's wasn't the plan!" Eve yells.
"I know, I know!" Gio groans. "But, the dude in there, he looked really..."
"Catholic?" Dante said, tilting his head. Carmen smacks his arm.
"No, no. He looked really-" Gio pauses. "Pretty."
YOU ARE READING
Redwater's Secret
Teen FictionRedwater, Tennessee, claimed to have been founded on the backs of hardworking Americans in 1945. The town, which many consider a ghost town, is now harboring some malicious faith. Luke and his friends find themselves at the center of it all.
