Roller Skate || Alex Gaskarth a.u.

Chapter 4: Bronze Coins At The Bottom Of An Empty Jar

Alex

Alex loved his mom.

He wasn't afraid to admit it.

He wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she had been only fifteen when she had given birth to him, or maybe it was the fact that she never left him--unlike his dad, who had left the minute Alex had been mentioned.

He just loved his mom because she was there for him. End of.

School had been rough that day, more hassle from Drew and his clique, more people sniggering behind his back, and more grief from that Cameron kid that Kit hung around with.

It had been one of those days.

One of those days where the clouds seemed to be following him, just waiting to burst and spill heavy rain all over him for no apparent reason. One of those days that Alex wished people would just leave him be.

The punch to the face had been the real icing on his cake of misery though.

Despite his efforts of making himself invisible, Alex had come to the conclusion (after Drew punched him in the face) that even him breathing would trigger Drew to abuse him unconditionally.

And what was he supposed to do? He was no match for Drew anyway.

He sighed as he slipped the key into the door and stepped inside, his shoulders hunched.

"Alex, sweetie, is that you?" chirped a cheerful voice from the kitchen. The smell of soup filled the ratty house, and Alex's head perked up a little at the idea of his mom's soup.

"Mom?" he called, flinging his bag down and sprinting into the kitchen like a little kid.

He found her bent over a pot of soup, a wooden spoon in her hand, salt and pepper and a number of herbs scattered beside her, a piece of fatty meat lying on a chopping board. She was doing what she loved, in her element as some would say. She had a flair for cooking and baking (and to be honest, he wasn't that bad of a chef either).

"How was school sweetie?" she asked, absent-mindlessly adding the fatty meat to the soup.

"It was....school." he said, not wanting to tell her about his encounter with Drew and his clique.

She placed the wooden spoon down on the chopping board and turned to face him.

Alex gulped as her expression turned from calm to worried.

"Alexander William Gaskarth! Your face!" she squeaked, her hazel eyes wide and her face turning pale.

"What happened? You didn't get into a fight, did you? Do I need to go up to Principal Yann? Do you want me to run up to a doctor and get you some ointment--"

"Mom, I'm fine! It was just....I uh...I fell...yeah...no big deal." he said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

She didn't look too convinced, but obviously he was in luck today, because at that exact moment the pot started to boil over, and his mom's attention was immediately averted to the sizzling pot.

"Bother." she said huffily, tucking a wispy piece of hair behind her ear.

"Alex hun, go get a cloth, would you?" she sighed heavily as she turned down the hob.

Alex scrambled to the cupboard and snatched the filthy white cloth from the dusty shelf before throwing it to his mom, who caught it with ease (she wasn't on the softball team in high school for nothing).

"Is the soup okay?" he asked, walking over and peeping over her shoulder (which wasn't hard because he was at least a foot taller than her).

She hummed in reply, eyes still fixed on the soup.

"I'm sorry there's no potatoes in it today. Had to cut back." she sighed heavily, starting to stir the soup again. Alex watched as her eyes drifted to their savings jar in the corner of the kitchen.

A couple of bronze coins lay at the bottom of it.

"Had to break into the jar, I'm afraid. Although, I did find a little extra money under my mattress that I must have forgotten about." she said nervously, worry lines filling her forehead.

Alex bit his lip.

The money had been his earnings from last night at the Rink. He couldn't tell her that though, because she would make him quit in a heartbeat, as she was convinced she could keep both of them afloat by herself. But Alex knew better. He had seen the house bills for himself.

They were barely getting by as it was.

"Have you made any friends, 'Lex?" his mom asked quietly, setting her spoon down again and reaching up to ruffle his hair.

"Well....there's a guy named Steve....and he has a girlfriend called Penny....but I kind of know them from the Underground." he said, deciding not to tell his mom about Kit.

That was a story for another day.

"Hmmm.....that's good. Jack called when you were at school by the way. He said that there was a concert thing going on in the Underground in four weeks. Wanted to know if you were interested." his mom said, reaching underneath her to grab some bowls off their battered shelves.

"Sounds cool." he said, the idea of another mosh pit sounding really good to him. Last week's one had been crazy (or maybe that was the pot brownies taking over).

"Soup's ready." his mom announced, and Alex smiled, his stomach rumbling.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to join you. The nurses need me in the hospital tonight. I'll be taking the triple shift....but don't wait up for me sweetie. You go to bed early so you get to school on time, you hear me?" she said sternly, her mother instincts shining through her.

Alex nodded and she smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pick up ointment for you?" she asked, and Alex rolled his eyes.

"Mom, it's okay." he said and she chuckled.

"Enjoy your soup okay? And call me if you need me." she said as she began to walk speedily towards the hall, with it's peeling wallpaper and musty carpet.

"Bye mom." he said as the door slammed shut and she was gone, leaving him to eat his soup alone.

He sighed and shoved a mouthful of soup into his mouth gloomily.

If only things didn't have to be this way.

~

a/n: update on missing chapters: okay so chapter 2 can be recovered guys, but this chapter (unfortunately) cannot. So, this one is slightly different to the one I had written previously (the one which included poetry and W.B. Yeats) but I think this version is better.

Think of it as new and improved idk. I'm lame, sorry.

Thank the Heavens tho, we are back on track! Can we get a victory dance or something, bc I have been losing sleep over this.

Nerd problems 101.

I know.