The Neighbor Next Door

Truth

MePhone was thirteen when he got his first phone. A reluctant gift from his father, but one given out of obligation, really. Safety. In case anything went wrong, because as much as he resented his son, he needed to be able to know if he ever got in danger. MePhone, of course, didn't have any use for this. It was a simple flip phone, and it wasn't like he had friends to text. He didn't trust anyone at school, and the only person he talked to really had friends of his own, who surely were more important to the guy than MePhone ever would be. So he didn't even bother. It was only really meant to be used for texting his dad-- and only so in an emergency. Which nothing ever happened, considering all he ever did was go to school, and stay home. There was no point in going out, really. Not when he barely even had the energy for school. He couldn't help but wonder if his dad would even notice, or care if he just stopped going. He wasn't bold enough to test that theory yet though. He was doing... Fine, it was just hard. He was bad with words and numbers, and those were the two essential things. He was just glad he was basically invisible enough to go by unnoticed by the people who picked on others. That would be the last thing he needed. He at least had one teacher that tried to understand him this year, so that helped him feel a little better.

He was getting distracted. His current focus was his phone. He's had it for two months now, and he was really wondering if he could ever use it to reach out to anyone. He wondered if his dad would give him his older brother's number. If... His older brother even had a phone, though. It was scary to talk to his dad even on good days, but after a few more days, he finally managed the courage to ask during dinner one night.

"Dad?"

"What." His tone was cold, as usual, but not cruel today. That in itself felt like a huge relief.

"Does 3gs have a phone?"
"Yes, why?" Cobs glanced up from his plate, his expression just slightly annoyed at where he figured this was going.

"Could I get his number? Please?" MePhone barely got that out, having to force himself to keep talking, needing to ask. He hadn't seen, or heard from his older brother since he left for college, and every time he brought him up around Cobs, he'd always say he was the reason his brother never visited, but... Even if he hated him, even if MePhone knew he screwed up, and his brother hated him, he still wanted to at least check in on him. Hear the words come from him. Even if it would make him feel worse, he just... Wanted to know for himself.

Cobs paused for a moment, seeming to really think about it.

"No. He wouldn't want to talk to you."

"But--"
"I said no, Four. Now shut up about it." All Cobs had to do was glance up from his plate with a glare at the kid, for him to shrink in his seat a bit, immediately relenting. He didn't want to start another fight, so he shut his mouth, staring at his plate with a frown. He had lost his appetite.

It was four months later, just before MePhone turned fourteen, when Cobs knocked on the door to his room, handing him a small post-it note.

"Don't bother me about it again. Don't come crying if he doesn't want to talk to you, either." Unprompted. MePhone felt so happy at this. Like maybe this one kind gesture from his dad was the start to something better. Maybe things were finally looking up.

Though that excitement didn't last. The disinterest was clear from his brother's texts. What felt like obligation, and nothing more to the tone he had when replying to his little brother. This crushed his hopes much further than his dad ever could, honestly.

...

MePhone still felt so tired when he woke up. Regardless, he definitely hadn't meant to sleep as long as he had. It was one of those disorienting ones, where he woke up a bit confused. It didn't help that when he checked his phone, it was apparently already Tuesday now. He had slept through an entire day-- and a Monday no less. One of his essential routine days. He was supposed to make dinner last night, and feed the cat-- Oh shit, he forgot to take care of the cat. He swung himself out of bed at this, rushing out of his room and down the hall, completely pausing as he looked over to the living room, where 3gs was currently playing with the cat. He looked over at the sound of footsteps, giving a small, friendly smile to his brother.