In Our Heads

Chapter 41

*****

Theodore leaned his hands onto the counter, tapping his fingers against it. He peered outside through the windows into the dark as a car drove into the parking lot before glancing at the time in the lower corner of the PC.

It was late and just before 11 PM. His shift was almost over, which was an incredible relief.

He had not brought Zion into work because his boss had found out that he had been sneaking his brother in and did not like it. He hated having to leave Zion alone with their parents, especially after the burn and the fire, but had no choice so he had spent his time at work anxious to get home.

A man who looked quite young, just a few years older than Theodore walked in. He wore a jacket and sweatpants that looked like he had just thrown on whatever he could find and grabbed a bag of diapers before making his way to the counter.

"Good evening," Theodore greeted as the man placed the diapers on the surface between them.

"These aren't for me."

Theodore laughed looking at the size and age recommendation on the pack.

"I would hope not," he replied as he rang it up while the guy grabbed something else he wanted before returning to the counter again.

"I forgot to buy them on my way home, figured there would be enough left for the night but nope. You won't believe how much something this tiny can poop." They laughed again as the man used his hands to show the approximate size of the baby. "What time do you close?"

"In a few minutes."

"Lucky me."

He chuckled as the man grinned at himself proudly.

Theodore ran through the rest of the sale asking if anything else was needed before the man left, leaving him alone in the quiet store again, his eyes immediately returned to the corner of the screen as the car in the parking lot disappeared—ten more minutes.

Those ten minutes seemed to last forever before he was able to shut the door and cash up in half an hour. After that, he locked the store carefully double-checking everything before he turned to make his way across the empty parking lot. The wind contrasted with the dim, warm yellow lighting and icily blew against his face as he booked a taxi. He would have walked home, but the streets seemed especially quiet, and he didn't want to risk running into any possible trouble.

He leaned against a lamppost with his hands in his pockets as his eyes hyper-vigilantly zoomed in on any movement nearby while he waited for the car to arrive. He took in a breath of icy wind feeling uneasy, but figured it was just because he was alone and every few minutes a group of people would pass by. Sometimes they did not even look shady, but he still did not relax until he saw the car.

He greeted the driver before they fell into silence as he never preferred to talk in taxis. The guy didn't seem to mind and actually looked quite tired. Theodore was tired too. He looked out of the window, watching as they made the familiar trip from the convenience store to his neighbourhood. He was not too interested in what was happening outside until they turned onto the street he lived on, and the interior car was lit up in flashing red and blue light flooding in through the windshield.

The driver slowed the car saying something about there probably being an accident, but his words went unheard as Theodore leaned to look past the headrest of the front seat. His eyes ran over the couple of patrol cars and then to the house. Seeing that the cars were in front of his house made his heart stop as his body froze.

His parents had somehow done something that had the neighbours calling the police. Did William have a bunch of his friends over again?

What...