I Think About You When You're Gone

Chapter Two

Sunday night buckled beneath Monday morning as my eyes fluttered open with a groan. The digital clock next to my bed blared the alt rock radio station from the town over, it's face reading 6:15.

I rolled over, blinking the heavy weight of sleep off my eyelids as my hand flopped around for my phone on my bedside table.

Looking out the window, I saw the driveway lay barren of any vehicles. Remembering that my dad had work, I slumped forward, holding my head in my hands. Shooting a quick text to Rose, trying desperately to fight the redness that seeped into my cheeks with the thought of her, I asked if she could drive me out to the lot before school to pick up my car.

I poured a bowl of cereal blearily. The memories of the night before came floating back gradually, and I cringed inwardly at how high that second bowl had made me. At around 6:45, still no response from Rose, I called her, but got sent straight to voicemail.

A small part of me worried about how she was doing. Jimmy coming to pick her up was abnormal, yes, but that didn't mean anything was TERRIBLY wrong, right? Probably a death in the family. No, they would have told her that when she got home. What was so urgent that Jimmy had to track her phone to pick her up?

As time continued with no call back, I sent a text to Cody.

Hey, I need a ride out to the old mill lot to pick up my car.

Cody responded almost immediately with ???.

Rose and I were smoking, Jimmy caught us, drove us home. Car still there. Please???

Be there in ten. Followed by a crying emoji.

Cody, a short, mousy haired teen who looks as if he just got his license (in reality he was 19, and a super senior), stood eagerly in my doorway. He missed half a year of school due to "illness", but everyone knew he slit his wrists and ended up in an inpatient facility for 7 months. That resulted in him repeating junior year. He was a nice guy. We don't hang out as often as me and Rose, but I've known him longer. In a small town where the only two things for "guys" to do were sports and trades, the two of us have stuck out like a sore thumb. Him with his bookish nature, comic collection, and dungeons and dragons obsession, and me for my genuine disinterest in anything masculine. Like sports and trades. To be honest, I didn't have many hobbies or interests, just a love for guitar and music.

"Hey," I offered, closing the door behind me as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know, just chilling." As I stepped into the light, Cody's eyes widened. "Jesus, your face."

Shit. I don't think I even looked in a mirror this morning. I put my hand up to the tender skin on the left side of my face. "Is it bad?"

"It looks like you got grazed with some birdshot, dude. What the hell happened?"

"I fell down at the lot. Got a facefull of gravel."

"Shiiit." Cody smirked. "Hardcore."

He led the way to his car, a beat up sedan that was an ugly matte brown. As I ducked into the passenger seat of the shitmobile, Cody began the conversation. "The twelfth issue of Skybound's Transformers is coming out Wednesday. I'm excited."

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? Transformers?"

"It's surprisingly good." Cody started the car. "Starscream legit murdered a guy in the first issue. It gets intense."

"Starscream's the main bad guy?"

Cody side eyed me, his eyebrow raised in a way that signaled I just asked the stupidest question in the world. "Well, technically, the MAIN bad guy in the Transformers universe is Megatron, but he hasn't shown up in this comic run yet. Starscream was the villain of the first arc, and now we're fighting Soundwave. The Twelfth issue marks the end of the second arc, and then I think the next few issues are going to be flashbacks."