The List

Chapter 12: Anonymous & Levi

Chapter 12:

Anonymous  

The sun barely crackled over the skyscrapers which soaked up the morning light. Breathing it in as everyone prepared for their day. The ordinary bland day in which we all live.

Man, fuck this, I thought as the golden light finally crept up my driveway. We said dawn. Well I said dawn and he did that thing where he agreed with everything I said. I could tell him that I only liked guys who listened to classical  music and wore bow ties. Levi would be at the nearest store buying Bach tapes and an infinite supply of bow ties.

But that's what struck me as unusual. Nobody in all of my years cared so greatly for my opinions. I was always pushed to the back burner. At a young age I got used to it.

My mom left when I was just a tiny spot of existence. Even in my young age with my grandparents I felt like a... burden. As I aged from a youngin to a bra wearer the feeling of being a bigger burden set in.

The summer before I started my sophomore year my Pop took ill. He had stage four prostrate cancer. Pop called it "butt cancer". He'd jokingly smack Ma on her ass and say her ass was the only cure.

I remember his flickered smile to the paleness in his skin to the poor hospital lighting. Let's just say I'd trade in the beeping buzz for a few minutes of Pop's endless stories. My Pop was one for words. Pop's jabber and warnings cloaked in my ears at times of worry.  I could feel his presence as I waited for this dumb boy. 

Pop would tell me of how he landed such a babe like my grandma or how never to use cheap condoms. Pop would tell Levi off for not being here right at dawn. The thing about my Pop is that he had enough charm to talk the pants off of a straight man. Ma always tells me I'm just like him. "To the T," my Ma would mutter to me as I wore my flannel to school or tell stories of wars I've never been in. 

Please hurry, I thought to myself. Come on dumb boy. 

Levi

Potential. Everything has potential, the leaf on the ground has the potential to float with a gust of wind.  The old beat up truck I'm sitting in has the potential to start. Everything has potential once it has purpose.

Purpose is a funny thing. Bees have purpose.  Little ugly flying insects have purpose. They are the reason I was able to give Anonymous roses. Trees are the reason we're breathing. Your mother is the reason you're living and your father is the reason you were made. Their success ultimately gave you potential. 

My mother is the reason everyone around me is in debt after their weddings. My dad's purpose is tied to his intake of beer. A few sports pubs can survive alone on his alcoholism. My sister makes girls feel inferior. Well not only girls. My family's purpose is maintaining the incorrigible front of a loving and photogenic family. Feelings never mattered as long as everyone was smiling. 

I just snuck out of my perfect suburban home.  I don't know what came over me when I taped that note to mother's desk. Or when I grabbed my emergency credit card and a bag of clothes. I have no clue what I was thinking when I grabbed the damn truck key, but here I am sitting in the truck at five am.

Turning the keys are like a lottery.  Like a slot machine. The potential to get all sevens and win. If I drive away what will happen?

Will I combust in the flames which my mother spues?

What if she calls the cops? 

What if my actions drive my dad to drink? Could he get any worse? Probably not.

I took that last one with a grain of salt as I turned the key. There is only one way. Coasting cautiously out of the driveway to ensure my safe escape.

She was waiting for me. She was waiting for me to take her. I said yes. I made that promise. I etched it in some predefined stone. My mom with her peachy bob always would nod her head as she described proposals. My mother was a living fairy god mother. Men came to her to learn the art of proposing. But I'll never forget when she gave the pep talk of a lifetime to this sweaty doe eyed guy. Her bob flopped as she looked him dead in the eyes and said, "It doesn't matter what mumbo jumbo you say it's all about the yes."

She was right. Nobody remembers the ten page essay as to why you want to sign up and fuck this one person for the rest of your life. All they care about is the yes. The final promise. The start and finish line word.

Semis of different sizes skated past me as I drove down the freeway. I saw the sun about to paint the edges of the sky. I tapped the steering wheel. I needed to make it. This promise...her crooked smile...her heart...I just couldn't break it.

Anonymous

Where the fuck is he? My glassy eyes glanced back at my house. Ma would begin to wake up sometime after seven am and begin her rounds. If I'm not in my bed when she makes it to my room at eight am, who knows what she'll do? Probably nothing. But should I chance it?

My skin crawled with doubt. The brim of my eyes began to drip. Now I knew what it felt like to be stood up. This class A boy wasn't coming anytime soon. I kicked the ground once with the toe of my boot before I hustled towards the house.

Fuck it... I thought to myself as I cautiously stumbled towards the door. Then it happened. The timing of a lifetime. A sheer hope can speeding around the corner. I could barely make him out as he drove into the sun. He braked inches in front of me and I watched as his hand threw across the seat to crank down the passenger window. 

"Hello," He hurriedly whispered.

"May I?" I spoke clearly reaching up to the handle and I watched as he nodded his head. His eyes seemed unsure, but I took it as a yes. I threw my duffel bag into the bed of the truck beside a backpack before I opened the door and climbed into the cabin of the truck.

"Where to?" He finally piped up before he pressed down on the gas. I glanced over at the gas tank to see if it was full. It was brushing around half.

"A gas station would be nice, because then I could grab a map," I answered tying my belt around me. 

"We have our phones," He answered, but he kept his eyes on the road cloaked in blinding light. 

"We could lose reception. Besides I was thinking we could get gas and I could buy us some food."

He just nodded at me.

~~~

A/N:

Thanks for reading the chapter. If you liked it please vote and comment. I'm having a blast writing The List. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll post another chapter someday.

I will be updating someday soon. Anonymous has recently slapped me across my face. So here you go. Anonymous and Levi will now be sharing their story.  Thank you for reading my story.

With much love and admiration to everyone who is throughly enjoying the list please consider writing your own list. Top five things you want to see or do in this world. Who you want to meet? Places you seek to see? Things you are dying to find?

If you could put anything on The List, what would you write down?

Write me your list.

Until next time- K@