Rhett and Link: Buies Creek

Morning Part 2

Haha that picture of Link x)

Link awoke the next morning tucked in bed, wondering how he had arrived there.

Eventually, he recalls falling asleep in his mother's arms on the floor of his bedroom.

Usually, Link gets ready by himself in the morning, and walks to school, leaving behind an empty house. Sue worked early in the morning until late evening; and Jimmy was usually out of the house by 9 o'clock at night, where he would stay out doing God knows how many illegal things before going to "work" where he got paid a decent amount to sit around and "maintain order in the streets". This was always a load of crap to Link. His step-father, who broke just about every law in Buies Creek, was a patrol officer. The irony of it all was almost sickening. Even at such a young age he knew it was wrong.

But today, Link uneasily climbed out of bed, still hurting from yesterday's beat-down, and shuffled to the kitchen where his mother, dressed in her usual scrubs, was preparing a delectable breakfast of eggs and toaster waffles. Link's absolute favorite. He had vague memories of eating this relatively cheap meal with his mom before she had remarried while the two would be constantly on the move from trailer to friend's home to motel. He was so young at the time that he didn't care how easy and cheap this meal was; and his appreciation for it never dwindled.

When Sue noticed her son she beamed at him, having more energy and enthusiasm the boy had seen in his mother in years. She was always so exhausted from working long hours everyday at a traumatic nursing job. Then to come home to an abusive husband and anxiety-stricken son. The extra sleep must have really helped her.

"Hey, baby!" she called in her sweet accent.

"Hi, Mama!" he replied cheerfully, taking a seat at the worn, card table that had a strong permeation of beer.

As if by perfect timing, the waffles popped up from the toaster.
Sue grinned as she placed two on a paper plate alongside a few scrambled eggs, slathered them with butter, and drizzled them with syrup.

She set the dish down gingerly in front of Link's eager face and took a seat beside her son. She was going to talk to him, but decided to wait, for he was already halfway through the eggs and didn't show a sign of quitting anytime soon. She knew how much he loved this meal and not eating any dinner or snacks last night must not have helped.

When he had finished the plate off, resisting the indecent urge to lick the leftover syrup off the dish, he looked up, clearly satisfied, at his mother.

"Thanks Mama!" he cheered.

She rubbed his back soothingly in return before asking, "How do you feel, Sweetie?"

Link's smile only slightly wavered before shrugging and saying, "It still hurts, but I'll be okay."

Sue admired his positive attitude and hoped it would carry on into his years. "I'm glad you feel that way, hon. But I still have to take some precautions for your sleepover."

Link must have completely forgotten because all of a sudden he jumped from his chair in excitement, his injuries elusive for the moment.

"Oh yeah! Did you call Rhett's mom?" he anxiously asked.

Sue grinned wide and responded, "Yep. But he has basketball until 5 this evening so you can either pick up your stuff early and hang out here..." she trailed off allowing Link to conjure the thought that Jimmy may be here at that time, unusually, like yesterday; so that option wouldn't be recommended as highly. "Or you could pick up your stuff and head back to the school and hang out there."

"Can I just bring my stuff to school?" he pleaded, already choosing the latter. "That way I won't have to stop inside, in case... um, he's here." Link finished in a whisper.

Sue frowned. "Baby, you're too hurt to carry around two heavy bags all day. I'm worried with you even carrying one. Don't worry, we can leave your bag under the bushes in the driveway. You can just scoop'em up when you pass by."

Link smiled in agreement. Just then, Sue registered that a noticeable splotch of purple enveloped her son's eye.

She gasped, probably over-dramatically.

"What, Mommy?" Link asked, worriedly.

"Oh, sorry, Honey. We just have to fix up that eye before you get to school."

Link instinctively brought his fingers to his eye and winced. He nodded in agreement.

Sue brought him to her room and concealed his bruise as best she could with her foundation. Link reluctantly allowed it, several times claiming he didn't want to be a girl with makeup. But his mom reassured him saying that Lionel Richie wore makeup for his music videos.

When they were done, it was about time to leave for school and work. Sue grabbed Link's things and they headed out the door, hiding Link's bag for tonight under the overgrown hedges in their front yard.

When the two pulled up to Buies Creek Elementary, Sue warned Link, "Please be careful tonight, Charles," using his formal name, "Be polite, stay calm if you feel uncomfortable, and watch your eye. Please don't rub off the makeup. I mean it. We don't need people knowing what we know. Okay?"

The dark haired boy smiled and agreed to her terms as he climbed out of the car and headed into the building.

Sue watched the door shut before she looked ahead and sighed, praying tonight would be alright for her baby.