"He's just confused with his life."
"He doesn't know what he wants."
"He has no reason to worry, he has everything he wants right here!"
"He should be more grateful."
No.
Monday morning.
"Another day in this polluted planet, how lovely." Jerome said yawning, and rubbing his eyes. It was Monday, and Jerome Fitzgerald was already having a terrible morning.
Jerome peeled himself off of his mattress, and rolled out of bed where the souls of his feet met with the chilly, winter floorboards.
"Jesus Christ, it's fucking freezing." Jerome said as he chattered his teeth. He proceeded to get up, wrap his quilted blanket around the base of his body, and walked out of his room, where he would find the kitchen, greeting his mom for breakfast.
"Morning mom." Jerome whispered, knowing his little brother was sleeping on the couch.
"Good morning J." His mother said with a hint of distress in her voice, "Is everything okay?" Jerome asked, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet for his cereal.
"Oh, yeah. Just dealing with some bills, and since your brother is starting school, we're in a pretty deep hole with money."
His mother exclaimed, rubbing her temples.
"Oh shit, I forgot Craig was starting school this year, he's got a lot left to explore." Jerome said, as he poured his CornFlakes into his bowl.
"He does, but unfortunately travel is not free, and I'm the one who has to deal with it." She said with a sigh. "Wasn't dad supposed to come home last night? The doors still unlocked, and I didn't hear anyone come in last night." Jerome asked looking at the door.
"He hasn't answered my texts, or my calls, I'm assuming he went out with his friends, and got too wasted and is staying with them."
His mother exclaimed, gently setting her plate into the sink, and cleaned it off with a sponge.
"He's drinking again?" Jerome looked over at the hole in the wall, and sighed.
"Not like he used to drink, I told him he could have fun with his friends tonight and that was it." His mother said with a huff, "I know what you're thinking, and it's not going to happen again, I won't let it."
Jerome was quiet, he finished his cereal, set his bowl in the sink, and as he was walking away he whispered "Yeah.. Let's hope so."
Jerome walked back upstairs, and slumped into the bathroom throwing off his blanket, exposing his pale, naked body. "I really need to work out more." He said, poking his arms.
He opened the door, peering out of the bathroom and grabbed his moms blow dryer, and comb. "I wonder if I can try and look okay today.." He switched on the blow dryer, and a gust of hot air blew into his face. "Dear lord, how do women use these??" He said, turning off the dryer and setting it down, he brushed his hair over to the left side, and once again peered his head out of the bathroom door. "Heh." He snickered, grabbing his phone and turning up his favorite song, running into the hallway bare ass naked, into his room.
Jerome was snapping his fingers, and dancing around, he grabbed his glasses pulled them on over his face and observed the room around him. "Man, I've lived here for my entire life, and everyday it seems like this house changes."
Jerome grabbed some jeans, and a red polo shirt with a black trim. "This should work."
He had ran back into the bathroom, and slid up his pants, throwing on his shirt over it. "Fuck, where's my belt?" He said, looking at how low his pants were sagging.
He ran back into his room, shuffled through his closet, and not only found his belt, but a pair of socks too. "Awesomesauce!" Jerome exclaimed, as he slipped the belt around his waist, and pulled his socks onto his feet. He walked back into the bathroom to take one final look at himself. "I look fre-"
Suddenly, the door from downstairs slammed and then silence. A few moments later, Jerome heard his mother yell, and throw something.
"I told you! I fucking asked you not to do this, and what do you do! You go out with your friends, get fucking wasted and sleep with another woman!!" Jerome knew his father had arrived from his little late-night visit with his friends.
"I shouldn't have let you back in the house after the first time this fucking happened! I knew I couldn't trust you!" Jerome could pick out little of what his father was saying, it was too slurred and low to recognize. He walked out of the bathroom, and walked downstairs and he peered around the corner, only to see his dad look like a fucking tornado ran him over, and his mother with tears rolling down her face.
"L-look, I didn't know who she was, I don't remember anything that happened that night Luc-" Jerome's father said with remorse in his voice. "Of course you don't remember anything you fucking idiot! You could have gotten her pregnant!! How would you feel, not only raising your two sons here, but another child somewhere else, huh?! Have you even considered that!?" It was obvious Jerome's mother was furious, but he knew she was devastated that he had lied to her.
"I just need to go to bed." His father said, stumbling as he got up. "You're still drunk, you have the audacity to come home to your wife, smelling like a fucking brewery, and deliver her some shitty news that you couldn't control your dick, and disgusting thoughts for one fucking night, and you went out and cheated on her, AGAIN??" Jerome said irritated. "Shut the fuck up, you don't know anything about adulthood, you're just a fucking kid, you should be grateful I came back to this hellhole at all." His father said, shoving Jerome to the side, and walking up the stairs.
Jerome looked at his mother, and saw her head collapse into her hands, and break down into tears. "Mom, mom come here, it's going to be okay." He said, wrapping his arms around her. "We need to leave, we need to get out of here." His mother said, her voice was shaky and mumbled due to crying. "Where would we go?" He said, raising an eyebrow.
"Anywhere but here.." She said, burying her face into Jerome's shirt.
"Ok mom, we'll get out of here, we'll get you out of here." Jerome said, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back gently.
