Aftershocks ➳ Philkas/Eyewitness

05

Episode Five: Jack Daniel's

Lukas stares at his phone as he descends down the staircase, wooden boards creaking under his feet like old bones. He's halfway out the front door when his father clears his throat loudly to make his presence known. Startled, he pauses and glances up to see Bo standing in the living room with his arms crossed over his chest.

It's late, almost eleven o'clock, and the outside world is dark and desolate. Their house is so quiet he can hear the antique grandfather clock ticking in the kitchen and the cicadas singing outdoors. He honestly thought his dad would be asleep by now— he's usually in bed by ten at the latest. And yet here he is, wide awake, eyes as cold as steel.

"Where are you going?" Bo asks, forehead creased with concern.

Lukas gulps. "Out."

"It's a school night," Bo says hesitantly.

"Philip needs me," Lukas argues, and it's the truth.

A few minutes prior, he'd received a text from Philip. It was vague and nonspecific, but it made Lukas jump out of his bed and leave at the snap of his fingers. Perhaps he's whipped, but he doesn't mind one bit.

You up? Need to see you. Come to the hayloft.

An avalanche of worst case scenarios popped into his head as soon as he read the message. Maybe Philip is all alone, crying, thinking about his dead mother. Maybe he had a bad dream about Ryan. Or maybe he's in real danger.

"I'm sure whatever it is can wait 'til tomorrow," Bo reasons.

Lukas frowns. "Dad, I—"

"Listen, Son, I get it," he begins, clasping his hand on his Lukas's shoulder. "You and this boy experienced a lot of trauma together, and this is your way of coping with it. But I don't want this silly phase to interfere with your schoolwork, okay?"

Lukas falters, eyes blinking with confusion. "What phase?"

Bo's mouth flattens. "This..."

His voice trails off into silence. He closes his lips, looks down at the floor, and clears his throat awkwardly. The words on the tip of his tongue taste sour.

"This gay thing," Bo finishes, spitting it out like poison.

It's like a stab through Lukas's chest. His bottom lip wavers, and he shrugs his dad's hand off his shoulder bitterly. He scrunches his face in frustration.

"Are you serious? I'm not— I'm not dating Philip to cope with anything, Dad."

His dad huffs annoyedly. "Well it's not like you're actually gay, Son."

He's swaying back and forth slightly as he speaks. Behind him, Lukas can see a half empty bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey resting on the coffee table. He really shouldn't have expected anything less. Ever since his wife passed away, he turns to alcohol as his lord and savior.

When Bo's drunk, he doesn't have a filter. He says whatever he wants and does as he pleases, even if it hurts those around him. When he's sober he can awkwardly avoid talking about Philip and Lukas's sexuality, and that's exactly what he's chosen to do over the past three weeks. Maybe he thinks if he ignores it, it's not real. That it'll just go away.

"Oh, yeah? And how would you know?" Lukas demands.

Bo scowls. "You don't act like it. You love motocross and hunting and camping in the woods, not wearing dresses. And what about Rose?"

"I never loved Rose— at least, not like that."

His father shakes his head disappointingly. "Why do you always gotta be so different?" he asks rhetorically, repeating the same words he said before.