deathly love

Ch.10 Investigation

Imaculate Misconception blasted through my earbuds as I strode down the sidewalk, hands in pockets, head held low. Motionless In White always seemed to get me into a kind of "get to the destination" mood. However, I didn't even know where to begin on my search for Gregory. The last place that I saw him before blacking out was at the park. I decided that that was a pretty good place to start looking.

With a sharp left turn, I headed toward the fence that closed in the woods on the far side of town. After crawling up it and hopping over the other side, I ducked through trees and branches, trying to keep my face from smacking into them at the pace I was moving.

After several minutes of nothing but trees and bushes, I emerged on the other side of the woods, facing the park. Oddly, there was no fence on this side. I always wondered why that was.

I walked across the playground to where Gregory's car had been parked. But it was still there. I stared in disbelief at the sleek black car sitting there, untouched, unmoved. I knew Greg well enough to know that he would never leave his car unattended. His car, who he named Vincent, was his prized posession. There was no way in a million years that he would just leave it here for a week to be untouched by his hands. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my gut. I just didn't know what it was. But I was going to find out.

The asphalt was still damp from last night's rain. I ran my hand along its rough surface, looking for any clue as to what might have happened. I remembered hearing him scream right before I blacked out. That could be one clue. As I squinted down at the worn gray asphalt, I noticed that there were little drops that were darker than the rest of it. When I examined it closer, it didn't look like the asphalt at all. They weren't even the same color as it. But from where it had rained last night, the color was worn and faded, obviously not close to its original color.

I ran my hand across the substance, then rubbed my fingers together. Barely anything came off, but what did was red. "Blood." I shook my head. It couldn't be. Unless the scream I had heard from him had been from a hit. That could have easily brought blood. But I could have been totally psyching myself out, also. This could not even be blood. Some kid could have spilled paint. Anything could have happened. But then again, I could be right. And I had to find out.

When I walked into my house, it wasn't surprising to me that my mom wasn't home. Again.

I paced back and forth across the floor of my living room and pushed my hair away from my face as I breathed heavily. I glanced up at the clock at the wall. "Shit, it's already 2:13."

School would be letting out soon, and I wouldn't be able to investigate without one of my schoolmates seeing me. They seemed like they were everywhere, even outside of school, looming over me with menacing, grim smiles of hatred.

I rolled my eyes. Those bitches couldn't leave me alone if their lives depended on it. For some reason, they were obsessed with torturing me, in and out of school.

Pushing the thoughts of the neanderthals to the back of my head, I focused on Greg again.

Now that I was back home, I didn't know what to do. Kristian's name crossed my mind again, and I wondered if he had been lying at the school. Grabbing my black Metro Station jacket, I walked back out the door. I knew what I had to do in order to find out if Kristian was lying.

"Are you coming tonight?" The boy standing next to Kristian touched his arm gently, as if to imply something more than just a friend would. Kristian smiled, his eyebrows slightly raising. "I'll be there. You can count on it," he replied. The boy standing next to him smiled even larger. There weren't many gay boys in Sherinsville, but of the few there were, I only knew three of their names.

The boy standing next to Kristian smiled one last time, then turned and got in his car.

Kristian did the same, and I ran out of the bushes and across the road, careful to stay out of sight. I looked at the clock on my phone as Kristian sped off down the road. It was 4:27. "Where are you going?" I asked myself, but pointing the question towards Kristian.

His red Mercedes disappeared in the distance, and I took a mental note to go to his house later tonight and spy some more. I stood up slowly and made my way back down the sidewalk in the direction of Roar's house. I needed to see her since I hadn't had a chance to talk to her today.

Voices came from inside Roar's house, and I could tell that something was wrong. I raised my hand to knock on the door, but hesitated when I heard a crash. The door flung open, barely missing me, just as I took a step back. Roar stood in the doorway, black streaks of eyeliner, mascara, and tears running down her face. She stopped and gasped when she saw me. She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "A-Asher?" she choked out. "What are you doing here?"

Without saying a single word, I fell into Roar, wrapping her in the biggest hug I had ever given to anyone. A few sniffles later, she wrapped her arms back around me and let the dams in her eyes down. Tears poured from her eyes, and she cried louder than anyone I had ever heard.

I rubbed Roar's back up and down. A small multi-colored thing stuck out on her arm from below the sleeve of her T-shirt. "What's this?" I asked as I raised her sleeve.

"Asher, don't!" she yelled. But I had already seen it. The small circle turned into a large bruise that stretched from about midway between her elbow and her shoulder, to almost up to the top of her shoulder.

My eyebrows pulled together and I dropped my arms from Roar. "What...How did this happen?" I asked her with a concerned tone.

She shook her head and her enitre body began to shake as she raised her hand to her mouth. "Asher, I..." I cut her off. "Where did you get this, Roar?" I asked again, more firmly this time. She looked behind her at the partially open doorway. "Not here," she said. "I have to get out of here."

Roar ran off of the porch, not caring if I was following her or not.

I followed her down the sidewalk and into a lit spot in the grass a few blocks away. "Tell me." Roar refused to look me in the eyes. She just rubbed her arms up and down in the cold air. "Tell me?" It was more of a command than a question.

Her eyes sparkled with tears as she lifted her head up. "Dad."