The Long Way Home

Eighteen

I've been playing sims since 11 pm.
It's 6:30 in the morning.

When Lars returned to the graveyard, Matthew wasn't waiting for him at the gate.
The Dutchman expected this. Matthew always stayed by the grave as long as possible.
"Vhere is he?" Gilbert asked.
"I'll get him."
"Can I come?"
"No."
"Vhy not?"
"This is a very personal thing for him."
"Okay. I'll stay. I need to keep an eye on zhe little one anyvay."
"I think he needs to keep an eye on you."
"Rude."
"I'll only be a minute."
"Typical man."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Lars rolled his eyes and slipped out of the driver's seat of the car. He walked through the gate of the cemetery, twisting through the gravestones in a pattern that wasn't entirely familiar and yet foreign. The property had changed quite a bit over the past year, almost as if celebrities had been mysteriously dying left and right without any explanation.
The Dutchman found Matthew lying on the ground between the two headstones. He was sleeping soundly even though he was surrounded by dead people.
He didn't have the heart to wake the poor kid up, so he scooped him into his arms and started to carry him back to the car.
"Is he alright?!" Gilbert asked as Lars tucked him into the back seat next to the napping boy already buckled in there.
"He's just tired. These visits always wipe him out."
"Vill he be okay?"
"He just needs to rest." Lars climbed into the driver's seat and started up his car.
"So...can I ask...vhat exactly happened? Who vas he visiting?"
"When he was sixteen his brother and one of his fathers got in a car accident. Some guy driving toward them tried to illegally pass the car in front of him but there wasn't enough room and he ended up hitting their car head on. The only survivors were the siblings in the car being passed. The driver was a Swiss guy and their driver schools are intense so he knew how to get out of the situation. He had a few minor injuries but I'm pretty sure his little sister is still in therapy."
"I couldn't imagine loosing mein bruder."
"Do me a favour and don't bring it up around him. If he tells you that's different, but I don't want you pressuring him into telling you what happened."
"I von't."
"Good."
"So...has he ever dated anybody before."
"How should I know?"
"Jou're vizh him all zhe time."
"I only met him a few years ago."
"But still...has he ever dated in zhat time?"
"No."
"He's gotta be a virgin."
"What's the big deal?"
"I don't even know."
"You know he had a pretty active social life before he was sixteen."
"So he could have had sex."
"There are children in this car."
"They're sleeping."
"Do you want to walk?"
"Nein!"
"Then behave in my car."
"Ugh." Gilbert rolled his eyes and tapped at the radio until music started to play. "Shit, is this snoop dog?"
"I don't normally listen to this."
"Shit Lars. I didn't know jou vere cool."
"What did you think I was, then?"
"Lame."
"Of course."
"So jou guys are smoking veed in zhe attic, aren't jou."
"You saw what was up there."
"I didn't get a good look."
"Yes we're smoking weed."
"Invite me to the party next time, okay?"
Lars sighed. The man cave was his and Matthew's special time. He didn't want anybody else butting in.
"Ask Matthew."
"I vill."
Hopefully he wouldn't.