Elysian Fields (A Kyman Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: Strawberry Gashes

The vibrato of the strings echoes through the thin wood of the door and reverberates inside me. The measures of silence beg for an accompaniment, longing for an orchestra to play with, but the beauty of the cello solo is still a rare find. I recognize the deep sounds escaping the walls- it's the sound of loneliness.

A black van wheels slowly by the Cartman house as we stand on the small porch, unsure of what to do. Butters raps his knuckles on the door, "Uh, Eric?"

The cello sounds are cut abruptly short and replaced with string reverberations as the case is hastily shut, followed by footsteps crescendoing down the steps.

The door swings open and reveals a disheveled Cartman. His brunette hair is a greasy mess, longer than I remember it and falling into one of his eyes as he peers angrily from the darkness of his living room, keeping one hand on the knob, his arm blocking our path from entering. A black tank top hangs from his large frame, revealing the middle of his chest with small rebellious dark hairs. Peppermint wafts escape the intimate skin of his neck and armpits, along with the faint lingering of honeyed whiskey. His eyes are narrowed, but he barely glances at me, instead focusing his attention on Butters.

"What the hell do you faggots want?" He asks quietly, but still with an edge to his voice. Like a dangerous growl.

Butters replies quickly, smiling, "Oh hey Eric, we just thought we'd check up on you, ya know, since you haven't been at school for two weeks, or keeping us in the loop at all." He sounds almost annoyed, and cranes his neck to see around Cartman into the room. "What have you been up to? Your house certainly looks like you haven't been leaving." He crinkles his nose, "and smells like you haven't, neither."

The brunette looks less than amused and keeps his body square in the way of us entering. "I haven't left the house. I have better things to do than attend stupid classes I don't learn anything in. My time has been invested in more... Personal pursuits."

It's all I can do to keep from rolling my eyes at his bullshit. Cartman seems to sense my thoughts and glances at me for the first time, as if he just noticed I was here, then looks away just as quickly.

Butters sighs, "Eric, you have to go to school at some point, or your mom could get arrested-

The brunette snorts, "Oh! That's a laugh. See if I care what happens to that bitch."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about Miss Cartman, Eric. She's your mom and she loves you-

"Don't talk about things you don't know Butters."

"I do know, Eric, that you should treat others the way you want to be treated, and it's obvious you don't care about anyone but yourself, with your selfish kid antics. You didn't think maybe we'd like to know where-

I can't take this shit. I've spent the all of the last week worrying about this asshole and feeling guilty for what I did, and now I have to watch him argue with Butters like a married couple. He won't even look at me, and I only came because Butters asked. This is a waste of my time.

I turn around and walk back down the front steps with my hands in my pockets.

"Kyle, where are you going?" Butters asks with an edge of worry, my back to them.

"Yeah that's it, get off my property, Jew," Cartman says less emphatically than usual. "These last weeks have been great because I didn't have to see your ugly face, so thank you for acknowledging that."

And so I turn back around and quickly duck under his arm, entering his home.

"Hey Jew, who said you could come in here?" But he doesn't move toward me, doesn't try to physically stop me. I'm glad I came with Butters, maybe he knows better than to try anything with him looking.