compare scars

thirty two

The two men were silently laying in bed on a warm August day, no intention of getting up anytime soon. Around them we're moving boxes and the bed was nothing but a mattress and a few blankets but nonetheless it was perfect.

Dan was supposed to help unpack the boxes that had been laying in Kyle's apartment but he got sidetracked by the movie playing on the tv.

The two had only two more days of freedom before Dan was back to school. He was nervous yet excited to see kids again. But at the same time it made him sad to think that some of his favorites like Matt wouldn't be there. Most of his favorite students had graduated.

The peaceful silence was interrupted by the ringing of Kyle's phone.

"The fuck it's Janine." He sighed pressing answer.

"What do you want?"

It was weird to hear him talk to anyone that way. Kyle was always so kind, it was such a contrast.

"He's not, don't fuck with me." His voice came out as a bark.

Dan could hear incoherent mumbling on the other side, and then watched as Kyle's anger fell.

He ended the call quickly, and sat back down without a word.

Kyle laid his head on Dan, and wiped a silent tear from his eye.

"It's my dad."

---

The funeral was the next day in a rainy Manchester cemetery.

The two were dressed in there only suits, accompanied by an umbrella.

Kyle had said very little on the drive over, but Dan had caught him on multiple occasions tracing over one of the scars on his forehead. It was the one where he had a landline thrown at him.

They sat down next to Kyle's mom, Kyle sitting in the far end so he wouldn't have to converse with her.

Dan understood him though. And so he sat in between Kyle and his mother, and talked to a very upset Janine before the funeral began.

"The two men in my life are gone." She cried, using a tissue to wipe a tear, careful not to mess up her makeup.

"What do you mean?" Dan couldn't understand.

"His father, and Kyle. I've lost them both." She looked at him, making him turn to look at Kyle. He was sat cross armed staring up at the empty stage with a blank look.

"You haven't lost him, Mrs. Simmons you need to talk with him..." He was cut off by the pastor starting the service.

"We're here today to honor the life of Robert L. Simmons and celebrate his achievements."

The ceremony began with a choir singing hymns, and then a talk about heaven. But the real funeral didn't start until friends and family began telling stories of his life.

"Me and Rob served together and let me tell you, he was the toughest man I'd ever met. I can't believe he's gone. He would definitely give me hell if he saw me crying like I am." The man then went back to his seat.

The real problem began when Roy went up to speak. He was Robert's childhood best friend.

His speech wasn't much until he began talking about family.

"He was always such a family man. I remember he would spend hours talking about his family and his son."

Dan softly took Kyle's hand and softly gave it a squeeze.

"Son I just want you to know how much your dad loved you. There were days that was the only thing he wanted to talk about. Your pop adored you."

That's when Kyle lost his shit. He jumped out of his seat and stood up, still holding onto Dan's hand.

"Let go." He snapped, making Dan drop his hand quickly, watching as he stormed to the stage, and grabbed the microphone from Roy.

"Hey guys I'm Kyle, Robert's oh so beloved son." His eyes were wild, a side of him Dan had never seen.

"I'm sorry but I can't keep listening to all these stories about this family man. God damn is it Opposite Day? This family man is the man who would come home after being away for six months and beat me because of a bad grade. You see these ugly pink scars all over my face, all from him from a couple months when I was taking care of him. It's so fucking ironic how different he was from what you all seem to remember. I'm fucking glad he's gone, a weight off my chest is gone."

With that he wiped the fresh tears from his eye, and walked slowly down the isle, ignoring all the stare downs he was receiving.

This was just the beginning.

---
That was hella long, sorry

Hope this chapter wasn't too cringy

This story just reached 2k and I think that's absolutely insane. Thank you all so much for reading! You da best:)