east of eden

welcome to salinas

colin

i watched as callum schmoozed dad, patting his shoulder and hanging onto his every word about his new business "innovation": a new fucking office. dad gave callum and i an extensive tour of a new place for where he basically screwed people over for money.

"hey," called out a familiarly female voice: elizabeth. the perky blonde went right up to callum, the slightly taller and golden blond male version of herself, and practically engulfed him with her arms.

"elizabeth, do you like my new office building?" asked dad, looking for every opinion available.

"yes sir."

"colin, do you like it?" repeated dad, looking at me for the first time today. i remained silent.

"hey colin, how's it going?" greeted elizabeth, with a smile on her face. i turned away and looked at dad.

"colin, why didn't you come home last night?" asked dad, looking over my disheveled appearance. i ran my hand through my hair and shrugged.

"richard! how's it going?" asked a booming voice from down the hallway. dad walked up to mr. davalos and shook hands with him.

"callum, elizabeth, how's it going?" greeted mr. davalos to the happy couple. i swear, the only phrases that left his mouth were "how's it going" and "i'd hate to pick up the pieces of a young man like you off the street".

"it's going well, mr. davalos," answered callum with a small grin.

"colin, how's it going?" asked mr. davalos. i shoved my hands in my pockets and walked away, headed for the entrance door.

"colin! where were you last night? why didn't you come home?" exclaimed dad. i ignored him and continued walking until i approached the front door with a window. the window advertised trask and associates law, and i began to aim for the center. my fist connected with the window, and i felt a stinging pain as i followed through and the glass came shattering from the pane. dad and the others were too immersed in conversation to see me as i ran from the office.

hours later, i found myself sitting in a inadequately lit pub, staring at the beer taps. a girl who couldn't have been more than sixteen was behind the bar, writing on a notepad with little regard for the scene around her.

"um, excuse me?" i called out. she whipped her head around, her dirty blonde hair moving with her. she revealed to be a pale skinned girl with dark hazel eyes and pink lips that could easily turn into a sneer or a pout.

"aren't you a bit too young to be in here?" returned the bartender, raising an eyebrow. i put my elbows on the counter and rested my chin on my hands.

"i'll have you know, i am most definitely twenty-one," i lied. the girl sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"look, either i can calmly escort you out of the bar or i could get the authorities involved. which choice do you want to make?"

"er, um, i just wanted a beer, not to get a pretty girl like you in trouble," i flirted, making sure to look at her from above my eyebrows.

"how about this? if you can get me ten grams of cocaine by the end of the night, i'll let you drink yourself into oblivion," offered the bartender. considering i lived in a community where soccer moms and teenagers alike preferred the stronger stuff, the easy on the eyes bartender had given me a relatively easy task.

"only if you give me your name and your number, because that would make my life way easier," i returned. she rolled her eyes, but scribbled quickly on a page in her notepad and ripped it out.