east of eden

dangerous

colin

today, it would be officially eighteen years since salinas would have the honor of being welcomed callum and the displeasure of myself. i never understood why everyone, (with the mere except of kyle trevors), had preferred callum over me. in my various attempts to act like him, i wasn't as well received. what was seen as innocent and charming in his blond ingenuity became dangerous and suspicious in my narrow, steely gaze.

i sat in the now basically defunct office building of dad, which was completely empty to my knowledge minus dad outside. i propped my legs up on his desk and reclined in the chair, beginning to think. my only plan for the day was to go over to monterey and begin investing to make up the small fortune dad had lost.

"help me up!" elizabeth's voice rang out from above me as i heard what seemed to be rustling in the inadequately placed crawl space dad had in a pocket above his office. i got out of the chair and hid under the mahogany brown desk, so elizabeth wouldn't see me.

"he doesn't like anybody, does he?" questioned elizabeth. i could hear the combined giggles and heavy breathing of the two of them, as they were discovering the hidden area.

"who? dad?"

"no, colin. why is he always alone?"

"because he wants to be," explained callum, his explanation only further creating a suspenseful and dark feeling around me.

"no one ever truly wants to be alone, cal," reasoned elizabeth.

"well colin does. that makes him unique," retorted callum.

"he scares me. he looks at people like he's some sort of animal." i slightly readjusted myself, just to make sure my legs had adequate room and continued to eavesdrop on the unaware couple.

"i can't wait until we're married, and-and we'll have kids, lots of 'em," remarked elizabeth.

"you're going to make a great mother," complimented cal, seeming to give a very audible peck on the cheek to elizabeth.

"do you remember your mother at all?"

"no. she died when colin and i were born." i left my place from under the desk, inadvertently hitting my head and muttering a somewhat audible fuck.

"what's that?" questioned elizabeth. i could imagine the fear growing in her eyes as i shoved all of the obsolete paperwork off of dad's desk.

"colin?" cal's figure appeared and he was quickly on the ground, face to face with me. i turned away from him and aimed my right fist at the wall, connecting and breaking through the crumbly texture.

"what is he doing?" yelled elizabeth, as i repeated the motion with a different part of the wall.

hours later, i found myself at home, sitting in the same spot at the familiar dining room table though dad's infamous bible didn't make an appearance. callum sat at the table, serving as his typical buffer zone and a crisp contrast to myself as dad cleared his throat.

"colin, why did you shred that information, a-and punch holes in the walls of my office?" questioned dad, his bright green eyes staring directly towards me.

"i dunno."

"now don't play dumb, colin. you're eighteen for god's sake!" exclaimed dad, his face a slight shade of red.