Free

8. Abandon

Eli

I woke up in a good mood today. Even though it's just another mundane Wednesday morning, something felt different. The air was lighter today. I literally hopped out of my bed, looking forward to starting my day. I think it has something to do with Sadie. I'm excited to see her. 

When I came downstairs for breakfast my parents were already starting to get on my case about grades. Despite all of the hostile energy they were sending my way, I still felt happy.

"Eli, good morning." My father's stern voice chimes in. "Goodmorning, sir," I say. He insists I call him that. I've gotten used to the formalities in this family, it's been this way since I was born. James, however, still finds it hard to cope. It's not even his fault, it's his disorder. He gets panic attacks often and my parents are too stubborn to help him.

They call him 'neurotic' which doesn't help his condition at all. I worry about him, for his well being. Unlike my parents, I'd never abandon him. I actually understand him and I will always do whatever it takes to protect him. I love that kid so much.

"I received a phone call from Mr. Safron yesterday, is there anything you'd like to tell me?" He's already got this angry twitchy look on his face. That damn teacher said he wasn't going to call. He's an awfully scary man, my father.  The lengths he will go to insure my success is alarming. Whenever he's angry, there's a vein on his forehead that pops out and you can tell what's about to come.

"I can explain," I say calmly. "You got a detention, huh? And you didn't think to tell me?"

"It was really quite stupid what happened." I begin to explain. "And he mentioned you haven't been doing so well. You arrive late to class, you don't pay any attention, you're always daydreaming?" He interrupts me, continuing to list all of the things Mr. Safron mentioned. "I thought I raised a scholar."

I stay silent for a while and notice James fearfully watching from around the corner. "Get to school Eli." He snaps and with that, I immediately pack up my books and run off to my car. James stops me at the door and I lean in to hear what he wants to tell me. "He's not going to yell at me like that when I'm older, right?" I can hear his innocent little voice breaking.

"No, James," I sigh. "Don't worry, he's just got a loud voice that's all. Come on, I'll give you a ride to school how about that?" I smile and ruffle up his short dark chocolate curly hair.

He quickly runs into the other room to get his things and we both hop in my car.

I drop him off and wish him a good day at school. I really hope one day I'll get the chance to move out and take James with me. I don't want him going through what I went through. It's not fair.

~

I was late to class again, thankfully I had a substitute teacher who just let me off with a warning this time. I knew I would be late for driving James to school but I didn't care. I needed to do it.

Despite the hectic morning I had, I was still feeling pretty good. The sun was out and the birds were chirping. I was also really looking forward to getting out tonight and going to the meetup with my friends.

I've been awfully busy with work recently but today is my day off and for once, instead of staying in and studying, I'm going out.

~

I arrived at the address that was sent to the group chat and I was glad to find Jeremy standing outside waiting for me. He was still wearing his dark maroon tie which really seemed to be bothering him. He untied it shortly after we got inside, leaving it loosely hanging around his neck.

The place was some old property that's been for sale for a while. There was a window around the back that was opened slightly so we all snuck in through there. It was really dark and dusty, due to the fact that no one's been around lately to clean it. We took the creaky stairs to the basement where people had already set up some blankets and lanterns.

It was a bit sketchy but everyone I knew was there so I felt safe. Almost only 10 minutes inside the place and Jeremy had already found someone to hook up with. I looked away for a second and he had some blonde girl in his lap, with her tongue down his throat. I shook my head and just laughed. There was lots of chatter and music but we couldn't really get too loud or else we would surely get busted. 

People get crazy sexually frustrated in a town like this so the fact that Jeremy was using this as an opportunity to hook up is understandable. We're teenagers, it's in our DNA and going against our basic biological nature is pretty much impossible. 

I remember when I first discovered that. My parents did a good job of hiding anything that could trigger any kind of sinful thought by sending me to church and constantly reminding me that sex is for marriage. But it was when I was around 14, a movie scene came on TV. And of course, before my mom managed to turn it off, I saw what happened. I had to sneak off to the bathroom later to conceal my boner after that but I can't repress those kinds of thoughts anymore.

I'm human. I'm a guy. I have wants and desires, I can't help it. Sometimes, I can't even control it.

That's not why I came out tonight though. I wanted to catch up with everyone. All the people I rarely get to see due to these extenuating circumstances. 

I was reminiscing with Scott when at the corner of my eye I spotted someone. A group of girls was making their way down the wooden stairs to join us, but amongst that group of girls one of them stood out in particular. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. They quickly scanned the room and found me.

Without wasting a second I excused myself and made my way over to her. "Hey." I smiled brightly. Her friends took notice of me and decided to leave us be and find a spot to sit next to all the drinks and food. She seemed slightly nervous to be left alone with me but she tried to conceal it. She looked so good it was hard for me not to say anything. "You know, we're in the clear here, you can talk to me." I nudge her gently.

"What if don't want to." She jokes and I can tell she's being sarcastic.

"Oh, so it's like that?" I chuckle earning the most beautiful grin from her. "Hey, there's a smile."

She blushes and looks away and I just think it's the cutest thing ever. "Come let's talk somewhere else," I say scoping the place to find a quiet, lonely corner that we can go to. "I don't know." She looks over at her friends who appear to be whispering about something. 

"I don't bite." I say.

"Why?" She asks shyly. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to talk?"

"Because--I want to get to know you."

I wanna learn more about her. What it is that makes her happy. What makes her cry? When did she learn to ride her first bike? I can't explain it, but for some reason, I just feel the need to be around her all the time.

"Okay. But I'm not that interesting though." She shrugs. I don't get how someone like her could sell herself so short.

Nevertheless, we move over to one of the corners and she stops. She's got this concerned look on her face when she pulls out her phone and I can tell it's not good news. "Wait what's wrong?" I ask.

She shakes her head and shoves her phone back into her bra. "I'm sorry. I really wanna talk to you but--I've gotta go." She sends me an apologetic look before waving me and her friend's goodbye. I wanted to stop her but it was too late.

I realize this is gonna be much harder than I had anticipated.

More updates coming soon!
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