Spooky

Chapter 46

-Scourge's POV-

My eyes snap open as I hear a phone begin ringing, and I feel Shadow jolt awake, scrabbling around in his jacket. He yanks the thing out of his pocket, and I see his face pale by three shades. "Oh, god."

"Mmh?" I struggle to wake up fully, rubbing at my eyes.

"It-It's my mom," he stares at it, and I sit up a little.

"Answer it, dude—She might panic otherwise." He reflexively taps the green button, then whips the phone right to his ear. I feel him start to tremble slightly, and I move to wrap my arms around him.

"H-Hey mom," he says, ears twitching in anxiety. There's some chatter, and he bites his lip. "No, I... I'm safe..." A pause as she replies, I shift around on the couch, trying to get the both of us comfortable. Sunlight streams in through the little window in the door; I see a small note sitting on the table. "I," he hesitates as I lean forward to snatch the little paper off the table; it's a note from my mother, reminding me today's a day off because of some teachers-association meeting or whatever, and saying hello to Shadow. Probably written right before she left for work. "I'm... at Scourge's house." I look over, gently reaching over to take his hand. He gives it a squeeze, shooting me a grateful glance, and I smile. "Yeah. N-No, I, I can be home soon," he sounds more and more uncomfortable with every word, and I wince. This is going to be an awkward situation. "Yes. O-Okay. I'll see you soon..." he pulls the phone from his ear, hangs up, then collapses. "Oh, fuck."

"You gotta go home," I sigh, running a hand through his quills.

He turns to me, an odd desperation in his eyes. "Please go with me."

I blink, a bit taken aback. "D'you think I should?" I ask uneasily. This is a private moment, I believe, I don't think I should be present.

"I don't give a damn if you should or shouldn't," he replies with an odd fierceness to his tone, "I can't do this alone."

"Alright," I reply soothingly, running a hand through his quills. "I'll drive us there, and if we need a ride away from there I can do that too." My main concern right now is his mom throwing him out—I know she isn't homophobic, but she clearly doesn't approve of me at all, and I don't know her well enough to know if she'd toss him out just for dating me. My heart twists at the thought. I'm just bringing him more trouble, I think miserably. It feels like this is at least partly my fault. What did I do? I rack my brain, backtracking to the conversation we three had yesterday. Did I say something wrong, in my nervousness? She did seem a little chilly towards me the whole time, but I'd brushed it off as just me being anxious to make a good impression, and over-exaggerating in my mind.

As he stands up, a dreadful realization strikes me. I have to be there, because if she pitches him out of the house, he'll need me to take him somewhere safe. The thought weighs on me suddenly, and my brow furrows. This really could end terribly... I stand up too, stretching. "Do you want some food first, or...?"

He shakes his head, looking almost queasy. "No, I'm far too nervous to eat anything."

I nod, then put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. He turns to look at me with an anxious smile, so I purr, "I can take us for donuts or something after."

His ears prick. "I think I'd like that—" and then they droop— "But, I mean, can we afford it?"

"Uh... Why don't we cross that bridge when we get to it?" I reply a bit sheepishly, and he snorts, then nuzzles me.

"We don't have to go out someplace for breakfast. I'd be fine with coming back here, just... later. Of course." As he speaks, I raise my hand to cup his cheek, rubbing my thumb a little beneath his eye. His expression softens, a bit of worry dissolving away; he rolls his shoulders and then flicks his eyes over to the door. He probably wants this over with as soon as possible.