Double-Edged Sword - $UICIDEBOY$

$crim's Second Invitation

Author's note: Yes bitches, I may be depressed and shit but I'm here

Sunlight filtered in through the blinds of the only window in the room. The dawn was warm, and it gently woke you up over the course of an hour. You stretched and rolled over, then stretched again and wiped your eyes. The cycle repeated until you finally looked up at the ceiling and yawned. Ruby wasn't in bed, but the imprint of his side was visible still. You stretched again (never enough stretching tbh) with your full body so that you strained and made tiny squeals. The door timidly opened, and Scrim peered around it.
    "Yo, Max is leaving if ya wanna say goodbye."
You turned your head to him, "I think I'm good actually- we had our time."
    Scrim shrugged- a knowing shadow was masked in his eyes- and he closed the door.
    For an instant, life felt like it could become consistent. You sat up and waited for the sound of the front door to slam. You knew then that Max was gone, and that you could start over. You tugged the hoodie back down to your thighs and exited the room quietly. For the first time inside, the air was clear and bright. The windows all let in vibrant golden streaks of sunlight across the floor and furniture.
    You turned, entered your room, and swiftly rummaged through the dresser. You decided quickly on black jeans. You left Ruby's hoodie on; it smelled too much like him. Your eyes caught a picture of Scrim merely a few inches wide and tall in a miniature black frame whose kickstand had fallen. It laid on its back and was hidden by an old T-shirt of yours. You reached over and picked it up carefully. A thin film of dust coated the glass which you promptly wiped off.
    Scrim was much younger in the image with no dreads or facial tattoos. His arm was around another older man. The setting was nighttime, and they stood on soft grass. They were both smiling. Really smiling. The older man had black and grey hair cropped short to his head with a short and scruffy beard. Tattoos covered his arms and poured from under short sleeves. You rubbed the frame with your thumbs and furrowed your brows.
    With curiosity in your heart, you pressed it against your chest and hurried through the house. Scrim was holding a pan in one hand and tongs in the other; he was cooking in the kitchen. As strips of raw bacon were laid into the pan and sizzled, you leaned in next to him and poked his shoulder.
    "Mm- yeah?", he didn't bother to look at you.
    "Hey, who is this?", you thrusted the image out in front of his face.
    He quickly moved his head away to look back at the bacon and nonchalantly replied, "My dad."
    You yanked the image back and gazed at the man, "I knew it!"
    Scrim seemed emotionless and unimpressed, "Yeah."
    "Is something up?", you blinked nervously.
    He flipped the bacon, "What? Nah."
    You shrugged and reluctantly walked back into the living room. Ruby looked up from the couch and spotted the picture in your hands, "Aye, watcha got there?"
    You handed it over to him and stood quietly. Ruby's eyes flicked back and forth over the picture for a long minute.
    "Oh yeah, you found a picture with his dad."
    "Am I missing something? He didn't seem enthusiastic."
    Ruby handed back the picture, "Nah, he's just in a bad mood today."
    You sighed and put the frame right down on the coffee table, "It's still the fucking morning and he's already upset? What happened?"
    He shrugged, "Nothing happened, he's just like this sometimes. But, I mean he's cooking shit so that's great."
    Neither of them seemed alright.

    You paced in the kitchen when they started eating in the living room. It seemed as though overnight they became other people. Perhaps they fed off each other, and when Scrim was upset, Ruby would be too. You glanced out of the kitchen window and stared at the antique benches in the center of the yard. You watched it silently for another moment and then promptly went outside. To keep your socks from getting wet, you threw your them onto the driveway and walked into the damp grass. A pudgy robin poked its head up briefly and then took off into a wild flight as you walked close to it.
    You passed up the benches and continued in back towards the patch of tiger lilies, which had now died and were slowly rotting in their own stems. You paused on the edge so that your toes rested on the border of rocks buried in the earth so that only the smooth tops were visible.
    "Sorry 'bout that."
    You threw your head back and stared at Scrim.
    He was walking through the yard with his arms loosely hanging at his sides. One hand clutched the tiny, framed picture. His dreads were down and bounced off of his face with each step. You waited until he stood directly next to you and sighed when his eyes softly gazed at you. He shrugged.
    "I'm aight, just tired. Ruby told me you were worried or something though."
    You looked back at the stones and pushed a toe into the grass.
    He spoke again with the picture lifted up in your peripheral, "He's a pretty cool guy... Pretty fitting that ya found this picture when ya did, cause the family is tryna meet up again soon."
    You blinked, "Oh..?"
    "I dunno why I came out here- you're good I'll go.", his voice was heavy.
    He turned with slumped shoulders and started off back to the house. Your feet sunk further into the grass so that your toes had completely disappeared. You rubbed your eyes and looked up at Scrim and called out to him.
    "Hey! Tell me about him."
    He stopped in his tracks and turned his head slowly. His skin developed color right in front of your eyes, as though he had expected you to let him leave.
    "Oh- well-", he took a few timid steps back in your direction, "He's uh..."
    You put your foot onto one of the flat stones.
    "He's cool. People fo' sho' can tell that we're related too. He acts just like me in a way."
    You smiled and hugged your own waist, "You said the family is gonna meet up?"
    He blinked and then shook his head to clear his thoughts, "Yeah, yeah- I didn't really know what to do 'bout you if ya wanted to-... it's whatever."
    "If I wanted to what? Go?", you spotted the last tiger lily in bloom and leaned towards it.
    Scrim looked back at the house, "If it happens, Ruby and I would be leaving for a night. If you wanted to go then I guess you could... But- eh, I won't worry you cause that's your call."
    You rubbed the petals of the flower and then let go of it, "I'll think about it."