What Lies Beneath

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I wake up to my automatic alarm clock beside my bed. I jolt up and try standing but I'm too wrapped in comforter. All of a sudden I remember where I'm at and I plop back down. Shit, the last place I want to be right now is school.

Hopefully no one will find out what has happened and I can hide it for as long as possible, who knows what will happen to me when everyone knows. I mindlessly get out of my closet and try not to think too hard about what I'm doing or think about what happened the night before. My stomach refuses for me to eat breakfast so I walk out my front door and start my treacherous walk. I'm so tired of being alone but I feel like going to school will make me feel even more alone. I kick the rocks under me hoping to waste time so I'll miss the bus, but sure enough it's there waiting for me.

Everything seems to be going as normal. I sit silently and stare out the window, desperate that this day goes fast.

The doors open to the entrance of this hell hole and everyone walks in like zombies, most of them with headphones in and oblivious of the rest of the world. I go straight to the bathroom and sit in a stall for as long as I possibly can without being late. A couple of minutes before the bell rings, I stand up and go to my homeroom where I find Alicia. Dammit, I forget about her. As usual, she's waiting for me, the pettiness about yesterday practically forgotten. I sit next to her after a few seconds of debating but too soon do I realize that was a really shitty idea. She throws her legs over my lap and drapes her arms over my shoulder, wrapping her hands around my neck.

"Happy Birthday," she whispers and starts to lean in to kiss me. I turn away and move my legs away from her so her legs slump down off mine. "What's your problem?" she demands as she removes her arms from my neck and crosses them tightly over her chest.

I shrug my shoulders and get out a notebook and pencil. I don't look over at Alicia for the rest of the period but I can tell she's just begging for the attention. Not this time, I stand my ground and try to catch onto what Mrs. Arnett is saying.

We just start learning about the degrees of triangles when a man in a black suit knocks on the door. Mrs. Arnett goes over to the man and they whisper a few words to each other while glancing in my direction.

"Matthew," she says. Dammit. I stand up and go over to them. As Mrs. Arnett goes back to teaching, I meet the man in the vacant hallway.

"Hello Matthew, my name is Officer Bell. How're you doing?" he asks very pleasantly, but I can tell he isn't here for small talk.

"I'm fine."

"So, you had quite a scare yesterday. How's your mother doing?"

I don't answer and only shrug my shoulders.

"Alright, well we have a bit of a complication; your mother is hospitalized and you are not quite 18 yet, we are going to move you to another house."

"With who? My father?" I ask sarcastically.

His stance gets a little uncomfortable and he answers a bit strained, "No, we are going to have you move in with your godfather. These directions," he hands me an official looking letter, "are to his house. He already knows you are coming. I will be outside the school to take you back home to collect your belongings and take you to his house."

I nod my head but I barely understand what is happening. "What will happen to my house?"

"There will be an investigation but we will have to talk more on what to do with it later."

I nod again, but he can tell that none of it is sinking in. "It's going to be alright," he says sympathetically, then rummages through his pockets. He hands me a card with his full name and number on it. "Meet me in the front of the school when the school day is over."