We're Getting There

Chapter 12

"Morning, Jaxie!" Alex greeted cheerfully as he entered the kitchen.

Jaxon was hunched over his bowl of soggy Cheerios at the kitchen island.

"Sleep well?" Alex asked as he poured himself a glass of milk. Jaxon didn't say anything. Of course, Alex knew he hadn't slept well because he'd heard the flimsy bed creaking through the walls all night.

Alex sat down next to Jaxon with his glass in hand and started whistling Jingle Bells. He paused. "Is the start of November too early for Christmas songs?"

Jaxon continued to eat his cereal one Cheerio at a time, refusing to respond to Alex.

"Last night was a fun one, huh?" Alex said, determined to get a rise out of him. "Looked like Liam was having fun."

Jaxon's spoon clattered into his bowl. His chair scraped the tiled floor as he wordlessly stood up and left the kitchen.

"Where're you going, Jaxie? You don't usually shower in the mornings." Alex closely followed him upstairs. He laughed softly. "Aw, are you jealous that you weren't the one kissing him?"

Jaxon finally turned to glare at him.

"Hey, don't get angry at me. I even drugged him up for you, since you weren't getting anywhere. I gave you guys some alone time too and you still did nothing." Alex said.

"You—" Jaxon fought to stay calm, because he knew from experience that getting angry wouldn't get him anywhere. "Why the hell did you do that?"

Alex waved his hand dismissively. "He was better like that. Nice lips, bit sloppy. You should try it—"

He was cut off by a shove to his chest.

"You bastard!" Jaxon shouted. Alex always made it difficult for him to stay calm. "You fucking psycho!"

"Don't act all high and mighty, Jaxie," Alex said, pushing Jaxon back. "You saw what happened, and you ran away. Knowing you, you probably locked yourself in a room and cried about how useless you are. So, stop. You don't want to get on my bad side, Jaxie."

"I don't care if I'm on your bad side," Jaxon said through gritted teeth.

"You're lying to yourself, Jaxie." Switching to his pitiful expression, Alex stepped forward so that they were uncomfortably close together. "I don't like it when you shout at me."

Jaxon narrowed his eyes at Alex. "I don't care," he repeated.

"I don't like it when you swear and get angry. Isn't... wasn't your dad kind of—"

"Shut up," Jaxon spat. He had to make a conscious effort not to attack Alex.

"You don't want to turn out like him, do you?"

For a while, Jaxon didn't respond. He paused to gather his thoughts, before he lost control. Alex watched with amusement as he went through his steps. First, he shut his eyes and counted to ten. When that didn't work, Jaxon slowly uncurled his clenched fists and wiggled his fingers around. He counted again before allowing his favourite lullaby to run in his head, it was one of the few things he remembered about his mother.

He let Alex's comments roll off his back, deciding he was not going to fight that morning. Finally, feeling slightly calmer, he exhaled through his mouth and opened his eyes.

"Okay," he sighed. "Okay, Alex. What do you want? What do I have to do to make you leave my friends alone?"

Alex's reply was interrupted by the opening of a bedroom door nearby. The new kid, Matthew, poked his head out and looked around, spotting the pair down the corridor.