The Hog

Chapter 3

"Hey Hog, your Amy friend wrote you a letter." Frank stumbles into my room. He is drunk as usual. I haven't seen him in three days. I thought he was passed out in a alley somewhere dangerous where a gang could try and rob him and maybe even...I guess I had a bit of hope.
Frank has a blue sheet of paper in his hand. " Dear Francisco I miss you so much. Germany is beautiful and I wish you were here with me..." he reads in a slurred voice.
"Give that here." I get of the bed and lunge for the letter but even in his drunken stage Frank manages to yank it away in time so I end up hiting my head on the wall corner where the metal lock is. I fall flat on the floor, my head is pounding.  I put my hand on my head to try and control the pain but my fingers trace something wet. Blood, my hand is covered with blood.

"I want you to come with me to this coffee shop on the corner of my street. Oh Francisco it's really all beautiful." Frank continues reading in a mock girly voice, he flops down on my bed. I stay on the floor, my hand holding the blood back," Happy fifteenth birthday. Can you believe we are this old? You should come visit blah blah blah blah Love, your friend, Amy." Frank breaks out into laughter.

"It's funny don't you think Hog?"  he takes a swig from a bottle I hadn't even realised he had in his hand.

" You read the letter now get out of my room Frank." I shout.

"Oh sweetheart you're bleeding." he walks to me and crouches right in front of me.

"You don't care so leave me alone." I try shuffle away fron him but my back is already against the wall.

" I care sweetheart." he drinks from his half empty bottle, " Here let me disinfect it." he grabs my neck and pulls my head up. The motion is so fast that I don't have time to react when he poors the contents of his bottle on my bleeding forehead, my eyes, some goes up my nose. My eyes burn so I shut them quickly but that's all I can do. I sit through the rest of the bottle pouring on my face without a single twitch.  I don't move until I hear the bottle smash above my head and feel the soft brocken glass fall on my hair. He stumbles out of my room.

I think about my letter from Amy, Happy fifteenth birthday Amy Tyson.

********
I haven't seen Thomas since he treatened to blackmail me on Monday- it's Thursday today. A part of me is starting to think that he forgot about it. That part of me is hoping so. Jeremy was so angry in homeroom when I had told him about the events of that morning but I had told him that everything was going to be fine. That still hadn't stopped him from going into the football team's locker room that afternoon to tell Thomas Greyson to leave me the fuck alone. As much as I'd like to think that Jeremy's warning is responsible for Thomas' absence I highly doubt it.

" Good afternoon Mrs Frick." I smile at the school librarian, "Do you have any of these on the shelves?" I hand her a yellow post it with a list of books on it.

She taps on her computer and studies the screen in front of her. It's lovely how she is the typical fictional librarian. She has the glasses, the skirt suits and the hair bun just the way 'librarians' should have.
"Unfortunately none of these are here my dear, all signed out."

I nod. After a quick trip to my locker I walk out the school building.  The student parking lot is nearly empty, only about ten cars are parked. I spot my old green car parked on its own right in the centre. A tall dark haired boy with broad shoulders is leaning against it. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and he has an expression that I have grown familiar with on his face, pure anger.

I stop walking a few feet away from my car. There isn't anyone around so I know he won't grab and kiss me again but I'm still not sure how far his anger stretches.  I clear my throat and he looks down at me and  a sigh of relief leaves me. The guy is pissed out of this world but it's not at me , I know this because he doesn't have that outline of hatred in his look.

"Hog." he whispers, then his face relaxes and his smirk and look of mischief return, " Hog, what the hell is this junk you drive around in?"

I look at him. He looks amused rather. His blue eyes aren't shooting daggers at me so I relax. Then I laugh. Loudly. I'm laughing as I rumage through my bag for my keys. I'm laughing as I walk closer to my car then I remember him leaning against it.
" So this is the blackmail part?" I ask.

"Yeah. You see Hog I'm a rich bastard with rich people problems. Really typical unoriginal problems. And you are going to help me with them." He hands me a piece of folded paper. "That's my address, be there Saturday morning ten am sharp."

"And if I say no?" I raise an eyebrow.

He gets of my car and takes one large step rowards me, his eyebrows knot up,   "Then you'll get what you want."

"What I want?"

" Yes, if I expose those pictures lover boy will be free. You'll get him all to yourself, isn't that what you want?"

"I'm not a monster, I'd never destroy my friend like that just to...to...I'd never do that to him."

"Good then I'll see you there. Hog."
I cringe at his last word. Hog. I am Hog. I thought being Hog was going to clean this mess up but I just seem to be getting in deeper.

********

"Franny! Amy! Come out wherever you are!" mom's voice shouts. She opens my cupboard door and laughs when we aren't in there.

Amy and I are under my bed. Amy keeps giggling so I'm sure mom knows where we are by now but she is just dragging the game out to be a bit fun.

When mom finally finds us under the bed she makes us change into our pajamas.  We brush our teeth then she brushes our hair. Dad comes in and kisses both our foreheads. Mom tucks us both into my bed. Amy has her teddy bear in her arms and I have my red blanket. Everything is perfect and when mom turns off the lights we pretend we are still sleeping. We wait for a while just to make sure she's far away. When we both can't take it anymore we jump out of bed and play Princess races in the dark. Every now and then one of us trips over something, we stand still and quiet and wait to see if anyone will come. When no one does we start playing again.

When we finally sleep we are worn out.
"Francisco?"
"Amy Tyson?"
Amy laughs, she always laughs when I say her surname.

Its the middle of the night when my door opens and I hear Amy's dad's voice whisper that she should wake up. He scoops her five year old body in his arms and leaves. Mom is leaning against my door frame and I can hear her sobbing softly.
"Come on Clare, everything will be fine." Dad walks up from behind her. He hugs her then my door is closed and I'm in the darkeness alone. I see Amy's teddy bear and grab it. I sleep holding it and my blanket.

********

"I need some money." Frank stands in front of me blocking my view of the tv. It's Friday and he wants to go out. It's actually funny that I'm the teenager.

"There isn't money Frank." I say in an adult voice, I laugh at how ridiculous I sound. At how ridiculous this situation is.

"You called your aunt, you got money!"

"And I bought food so we wouldn't starve to death."

"Don't be smart with me Hog. I know you're keeping some. I'll search this entire house if I have to." his eyes focus on mine. He isn't drunk. He is sober and he hates it, it drives him insane when he can't get drunk again because if he is sober he has to think about his life. He has to think about the fact that he was a horrible husband so his wife left him. He has to think about the fact that he was a horrible son, brother and grandson so his family disowned him. He has to think about the fact that he has no job and has to live off his daughter's relatives' money.

"Frank, I don't have moeny. You'll have to wait until next month. It's only one more week." I say. He looks at me and can see that I'm telling him the truth.  He flops down next to me on the couch and we stare at the tv together. The programme I'm watching finishes and something new starts playing but I don't move. I sit there next to my dad in silence, the two of us just staring at the tv together.  If I were to close my eyes right now I could imagine that we were an ordinary dad and daughter watching tv together. But my eyes aren't closed. I know that we are Frank and Hog and nothing about us is ordinary.