Knocking On Death's Door

Chapter 2

"Thanks, Mrs. Spier" Eli says the following morning, he pops an Advil into his mouth and downs the glass of water Mom pours for him.

"It's no problem Eli" Mom replies, her back turned to us as she fixes Eli a cup of tea, Mom thinks tea is the medicine for everything, hangovers, headaches, the flu and even some mental illnesses.

"So, wait, tell me again what happened?" Eli asks, he doesn't have much memory of last night, I laugh a little.

"You went over to Karen Hills and asked her if she wanted to get at it" Eli's face turns beet red, I can see him mentally ripping out his own hair.

"Oh my God, she's going to kill me!" Eli replies, his face is bright with embarrassment.

"She won't."

"How do you know!?"

"Because. . . I just do."

"Wow, that's reassuring." I pat Eli on the shoulder, he shudders at my touch then calms down.

"Relax dude, I'll smooth things over with her" I reply, the tenseness in Eli's shoulders subsides and he inhales deeply then exhales.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, just don't go getting so drunk on me again" I say quietly, Mom doesn't know that Eli has a hangover, she just assumes it's a bad headache, and we both would like for her to not know that we drank at the party last night. Eli laughs and smiles warmly at me, his smile is so shy but it sends the message that he cares.

"Did Lachlan come down for breakfast already?" I ask, I haven't seen him in his room this morning, not that I'm allowed in his room, and I haven't seen him downstairs either. Mom shrugs and walks over, a mug of freshly brewed tea in her hands, she sets it in front of Eli.

"No, haven't seen him all morning, Jim seems convinced that he already left" Mom replies.

"I. . . I heard him talking with Tara last night about going out for breakfast" I lie, I have no clue where Lachlan is, but he helps me out with way more then he should, so it's fair that I cover for him this time. Mom nods skeptically, she's not a fan of Tara, neither am I, but Lachlan loves her so that means I need to act like I enjoy her presence.

"He could have at least told me that he was going out" Mom complains, "I swear, you boys don't tell me anything anymore." I bite my lower lip and guilt washes over me, she is right, I don't tell her as much as I did when I was younger, but that's because I'm getting older. Also, some stuff she probably won't want to know.

"I'm sure he'll call, eventually" Eli adds, having no trouble maintaining his positive outlook on absolutely everything, Mom smiles at Eli and urges him to drink his tea. Eli takes a sip and makes a sour face, one thing about Mom is that she's sort of forgetful, she just can't remember that Eli doesn't like tea.

"How's it taste?" I whisper, Eli laughs and nearly gags.

"I know it'll help, but if we're being honest, its disgusting." We both laugh and I stand up from the table, Eli puts the cup of tea back on the table, and bids Mom a good day, she does the same and seemingly ignores the not even half empty cup of tea.

"Do you actually know where Lachlan is?" Eli asks as soon as we leave my house, he sounds concerned, I shrug.

"No idea, I heard him sneak out last night again" I reply, wondering if him sneaking out of the house at one in the morning ties into whatever he's up too.

"Maybe that relates to wherever he is now?" Eli asks, voicing my opinion, he looks nervous, like a mouse that is being stalked by a cat.

"I doubt it, but hopefully his sneaking out ends when school begins next week." Eli nods in agreement and we walk through the street, the tiny houses are snuggled together closely, the yards are covered in short stocks of yellow-green grass and the summer sun beats down on my little community.

"Ugh, I forgot about school" Eli says, his voice changing from peppy to annoyed. I smile, and wish summer could continue for as long as I want it too, I wouldn't need to suffer through the irritation of eleventh grade exams or need to be tortured by Mrs. Fields and her endless amount of stories about her past.

"Does school really need to start up again? I was starting to enjoy hanging out with you every day" I shove him slightly and Eli smiles, his cheeks going slightly red.

"Hey Mark," I turn around and meet Tara's eyes, her dog is at her heels and it seems to be entranced by the clouds.

"Hi Tara" I reply, smiling awkwardly.

"Have you seen Lachlan? He hasn't answered my texts or calls" Tara asks, I glimpse Eli raising a quizzical eyebrow, that's a very un-Lachlan like thing to do.

"No, I only saw him last night, I haven't seen him yet this morning" Tara pursed her lips and frowned slightly.

"Are you lying to me, Mark?" Tara asks, her eyes narrowed, I roll my eyes.

"No, Tara, I haven't seen him this morning, I only saw him last night after the party" Eli shoots me a shocked look, I soon realize what I've said and immediately regret the words.

"Party!? That idiot went to a party, and didn't tell me!" Tara gasped, her eyes widening and her pale face turning ever redder with anger.

"Uh. . . Well, he umm. . ."

"Way to go, Mark" Eli mutters in my ear, I make a face and watch as Tara storms away, grabbing her phone and probably leaving an angry voicemail for Lachlan to listen to later.

"You are soooooo going to regret that" Eli says, as soon as Tara is out of earshot, he has a laugh to his voice.

"Shut up, I don't need a reminder that he will literally strangle me whenever he gets back" I reply, feeling chills go down my spine, I completely forgot that Tara had no idea Lachlan had gone out.

"Its the hard truth bud, sorry."

"Oh, shut up why don't you!" Eli laughs and shoves me, I shove him back and stumble across the sidewalk.

"Want to go see if I've got a basketball in my garage? The court's probably empty" I nod and we head off for Eli's house, still wondering about Lachlan's mysterious whereabouts.