Flares in the Dark

1.11 | a boy of smiles

HE COULD BARELY WALK STRAIGHT as he crossed the familiar road to his house. His family seemed too far away now, a past memory meant to be forgotten. They were like small thunder clouds on a bright sunny day, meant to be blown away, meant to be avoided and despised.

Yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to feel that way about them. They were still his parents, they were still the ones taking care of him, they were still the ones who had helped him grow up. They had their own faults and flaws, they had their fights, they had their worries and stresses, just like Liam did. Which was why he found it hard to blame them for everything.

The house was silent for once, there were no visible weapons strewn out on the door, no battle wounds or groaning, decaying words which signified the end. There was nothing. And it worried Liam.

He stepped inside his house— it hadn't been a home to him for many years now, and it had never been this silent. It was almost eerie if he paid too much attention to it as if the silence and the peace would vanish like a mirage in the desert if he even tried to acknowledge its presence.

The first thing he noticed when he walked inside was that father's shoes were not in the rack. Which meant that after probably months, this was the first time his father had stepped out of the house. It also meant that he would be left alone with his mother and knowing his track record of angering her with just a wrong greeting, he knew he would have to tread very carefully.

"We really should've taken the window," Blaize whispered in a conspirational voice beside him when she timidly entered the house behind him after he had opened the door with the key he had taken out from under the welcome mat.

Liam looked back at her, unamused at the entire idea. This was his house, for God's sake and it was his right to enter his house whenever he wanted to. And he definitely didn't want to enter like a thief, even if he was one, he thought, remembering the cigarettes and the booze.

"Liam," Blaize whispered into his ear again, so loudly that he winced with fear, "I really think we're gonna get in trouble and let me remind you that I'm not going to go to jail with you if we do."

Blaize had been over-dramatically whining the entire time they had been walking to his house and this Liam was getting extremely irritated by now, "Don't you think we would've caused more ruckus if we'd entered through the window?"

She frowned at him as if he had grown a thousand heads, "But your mother can catch us this way, your mother, Liam and I don't really want to see if the stories you told me are true."

He hadn't been home in many days, and now he was here to sneak in with Blaize and grab his clothes before heading back to her house. When Blaize had gone out to buy something, he had told her mother the complete truth about the situation at his house and the lady had sympathised fully with him, offering her home as a refuge till he recovered enough to face his own mother's wrath.

He didn't mind it too much, just because it was only Blaize, her mother and him in the house. Her father and brother had gone somewhere and Liam knew not to pry into other's business. Even though he knew it wouldn't last forever and Blaize's father and her brother would be back soon from wherever they had gone, he felt comfortable with them.

It had been almost a month since he had seen his mother properly and more than a week since he had been home. Blaize's mother had talked to his parents, probably explaining the situation and asking them to sort matters out before she sent Liam back to live with them. Though Liam had been hopeful for the future, he certainly hadn't expected a change this drastic.

The house was almost sparkling clean, no battle wounds littered on the floor and no lingering emotions and feelings groaning for redemption. Beautiful memories were strewn around the house in the form of pictures and smiles again, though his father was noticeably absent from all of them.