Nic's Story

Part 7

Life with an addict is not pretty. Even the fixer cannot fix some things. It was two weeks after Christmas, when George finally asked Lisa to move out. Obviously I had to move out too.

"We are not that far, you know", Sofia tried to console me when I shared my sad news. "You can still visit us anytime".

For a person like me, with no decent transport, it was very far. I did not have the heart to tell Sofia that though. Instead, I promised her to come as often as I could. Hugo took my face in his hands and pulled me towards him. I buried myself in his soft black hoodie.

"Give me a call sometime, ok?" He said.

He held me like a brother would hold a brother. When he let go, I was crushed. I looked at him with the eyes of a lonely animal, and, like the animal, not being able to express things I wished I could express.

George should have kicked us out earlier, before I got used to these kind people, before I was so in love with Hugo that my love hurt like a dull object stuck inside me.

'This will be hard' I said to Lisa. "It was different with George".

She did not respond, she was looking at our old house that was standing in front of us like a judge with a guilty verdict. We failed again.

The thought of going back to my old school made me sick to my stomach. Four month until graduation seemed like eternity.

I never told Hugo about the conversation that happened between me and Caleb, and I did not think Caleb said anything either, as Hugo suggested to look his cousin up when I am back. I made up a story that Caleb and I are unlikely friends, which made Hugo smile.

"He might be a spoilt kid, but he has a good heart. Give him a chance", he said.

Hugo did not realise it was not Caleb who needed a chance. It was me. After I learnt how my mom hurt Caleb's family, I was embarrassed. At first I wanted to apologise to Caleb when I see him next. But now, to tell the truth, I did not care. Hugo was the only person on my mind. The rest of the world did not really exist as far as I was concerned.

I parked my bike and walked slowly through the empty corridors. Familiar places brought bad memories. A very young History teacher, that I have never met before, looked at me above her cat-shaped glasses. She must have been new both in school and in her profession. 

"The lesson had already started". 

She reprimanded me for being late and gestured to take a seat. I did not really look at anyone but I could hear the whisper. "Who is this?" It was uncomfortable. I wanted to go back to homeschooling, to Hugo.

At lunch I sought shelter in the old gym where Aaron and I used to hide. It has not been used since the 90's. To my surprise, it was nothing like I remembered. The gym was completely renovated. A big outside section of it has been turned into a pool.

I heard noise. Aaron crawled from underneath the bleachers.

"Nic", he hugged me. "I was not sure it was you".

Aaron has not grown much since I last saw him. I think by the time he was 13 he was already full height and width.

"Are you still hiding here?"

"Yeah. You look...so different", Aaron squeezed my arms and tapped my chest. "You have muscles. Are you back?"

"It did not work out between George and my mom".

"Sorry"

"It is ok. Amazing it lasted so long".

"What happened?"