The Outlaws

six.

Picture: Ashley Stymest as Christian Dacquel

Enjoy the picture. ;) And this chapter, hehe.

TRIGGER WARNING

*In this chapter, Alexis is fifteen and they have not moved from Florida.

ALEXIS

"Alexis, be a dear and help me clear the table, please?"

"Sure, Mum."

"And could you try calling Nathan once more?"

She runs her hands over her face then pinches her nose bridge and massages her temples.

"Mum, I'll do everything. I think you should go lie down and get some rest. Stop worrying about Nathan. He can handle himself, and I can take care of him too."

She offers me a weak smile. "Thanks, honey. You don't have to do everything. I'll just go take a nap for a short while and finish up the rest later."

Translation?

"Thanks, honey. Hopefully, you don't have to do everything. I'll just go take a nap for, hopefully, a short while and hopefully, finish up the rest later. But that's unlikely."

But it's honestly fine. She does so much for me.

I let out a huge sigh once I hear her bedroom door click shut.

She's exhausted and lethargic and it isn't healthy.

And God knows where Nathan is and what he is doing. Does he even realise what Mum and I go through everyday? We call him over and over again, and he doesn't answer. Not once. He doesn't reply to our constant messaging either. We're worried as hell and it seems like he doesn't even care about us.

Are all the men in our family like that? Selfish and heartless?

Once I'm done with all the house chores, I dial in the number I use each day. It's nerve wrecking, the waiting. If he doesn't pick up, how do I know if anything has happened to him or not? It sucks to have to go through this every single fucking day.

The ringing stops.

"Yeah."

The word is completely deadpanned. Utterly empty and lifeless.

"Nate?" I breathe.

He picked up. He actually picked up.

"What do you want, Al?"

"We're worried. Where are you?"

"The park."

"Why can't you come home?" I want to scream, but it comes out croaky, my voice breaking.

"That place is not my home. How could you or Mum call it that? Dad left us to fuck that slutty secretary of his, Mum is hardly there or she's sleeping, and you're always busy with school. Dad's out of the picture, and three of us hardly talk anymore. That's not what families do, Alexis."

"We're not the worst, Nate. And we still love each other. Mum and I love you. We really do."

"What about Dad, huh? I was always a fucking disappointment to him. Never got the best grades, didn't try hard enough to follow in his footsteps to take on his work, and I even made the football team just for him, but guess what? I wasn't the fucking captain," he spits.

"Why do you still bother about him anymore?! He left us, Nathan! He left us. If anyone's a disappointment, it's him!"

"That isn't good enough for me, Al. I'm sorry. It's not just Dad. It's some stuff at school too. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine soon. But you know I love you and Mum, right?"