Misery Business

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

"Oh, hi Jonathan." Grace smiled, opening up her door halfway through dinner with her son, to see one of her son's best friend from school standing at the door, "Dean is just finishing his dinner. Come in." She said as Jon stepped into the familiar house where he'd slept over at many times before.

"Smells good." Jon smiled politely, his stomach quietly rumbling to itself.

"Lasagne. Dean's favourite." Grace said just as little Dean rushed out of the kitchen at the sound of his best friend's voice, "Hey, young man. Have you finished your dinner?"

"Yeah, mom." Dean nodded, "Can I go back out now?" He asked. He spent most of his life outside in Grace's opinion, but she supposed that was what being a kid was all about.

"Ok, off you go." She smiled, brushing her hand through his brunette hair as she walked off to go clear the dinner plates.

"Hey." Dean smiled to Jon, "You wanna go back to the park?" He asked, jumping back into his sneakers and opening up the door as Jon walked out first.

"Uh I don't know." Jon said, "My mom and dad aren't home and… our stuff is all gone." Jon shook his head with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked in a squeaky voice.

"I'll show you." Jon huffed dramatically, leaving Dean's house as they walked down the block where his own house was. It always seemed handy that they lived together. When things got to hectic at home, Dean wasn't that far away, "Look." Jon said, dropping his ball that he'd taken with him, opening up the door to his home and showing Dean around who was just as confused as he was. They were ten.

"Maybe they've just gone to the store." Dean shrugged.

"But why is everything gone?" Jon asked with no clue, "They never said they were going anywhere." He said in a frail voice as Dean shrugged.

"Are they working?" Dean asked.

"My mom and dad don't work." Jon shook his head.

"Are they with their friends?" Dean asked.

"I don't think they have friends." Jon shrugged, not certain, "Why would they take all of the stuff with them? Do you think they're getting new things?" He asked Dean.

"Yeah!" Dean exclaimed, "Like a new TV and sofa? Yeah." Dean nodded, "Woah, that's cool." Dean smiled as Jon didn't seem convinced yet.

"I don't know. They always tell me." Jon said.

"Do you want my mom to come see? Maybe she'll know where they are." Dean asked.

"Yeah, ok." Jon nodded as they left the abandoned house and headed back to Dean's.

Once they had collected Dean's mother who was sure of it that they were just joking, they led her to the house and as she walked in, he suddenly realised with a bleeding heart, what was going on here. She knew Jonathan's parents. His mother was on drugs and his father was an alcoholic, and she tried her best to have Jonathan over as much as she could. He and Dean were the closest little friends ever, and he was a big part of her life too, and to see what he knew as home, completely empty and abandoned, she felt sick to her stomach as to why his parents would do this.

"Ok, boys. I think… I think we should go back to my house." She encouraged, "Ok?" She said to them both as they nodded.

"Can Jon stay over tonight?" Dean asked excitedly.