oneshots 🧷 joshler

devil town

this is based off cavetown's "devil town (v1)" because holy shit i love this song okay that's all. it's above so you can listen to it and feel cool B) also if there's any mistakes point it out okay cool
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life's alright, i guess.

probably less than, though. can't really change it. it wasn't my fault that it's just alright.

well, it probably is, but i don't like to think about that.

i swing my legs into the little clearing off the treehouse floor, hearing and feeling josh behind me, and watching him sit next to me. i look out to the driveway, and i look at the cars, particularly the bright blue one, the new one, that dad got just to piss mom off.

he does stuff like that a lot.

i can hear their voices from the inside, climbing up and up and up. my hand twitches, showing my nervousness to josh without telling him. i'm scared that they're gonna get physical someday, maybe today, who knows. i'm scared of mom calling her brother again, and i'm scared of dad especially. i feel my hand twitch again, and then josh's wrap around it.

"it's okay, ty. you can relax. they aren't gonna come out," he says really quietly, as if they can hear us. i shake my hand and hold his hand, resting my head against his shoulder.

dad has been a problem forever. i hate him. sure, a strong word, but i hate him. truly. he makes mom angry and sad and he's cruel and a sick bastard who doesn't care about his family. mom's better, but she takes out her extra anger on her kids.

especially the eldest.

i bite my lip, thinking about what happened. he said something stupid, something idiotic and dumb about her. something she didn't like. she snapped back, and i immediately went out to my treehouse, thanking god that jay and maddy and zack weren't home. i texted josh  and he came over, and we're here now.

what was it like when they loved each other? lovely august days with a cool breeze as they walked through an orchard with little me. i remember that much. they would laugh and kiss each other's cheeks and hold hands and smile. i've forgotten what a smile on their faces looks like.

last night, jay came into my room and i let him crawl under my covers. he and i would whisper and try to block out mom and dad downstairs. i told him about majestic castles and a prince, named jay, of course,  and his trusty horse. he would help to make up the story, about his big brothers and sister and happy parents.

he didn't want mom and dad to be king and queen. he wanted me to be king of the majestic castle.

then, when the story was over, he asked why mom and dad were fighting. i didn't have the heart to tell him, so i told him that they weren't sure if they loved each other anymore.

"are they gonna be happy someday?" jay asked, his face hopeful.

"i dunno, jay," tyler sighed, ruffling his hair. "they might not. it's all up to them."

he frowned. "what'll happen if they don't get happy?"

tyler thought about that for a second. "they might move into different houses, and it'll sorta like you'll have two different lives. at least, they could. if they don't wanna live together, though."

"so i'll have, like, two birthdays?" jay asked, a little confused. "and two christmases?"

tyler shrugs the best he can. "yeah, i guess."

he hums thoughtfully. "i can deal with that."

i shake myself out of my daze, looking back to the house, a shiver crawling down my back even though it's gotta be at least 80° outside. i hate that house. i especially hate it in the summer, when i'm home to hear all of their yelling and disagreements. it makes me sick to my stomach. i hate it so much.