I looked up from the clock. It was about six p.m. I woke Julian up from the armchair he fell asleep on. We were watching Nightmare on Elm Street. I don't know how he can possibly sleep through it.
"Hey, you good?" I asked. Julian rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before looking up at me. I smiled warmly.
"Where am I?" he asked, looking around. I let out a slight chuckle.
"You're at my place. You fell asleep during the movie." I responded. Julian pouted a bit. His bottom lip protruding outwards.
"It's ok, you didn't miss much." I reassured him. His bottom lip met with his top again. He got up from his chair with a slight bounce.
"Huh, oh well I guess. What time is it?" He asked. I pulled out my phone to look at the time. My eyes widened in surprise. "It's bad isn't it?"
"Not terribly bad. It's only 6:15," I responded, putting my phone in my back pocket. Julian looked like a deer in headlights. He ran around the house collecting his things. He grabbed his shoes and car keys.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" he mumbled under his breath. My eyebrows rose in confusion.
"You good?" I asked. Julian was struggling to pull on his shoes.
"I told my mom I was gonna be home at 5:30!" He exclaimed, scrambling around to make sure he got everything. I couldn't help but laugh at his behavior. He looked like a scared mouse in all honesty. "Why are you laughing?! My mother is gonna kill me!"
"Nothing. I'll see you around Jules!" I said, waving goodbye as he ran out the door.
"Yeah, if she lets me live!" he exclaimed running down to the curb and into his car. With that he drove away full of panic. His car left black streaks on the road, he drove away so fast.
I went back in the house, looking around at the mess. It wasn't really a mess, it just wasn't organized. I folded the blankets and cleaned up the bowls and pot I left in the sink. After cleaning everything up and putting my record away, I sat down on the couch. It wasn't long after that I dozed off.
~Three Years Ago~
I sat on the edge of my bed, slinging my bookbag off my shoulders and grabbing my guitar. I played a bit before getting a call. I whipped out my phone to reveal it was Mikey. I answered.
"Hey? What's up?" I asked.
"Xav-" he hiccuped over the phone. "Xavier, I'm at a friend's house. I need you to pick me up." He hiccuped again.
"Nixon, I swear, if you are drunk I'm gonna be pissed." I responded.
"Only a lil' bit it's fine." He dragged on. I rolled my eyes.
"Find another fucking way home. I'm not saving you're sorry ass." I replied. I hung up. Soon after he called again. And again. And again. I kept ignoring him. The vibrating stopped for about 20 minutes. Then he called again. I ignored it. I continued playing, the strings rung out from beneath my fingers. I started to sing along to the melody I created.
My mom interrupted my singing, bursting through the door. I looked up to her, my playing stopped. Tears filled her eyes, streaming down her face.
"Mom? What's wrong?" I asked. Putting my guitar down, I went up to her and hugged her. I didn't know what was wrong but I felt horrible. She tried to respond through the tears, but she couldn't. The words wouldn't come out no matter how hard she tried.
"G-Go ask your father. I-I can't." She wept, sinking to the floor. Her head held in her hands, eyes covered by her soaked palms. I went downstairs to see Dad talking to the police officer on the porch.
