Love Virus

Chapter Two

Recommend song: The Darkness   by SYML

January 6, 2020

Garrett's POV

It always took Garrett a few moments to get his bearings when he woke up.  When he did wake  he wouldn't open his eyes for a bit and just lay as still as he could, eyes closed, delaying the inevitable of having to get up and face the day. He sighed.

He had grown used to the sounds of his new home. Why did he refer to his home as new? He wondered. He had been living in the apartment for nearly a year, surely it wasn't new to him anymore. Yet it was. There were still boxes unpacked stacked in his closet so he figured until they were unpacked it would still be considered his new home.

The sounds of his apartment at 2 pm were generally the same everyday, a permanent rythm of his life. The neighbors windchines, which used to aggravate him but now had gotten used to the sound and it didn't really bother him anymore. The passing of the vehicles on the three streets that bordered his apartment complex had a steady lull to it.

In an hour the sounds would pick up with kids coming home from school and the courtyard that was in the center of the complex would suddenly fill with them playing or talking. Talking, he laughed to himself, kids didn't talk they yelled. Even if their  friend was two feet away they would still shout. He wondered if he was like that as a child. He doubted it. Who would he have to yell/talk to besides Allison.

He slowly opened his eyes and reached for his phone. This was the best time to call her, he knew. Before the kids got home from school and Josie was having her nap. 2:15, like clockwork he would call her.

She answered it on the second ring. Like always.

"Goodmorning Garrett" she would greet as always.

"Good afternoon" he would correct her as he did everyday and chuckle.

"How are you?" She would ask and know what he would reply. Sometimes she just said it with her a question.

"Living the dream". He replied, as always. "How's everything there? What did you do today?"

The next fifteen minutes would be her recap of the days events which centered around her busy family. Get kids up, ready for school, pack lunches, playgroup with their youngest child, Josie, and trying to sneak in a few chapters of the book that Allison and Garrett were reading.

This was their habit now. Both avid readers, they took turns picking a book then reading and discussing it. They had started it years ago when Allison became his guardian and it was one of the few things that continued through the years. There was never any talk about being too busy to continue with their mini book club. They made the time, no matter what.

Soon Allison would pick Jace and Mason up from school, make supper and look forward to the moment Adam walked through the door.

It was all trivial, mundane, everyday things but Garrett never tired of hearing about it. He loved hearing about Mason learning how to ride a bike, how Jace was so brilliant with numbers but had such difficulty reading aloud, how Josie was soooo close to walking., Even the amount of times it took Alison to perfect her banana bread recipe. All of this was music to Garrett's ears. It gave him hope.

Allison came out of the same hell that was once their life and now she  had a family that loved her and she loved them and she had everything she ever dreamed of. What they used to talk about when they were huddled in the closet clinging to each other.

They would talk about "when we grow up" for hours, tears barely contained, hushed whispers, absolutely terrified of what would happen next. She made it and it didn't matter if Allison spoke for hours of any certain subject he would never tire of it.

Allison meant everything to him - she was his sister, best friend, and for several years she was his guardian.  He would not be alive if not for her and that was a fact. She had saved him just in time. Once in a while they would travel down the "what if" road, but it was a scary detour and they didn't get too far in the conversation.  Garrett, despite the odds, was not a statistic nor a victim of the evening news but he had come close. Too close.

He chatted with Allison for a while longer, talking about his crappy job as a bartender at the crappy bar around the corner from his home. She gently nudged him about his schooling and at 22  it wasn't too late. She said enough to hopefully motivate him but stopped short of nagging. He knew what he had to do but life was just moving along that it was hard to focus on anything else other than the daily grind that he had become accustomed to.

His eyes looked at the clock and he sighed. "Well I better get going, and you have kids to pick up. We will chat tomorrow. Give the kids a hug from Uncle G" he said his goodbye and put his cellphone away.

He made his way to the bathroom, stripping off his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of socks, boxers and torn shirt behind him. The shower was not hot, he didn't have hot showers. It was just  pleasantly warm.

He was extra careful with his back as he slowly turned around. He washed quickly, not one to linger and walked to his room, dripping water down the hall as he walked. He grabbed his jeans and shirt from the floor, deciding they were acceptable enough for getting a coffee and running a few errands. He brushed his hair, his teeth, rolled on some deodorant and was out of the apartment by 2:45 which he was glad about. 15 more minutes meant a long line at the coffee shop and he just wanted to get his coffee and come home as quick as possible.

He worked that night, dreading it already. Why did he even take the job? He hated it.

Firstly he hated the smell of booze, secondly he hated the sight of drunk people, thirdly he hated to deal with drunk people and mostly he hated getting pawed at work.

Drunk people seemed to think that the man pouring the drinks behind the bar enjoyed being groped. He didn't. Garrett absolutely hated it. The waitresses had even a worse time of it. Garrett was somewhat sheltered behind the counter. Waitresses were out in the open. They hated it just as much as Garrett and by the end of a busy evening it often took it's toll on them. Thankfully the bouncers were very protective of the girls and kept a watchful eye on them.

  It was a dumb decision to take the job and he did it out of convenience and necessity. He nearly had enough money saved to pay a couple months rent and utility bills to quit his job and look for something better.

Something better Garrett thought wishfully. That's what he always wanted. Something better.