lukewarm (krii7y)

tessa, people just do nothing

⚠️ it do be a sad one
I am ending this soon, I am sorry. I feel like it's reaching its end lol
Mentions of past trauma and domestic abuse
sorry it's late I've been so fatigued lately sleep hasn't been good
sorry no song for now

John woke up with a start, convinced he saw a figure running past his bed in his sleep. Hurrying out of bed, he chased after it, convinced it was someone he once knew. He followed the figure for what seemed like years around the house - past the corridor, down the stairs, behind the cupboards, under he bed, by the draws before chasing after it into the yard, but they were nowhere to be seen. Confused and weary, the young man rubbed his eyes, only to find nobody there.

"Eric?" he heard himself call out, convinced it was him.

It'd been happening over the last five weeks, and he was either going crazy or it was the universe trying to lead him to his grave.

He was surprised, to say the least, when he got a call from an unknown caller. John answered it, thinking nothing of it until he heard the person's voice. He wasn't sure whether to be excited and cheer or break down.

So there he was, going on a walk in the cemetery with his dad who left when he was young, walking side by side as the cherry blossoms fluttered upon them. John's dad came to a halt, noticing a peach on the ground. He may have been away for most of his son's life, but he'd always remembered that his son loved peaches. He smiled to himself, but had a bad feeling when he turned the peach round, revealing its heavy bruising he presumed from when it fell. When he looked back at his son, he felt indifferent.

"John?"

He watched his son, his back to him as he appeared to be looking at a grave. At first, he thought it was Tessa's, but his facial expression changed to a frown when he had a feeling there had been another death in his son's life.

"One time, it was the hottest day of the year. I felt so sick. Tess told me. Tessa carried me, she screamed for help, but people just walked on by. Nobody helped. She kept on saying, 'my little brother's sick, he's dying, he's dying' but nobody would help. People just kept on doing nothing. She had tears in her eyes, screaming 'please help us, my brother, he's lukewarm'."

John's dad was about to go over to him and comfort him, but he stopped when the young man turned round with tears in his eyes and clenched fists.

"She's cared the most about me, and nobody ever has since. People just do nothing," John reflected, his voice breaking by the end, shrugging his shoulders.

His dad too reflected, he hadn't been there. When he studied John, all he saw was a broken man.

—

Matt couldn't really help his curiosity, he paid his respects at his late friend's grave and happened to notice the weird Aussie kid on the ground, drawing what looked like peach underneath the peach tree. Matt blinked at him, bewildered with his coffee in his right hand.

His curiosity maybe got the better of him when he approached Mason, just in time for him to raise his head and for a peach hanging off the edge of a branch to fall. In no time, Matt caught it with ease.

"Sometimes I sit here and I think, what am I drawing for?"

The police officer looked at him with a downcast expression, lowering his body to sit down beside the boy who'd recently turned twenty.

"The world. We all do something for something. We can't just do nothing."

Matt wasn't surprised that despite Mason not being able to face him, his drawing was of him sitting under the peach tree and Matt sitting on a bench some metres away from him.