What Happened in Winter [boyxboy]

Chapter Thirty-One

River POV

The last rays of the setting sun had faded and the chill of an oncoming snow swept in, making both River and Angel shiver on their walk home.

"So how long have you known Craft?" River asked suddenly.

Angel looked over and squeezed the nylon traps of her backpack. "For as long as I knew Jayson; when Jayson was in eighth grade and Craft and I were in seventh grade."

River noticed she stopped looking at him when she thought of Jayson and instead turned her gaze to the sky, staring at the crescent moon, a faint smile on her face. He wondered if he looked like that when he thought of Craft and looked up at the stars.

"How long have you been in love with Jayson?"

Angel flinched and pulled a hard breath through her nose. Her features relaxed and she sighed, "Since the day I met him. He was beautiful and everyone loved him. The only person that ever made Jayson earn his respect and admiration was Craft. I heard that when they were kids, Craft was very reluctant to be friends with Jayson and if Greyson weren't there to even things out, it all would've fallen apart." Angel sneered and looked down at the dark sidewalk. "Sometimes, I wish they had never become friends and Craft and Jay had grown apart. I knew there was something between them. Anyone who had any awareness would've seen that. I thought... I could change fate. But..."

"Fate can't be changed," River chuckled bitterly. "I've been trying to run from my fate for a long time. It just makes things worse." He thought about how he blocked Nat's number, how he switched out of Stevens' class, how he ran away from Craft after kissing him today...

"I don't think that's necessarily true. I think if you fight for it hard enough, you can make your own path. Everyone deserves happiness." Angel looked truly angelic on that moment, the streetlights and glow of the moon making her black eyes sparkle. She believed her words, which started to make River believe in them.

"I never thought I would feel happy again after finding Jayson that day. I turned around the corner and heard someone screaming... My eyes couldn't place anything that was going on. I recognized Greyson right away, though, slumped on the ground, that horrible screaming ripping from his soul. But, he was holding something in his lap. I rushed over, thinking he had hurt himself and how Jay would lose his shit when he found out.

"Something felt... wrong, though. And that's when I saw him... He didn't even look like a person anymore. It was horrifying and I wanted to run away and throw up and die all at the same time."

River didn't know what to say, but figured how Angel felt was how his mom felt when she found River's father's body all those years ago.

After a few moments, River said, "My mom would understand. She found my dad dead in their apartment when I was a baby. If you need someone to talk to, I'm sure my mom would be happy to talk with you."

Angel didn't give a useless apology like most people did when they found out River's dad was dead. Instead, she nodded and agreed to come over sometime and talk with Magnolia Tollis. River smiled at that thought: his mother having another woman to relate to. It had been so long since his mom had that and it made his chest tighten.

"I'm really sorry for what all happened today. For the record, I've never seen Craft act like that," River apologized quickly.

Angel shrugged her shoulders. "It is what it is. Wouldn't be the first time I've seen Craft act like that." She looked over at River and added, "But, he didn't hit you as hard as he could. I think he really likes you, but he's just as afraid as you are."

River made an irritated noise and scuffed his feet at the crosswalk. "I don't have time for relationships."

Angel pressed her lips together and stared after River as he began crossing the street to his apartment complex. "Fear is the root of all evil. I'll see you later," she called.

While he didn't respond, River had a war raging in his mind and he pinched his arms to keep from screaming.

Craft POV

He swore the entire house shook as he threw open the front door and stomped inside. He felt like his body was too big and too small at the same time, his legs heavy and weightless. His mind was on the fritz and he felt an impending storm boiling and steaming inside him.

"Mother!" He yelled, peaking around corners and opening doors on the first floor. Gwen Johnson was nowhere to be found.

"Mother, I need to talk to you right now!"

Still no response and a stagnant silence remained.

He thundered upstairs and briskly threw open his parent's bedroom door. Gwen was laying in bed, a book laying facedown beside her resting figure. Her champagne-colored eyelids were closed, her makeup cracking around her nose and eyebrows. Craft thought she practically looked like a corpse.

"Wake up," he growled and clapped his strong hands together. Gwen's eyes fluttered open and her line of vision was hazy, never quite focusing on her son's face.

"You were graced to look nothing like your father," she whispered, a drunken smile on her lips. "But, you were cursed with your mother's taste."

Craft faltered, loping to the side of the bed and gripped his mother's arm tightly. "What do you mean...?"

Gwen chuckled, so high on pills she probably thought this was still a dream. "You're in love. I can see it in those eyes I gave you. I know it all too well... I know it all too well..."

Craft withdrew his hand and swallowed. "Why did you lie to me? Why did you keep secrets from me? I can't even remember my own childhood..." Craft ran his hands through his hair and pulled, yelling, "What the hell is going on?!"

Gwen laid silently, a hand dramatically covering her face. "You were never this loud as a child. That person you call your father being absent has made you disobedient. I'm sure you blame it all on me."

"No, I blame what you did on you. The only reason I was quiet as a kid is because you drugged me into silence. So much so that I couldn't... I couldn't even remember who he was until it was too late."

In a sudden moment of clarity, Gwen removed her hand from her face and lifted her head to stare at her son. Her eyes were the same honey color as Craft's and just as severe.

"Pardon?" Gwen's voice tried hard to stay steady, but her voice cracked off at the end.

"You made me forget him because you couldn't forget her. How could you do that to me? If nothing else, I wanted a friend that understood me just like Ms. Maggie was to you! Forget that we had crushes on each other and look at it for what it is: you're afraid of something and you drilled that fear in me by making me look through you and blame God and my father. You used them as pawns so I couldn't remember how shameful you are. And when River showed me true love when you couldn't, you pacified me with cough syrup. Who. Fucking. Does. That? To their child?"

Craft grabbed a bottle of his mother's medication and threw it, making it smash against the wall, right by his mother's head. She gasped and covered her face. When she realized she was in no danger, she looked at her son, tears threatening to fall and her bottom lips wobbling. She began to plea with him, "Please, stop! We can talk about this later! I still love you! I'm sorry I was such a horrible mother! God will punish me for the sins I've committed!"

"SHUT UP!"

Gwen snapped her mouth shut and cast her gaze down, avoiding Craft's seething face.

"I hate you. I don't see you as my mother. You're just smoke and mirrors, anyway. I can't believe a word you say. Please, don't ever preach God to me. He hasn't done anything for me thus far. It's been me. It's always been me." Craft spit his words like they were curses and turned to leave. With his hand on the doorknob he said, "Figure out how to feed yourself from now on. I'm not making dinner anymore."

He didn't look back as his mother burst into tears as he left the room without shutting the door.