Chapter Eight

    He padded upstairs groggily, not as restored as his mother might expect
after another night of tossing and turning on an uncomfortable bed.  The
house was hushed, dark because of the heavy clouds outside and quiet for
some reason.  He blinked several times, squinting when he entered the
kitchen and the bright lights hit his eyes.
“ Shit,” He muttered, reaching out to turn off the light.
“ I’m trying to cook, Alex,” He glanced at Lori, realizing for the first time she
was standing over the stove.
“ Sorry,” He mumbled, going to the refrigerator and pulling out a carton of
orange juice.
“ Where is everyone?” He asked, referring to the silence.
“ They all went shopping,” 
“ All of them?” He questioned, searching for a glass.
“ Yeah...” She looked up from scrambling eggs and stretched out to get a
glass from the cabinet near her and handed it to him.
“ So she rearranged the houseware too?” He cynically commented, taking
the glass and pouring himself enough to wash down an Advil.
“ I heard your argument last night,” She remarked.  He looked at her as he
drank his juice.
“ And?” His tone sounded slightly challenging as he watched her.
“ And who’s Samantha?”  He shook his head and turned away.
“ You mean you were eavesdropping.  We weren’t yelling anything about
Samantha.”
“ Well I was in the kitchen, I couldn’t help but hear...So who is she?”
“ That’s none of your business,” He replied shortly.
“ Is she the reason why you left?”  No response.
“ Is she the infamous ‘girlfriend’?” THis time he sharply turned around and
glared at her.
“ That is none of your fucking business.  I don’t know you, why in the hell
would I confide in you?  And whatever my Mother says about her is all shit,
she didn’t know her...And none of this involves you, Lori...” He voiced
angrily.
“ So she was the reason why you left.” The silence around them stretched
and she thought that maybe she had taken it a bit too far.
“ So what if she was?” He shot at her.
“ What difference does it make?  You don’t know what the Hell happened
here before your  father came along and met my Mother,”
“ I’m obviously not the one you should be yelling at,” She snapped
defensively.
“ What’s that supposed to mean?” 
“ That you obviously have issues when it comes to your girlfriend,” 
“ What don’t you get?” He said in frustration.
“  You don’t know what happened.  Why are you gonna make
theories?”   He sighed and walked towards the door to the den, wishing he
had the sense to have just stayed there in the first place.  As soon as he
slammed the door shut and locked it, he heard his phone start ringing.
“ Hello?” He breathed, a little short of breath because of the stairs.
“ Oh, hey, Kev...Yeah, good.  Yourself?...Cool...” AJ listened as Kevin told
him about the birthday party him and Kristin had gone to the night before
and how it was a mess.  Kev finally asked him about how everything was
at home.
“ Home?...Ha...I don’t quite know where home is anymore.  I’ve spent
more time with cabbies and at a diner than with my Mom and the
kitchen...Everyday that I’ve been here, I’ve managed to get into an
argument with someone...”He paused before asking,
“ How come you guys never told me my Mother was dating someone?” 
Kevin gave him some excuse of thinking that AJ already knew and then
said Kristin was up and they were going to eat.  AJ felt the urge to tell him
to stay on the line, he needed to talk to a familiar voice, friendly, but felt his
despondency grow as they said goodbye.  What could Kevin do, right? 
Nothing to help him out.  He needed to do find that for himself.  He sat in
the silence for several minutes, recognizing his pain as the one that had
plagued him but had managed to double with his mother’s words and his
stepsister’s taunts.  How the Hell was he supposed to fix this?  Fix
himself?  He didn’t know what cause him to snap at Denise with every
spoken word and glare with every unspoken saying.  And he felt like shit
for it.  He had put her through hell and when the wounds were healing, he
came back and threw it all in her face again.  Maybe it was resentment he
was feeling towards her.  She had probably been right about Samantha,
though he wouldn’t admit it, and she had been the one to debase in
everything after the first time he had brought Sammy for dinner with
Denise.  And maybe it was resentment that she was married now, when it
was too late for him to accept anyone as a ‘father figure,’ when it was too
late to help him...Maybe that was what he needed.  To see his father...He
toyed with the thought, already sketching out a chimera of how it was
gonna be.  How they were gonna reconcile, how he...


					
*****
	...Wouldn’t be home.  Of course, how fatuous of him to just drive
over there after spending an hour at the car rental place choosing a car
and expecting him to be home without calling him.  AJ stared at the brass
numbers on the wood door, not really seeing them but feeling the
disapointment build. He needed to get it out, he needed to spill his story to
someone he knew, yet didn’t, and wouldn’t judge him of whatever mistakes
his mother had said he had done.  He reached for the knocker again,
hoping that he was just in the bathroom as he knocked harder.  He was
getting soaked, the heay clouds had already split open and were dropping
their tears on him.  He felt like crying.  He felt like yelling.  WHy did this
always happen?  He rested his forehead on the door, too wet to care
anymore.  He willed away both his urges and felt his frustration grow at the
extremes his mood had been culminated to lately.  Maybe there was a
back door unlocked or something.  The driveway was empty or he could
have put the car in the garage.  AJ waled out back, towards the door
leading out from the kitchen at the rear of the house.  He peered in through
the window before trying the knob.  No idiot would leave their backdoor
unlocked, not even one who had abandoned his family.  Dejected and
feeling void of everything except his morose heart, he slowly headed back
to his car.  He sat there, unsure of what to do.  Go back to his Mom’s? 
Stay here until his Dad showed up?  He reached for his phone over on the
passenger seat and dialed his Dad’s home telephone, not knowing his cell
phone.
“  Hey, Dad.  It’s me...Um.  I’m actually sitting in front of your house right
now but you’re not here obviously so I thought maybe I could come over
later on tonight or something.  Give me a call when you get  some time,”
He pushed the end button after leaving that moronic message on his Dad’s
answering machine.   He stared at his phone for several seconds before
dialing the familiar number. At the fifth ring, he realized she was screening
her calls.
“ Hey, you have reached Melissa Boudier.  I can’t come to the phone right
now but if you leave your name and number, I’ll be sure to give you a
call...Beep...” Fuck.
“ Mel, I know you’re home...Pick up the phone, dammit...” He exhaled
loudly.
“ Okay, fine...You don’t have to answer right now but could you please give
me a call?  I really need to talk to you and...I know it’s over between me
and her but I need to know some things, put some closure between-”
“ Make it fast, AJ...”
“ Mel?-”
“ I only have a few minutes and you know I’d rather talk to the scum of the
Earth than talk to you but I pity you and your situation right now and you
know I can’t answer anything really because Sammy is my bestfriend and
everything...So you are granted three questions and three minutes of my
time...”
“ Well, hang on, how are yo-”
“ Skip the formalties, I don’t swallow shit sugar-coated and  I already told
you I don’t wanna be talking right now so start.” He shook his head but
continued.
“ Is she okay?”
“ That’s a stupidass question number one, but yes, she’s fine.”
“ Okay...Is she seeing anyone seriously?” There was a pause.
“ Mel?”
“ AJ, you know she...broke things off with you because of  Jared...”
“ Holy shit, she’s getting serious with him?  I thought it was just an excuse-
just to leave- him?” He was incredulous but she broke in.
“ You have a minute left, I’m not the shoulder to weep on right now,”  He
felt whatever hope he had leave him and he closed his eyes, leaning his
head back on the headrest.
“ Where is she, Melissa?” He asked with weary defeat.
“ You know I can’t-”
“ Please?” He asked quietly, distracted by hisi visions of her with that prick,
Jared.
“...AJ...I can’t, I promised...” She said, noticing the change in his tone.
“ She doesn’t have to know, I just wanna know, Mel,” He took on soft
pleading.
“ I can’-”
“ Melissa, tell me! You’re the only one who-...Did she marry that fuck?  Is
that why?  Is she still in California?  Answer that much?  Did she leave
L.A?”
“  Yes...She’s not in L.A., AJ...I’m sorry...” He heard her hang up. 
Jared...She chose Jared over him...Of course she’d choose that rich
arrogant ass; he’d probably stick through all her  shit.  He felt a pang of
anger at her; at himself for wanting her still; at Melissa for not telling him
more...






Main Page

Contents