“Don’t call me sir. I’m a working man son.” Red smirked as the words passed across his lips. “You need a hand getting in the car or do you think you can manage?” Red offered, holding out a hand to a still wavering Cole who waved away the kind gesture.
Although he was still nauseous he wanted to be sure that he was again able to hold himself up. Red didn’t try to stop him as Cole allowed the weight of his body to leave the hood of the car slowly transferring to his feet. At first, he had to catch himself from falling but found that he was able to remain upright even though he was a little shaky.
“Doing alright there son?” Red asked staying close in case Cole should lose his footing but made no move to force his help on him.
‘It’s like I haven’t used my legs in years.’ Cole thought, focusing all of his effort to keep himself upright. No matter how decent Red seemed, he didn’t want to ask him for any more help than what was necessary. Cole took one step at a time as he made his way around the front of the station wagon running one hand over the hood as he went along. Red stayed a couple of steps in front of him backing his way towards the passenger door which he opened promptly as soon as Cole was behind it.
“You want me to take you to the hospital?” Red asked with genuine concern obviously noting Cole’s staggering steps.
Cole shook his head and focused on lowering himself into the car. Once he was seated he looked up at Red who was still holding the door open watching him buckle himself in. “I’m alright s… Red.” Cole assured him not wanting to cause the old man any undue stress. He didn’t want to deal with any hospitals or doctors as he didn’t know what he would tell them anyway. Instead, he wanted to be taken home where he was safe and could sleep.
Red nodded, “Okay.” He said reluctantly before closing the door and making his way around to the driver’s side. Red plopped into the leather seat and looked Cole up and down one more time wanting to voice his protest that Cole should go to the hospital but, he figured he wouldn’t press the issue. “Boy’s got parents to take care of that.’ He finally reasoned throwing the old car into gear. “You just tell me where to turn. Can you do that son?” Red asked shifting into first.
“Yeah, I live over by the school,” Cole replied as he watching the darkened trees begin to roll by. For an instant, he could have sworn that he saw a pair of eyes radiating at him from the darkness as they passed by a line of skeletal looking birch trees. He watched for them but they were gone as soon as the car drove by. ‘Just my imagination,’ Cole told himself before being yanked from the short silence by the old man. Red was as most elderly drivers seemed to be, more interested in conversing than keeping his eyes on the road, however, Cole, in his present state, didn’t care. He was content knowing that he was away from the dark stranger and grateful that Red had been there to save him. Red followed the main streets towards the school which greatly reduced the amount of direction he would have to give the old man. Meanwhile, Red opened up like a book offering bits and pieces of his history. How he had once been a minister in the south but had long since retired from his duties to the church. He talked about his son that took up his role in the church prior to his retirement and that he regretted having to leave him behind when he moved to Los Olivos. He continued on as if he hadn’t spoken to anyone in years making Cole wonder how alone this man truly was. Cole almost wished they hadn’t made it to his house so fast as Red seemed to be on a roll but, at the last second Cole noted that they were almost passed it and Red slammed the brakes so hard that Cole had to hold himself in place as they spun into the shallow driveway. “Dang son,” Red chuckled, “that’ll get your heart going.”
Flustered and breathing a little more rapidly than he would have liked, Cole extended his hand to Red which was graciously taken.
“You take care son and don’t go wandering around at night,” Red said sternly as if he were the kid’s grandfather keeping an eye out for his wanderlust grandson.
“I’m glad you found me,” Cole replied a little perturbed at the old man’s warnings but, after tonight, he didn’t think he would want to be out wandering after nightfall for a long time.
“Alright, now you get inside. I’ll be waiting till I see that door close.” Red promised as Cole stepped out of the station wagon.
“Thanks, Red.” Cole mouthed to him through the window before stepping inside.
* * * * *
“Where have you been?” Dana Larson yelled slurring her speech as she tried to sound more in control than she actually was.
Cole could tell that she had been drinking heavily for two reasons. The first were the deep dark circles that formed under her eyes when she had a few too many and the second; he attributed to an obvious fight between his mother and stepfather who was now snoring loudly on the couch. “I went for a walk.” Cole offered stoically knowing that his mother was deep into her cups and he truly wasn’t certain about everything that happened. ‘She wouldn’t understand in her current state anyway,’ he thought angrily as she stumbled towards him.
“I was going to call the police. I was so worried.” She continued burying her face in his chest as she put her arms around him sobbing like a child.
Generally, he would have felt bad watching his mother cry but he made no motion to return the hug, not wanting to indulge her child-like state. “Where’s Donovan?” Cole asked looking past her for his younger brother. He wasn’t in the main room from what he could tell and that usually meant that he was hiding out somewhere in one of the bedrooms. Suddenly a slap hit him so hard that he reeled momentarily before spinning back to face her eye to eye. Dana took a step back and her look was full of anger and spite.
“You’ll answer me when I ask you a question you.” She hissed at him.
Cole cupped his hand against the sting in his face, the cold of his own fingers soothing the heat to a dull throb.
“I’m so sorry honey,” Dana sobbed trying once again to come at him with her arms wide. Cole sidestepped and managed to get around her as she crashed with a dull thud into the front door behind him.
“I’m just going to go lay down,” he said strictly amidst his mother’s sobs. She spun back towards him using the wall to keep herself from staggering as she began to protest but, he was no longer listening. Instead, he made his way to his bedroom where he would shut himself in and lock the door though it was already locked. He fished in his pockets producing the small key to his room and used to it to grant himself entry. Before closing the door he heard his mother mumble something vulgar under her breath, words he was sure he didn’t want to hear anyway. Once inside his bedroom, he quickly shut and locked the door behind him propping himself against it.
“Hey Cole,” Donovan said sheepishly from the corner of the small bedroom.
Cole hit the light and saw that his brother was huddled up in the corner of Cole’s twin bed; although Cole didn’t yet know why his brother was in his bedroom he could rightly guess that their mother’s drinking binge had caused him to flee to the only other locking door inside the house beside the bathroom.
“You’re not mad at me for being in here are you?” Donovan asked preparing to get up at the slightest hint of his brother’s protests.
Normally the answer would have been “You can leave now,” but Cole was still his big brother. Don, although a little squattier with darker hair reminded Cole of him. Still, he definitely was the more sociable between them and Cole found it frustrated him more than a little sometimes bordering on downright envy. “No Don. You can stay if you want buddy.” Cole said offering a reassuring smile to his younger brother.
“Mom and Dad were fighting again,” Donovan began, offering his explanation for hiding out in his brother’s bedroom.
‘Jesus Christ he’s only twelve mom,’ Cole thought angrily, sympathetic to his brother’s feelings but finding himself outraged. “Mori is not our Dad Don,” Cole said sharply feeling a sense of shame every time he repeated this same lecture however he stopped when he saw Donovan lookin
g at the floor.
“I’m sorry, I just….” Donovan began before trailing off again to look at his brother with tear filled eyes.
“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault,” Cole said reassuringly sitting by his brother. He hugged Donovan who continued to sob for a few more minutes in his brother’s arms before pulling away. Both of them could hear their mother in the other room stumbling around, causing Donovan to watch the door as if she would charge through it at any minute. “Hey dude, do you want to watch a movie?” Cole offered trying to distract his younger brother from his current state.
“Alright, I’ll watch whatever you want to watch.” Don agreed quickly and Cole was quick to oblige.
CHAPTER 5
The next morning Cole awoke noting that his brother was no longer next to him and he wondered if he had gone to his own room sometime in the middle of the night. He had been sure to stay awake long enough to watch his brother drift off to sleep before allowing himself the same luxury. He was still exhausted but, further examination of the room revealed a small sticky note placed on his television Screen. The note read:
Laila called. She said she would be stopping by around nine thirty. Figured we’d let you rest. Went to do some shopping. Be home soon.
Love, Mom
Cole wondered how much his mother actually remembered of what she had done the night before however, he was certain she would discount her actions if confronted with the truth. ‘Such was the way of alcoholics.’ He thought. Cole contemplated if he should even bring up the dark stranger or tell her of the kind ex-minister that had brought him home the night before but, he thought better of it knowing that his mother would assume that he had managed to make some old man bring him home because he was afraid of the dark. His eyes wandered to the old analog clock that rested on the nightstand at the foot of his bed, it was already half past eight.
* * * * *
After showering and quickly getting dressed he heard a knock at the door. Still nervous as ever, he took a few deep breaths before turning the handle to see who was on the other side.
“Hey babe,” Laila beamed at him as he opened the door. Her perfect smile was outlined today with a light touch of soft pink lipstick and she looked as if she had used a small amount of makeup on her already beautiful face. Cole smiled but forced himself to no keep it simple. He didn’t want to grin stupidly.
She giggled softly touching his upturned cheek. “You know, you turn bright red when you’re embarrassed.” She cooed sending shivers down his spine.
He decided that he didn’t need any more coercing than what she had given him so he took her in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. He didn’t feel the weight of embarrassment that he believed would be paralyzing as the two of them stood interlocked in broad daylight right outside of his house. Why should he? It was soft. It was simple. It was perfect.
When at last the two came apart, Laila was the one whose face had turned a little more red than usual. It was her turn to grin, to look away, and to cup her hand over her upper lip as she looked around for anyone that had seen the exchange. “Wow. I would never have guessed that you would have done that in a million years.” She said bringing her fingers from her lips to grasp Cole’s hand gently.
“Maybe because you’re the only one I wanted to do that with is why you never expected it.” He offered truthfully internally scolding himself for saying such a corny line but, he wasn’t about to take it back.
“Come on let’s go for a walk.” She suggested pulling him off the porch as she turned about. He closed the door behind him and stumbled a little bit trying to keep up. The two took the back alleys to the store making small talk as they went along. Joni was in the deli, as usual, preparing every sandwich with her own special kind of care and Cole could see her smirk when they walked up to the deli together.
“Is this her?” She asked excitedly looking from Cole to Laila.
‘Great, you tell one person a little about a crush and they take the opportunity to destroy it before its fully flourished…thanks, Joni.’ Cole thought as his face flushed.
“Oh, that’s right. You were talking about your friend the other day, not you.” She laughed as only an older sister would.
Laila knew what the older lady was saying and she moved just a little closer to him gauging his reaction. She wondered if Cole would tell Joni the truth or beat around the bush but, she was pleasantly surprised when he glanced at her then looked back to Joni.
“Yeah, this is her,” Cole admitted glancing briefly at Laila before he returned his attention to Joni. He wondered if maybe he had opened up a little too much and said something he shouldn’t have. Still, Laila seemed ok with the cryptic ‘is this the girl’ scenario.
“He’s only told you good things I hope,” Laila said feeling a tad awkward but, special at the same time.
“Trust me, sister, you have to be one of the best things to come into this young man’s life,” Joni replied embellishing the truth a little before asking them what they wanted.
When Joni turned away to make their order Laila looked into Cole’ eyes with such intent that he wondered if she was angry with him for talking about her behind her back. “Is it true?” She whispered in his ear softly. He shuddered when she spoke as her warm breath danced across his earlobe.
“Which part?” He whispered back kissing her on the cheek before pulling away.
“So all of it’s true,” She mused as if he had answered her question better with the gesture than with words.
“Hey, none of that public display of affection crap.” They heard Steve call sarcastically from the cash register.
“Don’t pay any attention to him,” Joni scolded handing the two sandwiches she had been preparing over the counter. “I think it’s cute.” She added for good measure.
During the couple’s short interaction at the cash register, Steve looked at Cole proudly when he glanced between him and Laila however he didn’t say a word other than the price of their two sandwiches and their change upon return.
They exited through the front doors but were stopped abruptly by Mike Cyril and Andrew Perkins, who were on their way in.
“What are you doing with this freak show Laila?” Andrew asked spitting at Cole’s feet, a trait that he had kept since kindergarten.
Not wanting to fight, Cole made no move to retaliate, instead, he waited to see how far Stephen’s friends intended to go. Mike stood in front of them both while Andrew stayed at their side but, without Stephen the two of them were cowards.
“Back off you two.” Laila threatened them confidently not allowing either of the two boys to assume they had the advantage.
“Or what?” Andrew replied angrily puffing his chest out.
Cole couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. It was hard for Andrew to look imposing. He was short, extremely overweight, and his pimpled face afforded him no justice when he attempted to look imposing. He was the least popular of the ‘popular kids’ maintaining his role because he was willing to bully anyone he could. Of the two, Mike was the most threatening and Cole knew it. Athletically built and decent looking, Mike wasn’t usually too bad of a guy when he was by himself. He may have been a lackey but, he could fight if pushed to the threshold.
“Guys, just leave us alone.” Cole began but was cut off by Andrew who started mocking him in a whining voice….
“Leave us alone,” Andrew snickered. “Our panties are all in a bunch and we don’t want to play with you.” He added feeling downright hilarious.
Cole could feel himself becoming more infuriated by the second and he moved in front of Laila. He definitely didn’t expect to have her push him aside to spit into Andrew’s face.
“No, you didn’t you stupid bitch,” Andrew yelled with spittle oozing from his forehead. He wiped it off in one stroke and balled his fist coming forward. He was on the ground in an instant, however, and he had barely seen it coming. Mike was the first on it, tripping Andrew and casually backing away when Cole came fo
rward. He wasn’t about to watch ‘Fat Andrew’ get into a fist fight with a girl.
Cole had immediately reached out to grab Andrews hand and yank him down. He was perplexed initially at how hard Andrew had fallen but, he realized the gesture was wholly unneccesary when Mike casually shrugged.
“I’ll kick all of your asses.” Andrew cried feeling more than a bit embarrassed. ‘She deserved it.’ He thought before turning to look up and see all three staring at him like he was garbage. He pulled himself into a sitting position examining his scraped knee whimpering but, not saying another word.
The silence was short lived and Laila seemed to regain her senses first.
“Screw these two pieces of shit.” She said taking Cole’s hand in hers. Taking point, she pulled Cole along nearly kicking Andrew in the process. She decided that she would have loved to hurt that whiny little asshole but thought it better if she considered there had already been enough of a victory and left.
Mike remained silent until Cole and Laila had gone a decent distance passed him. “Shut up, Andrew.” He said evenly receiving no protest in return.
“Don’t look back,” Laila told Cole when the two were far enough away that neither Mike nor Andrew could hear. He was beet red and seemed to be forcing each of his steps but, she really didn’t want to see another fight, especially on her behalf.
Angrily, Cole plodded along. He was shaking. He wasn’t afraid just intensely overloaded with adrenaline. He wanted to turn back if for nothing more than his ego.
“Let it go.” Laila urged. Of all the words that could describe Cole, Laila believed that ‘protective’ seemed to fit very well. She appreciated his efforts but, the little altercation was over. “How was your evening?” She asked drawing his attention.
Prelude To Insanity Page 7
