The Way Back (Book 2): The Way Back, Part II

by Giancioppo, Danny

  The Way Back:

  Part II

  By: Danny Giancioppo

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Before – 1

  Day 2001

  After – 1

  Day 2001 – Pt II

  Before – 2

  Day 2002

  After – 2

  Day 2003

  Before – 3

  Day 2004

  After – 3

  Day 2007

  Day 2008

  Day 2009

  Before – 4

  Day 2010

  After – 4

  Day 2010 – Pt II

  Later

  For James, Joey, Nicky, and Olivia.

  “I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother, and I found all three.” - William Blake

  Before – 1

  “8:00 p.m.”

  “Sweetie, will you play it, please?” Emily asked, puffing out her lower lip, opening her eyes wide. It was no coincidence. She knew what that did to him, after all.

  “C’mon, we’re just hanging out, can we not have him show off right now?” Nolan said, tired of having to hear his friend’s “skills–” at least as he put it– for the millionth time this month alone.

  “Nolan be quiet; I think it’s sweet,” Lily countered, slapping him on the arm. “Plus, he is really good!”

  “Lil, he’s okay, and that’s at his best; he sounds like a, what do you call it… a hyena howling half the time!” Cody said, Brianna then slapping his arm too as she sat in his lap, his arms wrapped around her tenderly.

  “Luke, play it. I wanna hear it too,” she encouraged.

  Luke picked up the ukulele, and held it with one hand, looking down in serious contemplation. He gazed back up at Emily, and saw that she tried to keep pouting, but couldn’t help but let a small smile crack through.

  And good God, how he loved that smile.

  “Please?” Emily whispered. He shook his head, and let a smile slide onto his face.

  “Okay, just for you,” he said. Emily let her joy wash over her face, and the girls happily cheered, while Cody and Nolan just looked at each other in disdain.

  Luke made an adjustment or two on the ukulele, tuning it as best he could by ear, and then began to lightly strum, the others all sitting in silence, listening as he performed in Cody’s basement; Nolan, Lily, and Emily sat on the couch, Cody and Brianna sat in a chair, and Luke on a stool in front of the tv, facing them all.

  “Don’t you worry there my honey, we might not have any money, but we’ve got our love to pay the bills…” he sung, looking either at Emily or down at his instrument all the while.

  It was 11:00 at night; the six were lit only by dimmed ceiling lights and a couple candles. A mostly-eaten plate of cake, and two or three almost-empty cups took up the table; wrapping paper littered by the trash can next to the door. A window cracked open, and a timid, warm spring breeze crept in, hinting at the summer’s impending arrival.

  After an eventful night of mini-golf, dinner, and a long walk around town, they had always liked to go back to Cody’s to relax, talk, and waste the night away; at least in their junior year they did. One year later, and all of a sudden it was a rarity for them to all be together– and this was just the couples. The three guys weren’t entirely sure what the others were up to, recently.

  And on such a special occasion, both Lily’s birthday and Cody and Brianna’s six year anniversary, they wanted to stay together just a bit longer than usual. After all, it wasn’t everyday they got to relish just how lucky they all were to have each other.

  “...Let’s get rich, and build a house on a mountain, making everybody look like ants; from way up there, you and I, you and I,” Luke finished, making one last, concluding strum after he had finished singing.

  The others sat quiet for a moment, still taking in his performance. What followed was a mix of cheers from the girls, and boos from the guys, which Luke took in stride. Cody chucked a solo cup toward him, and Nolan a balled up napkin.

  Luke pursed his lips, but couldn’t help but allow another smile to break through as he heard Emily giggle and walk toward him, giving him a light kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “Perfect,” she said.

  Luke set the ukulele down on the ground, and moved back over to the couch, where he took Emily’s spot, her now sat on his lap.

  “Well, it's always nice to get mixed feedback,” Luke said, gazing around the room at the others.

  “I thought it was very good Luke; best birthday gift I could have asked for,” Lily complimented.

  “Yeah? Good to know that was better than paying for dinner after the fact…” he muttered.

  “Hey, we split that!” Cody said.

  “Yeah, in like a seventy-thirty split,” Luke argued.

  “Not my fault you insisted on paying,” Cody continued, though grinning as he did.

  “Right, well I just thought it was the least I could do, considering,” Luke repeated. “Although if we were both paying, maybe someone else could have chipped in too.”

  “You insisted! Like you said!” Nolan defended. “Considering, remember?”

  “It’s not your birthday, asshole!” Lily said playfully. “All I’m seeing here are two gentlemen and one greedy little boy.”

  “This greedy little boy might just leave you here if you’re not careful,” Nolan threatened, lightly grabbing Lily by the tip of her chin with his finger and thumb.

  “Not her ride, smartass,” Emily said, showing her car keys. Nolan rolled his eyes toward her, and the others all just laughed, a peaceful silence eventually enveloping the room.

  “Can you believe that graduation is just a week away?” Brianna marveled, the others all making softly amazed sounds of agreement.

  “It’s so surreal,” Emily said. “Feels like yesterday we were walking through the halls of that old building for the very first time. We didn’t even all know each other yet!”

  “You think things are gonna be different afterwards? I mean, I know they will be, but like, you think we won’t see everyone as much?” Nolan asked.

  “Well like, the thing is… we don’t really see the other guys all that much nowadays anyway,” Cody said. “So it might not be all that different.”

  “Well they’re still all planning on coming up to the Maine house, right?” Lily asked curiously, genuinely hoping they were. She knew how much Nolan wanted to see them all, even if he’d never say it to the others.

  “I think so, yeah,” Luke answered. “I mean I haven’t exactly gotten confirmation from everyone, but I think it’ll work out. Just gotta be patient, and hope nothing goes wrong in the next four weeks.”

  “You still aren’t able to make it, Bri?” Nolan asked.

  “No, I doubt it,” she said, somewhat disappointed. “My cousin’s wedding is happening like, right while you want to be up there; I can’t miss it.”

  “You sure you’re okay with me not making it there then?” Cody whispered to her softly, though still loud enough for the others to hear.

  “Don’t worry about it babe, I know how much this means to you,” she said, kissing him on the cheek and smiling. Cody gripped onto her a bit tighter.

  “What do you think Luke? You think things are gonna be different after graduation?” Lily asked. Everyone looked to him, and he paused, thinking intently for a moment.

  “Well… sure, of course they are,” he said, “But that’s sort of the fun of it, right? We move on to the next chapter– see what the next step has to offer us. Make a brand new mark on
the world; both ours and everyone else's.” Emily smiled again, and nuzzled further into Luke, looking up at him.

  “I love it when you talk all existential and deep,” she cooed into his ear. He looked down at her and chuckled, kissing her on the head.

  “Really? That’s so crazy, because I just love to hear you you talk,” he whispered, smiling.

  “Alright, save it for the bedroom mom and dad, Christ…” Nolan whined, rolling his eyes, though smiling as he did. Luke glanced at him, and smirked.

  “Right well, like I was saying…” he continued. “It’ll be different, yeah, but I think that’s the fun part of it all! And as for everyone else, I don’t know… If they really matter enough, they’re not going anywhere. I sure as hell don’t plan on letting that happen, anyway.”

  Day 2001

  “Rude Awakenings”

  The sun blistered through the cracks of the door-blinds, even though there were bars upon bars of metal blockading it from the balcony. There were at least fifteen, maybe upwards of thirty bars, he was sure of that. Nevertheless, the dawn slipped its way into the room, pouncing directly onto his face. Hopefully tonight he wouldn’t have to sleep on the cot again. It was getting seriously worn out by now, and God only knew when they’d find a new one.

  Nolan rubbed his head and got up, putting an old sweatshirt over his bare chest to warm himself. Cody and Derrick were still asleep, nice and comfy on their own little mattresses, bed sheets and all. Even those were getting some major wear to them, but it was still nothing compared to that damn cot.

  Making his way down the stairs, Nolan scratched the scruff he’d let accumulate on his face and let out a light yawn. It sounded like he was the only one awake, but then again, the house was so big now that it was hard to be certain.

  Once he got down the stairs, he heard music still humming from their new CD player. They had just found that thing, and only had so many batteries. He didn’t want to waste it just because a certain someone (which he knew full well was Cody) forgot to turn it off. He walked over and took the CD out– Frank Sinatra’s Nothing But The Best, of course– and clicked the player off.

  Sighing, he sloppily put the CD back on top of all the others, which were neatly piled next to said CD player. He knew that disc wasn’t meant to just go on top, but he was still tired, so he didn’t really care.

  Making his way over to the kitchen, Nolan once again stopped, glancing down and noticing yet another cup on the ground right in front of him for the third time this month alone. He scoffed, and picked it up, inspecting it.

  “It’s never gonna work, Der, let it go…” he muttered, his voice gruff and cracking, still not warmed for the day. Smiling, Nolan put the cup into the sink, where a pile of dirty dishes had already fallen into a not-so-neat pile.

  He scanned his vision around the rooms and saw there was in fact nobody else awake. At least, if they were, they were still in their own respective rooms. He looked to his right, past the stairs, and into where the dining-turned-laundry-room used to be, now the newest addition to the home, where Jeremy and Chris slept, as well as a hefty stock of food and water.

  God damn it Luke, don’t!

  It was only about 3 months old, at least since it was completed, but still, it looked nice. Each addition took them a decent amount of work, and this one was no exception. Especially considering they had to get a wall up between the guys’ room and the food storage itself, but honestly, it seemed worth it now. As a whole, that new slice of the once-vacation-home took up a large chunk of the left side of the lawn, but compared to their other renovations, it wasn’t extremely big.

  Nolan made his way into the room, and grabbed a small package of what Derrick liked to call cereal. To his credit, none of the others would have been able to make anything close, but still, they were no Cheerios. More like dirt with a twist.

  Luke… Please…

  After making his way back to the kitchen and grabbing a dirty bowl and spoon from the sink, Nolan sat down at the table, and tried his best to eat peacefully by himself. The cereal tasted dry, and that dirt bit was ringing truer than ever, but still, it was food.

  Don’t make me do this…

  Nolan paused.

  He tried to stop it, to just eat and be calm, but he couldn’t help but go back into his thoughts again; it was like an uninterruptible, neverending chattering going on in his head.

  As the years had gone on, Nolan found himself in strange standing with his emotions. On the one hand, he felt more often than not he was able to keep them in check, and function normally. However, they also seemed to grow in strength and voraciousness, so when they would get the best of him, they did so hard.

  Not to mention, there were the thoughts. The thoughts would always get the best of him, even on a good day; even when everything seemed to be going right. The thoughts about the past. About four years ago.

  Shakily, Nolan put his spoon down, and took a long, deep breath, exhaling with his mouth wide open. After a moment or two, he put his hands firmly on the table, and stood up, his eyes now clenched tight in desperation, trying to coax his mind into moving along.

  The stars look really nice tonight, huh?

  He walked shakily out to the living room, and put his hand over his eyes, his breathing now unstable, and heavy. It felt like the whole world was spinning out of control.

  …you’ve always got us. You’ve always got me…

  “Stop,” he whispered, gripping onto the couch tightly now with both his hands.

  You know things can never be the same now, they just can’t...

  “Stop!” he said louder this time, once more holding his eyes shut.

  Goodbye, Luke…

  “Stop!” Nolan shouted, pleading his brain into silence. He turned on a dime, and reared his fist into a wall, making a massive crash, as well as a fairly-sized crack. His hand hurt like hell, but it at least seemed to silence the thoughts, for the time being. The pulsing, stinging sensation; it almost felt like a kind of safe-haven from his own mind.

  He heard a bustle of movement, and sure enough in just a few seconds everyone arrived on the scene.

  Adam came from the hallway that used to be the kitchen entrance to the backyard, which now lead to his own room, as well as a parallel room for weapons storage on the left. Cody and Derrick came from the room they shared with Nolan, and Chris and Jeremy came from their own room. All of them came worried, as though something was actually happening.

  Which was foolish. Good to know on Nolan’s end, but foolish nonetheless. After about another three years, the only real danger there seemed to be anymore was people, and those were in pretty short supply more and more as time went on. They really hadn’t encountered anything very serious the last two years or so. Not externally at least. All the creatures settled into their respective areas, and just sort of… lived.

  Regardless, the guys all seemed to have gotten more fit, Nolan would even go so far as to say a bit more muscular– mostly from all the work that they would do– so he supposed that if they ever were to encounter some kind of threat, at least so long as it was around their size, they were considerably better equipped to deal with it than when they were hardly out of their teens.

  “What was that?” Jeremy asked.

  “Are you alright?” Cody asked, scanning Nolan up and down for some kind of injury. He noticed his fist, as his gaze paused there for a moment.

  “Aw, did you make a dent in the wall dude!?” Adam said, running his hand down the newly-formed cracks. “What the hell, man!”

  “There’s not something here, is there?” Derrick questioned, looking around the house skeptically.

  “No, no we’re good. There’s never anything here anymore, remember?” Nolan said. “And for the record, that dent is nothing; better than no wall at all, right?”

  “No, captain optimism, not really,” Adam said, still inspecting the cracks, pressing his fingers onto them inquisitively. “No dent at all would be nothing.”

 
“So what’s up? You were shouting too, weren’t you?” Chris recalled, taking a small step toward Nolan.

  “Yeah, yeah I was just, uh… you know,” he trailed off. They knew what he meant, but still, he didn’t really like talking about it. They had had enough problems to deal with already. There was no need to worry about him. “Rough morning, is all.”

  “Right. Well since we’re all up, who’s doing what today?” Adam shifted subjects. “I’m thinking Nolan can take care of trying to repair the wall?”

  “With what?” Nolan asked, confused. “We don’t have anything that could do that.”

  “Figure it out.”

  “Alright, I’ll just use paint I guess.”

  “If you just do that, I will drown you in it.”

  “So are the rest of our jobs to listen to you old shits talk about this all day?” Derrick said, growing impatient.

  “You wish,” Adam scoffed. “Someone’s gotta do general house management,”

  “Got it,” Derrick claimed, already moving into the kitchen to grab cleaning supplies. He also grabbed his tools, like hammers and nails, screwdrivers, things like that. He still had the itch to repair whatever he could, whenever he could. He had good hands, Nolan had to give him that.

  “Somebody’s gotta grab dish duty, because that thing is stacking up hard.” Adam continued.

  “Mine,” Jeremy said, walking over to the kitchen. “Anyone know where my new notebook is, by the way? It’s all red with a black spine on it.”

  “It’s in the supply room, I think,” Chris replied. “I think I saw it there the other day.” Jeremy immediately stepped away from the sink, and headed for the supply room, hoping to find what was likely anywhere between his tenth and thirtieth journal.

  “I’d say maybe two or three of us need to take care of the snow outside, make another path, since the old one’s getting filled back up. I’ll do it, but somebody’s gotta help me,” Adam said, gazing at the others.

  “Not me. I’m not getting a cold, thanks,” Chris rejected. “And you know you get too much snow caught in your boot and boom, that’s frostbite right there.” Adam just rolled his eyes, and looked to Cody.