Chapter Four-Darin (Part Two)

A Chapter by Rachel Hanne

Second part of Darin's perspective. I know it doesn't really seem to give off much of his character, but bear with me! I'm getting there. He's being hard to work with. Grr! Edited

Darin

Going to party with Jonathan was probably one of the dumbest things I could have ever done. I wanted to do it again. The bar scene was different, and it ignited my body with shocks of ecstasy. Something I had never felt before. My longing to be drunk was fulfilled. I even danced. Now I couldn't recall with who or for how long; just that I called some random girl Rhia when her name was really Bertha or something. For that whole night, I thought I was on top of the world.

"Look at all these babes around you!" Jonathan told me at one point in time. "Ain't they easy on the eyes?" They were. Very easy in general too.

When I got home, no one was home besides Michelle, thankfully. I passed out on the front room floor, and woke up at three in the morning to her shaking me with her foot.

"What's wrong with you?" She demanded, hands on her hips. She was beginning to sound like mom. Although her image was blurry, I recognized some of her mannerisms. She scrunched her nose and frowned at me. I slowly stood, almost falling on her. Pain went through me quickly and violently. "You're hung-over! Darin...just...what?" Michelle was close to yelling now, with her mouth hanging open. Next to her was another person, a boy, with long greasy hair that was at shoulder length. He had a towel wrapped around his lower body , and a wooden elephant necklace that reached his navel. He had another object on his wrist. At first, I just thought it was thick bracelet, but I squinted and saw that it was my Timex watch. I raised an arm, and pointed at the thief,

"Hey...that's my watch. Why are you wearing my watch? Give it back now before I beat the hell out of you. You know how expensive that was?" The guy shrugged, and looked at Michelle, trying to pull her with him somewhere. It took a moment for me to process what was before me, and who the guy was. "You...you're... you were sleeping with my sister!"

"Yeah. So?" I wanted to kill him. My vision was beginning to clear a bit, and I realized what he had on his waist was in fact, not a towel. It was one of my sweaters.

"What...St-stop whatever you to were doing, because, I don' wanna know. But for the love of God, did you have to use my sweater for that? And take my watch? Do you have any idea about how expensive that thing was?" I was close to yelling now. "Probably not. I bet you've never worked a day in your life."

"Hey!" Michelle's voice overpowered mine. She was like a mom who had to yell at her kid for doing something bad, when she was the one who did something bad. "Don't talk that way to him! He deserved those." I didn't want to know what that meant. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a serious boyfriend, or a very good one, so like an idiot I asked anyway.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Michelle's cheeks flushed, and she looked at her feet and back up at me.

"Nothin'" She was just like a little kid who was guilty of breaking something. "Well, how did you think that going out drinking was any better of an idea?"

"Shut up Michelle. You never shut up. Just, just, just shut up. Okay? Okay? Don't tell anyone anythin'. I'm tired, I've had a long night, just go to bed. And get that...that guy out of here. And I want my stuff back...well not the sweater." Michelle crossed her arms, and for a second I thought I saw some concern in that brat face of hers.

"I won't tell mom about what you did if you don't tell her about me."

I grunted," Fine. And, where are mom, dad and grandpa?"

She shrugged, "I think grandpa went to drive to San Francisco to see a buddy. Mom and dad...I think they either went with him, or they're still hiking." They're obviously not still hiking, I thought. That wouldn't make any sense at all.

"That shows how much you pay attention." I mumbled, scratching my head. "I'm going to pass out here, kay? Night." I plopped on the couch with my face buried in the pillow, and my right arm dangling down, and my finger tips touching the floor.

I dreamed about my brother being killed. The gun was large and sticking out the window of a moving van, and I was in the backseat, and I watched him get shot. I didn't do anything about it. I sat there. I saw Rhia on the street corner. She sat their too, and looked at me. She was crying. I had never seen her cry, and seeing her do so made me jump out of the van. So I did. I ran to her, as fast as I could. To hug her. Then someone yelled at me. I turned my head, and Rhia screamed. The bullet hit me.

I shot up, and landed on the ground. My back seared in pain, and I hit my head on an end table. I opened my eyes, barely making out what was before me, and the grandfather clock struck 8:00. I jumped up, and yelled out for Michelle. Nothing. I ran, failing to be stable, to look for a note of some kind, hoping to see my watch with it.

I got nothing.

I was dressed in what I wore the day before, and when I got to my truck, I saw graffiti all over it. Of profanity, drawings...everything.

"That b***h!" I slammed the door shut, and I nearly pulled the handle off. "She talks about all this peace and crap and then she does this kind of thing."

I raced to school, and I was marked tardy of course. The secretary looked at me funny.

"Boy what's wrong with you? You look like a deer in the headlights." I didn't say anything, and took my pass. As I walked out the door I heard her say, "You have a one hour today." I groaned, and punched one of the lockers walking out. The secretary chimed in again, "And who taught you how to dress? You wore that yesterday." I saw Claire and Rhia. Rhia looked at me like I was a loon. God I really am an idiot, I thought. I avoided her all day when she came in my vicinity. I didn't want her to catch me doing something stupid again, or any of my friends to harass me and make me look like a fool.

I was even more embarrassed to have to sit behind Rhia in detention. Although she looked more nervous than me. She sat there moving her foot so much it shook my seat. Something was bothering her. She kept looking at the corner at some lump of black. It took me a minute to realize that, it wasn't a random lump of black, it was a person. He was just sitting there, staring. At either me, or Rhia. It looked like Harry Coy. I had to baby sit him when he was younger. I did it when I was in middle school and when he was in elementary school. He was a weird kid. Harry would just stare randomly into space, or randomly at someone like he was doing to me or Rhia. My death didn't seem very far from me when I saw him like this. It felt like he was plotting my death. He was just freaking creeping me out, that's all there was to it. Maybe he's related to Mrs. Aldridge, I wondered. I wouldn't blame him for sitting in the corner, Mrs. Aldridge could be a witch. Not to mention her perfume was so strong, it could give you a headache if you even stood five feet from her. It was like someone dumped flowers all over her. I heard rumors from my mom about her that she had cheated on her husband with a teacher at school. I doubted it was true, since she heard it at her country club. Rumors were spread all the time there about the most ridiculous things imaginable. I couldn't understand anyone's fascination with those stuck up country clubs.

He must be looking at me, I thought. Why would he be looking at Rhia? He's probably wondering if I am really me. I didn't think he liked me much. He never looked at me in the face, and he'd go do his own thing.

An hour dragged on by, and Rhia rushed passed me when we were dismissed. Did I do something to maker her mad? No, I didn't do anything wrong. Maybe tapping my pencil annoyed her though.

I need to stop that habit.

By the time I got out into the hallway, she was gone. Claire shoved passed me, and called out her name to wait up for her. I followed Claire, and wanted to ask Rhia if she saw what I did. I walked quickly behind her. Claire had short legs, so her running was one of my strides. I peeked down the hallway where she turned, and I overheard their conversation.

"What's the big rush?" she asked. Rhia slammed her locker door.

"Nothing."

"Well there has to be something." I thought it would be a good time for me to innocently come into the conversation. Rhia ruffled her hair and twisted the ends.

"Nope. Nothing's wrong. Stop asking me."

"Why didn't you tell me about you're brother?" Claire demanded, anger rising to her cheeks.

"Why didn't you ask?" I sensed some resentment in her voice, and regretted the decision of walking towards them. They both looked at me as soon as I got close enough to be audible.

"Can we help you?" Claire questioned with some snootiness, crossing her arms. Rhia nudged her in the ribs.

"What is it Darin?" Much more pleasant to talk to already.

"Um...you didn't happen to see that kid in the corner did you?" I asked, pausing between each word. I must have sounded ridiculous.

"Yeah... yeah I did. Have you seen him before? He was freaking me out. I swear he was plotting my death or something." She seemed excited with the fact that I had seen what she did.

"I had to baby-sit him in middle school." I confirmed. "He's a freshman. His name's Harry Coy. He's always been a little odd, like staring into space or at random things." I explained. It didn't seem to unease her any, as she continued moving her knee. Claire snorted a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Rhia snapped.

"Maybe he was checking you out...like undressing you in his mind or something..." Rhia glared at her. "Hey, boys are sick creatures, you never know." She laughed nervously, and pivoted her foot. "Sorry, you're cool though." She pointed apologetically to me. "I didn't see him. I just saw a lump of black and I thought it was just random clothes maybe." Rhia gave her a look that displayed annoyance, and then she alternated her attention back to me with intrigued inquisition.

"So, that behavior wasn't out of the norm for him?" Rhia asked.

"Hmm, no. Well yeah it's weird but, I wasn't surprised he was doing that sort of thing." I said. "Take whatever he does with a grain of salt. He won't hurt you." At least I hoped he wouldn't. "He's socially awkward a little I think."

"A little?" Rhia scoffed. "I think sitting in the corner, staring at a girl like you're going to kill her...or like you're creepily checking her out, is more than socially awkward. I think psychopathic is a better term for that." Her voice got higher pitched and the end of her sentence, and her eyes suddenly dropped out tears, falling to the floor. She leaned her face on her locker, sobbing, "I want Bobby back. He'd do something....I want him back. I want my best friend back." Claire was about to hug her friend, but Rhia shoved her. "Go away. I hate everyone, go away. I want to be alone. I can walk home. I'm fine. Just go!" She yelled.

"Rhia if you're left alone you'll never feel better..."

"I'm really sorry." I added. As awkward of a position I was in, I thought saying something would make things ease up between the two. Whenever I did that though, it always turned out to have the opposite result. You'd think I'd learn by that time about trial and error. I always forgot about how many times I had attempted something, and how many times I would end up with the same result as all the other attempts.

"I don't want you're pity!" She yelled. "You know how much I hate being the center of attention. Just stop it. Stop it now!" She picked up her bag, throwing it over her shoulder, and ran off down the hall to the lobby. She went out the big gray metal doors, closing them behind her with a loud clank. The sound was loud enough to make the secretaries get up from their rolling chairs to look out the office window to see what caused the racket. Rhia was out of sight before they could stand.

"Well, I am a terrible friend. How could I be so...just so stupid?" She grunted in thwarted frustration.

"You're not terrible." I told her, "Just uninformed, or maybe not attentive. They both sort of run together at one point or another."

"Like that makes anything much better." She looked down, and kept pivoting her foot. "I've never seen her so upset before. I don't really know how to handle her like that. I didn't even hear about your guys' brothers." Claire slid herself onto the floor. "I must sound like a self centered b***h. Here I was complaining to her about Jonathan, and her brother died...her brother." She heaved a sigh, ruffling her hair. "I am sorry about yours too. I'm ignorant to a lot of things. She never told me anything! I guess It's because I mess things up when I try to help or something." She bit her nails consistently as she ran through the possibilities, chipping off the bright red polish. "I- I just don't know."

"I think we all are at some point. It's okay." I said, trying to relieve her of what guilt she had. Girls are stubborn though, so it probably didn't work anyway.

" I like you." She smiled. "You don't have much to say, and when you do say something, it's not redundant or dumb. A lot of guys talk too much." It sounded as if she spoke from experience. I never would have imagined that someone like her would compliment me in a way such as that. I wasn't as good as she thought. I didn't tell her that of course. If she would have seen the way I had been behaving for the past few days, she'd change her opinion. If Claire were to examine my thoughts, she'd change her opinion. She'd probably think I was insane. Or perhaps she was just saying something to be nice.

If she only knew what went inside my head.

next chapter

© 2012 Rachel Hanne

Author's Note

The good, and the bad! As always.

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KillerWithWords

Another great chapter of this fantastic story.
I like how you've brought together your characters. You've done so in an "un-cliche'" manner.
Give the first 2 paragraphs a re-read/edit. You stumbled a bit while describing Jared's drunk night.
I think, for this chapter, you should write a little bit more about Michelle, show us how obnoxious she is. Perhpas have a dude sleep over at the house and have Michelle get annoyed at Jared for disturbing them... Maybe even have Michele give her dude Jared's s sweater or something. Make us hate her... (#evil_smile)
Another great job.