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"You ungrateful little b*****d, get out of my house!" she shrieked, hurling a vase at her son. He ducked, the object shattering on the wall where his head had been only moments before, water and shards of glass and dead flowers rained down on his head. She was drunk, that much was easy to tell, and Sterling wasn't quite sure what had set her off this time. Sure, he was tipsy, but wasn't he always? He hadn't come home any later than normal, and it took him a minute to realize that he hadn't seen dad's shoes by the door when he came in. Well, s**t, that would explain it. He stood frozen in his thoughts as his mother retrieved another projectile, coming back to the present as the tiny figurine smashed against his shoulder. Okay, that one kind of hurt.
"Mom, stop. The neighbours might hear you." he stood to his full height, only an inch or so taller than his towering mother. There were no neighbours, at least not ones close enough to actually hear them if they were even awake at this hour. "Put down the wine bot-s**t!" she hurled that too, the bottle bursting against the wall next to his head. Her aim had gotten better, and he was quietly thankful that she was drunk enough not to be hitting him square on. Red stained his clothes, but at least this time is was wine and not blood. He backed up, hands held up and away from himself in a gesture of surrender.
"I said get out!. ********, she was pissed. Sterling continued backing away slowly, hands still up and away from his body in the hopes of trying to diffuse the situation. "I never wanted you nasty kids, you ruined me." oh god, here we go. The 'you ruined my career' speech again. He couldn't count the number of times he'd heard it, but at least several times a year for as long as he could remember. He was quietly thankful that his sister wasn't home and off with her friends somewhere, this speech always messed her up pretty bad. He backed into the bottom of the stairs, almost toppling over backwards before he turned and bolted up them. Making it to his room, he slammed and bolted the door behind him. There was no reasoning with his mom when she got like this, and he pressed his back against his bedroom door to take a few deep breaths. He could still hear her screaming outside, but at least the heavy wooden door would hold.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he pulled away from the door and dug out the bottle of liquor he'd stashed under his bed and climbed carefully out his window. Getting down was a little tricky, especially since he'd already had a couple drinks, but he managed. Dropping down onto the forest floor, bottle in hand, he spared one last look at the house before heading off into the woods and twisting open the bottle with his teeth. If he was lucky, he'd find his way through the woods to the road and he could crash at someone's house for the night instead of winding up back in crazy town.
The bottle didn't last long, he drained it quickly and then lost it somewhere along the way, but all he knew was that his hand was empty as he staggered up to a familiar cottage. He squinted, reading the name on the mailbox at least three times before it registered. Kelley.... Kelley... who did he know with that name? ********, he definitely knew someone named Kelley. A blurry image surfaced in his mind, and even if a first name wasn't coming to him, he was pretty sure he would be safe here. He wandered around the back of the house, peering in through the sliding door. He could just make out a figure on the couch, and he knocked gently, or at least he thought it was gently, on the glass. The figure looked surprised, and Sterling gave a little wave before pointing at the door. Let him in, please, he'll sleep in your bathtub or on the floor, just don't make him sleep in the woods. There are bugs. So many bugs.
The figure came to the door, looking suspicious until they flicked on the porch light and realized who it was knocking at the door. The door opened, and Sterling squinted to see who it was. Things were spinning, but he knew that voice. Addie! Oh thank god, it was Addie. He stumbled forward, throwing his arms around the other male and tugging him close. "Addie help. Hide me from the witch, she's at it again." his breath stank of booze, and his shirt was stained with red wine, but Addie pulled him into the house anyway, closing and locking the back door behind them. Sterling couldn't quite understand what Addie was saying, but he was being tugged along. He went happily, relieved for the quiet house and the gentle guidance. Addie steered him into the bathroom, and at Sterling's wide-eyed look, sighed and turned on the shower.
Getting the message, Sterling started to strip before Addie was even out the door, dropping his dirty clothes on the floor as his friend ducked out. He leaned heavily against the shower wall, letting the water hit him as he did his best to stay upright. After a few minutes, the bathroom door opened again and Sterling peeked around the curtain to find Addie coming back in with clean clothes and a towel. Making grabby hands for the towel, he dried his face when it was handed over and stepped out. His friend sighed, turning off the water before slipping out of the bathroom while Sterling dried off and dressed himself to the best of his ability. Leaving the wet towel on the floor, he stumbled his way into the living room to find Addie sitting on the couch.
He stared, waiting in the doorway until his friend patted the spot on the couch next to him. He crawled onto the
Mom
Sterling
Addie
 Krombopulos Michael · Sun Jun 14, 2015 @ 08:25pm · 0 Comments |
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