Parasite by Ridley Harker

Author:Ridley Harker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Abuse, alcoholism, animal death, bullying, child abuse, domestic abuse, alcohol use, graphic violence/gore, guns, homophobia, misgendering, murder, racist language/slurs, trans hate/trans misogyny
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

0139 hours

October 31, 2015

Ives House

JACK WOKE ABRUPTLY. The room was black except for the dim yellow glow of his laptop charger. His bedroom door was closed, but the television droned on in the living room. Ed had passed out watching Spike TV again from the sounds of it. Jack rolled over, further tangling his bedsheets. The noise was probably his mother waking from her drunken stupor and heading off to bed. He nuzzled his face against his pillow and tried to do the same.

He had done laundry, and the scent of detergent was as relaxing as a hot bath. His eyelids were heavy. Moonlight shone through his window, illuminating the front yard. Sometimes if he listened closely, he heard owls. He was nearly to sleep again when he noticed a white face peering back at him from the window.

Jack bolted up and, his heart hammering, threw his pillow at the face. It smacked uselessly against the window pane, but the face jumped and toppled backward into the bushes. Recognition set in with a definitive click, and he remembered to breathe. Branches scratched against the siding as someone struggled in the bushes. Jack unlatched the window and leaned out.

“What the fuck? Were you watching me sleep?” he hissed.

“You didn’t give me a chance to knock,” Lucien said. He tried to sit up, but his scarf caught on a branch. “I could use some assistance…”

Jack no longer paid attention; he was dressed in nothing but a T-shirt and boxers, and he had no desire for Lucien to see his chest a second time. He snatched an oversized hoodie from his laundry basket and tugged it over his head. Lucien clambered in through the open window.

“Sorry, I couldn’t wait until Monday to—” Lucien broke off, cocking his head for a better look at him. “What happened to your face?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jack demanded. “My parents are going to kill us if they find out! My dad’s in the next room, and if he sees you in here he’ll—”

“I’ll be quiet. They won’t even know I’m here.”

“Are you insane?”

“Clearly,” Lucien said with a grin. “I turned you down the other day, didn’t I?”

“I—what?”

“I wanted to apologize.”

“Oh.”

“It’s understandable if you’re still angry with me, but I was hoping that…” Lucien trailed off, looking at him in earnest. He was thinner than usual, with dark shadows beneath his eyes and a new hollowness in his cheeks. Jack was no stranger to malnourishment himself and felt a pang of concern. Lucien met his gaze and tentatively extended a hand. “Can you forgive me?” he asked.

Jack blushed. He entwined their fingers and looked away, heat rising in his cheeks. Lucien’s skin was warm despite the chill outside. “I was a jerk too,” Jack said. “I’m sorry I—”

“You don’t need to apologize for anything. It was my fault entirely.”

“Hold on, wait a minute. I’m trying to… Shit, I don’t know how to say it. Give me a second.”

“Okay.”

“It’s just, I get…nervous…easily? I don’t know how else to describe it.

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