Casting Bones

Chapter 9 - Part 2

Desi followed Casper home after class, parking behind him in the empty driveway and taking his duffle bag with him as he followed the boy obediently to his front door. Casper didn't make much small talk, so Desi stayed quiet, not wanting to push the boy's buttons when he was already being so generous.

Besides, Desi didn't really want to talk anymore. He didn't want to pretend like things were fine. Like he was fine. What good did it do? It was fucking exhausting. Casper seemed to prefer the silence anyway, which was a refreshing change to Desi usual involuntary need to fill it. There was still a twinge of awkwardness in the air, but he could tell it was only on his side.

His first words since class came after Casper unlocked the front door to his home and lead them inside. "Shit, Cas." Surprise colored Desi sigh as Casper flicked on the entryway light and gave Desi a better look. The house was deceptively small from the outside, but once he'd past the threshold, an open floor plan, minimal decor, and large picture windows that overlooked the backyard, left the space feeling posh and expensive. Casper's always lingering cigarette smell got lost in something stronger, ginger and lemon, which Desi noticed was wafting from an interesting set up of bamboo sticks in a glass vase full of oil at the entrance. The color scheme seemed to be white and wood, with splashes of fresh colors like green and orange.

Desi couldn't help commenting, but managed to avoid the topic of the obvious contrast between Casper and his current setting, opting for something a little less teasing. "I didn't know you were so... well off."

Casper gave a dismissive snort, discarding his messenger bag carelessly onto the floor to shuffle off into the next room. "My parents are." His response made it sound like he'd much prefer the idea of being a struggling artist to a comfortable business major.

Desi tried to follow the boy's lead, but he couldn't bring himself to be quite as careless in the pristine space. He laid his bag down carefully, following into the kitchen. "Eventually theirs becomes ours though." That had meant to be an innocent observation, but a note of bitterness came with it. It all became theirs eventually. The good stuff, like money and success, but also the bad stuff, like trauma, and biases, and struggle. Desi tried to shake that negativity. "What do they do? Your parents?"

Casper looked like he was going to go to the fridge, but passed by it for the coffee machine instead. "My dad is a pilot. My mom is an import coordinator for a bunch of local businesses. They are both out of town a lot with work."

"So it's just you here, usually?" Desi understood now what Casper had meant back in class. They don't care. That must be hard...

He shrugged, but also didn't offer Desi a chance to see his expression. "It's not a big deal. I prefer to be alone." He took a out a mug from the cabinet to prepare it for the coffee. Only one. Desi might have considered it rude from someone else but he had a feeling it was just a force of habit. "Shower's upstairs. On the left. Take as much time as you need. I'll be in my room, down the hall."

Desi took the hint. He went back to the entry and grabbed his bag again, heading upstairs to search for the bathroom.

He took longer than necessary in the shower, but the water was working wonders on his muscles, which he hadn't realized were so tight. That was what five days of sleeping in a car did. The stress he was still neck deep in probably also didn't help. He wasn't sure were his next hot shower could come from, and he found himself desperately savouring the small creature comfort that he'd been going without. It was difficult to leave, but when he was fresh and squeaky clean again, Desi willed himself out of the water, but definitely not before his fingers had shrivelled up to raisins.

He changed his clothes, wrapping up the used ones in his tee shirt to try and keep them separate from the clean, then left his bag in the bathroom to seek out Casper again. When he found him in the room down the hall, just as he'd said, Casper's coffee was already three quarters finished.