Before the Car | Escapes #0.5

Chapter 8

"Brayden?"

I stopped walking and turned. Two of my high school classmates were walking towards me. I stopped and let them catch up. From what I remembered, we didn't really run in the same circles. They were the party-boys of my year, but I was the studious guy that stayed home all the time because my dad wouldn't let me hang out with friends after dark - especially ones he didn't know. "Hey," I said when they reached me.

One of them clapped me on the back. "What brings you back here?" he asked. I was pretty sure his name was Matthew. 

"I came back to run my dad's store. That's where I'm coming from. What about you guys? I don't think I've seen you since graduation."

The other one, Chris, I think, held up a paper bag before taking a sip of something. "Wanna come hang out and chat a bit?"

I glanced at the bag and then at him and smiled. "As long as you got some for me."

They laughed and pulled out another bag. I took it and the bottle opener they offered. The top flew off and I took a sip. Beer. I wasn't a fan, but I could tolerate it. "Where we going?"

"We usually hang out around this bus stop up the road," Matthew said, pointing in the direction of Jenny's house. "Plus, if we hang out there long enough, there's this chick that takes the bus super early every morning. We get to see her when she gets on the bus."

Oh, so they were the guys I saw when I worked at the furniture store. "I need to see her, then," I replied. They laughed in a way that made my skin crawl. I checked my phone. It was past midnight and I was walking home since Dad forgot he drove me to the store. "So you guys hang out all night or do you go there early?"

They exchanged a look. "Dude, why would we go to bed just to get up early?" Chris asked. "We just hang out all night. Who day drinks, anyway?"

I forced a laugh. "Good point." Why did I used to hang out with these guys? They were nothing like the guys I remembered. Those other people were nice. Not these. Since when did having fun mean drinking all night long? 

A lot must have happened since high school.

My phone buzzed as we walked. I pulled it from my pocket. My dad, asking where I was. I replied that I met some old friends and that I'd see him at work the next morning. After a few minutes of walking and drinking, he responded. 

You'd better be all there in the morning. I need you to help out Jenny tomorrow.

"Yo, what's up with you?" Chris asked. 

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Someone text you something good?"

"Your girlfriend, right?" Matt tossed out, words slurring. "Bet she's mad you're out so late to check out a chick."

"Just my dad apologizing for not giving me a ride home," I said, which was half true. "Just thinking that it was about time. He insisted we carpool today, and then he forgot about me."

They laughed. Matt held up his beer. "Let me tell you, it's not worth trying to make your folks happy. You'll just end up disappointing them anyway."

Chris nodded. "Found that out the hard way." He tipped his beer at me. "You tried way, way too hard back in high school. Look how it worked out for you. Your dad left you behind."

Way off the mark, but I held up my beer anyway and forced down another gulp of it. I was pretty bad at holding my liquor, and I knew that by the end of the bottle I would be more than tipsy, but they seemed to be priming even more bottles. I eyed the case each of them had sat at their feet inside of the plastic bags.