The Crash Years - Anonymous (to read list .TXT) 📗

Coats had been his rescue for the pack of cigarettes he always carried. Unlike in the summer, only a tight pair of jeans could hold one or two cigarettes at the most.
Two slaps on the face and Denver headed downstairs, where his father would always be, trying to talk some “sense” into him. Denver didn’t care. As long as the pap had his golden boy Milos, that was all he needed.
“I’m going out,” Denver mentioned before opening and slamming the back door. He heard talking outside. Must be Milos and his date. He hadn’t met the girl before. It was their fifth date.
“One, two, three…” Denver mumbled to himself as he stepped down the back porch and began to swiftly walk across the grass.
“What do you mean you’re going out?!” yelled Paps. Denver laughed to himself at the fact that his father pretended to be clueless every single time he went out. He shook his head.
“I’m going out, so what?” Denver glanced back at Paps. Was that a hint of despair in his father’s eyes? Couldn’t be… usually it’s just the mask he puts on in hopes that the family reputation wouldn’t be ruined. Denver took a puff of his cigarette.
“Your college fund, that’s what!” More like family reputation. Whatever. Denver had already seen the empty pregnancy tests in the trash this morning. He wasn’t the only one Dad was going to have to worry about.
“Pfft. What college fund? I’m not going to college.” And with that, Denver walked out of the yard, playing with the spare change in his pocket that he would later use for a drink or two.
However, as he neared the sidewalk, Denver heard the everyday twinge of guilt as his father yelled after him, “you’re ruining this family, Denver!!”
Wouldn’t you know it. But hey, Milos’ date was kind of cute.
ALEXANDER (ALEC) HARRISON @ the Harrison residence
“dont go getting so eddicated that you wont talk to your old frends. I said dont worry I will always keep my old frends even if I can read and rite.”
Alec heard a glass crash down the hall. As an automatic reaction he set down his favorite reading book, Flowers for Algernon, and rushed to see what had happened.
“Tss-oww,” whined Emilie as she glanced up guiltily at her brother Alec. As always, he had gotten there before everyone else. Even with the huge, brand new house, Alec had always remained the same.
Alec looked at the broken shards of what used to be a vase scattered around his sister. Nothing too serious, a bit had sliced open her leg, but the problem was that the house was void of any alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. He gave the parental look that gave the meaning, “you did it again, Emilie?”
“I’ll go get Mum and Dad,” Alec soothed as he darted out of the kitchen and upstairs to tell his parents of what had happened.
“Emilie! What happened sweety?” asked Bebban Harrison. She looked in shock at the amount of broken glass around the kitchen, and gave the “explain every detail” look.
“I wanted that sleepy tea, Mum. I was just getting a mug! But… I grabbed for your vase instead,” replied little Emilie, who tilted her head back down to her bleeding leg in guilt. Bebban continued to comfort Emilie as Marianna, the eldest daughter, went to search for the broom. Adam, the father, swiftly came up to Alec.
“Alec, we need some alcohol for Em’s cut. Do you think you can run down to Oliver’s real quick and ask him for some?” Adam was the main doctor in Nelson. He recently acquired a job there, and was now working with Mr. Hugh Barry. Oliver, who owned the pub down the street, was a family friend.
“Sure Dad,” replied Alec as he ran out of the house, and down the street towards Oliver’s Irish Pub.
DENVER BARRY @ Downtown Nelson – outside of Oliver’s Irish Pub
No doubt, Denver was wasted. It had been hours since his expedition to the pub, and he knew from how cold the pavement was. Oliver kicked him out again after he picked another fight with a man after drinking 16 shots of tequila. It must have been around midnight. He had to get up. He had to go home.
The wall of the pub was useful for keeping the cool ocean air out, but it was also useful for helping drunks get to their feet. In Denver’s case it was the latter. People inside the pub were pointing, laughing as his useless carcass crawled up the wall, slipped, and crawled up again. Finally his fingers grasped what seemed to be a window sill and that kept him from slipping again.
“I can walk…. damnit, I can walk,” slurred Denver as he attempted to take a first step. Like a baby his legs seemed like two uncoordinated stumps of wood that didn’t seem to want to respond to his wishes. Somehow he took another step. It was going to be a long walk home. The door to the pub opened. More humility? Or maybe an invite inside from pity?
“Alright, thanks Oliver,” smiled some stick with a blonde head as he waved his stick arm and hand goodbye to the pub owner. So it was neither. It was just a customer. Denver groaned in hopelessness and the world went black.
ALEC HARRISON @ Downtown Nelson – outside of Oliver’s Irish Pub
“This should be enough for the little miss. Take care, Alec, and make sure to get rid of those vases,” chuckled family friend Oliver as he handed Alec a small bottle of both tonic and tequila. They were samples that would belong on first class in an airplane, but they would do perfectly for Emilie’s cut. Alec nodded in agreement and stepped out into the crisp, cool summer night.
“Alright, thanks Oliver,” Alec smiled as he waved goodbye. He heard someone make a sharp groan to the left of him. Next to his feet collapsed a dark-haired boy, probably about his age. Alec gasped.
“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Alec cradled the boy’s head in his arm and lightly slapped his face. The boy opened his eyes for a second before gasping and coughing in Alec’s face. The sharp stench of tequila and cigarette smoke poisoned his nostrils. Alec hid his face in his sleeve before glancing back up at the pub.
“Hmm,” Alec sighed. This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem for Oliver to handle. Oliver did deal with a lot of drunks, but this was different. Alec had to bring him back to his father.
Along with the tequila and tonic, Alec slugged the dark-haired boy over his shoulder and started walking back to his house. “It’s gonna be alright, mate,” Alec reassured the passed out stranger.
@ the Harrison residence – the next morning
As soon as the sun had risen, Alec was awake. He wasn’t sure as to why, other than being curious of the boy he rescued last night. Perhaps that was the reason, and either way, there wasn’t a chance that Alec was going back to bed anytime soon. He made up his bed and rushed downstairs as slowly as he could.
As Alec came downstairs, he glanced at the couch that Dr. Harrison had set the boy to sleep on last night. It had been covered completely in towels, with a bucket to the side in case the boy needed to throw up any extra tequila. The couch looked the same, the bucket looked the same, and the boy was still in the same position that Dr. Harrison had laid him in last night. Was the boy dead?
“Alec, what are you doing?” asked Dr. Harrison, who suddenly appeared in the chair beside the couch the dark-haired boy was on. Was he in the chair before? If so, Alec completely didn’t notice.
“ I um uh… I couldn’t sleep. Anymore,” stuttered Alec. He rubbed his eyes and tried to collect himself as his dad raised a brow and chuckled. He motioned his hand toward the still available seat in the living room. Alec eyed his father suspiciously, but decided that sitting wouldn’t do so much of harm.
Alec squinted. “He’s not… dead, is he?” Another chuckle from Dr. Harrison.
“No, but you were very right to bring him to me, Alec. From the looks of it, he hasn’t slept in days, and he certainly hasn’t been feeding himself properly. And from the vomit on his face, I’d say he needs a shower. But thank you son, for getting me the alcohol for sister’s cut.”
Alec looked at the boy with the dark hair. He looked so still. The morning sun that shone through the windows made the boy’s hair shine a little. Dark circles encompassed the boy’s eyes, making him look haunted. His slender body seemed to be buried in the couch. The boy’s face looked familiar.
“So how long until he’s up?” asked Alec, completely ignoring the part about Emilie’s cut. A third chuckle from the peanut gallery. The sun began to rise enough that the light would force itself through a window, reflect off the television, and burn into Alec’s eyes. Funny how something so wonderful could be bad, too.
“ I don’t know, son. It could be in a couple of hours. Like I said, he needed a lot of sleep…”
DENVER BARRY @ the Harrison residence
Like always, it began with a searing pain in the head. But as of lately, the head pain would soon be followed by pain from the hollow emptiness of his stomach, and then even worse, the pain of opening up his tired, swollen eyelids.
However, only two of those three pains happened. It was a relief to know that even with the bright sunlight (bright sunlight? That never happened in his room), his eyes didn’t seem to hurt. He began to open them slowly, while also trying to find the connection from his brain telling his arm to block the bright light.
“He’s waking up!” Denver heard the sound of a little girl’s voice whisper. Last time he had checked, Andromeda was certainly older than he was. Thankfully, his arm responded and blocked the sunlight enough for him to squint his eyes open. Then the smell of vomit became apparent. Crap.
The sunlight suddenly became blocked. Was it cloudy outside? Denver had always wished for rain this summer. He loved winter weather. His eyes flew open.
Five blonde-haired faces glanced back down at him. So that was what blocked the sun. He began to look at the faces.
The first was a small girl (probably the one who whispered), who looked over the couch with excited eyes and a toothless grin. She giggled as he winced, trying to get used to the lighting.
Second was probably the mother of the house. She was skinny and petite, and held her composure with a respectful grin that also worked as a warning. Her warning was probably against the tequila vomit from last night, still stuck on his face.
Third was a teenage girl, probably around his age… maybe younger. Unlike the younger girl, this one looked at him in admiration. She was very pretty, but her knowledge in guys like him would ruin her. He laughed silently to himself.
Fourth was the father. He was a very careful-looking man. His brows held the same concentration as his own father’s. Wait. That was the Dr. Adam Harrison that his father worked with. Denver gulped louder than was necessary.
Denver noticed the last person from last night. The supposed stick with blonde hair turned out to be a teenage boy his age. He had never seen him before. Well that was because the Harrisons were new to Nelson. But a stick was a