Father

He went into Danny’s room to clean up the wrappers on his bed. Little cretin Anthony thought. As time passed his agitation grew. Maybe he just needed some food. He went into the kitchen and heated himself some lasagna. His mom makes it with those little sausages. Very good stuff. After he was done, he decided to take that shower after all and get all the guck off him. They say the shower is the place you go to get your best ideas. Anthony pictured him and his dad talking. How Anthony wasn’t going to just let him back into his life like nothing had ever happened. His dad crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed. At the end of his thoughts, he told his dad to never talk to him again. He walked away with his chin held up high. It felt good. Let’s just hope Anthony would be able to hold on to that plan. Things tend to get a little muddy in real life. He went into his room and put on some fresh jeans, a t-shirt and a coat. It was eight o’clock. Still had an hour before he was going to leave. Panic started to stir inside of him. What if Vick meant to push him around? Beat him like he did his mother? He didn’t think his dad would do that, but the thought wouldn’t leave his mind. Anthony had started going to the gym about a year ago. Sure, he was showing some progress, but his father was stronger. He hadn’t seen the man in over six years, but Anthony wasn’t stupid enough to think he could pull one over on him. Anthony went to his closet, not to pray, but to grab his little old friend from the back. He took the goblin out of the case and gently put it in his jeans pocket. He put his hand on it and immediately felt better. Like a junkie getting his fix. Anthony laid in his bed and waited for the hour to strike nine. He thought about reading but knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate. He just sat in the dark and stared off into the unknowing peril that awaited him. Nine o’clock had come at last. Anthony felt a lump grow in his stomach as he got up. It wasn’t too late to call it off. But he could not let that happen. He felt a headache submerge into his left temple and his eye started to twitch. That happened at times when he was faced with a dilemma. Sometimes a tasty refreshment helped. He went to the fridge and downed a whole can of Coke Zero. Keep this up and the aspartame would get him for sure. He burped a few mighty big ones which felt good. The agitation did not settle down. It only intensified with each passing minute. The old storage place was about forty-five minutes away by walking so he decided to leave without a second thought. He didn’t want to be around when his mother got home. She would probably be leaving the office around ten and he wanted to make sure he had plenty of time for her not to catch him in the streets. He turned off the lights, locked up and was out the door.