Forever (boyxboy)

Chapter 3

"Anna, I told you not to park there! I can't get to the driveway easily!" A gruff, male voice bellowed.

"Could you not see there were no other places to park?" Anna, Isac's mom, retorted.

"Just park around the corner, then! It's easy!"

"Well sorry for not being perfect!"

Isac's throat felt tight. He pulled his legs to his chest and just sat there. They always fought about the most trivial of things. It was like they argued about anything they could find.

"Hey." Isac felt an arm settle on his shoulder. "Are you okay here?"

He bit his lip and turned to Liam. "They're always fighting. I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! They used to never fight! But now they fight about everything! They fight about me, too!" He tucked his head in between his knees and his chest, a growing ball of pain and a sense of guilt welling up in his stomach. "I can't do it anymore." A dark circle appeared on his pantleg.

"Hey. Look at me." Liam cupped Isac's cheek in his hand. His thumb brushed over Isac's cheek, wiping away a tear. There it is again. Isac thought as his stomach did flip-flops. "I know it's not easy now, but things will sort themselves out." Isac smiled thankfully. "You can always come over to my house, you know. My parents love you."

"Do you mind if I spend the night, then?"

"Not at all. We'd better get your stuff."

They spent as little time as they could gathering anything Isac would need: a change of clothes, a sweatshirt, something to sleep in, a toothbrush. And, he brought his sketchbook. You would scarcely find Isac anywhere without his sketchbook.

"Okay, are you ready?" A soft voice asked. Isac suddenly filled with gratitude and fought back the urge to hug his friend,  never to let go.

"Yeah," he croaked. Liam must've heard the need for comforting in Isac's voice, because he decreased the distance between the two of them and pulled Isac into a gentle embrace.

"It'll be okay."

---

Minutes later they quietly slipped out the back door, avoiding the stifling tension between Isac's parents. Isac decided to text them that he would be spending the night with Liam rather than tell them personally; he didn't want to get yelled at in their sour state.

Isac couldn't help but think that his parents' arguing was his fault. They argued about his future, his plans, his decisions. His mother was more liberal, but his dad seemed to have him on a tight leash, monitoring his friends, his activities, the such. He got tired of the absence of privacy.

"Okay, here we are." Liam fished a house key out of his pocket and let them in. They hurried themselves upstairs and Isac dropped his bag. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Just fruit or something is fine."

Liam disappeared, leaving Isac to swim in his own thoughts. Even though he had been in Liam's room billions if times before, it was still exciting to him somehow. His gaze wandered around the room, observing the various knick-knacks and objects that decorated the shelves and the walls. He saw the chunk of wall where Liam had posted all of the doodles and drawings Isac had made for him. A warmth spread from his chest up to his cheeks.

Soon Isac heard muffled footsteps tromping up the carpeted stairs. "We had  oranges." Liam informed.

Isac accepted the tangerine and started to peel it. "Thanks."

"I also got you water, just 'cause."

Isac took the water and placed it beside him. He continued to peel the tangerine until he had a long strip of orange peel in his hand.

"Damn, that really takes skills." Liam said, pointing at the twist of vitamin c.

Isac giggled. "Not really..." To prove a point, Liam held up the many bits and pieces of his orange peel. They both laughed, lightening the mood.

---

After a few hours, light had faded to dark, glistening with stars. The two friends were left tired and worn out from the day.