The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 33

Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar began blaring out of Josiah’s cellphone, making the twenty-one year old jolt awake. He slapped his hand down on top of the device and snatched it from the bedside table. He didn’t bother checking the caller ID, simply pressed the button to answer it while falling back into the pillows with his eyes closed.

“Hello?” his voice croaked unattractively, but he was too tired to care.

“Hi, baby,” his mother’s cheery morning tone sang through the speaker.

Josiah yawned and put his hand over his face. “Hey, mom. How’s it going?”

“Good, good,” Lanai said. “So what are you doing today?”

The young man pried one of his eyes open and stared across the room to the window. It was bright and sunny out. “I don’t know. I just woke up.”

“It’s nine o’clock,” Lanai stated.

“Yeah,” Josiah drawled, “but I seem to recall that it’s a Friday, so...”

“Don’t give me your sass, young man. Get up and get ready.”

This time both of Josiah’s sage eyes popped open. He stared confusedly up at the ceiling. “What, why?”

“Because you have somewhere to be today. Things to do.”

“Uhm...what might these things be? Where am I going?”

Lanai huffed into the phone. “Get your ass out of bed and put on some clothes, child. You’re driving up to Central Falls.”

“I still don’t understand the why...”

“I saw Carson this morning--”

Josiah’s face scrunched up in annoyance. “Ma, stop it. We’ve talked about this--”

“No we really haven’t, Josiah. You always cut me off before we can,” the woman said, letting her annoyance be heard. Josiah rolled his eyes. “Now listen here, I saw Carson this morning. I stopped in for a coffee on my way to work about an hour ago at Dunkin’ Donuts; he works there.”

Josiah sat up in bed and played his hand through his hair. “That’s great for him.”

“Oh shut up,” Lanai quipped lightly. “Now, I’m sick of listening to you fake your happiness. This is the last weekend before school starts back up and you’re going to come up here and visit Carson. You two really need to talk.”

The twenty-one year old sighed heavily and ruffled his curls. “Ma, I’m not gonna bother him. He doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“I beg to differ on that one,” Lanai said haughtily. “You should have seen that boy. He looked awful, and when he saw me, you’d have thought he’d come face to face with a ghost or somethin’. I bet everything you own that if you went up there right now and tried to talk to him, he would listen.”

Josiah stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. Then he said, “Ma, I just don’t know. He hasn’t returned a single call or text message all summer. I really think he’s done.”

“I’m tellin’ you he’s not, honey. Give it a try.”

The young man shook his head in resignation. “No, I’m just gonna let him be.”

“Boy, I ain’t playing with you,” Lanai abruptly snapped, raising her voice. Josiah’s eyes widened at his mother’s tone; there was nothing in it that left room for argument. “You heard what I said. Now get your ass out of that bed I know you’re still in, and take a shower. You’re going to talk to Carson and you don’t want to be smelling bad or anything.”