Whore.

Chapter 4: Lines

Etched across Swash's face was the evidence of the mental processes going on as I spoke those last words. First it was shock, then sadness, then horror.

"Oh my God. I killed your parents."
"No, you didn't-"
"I did." He looked pale, almost sick. He shut his eyes tightly. I stared at him, bewildered. I never thought about it that way. Maybe he just wanted his guilt to punish him. Whatever his thought process was, I didn't want to talk about it anymore. The night had already been wasted on dragging out my closet's skeletons. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was 01:33. I had been here for over an hour and all I'd managed to accomplish was puke and cry. I felt pathetic. I looked back at Swash and he was tearing up.

"I'm sorry Michael. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I-" He choked and actually broke down. I was a little confused. All these years I had blamed myself for my parent's death. If I had just stayed home and faced them, they wouldn't have had to go out searching for me. They must have been tired and scared for me. I remembered my mother's face from when I saw her on the news. Her eyes were puffy from crying. Even my father's eyes looked reddened. I remember feeling that I had caused everything. Now Swash believed that if he hadn't caused me to run away, none of it would have happened. I sighed. I was mentally tired. All this blame-taking wasn't going to bring back any of them. At this very moment- I looked at the painting again- at this very canvas, I needed to eat something. As if on cue, my stomach growled. Swash heard it and cleaned his eyes before he got up.

"I'll make you a sandwich."

I made a grunt which was supposed to show my appreciation. I got tired and dizzy. I felt my eyes close. I didn't want to, but I...

The sun burned my face as I woke up in an unfamiliar room. The walls were white with a narrow band of orange at the top and bottom. Both the ceiling and the floor were dark wood. Probably mahogany. Not that I cared at this point. My mouth was dry and I felt groggy. I wet my tongue a bit before I took in my surroundings. I was under a very comfortable duvet. The clock beside the bed said 07:14. I threw the covers off myself as I stumbled out of bed. My shoes were placed together beside my bed and I put them on hurriedly. I walked out of the room into an even brighter living room. The painting on the wall reminded me of where I was. Swash's apartment. I walked to the door to leave but I found a note taped to it.

"Out for my morning run. Eat anything you want from the fridge. I'll bring back breakfast." I read out loud. I tried the door. It was locked. Great. Now I was under house arrest in the home of the man who ruined me. I sighed and walked back to the kitchen. I didn't feel so hungry anymore. Was one of those weird things that I discovered about myself: sleep hungry, wake up okay; sleep with a full stomach, wake up starving. I grabbed a jug of milk and downed it out of the bottle. I momentarily remembered my mother and how she used to complain about my drinking milk from the jug. Well, she wasn't here anymore. I finished the milk and rummaged through the fridge. He had a lot of food for someone who lived alone. I froze.

Did he live alone? What if there was a wife or girlfriend who wasn't around right now? I grabbed a tub of yogurt and a spoon as I began to explore the house. There were a few pictures in the living room. College at some get-together, graduating from college, holding a sports jersey with an old smiling man...I re-examined that picture. The man looked familiar. Maybe I'd seen him before. I moved on to the rooms. My yogurt was half gone at this point. The house had three rooms. One was lived-in and smelled of Swash. The other was the one I just came out of. The third was empty with a bare bed and closet but little else. I was about to walk out when I noticed a child's shoe on the floor. I picked it up.  Did Swash have a kid? I was confused. There had been no pictures of a wife or girlfriend. The shoe was large enough to belong to a four-year-old. I dropped it when I heard the door unlock. I was happy I didn't drop the yogurt instead.