The Bitter Taste

Chapter 6

His mother held out a hand, and Benji reluctantly took it. This was the first time, in a long time, his mother had paid attention to him or given him any affection since his brother's disappearance, and it felt strange to him. It should have been a comfort, but it was as unsettling as the smiles plaguing his life.

She leaned down, the empty smile hanging by a thread, and planted a tender kiss on the top of his small forehead.

"Let's go home," she whispered softly.

She helped him off the cot and clutched his hand—holding it in her own. They wandered over to the nurse's desk, and she started the process to check him out. Nodding to the nurse after finishing the paperwork, they exited the office, and proceeded into the hall.

"Thank you, Mom," he said, his voice faint. The thoughts of the creature still occupied his mind, but his mother pushed them away with her next comment.

"I didn't want to lose you, too," she said, surprising him.

"What?" he asked confused, unsure if he heard her right or not. He blinked his blue eyes, waiting for a response.

"I had to pick up Noah the day he—" she paused once more, her words no longer belonging to her. "Disappeared."

"What was wrong?" he asked as they exited the orange doors of the school and walked down the short grey steps.

"We don't talk about that," she said lightly, her voice hollow and her mind a million miles away.

"But you said you had to pick up Noah, and something had to have been—" she interrupted his small plea.

"We don't talk about it!" she shouted; her voice shrill as she took the keys out of her blue jacket pocket and wandered over to the grey car parked diagonally in the crisp white lines.

He wanted to understand what happened the day his brother disappeared, but his mother was more than unwilling to tell him. It was the same thing as usual and he wished he could take the words out of the air.

Benji sealed his mouth, scared if he continued to speak, he would upset his mother further. Walking toward the car, he noticed a yellow piece of wrapped candy sitting perfectly on the car's hood. It defied gravity and the circle did not move. His mother opened the driver's door, and slammed it, settling into the car. The candy stayed standing.

He stared off into the distance, looking toward the woods hanging behind the school. Something called to him, it was similar to the nag he felt in his dreams, but this was more of a desire and it wanted him to go into those woods.

He turned back to the car, remembering the candy, and jolted, hoping it was still there. It wasn't. It was gone.

Stunned, he wanted to make sure the creature he saw earlier was nowhere in sight. Looking to the left, then to the right. Though, he did not dare peek back into the woods to see if it was lurking behind him. A whisper sounded, daring him to glimpse.

Moving without his consent, he faced the woods. Luckily, the creature was not present. He was faced with the rustle of the trees swaying with the wind.

Sighing, he opened the back door, and got in, buckling his seat belt as his mother switched on the car— starting it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her in a small voice, before staring out the window, looking at the tall school perched over them.

She sighed, pressed her hands to the steering wheel, and inspected the rearview mirror, staring at the son she was afraid to lose. "Benji, I'm sorry, too," she said, her voice breaking, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she wiped them away. "I miss him, you know?"