The Losing Game

iii. the missing boy

          Theo gained full consciousness a few minutes after Tommy walked upstairs. He thought he was dreaming as Nancy Wheeler stood between his legs; her face almost touching his. But the idea it was a dream ended abruptly as she stuck a cotton swab, dripping with alcohol, against his face.

           Neither Theo nor Nancy had any idea what to say to the other. Nancy knew he wasn't okay and how dumb it would be to ask him that. She shifted uncomfortably remembering Steve pouncing onto Theo and swinging repeatedly at the younger sibling's face. She had no idea he was like that. That he was so incredibly violent.

          "We have to stop meeting like this Nancy," He jokes about the last time she was tending to his wounds in the Wheeler's kitchen, "People will start to talk."

          He forces a soft laugh to lighten the mood but it only causes Nancy to tense up more. He's joking about something like this? After what just happened, what he just found out? Nancy's eyes tear away from Theo's wounds as she attempts to locate his own eyes. They are hidden behind his swollen cheeks, leaving nothing but small slits behind.

          Theo lifts one of the arms he was using to lean against and places it on Nancy's shoulder. Her eyes are now glued to his hand. It gives her something to look at other than the destruction done to his face. The two of them stayed in that position for a few seconds before Nancy released a short breath and opened her mouth.

          "I'm sorry," She manages to say while refusing to make eye contact.

          "What? For Steve? Don't be. He isn't a bad guy. This was a one-time thing. He'd never hurt me."

          "It was still wrong," Nancy tried to clarify to the boy.

          Theo doesn't know why he was so adamant about defending Steve. He was a shitty brother. He didn't deserve a girl like Nancy Wheeler.

          "Everyone makes mistakes. I was..losing it and I ended up attacking him first. He was only trying to defend himself."

          Nancy could tell he was trying to convince himself rather than her. She didn't know if she believed him but she knew better than to say anything.

          "Yeah," was the only thing she could respond with.

           The two of them sat in silence for the rest of Nancy's patch job. It was awkward at first but the two of them seemed to find comfort in the serenity that filled the air.

           Steve and his friends came down twenty-ish minutes later. His hand wrapped up tight and stiff, his face only having one bandage. His neck was a bit more bruised, but that was all the damage Theo had done.

         The goon squad was laughing at a joke Tommy had said when the three entered the kitchen. It seemed like they had completely forgotten everything that just happened.

          "Nance, Let's go back upstairs," Steve slightly begged her without giving Theo a second glance.

         She hasn't looked away from Theo's wounds as she tells Steve, "It's late. I should head back home now."

          Tommy and Carol suppressed a laugh under their hands that were affixed to their mouths. Steve nudged them with his elbow before returning his gaze towards the Wheeler girl. It took him a minute to comprehend why Nancy seemed so...annoyed. He then sighed and told Theo to go to his room.

          Theo gripped the countertop as Nancy stepped away from the counter, keeping her head down. He hopped down and made his way past Steve before running up the stairs, hoping to avoid the conversation completely. Whenever Steve started sounding like their father, it was a clear sign to run.