I'm Going Slightly Mad

Chapter Eleven

Aaron tried to visit his parents as often as possible. It wasn’t anything to do with missing them, or not being used to being out on his own, nothing that sappy or stupid. He visited because they missed him. That was what he told people, at least. They missed him, and he owed them for paying his tuition, his rent, and, well, pretty much all of his other expenses.

People had been telling him he was spoiled since he was a child. He didn’t believe them until he went off to college, and met people whose parents had given them nothing, who’d sent them off and expected them to survive on their own. They spoke of things like student loans and graveyard shift jobs. Aaron didn’t even know what a student loan was, and had never experienced anything besides a high school student’s three to seven workday. So, spoiled? Extremely. But unappreciative? Certainly not. He knew how much he owed his parents, and he was more thankful for them than he could ever hope to express.

In a feeble attempt to show them how thankful he was, how much they meant to him, he visited as often as he could, even though they still lived back in his hometown. Usually, he could only make it on weekends, and he could generally only stay until dinner, but it was something, and he knew it made them happy. Now that school was out, though, he could visit whenever he liked.

Much to his surprise, when he approached his old house, he was greeted by someone he hadn’t seen since he’d started college: his older brother, Caleb.

There was something of an age difference between the brothers; a five year gap that had kept them from getting especially close. Their relationship mainly existed as a rivalry.

Caleb had gotten his masters in philosophy a couple years ago, and had since been working as a student teacher on the subject while he worked on getting his PhD. Their parents were both incredibly proud of him, and Aaron couldn’t help being insanely jealous. Caleb was half the reason he took as many classes as he did, and the entire reason he occasionally studied for exams until he passed out on his desk. What he wanted, more than anything in the world, was to be better than Caleb, and he was going to accomplish that someday, no matter what it took.

“What are you doing here?” Aaron asked, eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you supposed to be at some amazing university?”

Caleb sneered. “Maybe I’m here to be a suck up, same as you.”

“I’m not a suck up,” Aaron insisted, stepping closer ominously. Caleb was one of the few men he was actually taller than, an advantage he lorded over him at every opportunity.

Caleb seemed undeterred. He leaned back, hands on his hips. “No? You aren’t trying to be Ma and Pa’s favorite?”

Aaron smirked. “I don’t have to try.”

“Is that Aaron?” Sonia asked, coming up behind Caleb and trying to peer over his shoulder. Caleb stepped aside, letting her pass. “When did you get here?” Sonia beamed at Aaron. “And how come you didn’t call?”

“I just got here, and I forgot to call,” he explained with a shrug. “When did Caleb get here?”

Caleb had already wandered off, so he couldn’t step in and try to feed Aaron some lie.

Sonia’s face fell, and she hesitated. “Caleb got here about a week ago,” she said, frowning tensely.

Aaron scrunched up his eyebrows, dubious. “Doesn't he have to work?”

Sonia waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll explain later.”

Something was very off, Aaron realized, and he was determined to find out what it was.

***

As the day progressed, Aaron tried to find answers, but no one seemed willing to give them to him.