Cold Autumn Air

I. Welcome Home

The cold mountain air made Catalin shiver. It's been a long time since he last set foot in this old town. He grabbed his bag and hurried inside the house, looking behind him every few seconds, worried some neighbour was going to stop him and ask him whose kid he is.

Scott, his father, chuckled and followed him inside. He was glad his boy was back home and safe. Not with his wife, that slimy egomaniac and her stupid boyfriend, stressing him out to no end, complaining about every little thing he did. Were they gonna hear from him.

"Wanna see your room, love?" Scott asked as he ruffled his son's hair. "I tried making it look like your old one... you know, before the uhh..." he trailed off not knowing how to continue his sentence. Cata looked at his dad and smiled before nodding. The man smiled back and led him upstairs to a spacious room decorated with band posters random news articles about music and small personal artifacts.

Cata paced around the room with a huge smile plastered on his face. He turned to his father and left out a small giggle.

"Did you save the actual posters?" he asked as he hugged his dad tightly. The man chuckled and hugged him back.

"Well you really loved your old room, so I thought I'd try to make this one as cozy. You know, as a welcome back gift." he said, glad his son was happy.

The teenager continued to pace around the room, looking at everything and smiling, until he noticed a glass door leading to the balcony. Scott noticed him staying there completely motionless and he approached him slowly. He put his hands on Catalin's shoulders and asked him what was bothering him. Cata looked at him forcing a smile and shook his head.

"I'm fine, just... we have a balcony now, wow... that's uh, that's really cool." he said trying to hide his discomfort. Scott saw right through that, it didn't really work.

"Well, I know that you stay up 'till morning and that you love watching the sunrise, so I thought you migh like a room with a balcony." he said, smiling awkwardly in a sad attempt at lightening the mood. Cata smiled at him and pushed away the horror movie-esque scenarios he had started thinking about.

"Thanks dad. Y'know, mum and John would've just let me sleep on the couch." Cata laughed at that and Scott joined him, forcing a chuckle. His ex would certainly get a piece of his mind.

"I'm glad you like it, love. I need to go do some stuff but if you need something just tell me, aye?" he asked as he pulled his son in a quick hug. Cata nodded and let out a small yes, then watched as his father got out of the room and shut the door.

As soon as he left he shut the balcony door, pulled the curtains and hid under the blanket, trying not to think about all of the creepy stories about people waking up to someone or something staring at them through their window, or getting broken into and tortured or raped. He knew that the possibility of that happening was pretty much none but he also knew nothing was trully impossible.

He turned on the TV to watch cartoons and get his mind off his crazy imagination and soon he found himself starting to drift off to sleep. That didn't last long however since his dad called for him downstairs. He jumped out of bed and stumbled around for a few seconds, rubbing his eyes. He dragged himself downstairs, yawning tiredly and propped himself against the doorstep, watching his dad search for something.

The man tossed his clothes everywhere carelessly, muttering curse words to himself as he searched for the thing. As he put his hands on his hips, drawing his breath, he froze in place and then covered his face with his palm, groning slightly.

He turned around to face his son took out his wallet from his left pocket.

"Go and grab some snacks from the store will ya honey? It's still light outside, you should get there and back here before twilight." Scott said as he smiled warmly and handed Cata the money. The teen bit his lower lip and meassured his words, trying to find an excuse not to go.

"I'm not hungry." he said, a bit too eagerly and watched his dad's smile widen.

"Well I am." he said and ruffled the boy's hair. "You'll be fine, I promise" he said before hurrying upstairs. Cata watched him leave and sighed. He put on a jacket and left the house, taking wide and fast steps and keeping his head down, looking at the ground. All he had to do was find the damned store, couldn't be that hard.

He passed by the townspeople trying his best to ignore their stares. It was normal for them to do so, he thought. After all he was a complete stranger in this tiny mountain city. The most interesting thing this time of the year would be the leaves changing colour, so he was a breath of fresh air for the townsfolk. New meat always excited them.

He aproached the tiny supermarket, and started readying himself for the awkward cash register small talk. Snacks were only great when he didn't have to buy them, having a choice always made things so difficult for him. Did he also want beer? Should he call his dad? It's been a while, they haven't had a beer since the divorce, maybe it would be fun.

"You don't seem the type for junk food"

Cata jumped, startled. His heart was racing and he got a bad case of goosebumps and cold seats. The stranger let out a soft chuckle.

"Uhm I am, I'm n-I am..." he stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm not really. Well I mean I am but I try not to, uh it's uh, it's not really good I know but like... it's not like I uh eat a lot u'know I mean... I don't eat everyday I uh..."

"Chill" the stranger said and left. Cata watched him, his heart still beating like he just ran a marathon. That was terrible, he thought as he slammed his palm over his face. "These are much better"

He spun around faster than a beyblade. No one was behind or in front of him. A crinkle made him look at his right hand. A packet of kettle roasted crisps.
"Wh- when did I get those?" he said, his voice getting quieter with each word he said. He shook his head, and entire body by reflex, got two more bags of random snacks and went to the cashier.

The stubby teenage girl looked at him as she chewed her overly sweet smelly gum.
"Want a bag with those?" she asked as she checked each item. He nodded and handed the money. Her chewing was annoying him.

He took the bags and practically ran for the exit. As he did though he noticed the bag... bags, were much heavier. When did he get so much stuff? Did he just turn on auto mode in the store and forget what he did? When did he get home so quick? And why was it so dark already?

"Dad?" he asked as he entered through the door. He put the bags on the floor and went in the living room. Scott was laying on the couch watching TV. He turned around and smiled.
"Ah, there ye are, my wanderin' son. Got caught up on the road, love?" he asked as he grinned.

Cata froze for a second and looked at the clock; 11:47, two hours after he left. The store couldn't be more than 10 minutes away.
"Yeah, I guess I lost track of time." he said with a weak smile."Sorry, I'm just really tired, I think I need to rest."

Scott pet his dark brown hair and laughed.
"Figured, lad. Go an' catch some sleep love, tomorrow we're goin' to sum' ole' mates, ta catch up and shite. Yer gonna need all the energy, trust me."

Cata smiled as Scott patted him on the back and went to pick up the snacks. He climbed to his room and jumped on the bed. As he was on his way to dream land he looked one last time towards the balcony door. He could've sworn he had closed it earlier.