The Evermore Dissociate(Creek)

0051

With the arrival of the morning skies, came with it the gradual light as it seeped through the curtains. Craig rolled over in his sleep, the sunlight warming his face and eventually waking him up. He groaned the moment his eyes opened, unaccustomed to the brightness and reminded himself to properly close the curtains next time. The scent of burnt bacon met with his nose, waking him up just that extra bit more as he wandered tiredly around his room while getting himself ready for school.

Only as he was leaving his room did his alarm go off on his phone. For the first time ever, Craig was up and ready with about half an hour to spare. Not that he'd want to stick around at home any longer than necessary. His father was likely passed out on the sofa, or perhaps Ruby was causing a scene to get her way as usual. Never the less, Craig pocketed his phone as he headed down the stairs, not bothering to look back as he made his way to the front door, though before he could fully open it, he was interrupted.

"Craig! Could you came into the kitchen for a moment, please?"

He considered leaving, pretending he hadn't heard his mother calling so that he could get out of this place at once. Then she called out his name again, her tone one Craig deemed as unusual, one that made him close the front door and follow through to the kitchen as his mother had wished.

Upon entering, Craig let his bag slip to the ground, out of the way while he silently watched his mother sitting down by the table, still wearing her pyjamas with messy hair. Her expression was worrisome, her hand loosely wrapped around her cup of coffee as she gestured for her son to join her.

"What's up?" Craig asked, hanging back, rather than sitting down.

"Honey please, sit down for a moment would you?"

Being so uncomfortable at how gently his mother was talking to him, he obey, sitting at the opposite side while passively waiting for her to continue. He hadn't heard her speak this way in years, long before his father spiralled out of control, taking her with him. These days she only knew how to shout or scream, to sigh or later alone hold herself back from crying. As he looked her over, he felt his stomach ache at how worn out his mom now looked. Having not paid any attention to her lately, he hadn't noticed how bad things had become for her.

"Earlier this morning, your friend, Tweek's mom called for you," Laura paused, watching her son closely. "He's been in a car accident, Craig."

Taken aback, Craig's neutral expression fell, replaced by disbelief and worry. He wasn't sure what exactly his mom meant, was Tweek hurt? Was he dead? "Wha- where is he?"

"The hospital, they say he hasn't woken up yet." Laura answered, standing from her seat to try and comfort her son, but Craig was faster at standing then she was, he was fast at backing away from her grasp as the adrenaline pumped through his body.

"I need to see him."

"No Craig, he needs his rest and you need to go to school. You can be there for him when he's awake."

"That's bullshit, mom, and you know it is."

"Craig!"

"I'll walk there myself. Either way, I'm going."

"You're not walking." Laura sighed in defeat, pushing her bed hair back as she grabbed ahold of her keys from the table. "I'll drive." Her slippers brushed against the floor as she followed her stubborn son out of the house and to the car where she hurried inside to avoid any of the neighbours seeing her in nothing but her pyjamas.

The ride was uncomfortable to say the least, but Craig kept his focus out of the window, watching the students on their way to school. The ice from last night had melted the most, leaving wet air and clear roads. They'd made it to the hospital within five minutes, the tension thick enough for Craig to begin to leave without so much as a goodbye. That was until for one final time his mother gently spoke his name.

"Hold on a moment, Craig."

Moving his eyes from the car door, over to his mom, he sat back in his seat and listened.

"I feel like now isn't the best time to drop this on you, but I want you to hear this from me. Your father and I are separating." Her words did little to rise some form of emotion from Craig, considering he despised his dad. "Thomas...Thomas has always been a challenging man. When I first met him, it was one of the reasons I fell in love with him. He made me rethink my feelings daily. He was obnoxious and overly confident but I fell for him. And each time I felt like I was done with it all, I just ended up realising I still loved him. But he's not the same man he was back then, you know? And I'm so tired."

"Does Ruby know?"

Nodding her head slowly, Laura closed her eyes. "She's angry with me."

"It's okay, mom." Craig replied as softly as he could, his hand coming to squeeze her older one in a way he hoped would show her that he was there with her throughout this. "We can't help him when he refuses to help himself."

A sad smile found Laura's face as she looked to the young man beside her. The same one who'd no end of times seen the bad side of his father. The same young man she'd felt as though she'd failed from those times she couldn't protect him. But she wanted to protect him now, and as her timid hand squeezed back, she promised herself that from here on out, she'd do just that.