ROTTEN TEETH

1

M looked around as he was dropped off at the old bus stop. He was alone, besides the few other crickets chirping. He shoved his hands into his pockets, huffing as he did so. His mom must of forgot about him. This isn't surprising. She accidentally forgot to pick him up on own of his worst nights in high school also. He adjusted his orange tinged sunglasses, and started walking down the empty sidewalk. He knew the way home. How could he forget? He was only gone for 3 years, not counting the breaks he did come back. He continued walking before he almost stepped in something. How could he miss it? If he was zoning out he would of missed it and screwed something up, but he didn't. What a good boy. M stared down at it and mumbled,"holy fucking shit. What the fuck?"  It was a leg. A freshly severed leg. M being the smart person he is, took a picture of it, before calling the cops. He explained what happened. He stared at the cops blankly once they arrived and once more explained what happened, before just casually walking off again.

The walk to his house only took 30 minutes. Only 30 minutes of walking down empty streets next to the forest. The creepy old forest. Though it would probably be the least of his worries. He saw a leg. That's fucked up. That's really fucked up. Who just leaves a leg, out in the open, where people occasionally walk? Maybe they thought that someone wouldn't see the leg. M stopped and thought for a moment. This was a mystery he wanted to solve. It'd help him help people. He always wants to do that instead of face his own problems. What a people pleaser. He walked inside and his face just lit up as he saw his mom. His mom quickly rushed up and hugged him tightly, almost lifting him up the ground as she did so.

"Mara! You're back earlier," she exclaimed as she stopped hugging him.
M froze as he heard his full name and quietly said,"It's just m, remember? You weren't there at the bus stop like you said you would."

Moms eyes widened and she quickly covered her mouth. She quickly apologized and mumbled something about dinner and swearing she thought M would be back tomorrow. A small smile appeared on M's face and he quickly said,"I'll just be up in my room if you need anything, okay? Goodnight mom. Love ya."

His room was exactly as he left it. Well not exactly it was a bit cleaner. His scented lotions and self care items were neatly organized on one of his few shelves, and gladly none of the lights were out. He always thought the attic was a great place to have a room. Last place a murder could get to. Unless they knew his room was in the attic, then he's screwed. M took off his pastel orange fake letterman and tossed it to the side. He stared in the mirror and hesitantly took off his shirt. Gladly it wasn't the many times where he had to take off another layer. This time he just had to look at the nice scares he managed to get sophomore year of college. Thank god for Internet strangers helping to pay for his surgery. He gently traced one of the scars and stared at the mirror. Was he handsome? Maybe. His hair was a dark brown and his face was decent, he could pass for a human being, and his skin did have a few freckles but he either had too much of a tan, which seemed unlikely because he never went outside and wasn't born pale at all, or his freckles were just too faint. He inspected his body for any new random bruises he may of gotten as he took a nap on the bus, but there were none. Just the same bruises from past memories with the same scars. He never remembered where those came from. M flopped down onto his bed and closed his eyes. For the first thirty minutes, he tossed and turned and threw the blanket off his small bed, before finally falling asleep. It was the best sleep he had gotten in a long time.