FATE

14. Global Warming

JONAH

Breathe...

Sweat trickles down my forehead as I repeatedly hit the bag in quick successions. Anger pulses through my veins. I wish there was a way to permanently let it all out. I wish I could stop feeling this way.

Bam!

Wishes never come true. Nothing ever comes easy. If things worked that way then maybe everyone would finally have what they wanted and the world would be a happier place.

Global warming would be solved.

There would be no wars.

I would have my mom back.

Bash!

However, I wonder if our wishes contradict themselves and that's why we never get what we want. A farmer in Africa could be praying for rain to water his crops and a young girl could be praying for sun to dry her clothes. We all want different things and the universe can't obviously answer everyone.

The bag launches towards me and I grit my teeth as I hit it back. If all I wish for is to be happy and the universe can't give me that, does that mean someone out there is wishing for my sadness?

Light flickers at the corner of my eye and I hold the bouncing bag still as I turn to stare at my phone sitting on my bed. I take off my boxing gloves and walk towards the bed. Picking up the phone and staring it, all thoughts about the universe and how messed up life is are pushed to the back of my mind when I see the name on my screen.

Brooke: Good morning

I think about how there is absolutely nothing good about the morning. It's the same thing that repeats itself every day, there's really nothing special. However, I refrain from typing out those thoughts because they may seem rude. The last time I was 'rude' to Brooke, she ignored me and as cute as I think she looks when she frowns, I did not like the way I felt when I thought she wasn't going to talk to me anymore.

Before I can reply the text and ask if she slept well, there is a knock at my door. The anger in me comes back because I know all too well who it could be.

"What do you want?", I ask when I open the door and find my father's tired looking figure in front of it. There are dark circles under his eyes and wrinkles on his face. He's suffering in one way or another, I can tell, yet I feel nothing though I wonder what could possibly have him like this.

"Can we talk?", His tone is soft, almost inaudible.

"No"

"Jonah please, I'm trying here"

"I don't care!", I snap and the expression on his face is a startled one.

I take a deep breath to calm myself and then I try to close the door but he uses his foot to stop it quickly. If I gave in to the thoughts in my head right now, he would lose that foot.

"Wait, I have something to tell you", he says.

"Make it quick. I have school in an hour"

"Francis is coming to stay for a while"

"What do you mean? What happened?"

He moves his foot away because he has my attention now.

"Your aunt Wendy called. He got into some trouble at school and he's been suspended. She thinks spending some time with you would do him good"

Bloody hell.

"Okay"

I slam the door before he can say anything else and turn my back on it, staring at the hanging punch bag. I wonder what that stupid cousin of mine did now.

***

"Who the hell did that asshole beat up now?", Hailee asks amusingly and I shrug.

"I guess we'll know when he gets here"

"Francis is always doing stupid shit, I swear. I wonder how his mom must be feeling"

"I'll kill him if he made her cry again", I clench my jaw.

My aunt Wendy is my mom's identical twin sister and I remember how hard it was for me when my mom died and she was around a lot. They look so much alike and almost act the same, it's weird.

Francis, her only son and my cousin is only a couple of months older than me. His dad died in the army when he was a kid and Francis has been the most violent person I've known since then. Aunt Wendy never liked his behavior, he always gets in trouble and changes schools a lot. It's one of the reasons they had to leave Boston in the first place. I love my cousin; I mean he is family but imagining my aunt crying over him creates a mental image of my mom that I do not need.

"Anyway, I missed him. When is he coming?", Hailee asks.

"I don't know exactly", I say as we stop in front of my locker and I motion to open it.

"Alright cool"

My eyes glance around the hallway, overlooking the uninteresting students strutting around the sunlit halls. It rests on a girl in a black blouse and a denim jacket with ripped jeans. Her attention is fixed on her two friends as she holds on tightly to her bag. She rolls her eyes playfully before saying something to them. I can't get over how her hair dances around, following the movement of her head as she talks.

"Oh! look, it's Brooke", Hailee says.

"Yeah", my tone is soft. Too soft.

"That friend of hers is weird though"

"Which one?", My eyes leave Brooke and move to Hailee.

"The brunette. I think her name is Carmen"

"Oh yeah, I saw her at a party once", I take a bunch of notes from my locker and a spare pencil in case my boredom pushes me to doodle during class.

"Yeah, she stares weirdly"

I chuckle, "what are you even talking about?"

Hailee pauses, her gaze on Carmen and then she shakes her head, "I don't even know man. Forget it", she shrugs, "I might just be hungry"

"Let's see if we can get you something to eat before class", I close the locker.

"See, this iswhy I love you", she grins, hugging my arm playfully as we walk down thehallway