Desolation Row [MxM]

Chapter 11

He hovered over me, pressing me into the mattress with his body and mouthing at my jaw and neck before he moved to kiss me again. His tongue slid into my mouth, rubbing against mine as I tried to arch up into him. It felt like his hands were everywhere, but at the same time it was like he wasn't touching enough.

My movements felt off, and with both of us together, everything was a little uncoordinated. It only made me want to touch him that much more though, trying to keep up as much contact as possible.

By that point, passing out again really wasn't a surprise.

Hangovers were so hard to deal with, especially when they lasted for days. I didn't know if what I was feeling came from the alcohol or whatever drug Joel had given me, but I was irritably, and tired, and I didn't want to deal with anything or anyone.

I had to refrain from sighing when I came home from school one day to find Charlie sitting at the table, the phone held tightly in his hands as he kept his head down. He didn't say anything, even as I came in and shut the door back behind me, moving to walk by him and head to my room. It wasn't until I was at my door that I heard his voice.

“You can't go out anymore.”

I paused, unsure if I had heard him correctly at first before I went back into the living room, standing a few feet from him. “What?”

“You aren't going out anymore,” he repeated, snorting quietly. “And I don't want you talking to those kids you're involved with, either.”

I glared a little at him. “I think I'm old enough to decide for myself what I want to do. And those 'kids' are my friends—”

“They aren't your friends, Victor! They're just a bunch of little drug-addicted assholes!"

“No, they aren't!” I argued, voice raising over Charlie's. Where was this coming from all of a sudden? What gave him the right to decide what was right for me like he was my father? “And I'm not gonna stop talking to them, just because you don't like them! This is the best I've felt in months—”

“Drugs are not the answer to your parents dying!”

I went quiet at that, sneering at Charlie before I shook my head and moved to go back into the hall. “Victor, get back here!” Charlie called out to me, but I ignored him and slammed my door shut instead. I stood there for a second, breathing heavily before going over to my bed and dropping my bag onto the floor, reaching into my pocket to pull my phone out.

To: Joel

From: me

>>Charlie says I can't see you anymore

I sat down on the bed, pulling my legs up to cross them. What right did Charlie have to decide who I associated with. Joel and Brielle weren't drug addicts. They might've done some recreational usage, but that was it. And they were my friends. If they weren't my friends, why would they spend so much time with me? Obviously they must've liked me.

My phone buzzed in my hand, and I expected it to be a response from Joel, but when I looked down I saw Sophie's number lighting up the screen as a call. I debated on ignoring it for a second, then sighed to myself and brought the phone up to my ear, answering it. “What's up?”

Sophie started to respond on her end, then paused and went quiet for a second. “You okay, Vic?”

“I'm fine, but I'm busy. This isn't really a good time. So what is it?”

“I—well, I was just wondering how you were. You haven't answered any of my texts, lately.”

Right. Sophie had texted me several times over the past couple weeks, but I'd found reasons to ignore them. Like homework, sleeping, or being out on the weekends. Before I could reply though, my phone vibrated again, and I pulled back a little to see a text back from Joel. Moving the phone back to my ear, I cleared my throat a little.

“Yeah, I know, look, Soph, I gotta go. I've got a uh, project to do, and I'm really busy, so I'll talk to you later,” I told her.

“Hey, wait, Vic—!” was all she got out before I ended the call, moving the phone down to read Joel's message.

To: me

From: Joel

>>So wat who cares. Fuck him.

I smirked a little at Joel's response. I hadn't expected any other response from him.

Joel didn't care much for Charlie. I suppose the feeling was mutual, as Charlie didn't particularly like Joel and Brielle, either. There were days when I could understand how Joel felt. Charlie could be a little overprotective. Didn't he understand that I had a life that didn't involve him constantly asking me where I was, or how I was doing, or if I was making “smart” decisions?

It'd never been his job to worry about me before, so what, just because my parents weren't in the picture that meant he suddenly had to so overprotective? I felt bad for the children Charlie might've had that could've been biologically his.

Sitting quietly on the bed for a little while, I listened for sounds coming from the living room. For a while it was silent, but after about thirty minutes, I heard the apartment door slam shut, signaling that Charlie had gone to work as I immediately started texting Joel back.

To: Joel

From: me

>>Where are you??