Not So Funny Punch Line
I woke to an annoying buzzing sound in my ear. Eventually I was able to make out what the sound was; my alarm. I reached over Kip and pressed the big button on the top. Weirdly enough Kip is a heavy sleeper, it take the alarm going off three times before he finally wakes. Well… That or me blowing in his ear. I chuckled drowsily tilting my chin up to look at his face.
He still had slightly chubby checks, showing he was still a kid. His nose was straight and the tip was slightly turned up, his cheek bones were high and his profile was addicting to look at. Straight brown hair that looked black in uncertain light, long eyelashes. I grinned nuzzling into him; he gets his looks from his mom. He says it is annoying to have soft girly features. I think he looks pretty, much more pretty than the annoying girls who hang on me whenever Kip visits my classes.
Kip stirred in his sleep mumbling while he shifted, facing me. I gulped involuntarily, as our faces were so close that our noses were touching and I could feel his breath hot on my skin. “Kip.” I whispered poking him on the chest. “Kip.” I repeated taping his nose. Knowing none of the poking or prodding would work I sat up. Leaning my weight on him I leaned close to his exposed ear and whispered, “Kip.” Popping the P softly so I blew air into his ear.
He groaned pushing me off the bed as he rolled to the other side. “Quin you know I hate when you do that.” He said rubbing his face with one hand.
I whined in protest as I twisted around to see his face. “You knocked me off the bed! My bed!”
Kip looked me up and down with a straight face as if he didn’t hear me. “Well that looks awfully uncomfortable. What‘r’doin’ down there Quin?” His question made my jaw drop. This a smirk broke out on his lips, “I’m just kidding, sorry I threw you off your bed.”
I clamped my jaw shut and just glared at him which was hard because his dark hazel eyes where shinning playfully. “Whatever!” I huffed in defeat as I retreated out of the room and into the bathroom. I started the morning routine my mother oh, so carefully drilled into me with scary stories of teeth rotting out of my face, going baled by seventeen, and having pimples the size of acorns. Of course I didn’t actually believe any of the stories… Much.
I splashed water into my face then took my tooth brush, covered it with toothpaste just in time for Kip to join me. I stuck the tooth brush in my mouth and started to scrub, side stepping the sink so Kip could wash his face. He naturally had a tooth brush at my house since he practically lived here half the time.
“Ey, Ip, oo ou eilvie hu ries om old ss?” I asked around my toothbrush which errand a confused glance from Kip as well as myself. If the question wasn’t in my head I wouldn’t have known what I had said but Kip is so amazing he pulled the words right out of my head.
“Do I believe in the stories your mom told us?” He questioned, and I nodded still brushing my teeth as foamy toothpaste started to bubble at my lips. “Well, it is true all your teeth will fall out if you don’t brush them at least twice a day.” Then he looked at me as I went wide eyed and spit in the sink to clear my mouth.
“T-Twice a day!? I forgot to before bed last night!” I applied more toothpaste to my brush and started scrubbing more, determined to make up for last night.
Kip took a moment to laugh at my distress. Soon he straightened starting to comb his hair back out of his face. “As for the balding at seventeen, I’m sure if you skip combing your hair for a couple of days you won’t bald…” My shoulders sagged before Kip added, “…Until you are twenty.” I looked at him incredulously. Was he serious?
I finished brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth out then took the comb from him so I could fix my hair, or what little hair I had. “So, Um… What about the pimples?” I asked nervously, afraid of the answer.
He glanced sideways at me which made me gulp. “Well.” He said after spitting in the sink and whipping his mouth. “Pimples can get pretty big. Though I can’t say I’ve seen one acorn size. But better safe than sorry, right?” He finished walking out of the bathroom leaving me dumbfound.
“Quincy!” My father yelled up to me from the bottom of the stairs. “We are leaving to drop you off in an hour, get dressed and come down stairs.”
I puffed hotly as I moved from the bathroom back to my bedroom where Kip was already dressing in new clothes. I copied him and snatched some clothes from the closet.
“Wow Quin can you be any slower?” Kip mocked playfully as I lazily pulled on my shirt. Just to mock him back I started to go slower and acted as if I was in those slow motion parts in action movies.
“Yeeessss. Ieee. Caaaaaan.” I slurred slowly prolonging the vowels. Then Kip ruined it by smacking the back of my head.
“Stop goofing off before your father gets impatient and angry.” Kip warned buckling his pants.
“Okay, okay. But I still don’t want to go.” I said as I finished getting dressed.
Kip sighed as he headed out into the hall. “Quin, I think the world knows you don’t want to go to your grandparents house by now.”
I watched him go before sighing. I picked up my bag, his coat and headed out after him turning out the lights as I went.
Breakfast was disappointing and uneventful. Except for all the death glares I shot my parents in the last bit of hope they might let me stay. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain and forty minutes later I was huddled inside Kip’s jacket with my face pressed up against the cold glass waving goodbye, sadly to Kip as he waved back.
Once my dad turned a corner and I could no longer see my best friend, I turned around and crossed my arm over my chest in defiance.
“Quincy, put your seatbelt on before your father gets a ticket.” My mother said sharply; Grumbling I complied.
It was a two hour drive to my grandparent’s house. They lived on the coast, it was beautiful there, wide blue ocean cliffs and rocks to climb on, forests to explore, sunny but not to warm. In the Summer. Right now it was cold, windy and pretty crappie. I sighed drawing circles in the fogged up glass until my father caught me through the rear view mirror. Oops.
“Quincy Wray Faulkner! How many times have I told you to keep your oily fingers off my glass!” My father didn’t shout but his voice was stern enough that he could have.
“Sorry sir.” I replied and continued to sulk. Eventually I started to go through Kip’s coat pockets to see what was in them. Movie tickets from when we went the other week, a half used pack of gum, a couple of sweet looking marbles, a paper clip that was bent out of place, and a wadded up piece of paper that said ‘Don’t forget to call me when you get there.’ I blushed pulling up the collar of Kip’s jacket. He knew I was going to steal it.
“Hey mom…” I trailed off until I knew I had her attention. “May I borrow your cell phone? I wanna call Kip.”
My mom picked up her purse which she had resting at her feet and rummaged through her purse. “Sure honey, here.”
I took the phone thanking her. I dialed in Kip’s phone number because I knew it by heart. It rang twice before he picked up. “I got your note!” I sang happily. “We are about fifteen minutes from Granny and Grandpop’s.” I knew because I started to recognize the streets we were on.
“That’s good.” Kip’s voice sounded from the other end. His voice always sounded slightly gravely over the phone like he had a cold or something. “Are you doing okay?”
I nodded, “Yeah, I’d be better if you were here though.”
“I’m sure. Well, Have fun anyway okay?”
“Hmm, okay I’ll try. Don’t forget me!”
“Quin, it is only five days.”
“I know but that is five days too long.” I heard my father snort.
“Quin you sound like a clingy girlfriend who can’t see her beloved for five days.” My father sounded from the front seat, “Leave Kip alone.”
“I do not!” I protested.
“You do not what?” Kip inquired through the receiver.
“Dad says I sound like a clingy girlfriend.”
I hear Kip laugh on the other end, “Well tell him I don’t mind clingy girlfriends as long as they have short dusty blonde hair, blue eyes and go by the name of Quin.”
I tried to laugh back but it got stuck in my throat. “Mkay. But that’s a bit embarrassing so, no.”
Kip laughed again, “Alright Quin, I gotta go so take care.”
“Okay…” I trailed off. “Kip?”
He mumbled a response to tell me to continue.
“I miss you already.”
“I miss you too Quin.”
“Alright Bye, I guess.”
“Bye, bye.”
I waited until the line went dead before handing off the phone to my mom.
“All done?” She asked softly.
“Yeah, he had to go.” I pouted.
“Don’t worry babe, you’ll see him again he isn’t going anywhere.”
Kip was right, like always. Once I got to my grandparents’ house I forgot that since of longing and that awful feeling in my stomach. My grandparents are pretty cool. They take me places, buy me things and let me eat a lot more sweets then my parents do. But after nine o’clock, all grandpa wants to do is play Scrabble or watch old western movies that are in black and white. Bleck! So I end up in my room, yes I have a room at my grandparents’ house, early with nothing to do but sit there and think how much I miss having Kip with me.
This fun during the day and depression during the night lasted for three days. I couldn’t say I was having a bad time, because I was having fun. Was is the big word. Because by the end of the day I wasn’t have any fun.
My grandfather was chasing me around the living room trying to tickle me when the door bell rang. Grandma was in the kitchen fixing dinner. “I’ll get it!” I chuckled, dashing for the door. I griped the handle and sung the door wide. “Hello…?” I faltered in my open greeting when I was faced with two stoic looking police officers. One, the girl, looked down at me and covered her mouth while giving me a sympathetic look that made my tummy flip over.
“Grandma!” I called nervously over my shoulder. My grandfather came up and gripped my shoulder looking confused followed by my grandma.
“Is there a problem officers?” My grandma was the first to recover.
“Is this the household of Mr. and Mrs. Greg Faulkner?” The male policeman asked.
“Yes it is.” My grandfather replied.
The officers glanced at each other before taking off their hats and placing them on their chests in eerie unison.
My grandma squeaked as her hands flew to her mouth dropping the towel and glass she had in her hand. I didn’t know that was going on but from the looks of my grandparent’s face and their reactions, they had a pretty good idea, and it wasn’t good.
“May we come in?” The female Policeman asked politely.
All my grandfather could do was nod as he gripped my shoulder until it stung and cradled his wife with his other arm. The awkwardness didn’t go away when we all sat in the living room. I sat closest to the hall and grandpa sat between me and grandma, the officers on the chairs which faced us.
The man cleared his throat, than started. “It is with great grievance that my partner and I have come to inform you that your son and his wife were…” He paused glancing at me, “…Murdered approximately six hours ago at the Carter residence.”
My grandma shrieked, “Oh my god!” She sobbed earning a jump from me not because I was just told my parents were murdered, no I couldn’t wrap my head around that yet. I jumped because that is seriously the first time I had ever heard my grandma use profanity of any sort. Then like your milk makes your cereal all soggy if you let it sit too long, everything started to seep in.
He said the Carter residence, Karen, Dale and most importantly Kip. “At the Carters?” I stood visibly trembling.
The female nodded, before the male continued. “Seven hours ago two serial killers broke into the Carter Residents. We don’t know exactly what happened but it ended in six deaths and one mortally wounded.”
Hot, sticky tears started to flow down my cheeks. I started to shake my head furiously. It all had to be a joke. There was six more day until Christmas, it had to be some sick joke. I hadn’t noticed but apparently I had started to scream ‘No’ over and over again. My grandpa tried to bring me into a hug but I pulled away.
“You’re lying!” I choked ripping out of the room and down to the kitchen where the land line was connected. I dropped the phone twice before I was able to put it to my ear and shakily dial Kip’s number. I held my breath but the phone didn’t even ring. It went straight to that stupid automated voice that tells you the phone is either off or disconnected. I dropped the phone and it clattered to the floor quickly followed by me.
A/N: Just had to say that I will probably never put out this many chapters so quickly. I just really got into writing today and couldn’t stop. So I hope you liked this chapter! Don’t be afraid to tell me how you are feeling about it! I’m excited to hear from you! Thanks for reading!
Love, Lost<3
[[-Unedited]]
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