What Do You Want From Me?
Victim
Matt Sanders was seated in the same spot he’s sat in for more than three years now for lunch period. It was detached from the general population that were his classmates, and it was just how he liked it. No one really bothered them, except for the occasional teacher that would stroll over and tell his two friends to put out their cigarettes. Other than that, it was semi peaceful, and it was definitely his most favorite time of the day.
Matt could faintly hear the conversation being exchanged between his two friends, Zack and Brian, and what he could hear being said between them was making his mood sink lower and lower by the passing seconds.
“Oh my God, Matt would have barbecued that kid!” Zack, the youngest member of their little group, exclaimed to the other.
“Babe, he would have done way more than that. Did you fucking see the look on his girlfriend’s face? That shit was priceless.” Brian replied, blowing smoke out through his nose as he exchanged the words with his longtime boyfriend.
“Haha, she looked like she was going to crap herself; like Matt would have beaten the shit out of her too or something. Those fucking kids crack me up.”
“Right? Seriously, like--“
“Guy’s,” Matt finally said after sitting there for around five to ten minutes listening to the two men go on and on about the almost fight. “Enough, already. It’s done and over with. We didn’t fight, he walked away, and that’s the end of it.”
Matt turned his head away from the two men, who were now giving him matching confused looks at his behavior, and looked toward where the students were sitting at their tables and eating the disgusting food the school provided for them. His eyes scanned the people, the majority of them being the epitome of what Matt hates; snobby, stuck up, and exactly what you would expect from the kids with more money than they know how to handle. Among them, as Matt started to realize, was one of the girls he’d seen earlier in the day. He’d recalled her name to be Isabel or Izzy or something along the lines of that, and he remembered that this very girl was a friend of the kid he was going to fight’s girlfriend. His eyes eagerly began to search among the other students that Isabel was sitting with, and low and behold, he found his eyes landing on Jessica Flaherty, where they stayed trained for way longer than he would have expected. What was it about this girl that had Matt Sanders looking at her with such esteem? He found himself unable to explain the reasoning behind his sudden curiosity, but continued on looking at the way she sat there writing in a notebook furiously, obviously working on something school-related.
Brian and Zack looked at each other for a moment, realizing their friend had his sights and his mind set elsewhere, and they let their own eyes follow to where Matt was looking. It didn’t take them long to see just what exactly had Matt’s attention, and they both looked back to their friend with disgust written on their faces.
“What the hell are you looking at her for, Matt?” Brian piped up first, leaning over to punch Matt in his shoulder. Matt jumped slightly, before looking at Brian confusedly.
“What?”
“Uhm, hello, we see who and what you’re looking at. We’re not stupid. She’s the fucking devil’s girlfriend, you ass,” Zack said next. Matt grinned a little and shook his head at the over-reactions he was able to pull from his two best friends.
“You guys are such queens,” Matt started to say. “How do you even know who I’m looking at? There’s like, twenty people sitting where I’m looking.”
“Because, you were looking at her earlier too. Do you like this bitch or something?” Brian asked, looking over toward Jessica and her friends again.
“No, I don’t fucking like her. I mean, she’s hot, like really hot. I’d definitely fuck her, but she’s nothing more than a pretty face masking over a stuck-up bitch,” Matt said, sighing toward the end of it for reasons even he wasn’t aware of. Brian and Zack both laughed at Matt’s revelation.
“If I was straight, I guess I’d fuck her too. She’s a cute girl, but like you said, obviously that masks what her true colors are,” Zack agreed, smiling over at Brian who kicked him in his shin for his comment, before smiling back at his boyfriend.
“You two make me sick,” Matt said, laughing at his two friends who were now giving each other puppy dog eyes. Brian and Zack laughed along with him.
The rest of the lunch period was complete with more laughs about random things and small talk, before the bell rang and Brian and Zack headed one way to their class and Matt headed another to his own class.
~*~
School was over no more than three hours later, and it seemed as though Matt, Brian, and Zack were always the first out of building and walking to their cars.
“So, my place, one hour?” Brian asked Matt as he and Zack stood next to his own car.
“Definitely, man. Anything to not have to stay in that hell hole for longer than needed,” Matt replied, smiling at his two friends as they nodded in understanding.
“All right, we’ll see you soon, then,” Brian concluded, getting into the driver’s side of his car while Zack waved and got into the passenger side. Matt bid his farewell and got into his own car.
The stereo system blasted an old Misfits song once Matt started his car, and he smiled faintly and began nodding his head to the beat. He revved the engine with his foot, letting it give off torturous noises that no doubt pumped him up for the ride. He put the gear in reverse after looking for any other oncoming cars or people, and skidded out of his parking spot, the tires making a screeching sound that could send a shiver up any sane person’s spine. Flipping the gear in drive, he sped through the school parking lot, earning gawks from his fellow students as he pulled out and began his journey home.
This part of the day was perhaps the most depressing for Matt. He knew exactly what he was going to walk into the house and see when he arrived, and that was his mother either drinking or already passed out from drinking way more than she should. Considering it was only about 2:00 in the afternoon, it was still considered a bit too early to even be knocking them back. When you’re that much of an alcoholic, like Matt assumed his mother was, any time of day was a good time to start drinking nonstop. He was just glad he only had to stop there to pick up a few things, and then he’d be gone for the rest of the day and possibly the night depending on what the plans were with Brian and Zack.
Upon pulling up in front of his house, he quickly retrieved the key from the ignition and got out. As usual, the front door was already open, like it probably had been all day long, so Matt opened the outside screen and made his way inside. The sight of his mother didn’t surprise him one bit, and Matt thought this fact was the saddest thing ever. She sat on the couch, clad in her pajamas and a robe over top, with a glass of what looked to be a brand of wine sitting half tipped over in her left hand, and the bottle sitting on the table in front of her. She was passed out already, and Matt shook his head at the pitiful image before him. He walked forward and took the glass out of her hand, lest it fall on its own and shatter to hundreds of little pieces, setting it down next to the half empty bottle of wine.
“I can’t fucking take this shit,” Matt whispered to himself. The urges coursing through his system were beginning to get harder and harder to control, and he knew he was getting closer to snapping. This façade of being a strong kid that can take anything was getting thinner by the passing seconds, but for the time being, Matt swallowed it down and began moving back away from his mother and toward the stairs.
He ran up to his room, pushing the door open and walking over to the desk sitting against the furthest wall. He opened one of the drawers and fished through it for the little box he kept that hid stacks of bills as well as drug paraphernalia he would need for later on. He held it in his hand as he left the room and went back down the stairs, not stopping to look at his mother, before exiting the house again and getting back into his car. He placed the box on the seat next to him and started the car back up, just wanting to get as far away from that house as humanly possible; and that’s exactly what he did. As soon as the car was started, he was pulling away from the curb and back on his way to Brian’s house.
Matt barely made it to the main road when he decided it was time to light one up. He reached over to the little box next to him without taking his eyes off the road, basically a pro at doing these kinds of things while driving. He felt the thin paper he was looking for touch his finger tips and he pulled that along with the baggy full of the green herb he’s come to love over the years. Matt knew this would hold him down for if only a little while. It would take his mind off of everything, and that’s exactly what he needed, no matter the pity he took upon himself at how he chose to deal with it.
Matt made a left when the familiar road came into view, and he waited until he was in the clear to make the joint and roll it up. This would definitely take the edge off. Just as he made the move to light it, the sound of a car horn resonated into his ear drums, and he quickly looked up to see he was swerving into the small lane next to his and about to crash head on with the vehicle coming toward him. He threw the blunt down somewhere in front of him, and gripped the steering wheel with both hands, jerking it to the side and slamming his foot down on the break just as his car came to crash into the side of one of the many Hybrid Poplar trees that line down the block.
Matt could faintly hear the conversation being exchanged between his two friends, Zack and Brian, and what he could hear being said between them was making his mood sink lower and lower by the passing seconds.
“Oh my God, Matt would have barbecued that kid!” Zack, the youngest member of their little group, exclaimed to the other.
“Babe, he would have done way more than that. Did you fucking see the look on his girlfriend’s face? That shit was priceless.” Brian replied, blowing smoke out through his nose as he exchanged the words with his longtime boyfriend.
“Haha, she looked like she was going to crap herself; like Matt would have beaten the shit out of her too or something. Those fucking kids crack me up.”
“Right? Seriously, like--“
“Guy’s,” Matt finally said after sitting there for around five to ten minutes listening to the two men go on and on about the almost fight. “Enough, already. It’s done and over with. We didn’t fight, he walked away, and that’s the end of it.”
Matt turned his head away from the two men, who were now giving him matching confused looks at his behavior, and looked toward where the students were sitting at their tables and eating the disgusting food the school provided for them. His eyes scanned the people, the majority of them being the epitome of what Matt hates; snobby, stuck up, and exactly what you would expect from the kids with more money than they know how to handle. Among them, as Matt started to realize, was one of the girls he’d seen earlier in the day. He’d recalled her name to be Isabel or Izzy or something along the lines of that, and he remembered that this very girl was a friend of the kid he was going to fight’s girlfriend. His eyes eagerly began to search among the other students that Isabel was sitting with, and low and behold, he found his eyes landing on Jessica Flaherty, where they stayed trained for way longer than he would have expected. What was it about this girl that had Matt Sanders looking at her with such esteem? He found himself unable to explain the reasoning behind his sudden curiosity, but continued on looking at the way she sat there writing in a notebook furiously, obviously working on something school-related.
Brian and Zack looked at each other for a moment, realizing their friend had his sights and his mind set elsewhere, and they let their own eyes follow to where Matt was looking. It didn’t take them long to see just what exactly had Matt’s attention, and they both looked back to their friend with disgust written on their faces.
“What the hell are you looking at her for, Matt?” Brian piped up first, leaning over to punch Matt in his shoulder. Matt jumped slightly, before looking at Brian confusedly.
“What?”
“Uhm, hello, we see who and what you’re looking at. We’re not stupid. She’s the fucking devil’s girlfriend, you ass,” Zack said next. Matt grinned a little and shook his head at the over-reactions he was able to pull from his two best friends.
“You guys are such queens,” Matt started to say. “How do you even know who I’m looking at? There’s like, twenty people sitting where I’m looking.”
“Because, you were looking at her earlier too. Do you like this bitch or something?” Brian asked, looking over toward Jessica and her friends again.
“No, I don’t fucking like her. I mean, she’s hot, like really hot. I’d definitely fuck her, but she’s nothing more than a pretty face masking over a stuck-up bitch,” Matt said, sighing toward the end of it for reasons even he wasn’t aware of. Brian and Zack both laughed at Matt’s revelation.
“If I was straight, I guess I’d fuck her too. She’s a cute girl, but like you said, obviously that masks what her true colors are,” Zack agreed, smiling over at Brian who kicked him in his shin for his comment, before smiling back at his boyfriend.
“You two make me sick,” Matt said, laughing at his two friends who were now giving each other puppy dog eyes. Brian and Zack laughed along with him.
The rest of the lunch period was complete with more laughs about random things and small talk, before the bell rang and Brian and Zack headed one way to their class and Matt headed another to his own class.
~*~
School was over no more than three hours later, and it seemed as though Matt, Brian, and Zack were always the first out of building and walking to their cars.
“So, my place, one hour?” Brian asked Matt as he and Zack stood next to his own car.
“Definitely, man. Anything to not have to stay in that hell hole for longer than needed,” Matt replied, smiling at his two friends as they nodded in understanding.
“All right, we’ll see you soon, then,” Brian concluded, getting into the driver’s side of his car while Zack waved and got into the passenger side. Matt bid his farewell and got into his own car.
The stereo system blasted an old Misfits song once Matt started his car, and he smiled faintly and began nodding his head to the beat. He revved the engine with his foot, letting it give off torturous noises that no doubt pumped him up for the ride. He put the gear in reverse after looking for any other oncoming cars or people, and skidded out of his parking spot, the tires making a screeching sound that could send a shiver up any sane person’s spine. Flipping the gear in drive, he sped through the school parking lot, earning gawks from his fellow students as he pulled out and began his journey home.
This part of the day was perhaps the most depressing for Matt. He knew exactly what he was going to walk into the house and see when he arrived, and that was his mother either drinking or already passed out from drinking way more than she should. Considering it was only about 2:00 in the afternoon, it was still considered a bit too early to even be knocking them back. When you’re that much of an alcoholic, like Matt assumed his mother was, any time of day was a good time to start drinking nonstop. He was just glad he only had to stop there to pick up a few things, and then he’d be gone for the rest of the day and possibly the night depending on what the plans were with Brian and Zack.
Upon pulling up in front of his house, he quickly retrieved the key from the ignition and got out. As usual, the front door was already open, like it probably had been all day long, so Matt opened the outside screen and made his way inside. The sight of his mother didn’t surprise him one bit, and Matt thought this fact was the saddest thing ever. She sat on the couch, clad in her pajamas and a robe over top, with a glass of what looked to be a brand of wine sitting half tipped over in her left hand, and the bottle sitting on the table in front of her. She was passed out already, and Matt shook his head at the pitiful image before him. He walked forward and took the glass out of her hand, lest it fall on its own and shatter to hundreds of little pieces, setting it down next to the half empty bottle of wine.
“I can’t fucking take this shit,” Matt whispered to himself. The urges coursing through his system were beginning to get harder and harder to control, and he knew he was getting closer to snapping. This façade of being a strong kid that can take anything was getting thinner by the passing seconds, but for the time being, Matt swallowed it down and began moving back away from his mother and toward the stairs.
He ran up to his room, pushing the door open and walking over to the desk sitting against the furthest wall. He opened one of the drawers and fished through it for the little box he kept that hid stacks of bills as well as drug paraphernalia he would need for later on. He held it in his hand as he left the room and went back down the stairs, not stopping to look at his mother, before exiting the house again and getting back into his car. He placed the box on the seat next to him and started the car back up, just wanting to get as far away from that house as humanly possible; and that’s exactly what he did. As soon as the car was started, he was pulling away from the curb and back on his way to Brian’s house.
Matt barely made it to the main road when he decided it was time to light one up. He reached over to the little box next to him without taking his eyes off the road, basically a pro at doing these kinds of things while driving. He felt the thin paper he was looking for touch his finger tips and he pulled that along with the baggy full of the green herb he’s come to love over the years. Matt knew this would hold him down for if only a little while. It would take his mind off of everything, and that’s exactly what he needed, no matter the pity he took upon himself at how he chose to deal with it.
Matt made a left when the familiar road came into view, and he waited until he was in the clear to make the joint and roll it up. This would definitely take the edge off. Just as he made the move to light it, the sound of a car horn resonated into his ear drums, and he quickly looked up to see he was swerving into the small lane next to his and about to crash head on with the vehicle coming toward him. He threw the blunt down somewhere in front of him, and gripped the steering wheel with both hands, jerking it to the side and slamming his foot down on the break just as his car came to crash into the side of one of the many Hybrid Poplar trees that line down the block.
This story is so good! I really hope you'll update this even though it's been a while since the last update ):
3/5/17