The Invisible Son, Chapter 3

Later that night, Eliza and I decided to go to the town’s annual Thanksgiving Day festivities, always held the night before Thanksgiving in the school gymnasium. Andrew did not want to stay home alone with Dad, so he offered to drive us up and see what was going on for himself.
During the concert, Eliza went to hang out with some of her friends, and I followed Andrew outside to meet up with the guys in the parking lot. After slapping hands and blaming me for breaking up their pick-up game earlier, Andrew pulled out a joint and a lighter.
“Come on, Caleb, after you.”
“No thanks, man, I’m all set.”
“Give me a break, you’re all set. What ever happened to growing up?”
“What ever happened to playing ball?” I asked.
“You’re talking to an MVP and college starter, bud. I turned out all right.”
I could feel all of my friends staring at me, much differently than the idolized gaze they gave my brother. I took the joint from him in the darkness of the parking lot, hearing nothing but the echo of music and voices coming from the gym.

***

When I woke up it was still dark, but I quickly realized that I was lying in the back of Andrew’s car. I squinted, trying to get things in focus, but becoming distracted by the dryness of my mouth. I sat up and got out of the car, nervous and disoriented. I started to walk through the rows of cars towards the school when I saw two figures standing, facing each other underneath the Fire Escape. He had his hands on her hips and was swaying her back and forth as she pulled her hair back and let her arms fall over his.
“I’m sorry, Eliza,” I heard him say.
A knot tied itself tight and settled in the bottom of my stomach.
“I know.”
“That never should’ve happened. Caleb’s such a good kid. A good kid.”
I heard her familiar laugh, which suddenly seemed uncomfortable and strange. “Well maybe,” she said, “I’m not looking for ‘a good kid’ right now.” I stumbled, my knees suddenly weak beneath me, and braced my hands against the hood of a car.
“Then what are you looking for, Eliza?!” I screamed, choking over the words. “A selfish asshole?!”
I heard my name escape from under her breath and saw Andrew turn his back to me, his head down. I was blinking furiously, trying to get things to focus in the dark, but soon I felt the warm tears slipping down my cheeks. “A selfish fucking asshole,” I said, and did not stop running until I reached our front porch steps.

***

I stood up when I saw the lights of Andrew’s car pull in. The driver’s door opened, and
he was already saying, “Caleb, I promise it’s not what you think.”
“What I think? What I THINK?! Like I even know what to think, Andrew!”
“Stop yelling, you’re acting like a little kid.”
At this point there was really nothing I could do but punch him in the face. The crack of his jaw surprised me, and we both took two steps back, me with my hand still in the air and Andrew with his hand on his face.
“There,” he grunted, adding a little laugh. “Feel better?” I glared at him hard in the faint glow from the motion light, shook my head, and ran towards him, making my right shoulder big as I rammed it into his ribs, wrapping my arm around his waist and slamming him into the rough dirt of the driveway.
“ENOUGH!” my father yelled, grabbing us both by the shoulder and pulling us apart. We sat on the ground a few feet from each other and stared up at him.
For a minute it was quiet, aside from our heavy breathing, and then Andrew let out an arrogant chuckle. “I’ve got to get out of here,” he said.
“You, Andrew,” my father said, “left us a long time ago.”

***