3: Mercury

"You're no damn son of mine." A rage filled masculine voice hollered around the neighborhood. Something which made me stir in my sleep. My ears became alert, and started making out the sounds of feet ascending the stairs.

And then, a door was being jerked open.

"Yeah, the fact that I have your blood running through my veins doesn't make me your son." A much younger masculine voice shouted back in anger.

"Your mother, that skinny bitch should've taken you along with her. You're worthless. Dropped out of school for no good reason."

It was strange, because such hadn't occurred in the neighborhood before. The voices as well.

"How dare you call mom a bitch, when its you who chase after everything in skirts. You can't keep it in your pants. You're a disgrace to fatherhood!" The owner of the much younger voice bellowed at the top of his lungs.

And right at that moment, the sound of fist connecting with flesh could be heard. There was a pause with heavy pants, then sounds of hefty blows being exchanged made it all obvious that these men were fighting.

My eyes lazily fluttered open, and went straight to the wall clock that was hung on my wall.

It wasn't even seven yet, and these unknown men were fighting. Plus I was going to be late for school.

I tumbled off my bed and put my curtains out, just in time to see a man punching a bloodied face boy, through the window opposite mine.

I gasped not because it was a man and his son fighting, but because there was this darkness in a big dark puff, at the top of the boy's head.

It was the boy from yesterday. The one who they had very nearly knock off a kid on the road, and I had made their car snail paced just to save the kid.

When I first clasped my eyes on him, I had seen this same darkness surrounding him. And I couldn't stop staring at him because this darkness formed a pair of twin black holes like eyes, whispered inaudible words to me, and then dispersed from him.

And now, the same thing happened which made the boy who had been punching his dad continually in the face, to halt his fist through half a punch.

I felt my lips flapped opened in shock, because it looked like this boy was being controlled by this darkness that he had no idea of. He looked confused at this, then recoiled steps backwards until he was farther away from his father who was groaning on the floor.

He stared down at his dad in guilt, then looked away from him and raised his eyes up just in time to meet mine.

I felt my lips part in shock, and my heart started slamming in my chest because I just got caught.

The boy narrowed his eyes at me in irritation with his lips thinning, then suddenly, his eyes widened in their sockets when he realized it was me. The girl from yesterday.

Immediately, those eyes of his explained to me that they had seen me before.

Yep. We are now neighbors. The world they say is really a small place.

Just then the unexpected happened, breaking me and this boy from eye contact.

The man from the floor went rushing into him, pounced on him, and swung his fist, hitting the boy directly in the face.

A punch that caught him off guard, and sent him flying to the floor.

This awful sight generated knots that began squeezing themselves tightly in my stomach.

I put blinds back, then stepped out of my room. I couldn't stay there anymore, because the sound of fist continually connecting with body was unbearable. Made me feel uncomfortable.

I walked into the kitchen and saw mom, grumbling as she made coffee from the caffeine maker. She still looked sleepy though, and was letting out muted curses because she needed the coffee to feel human again.

"Good morning, mom." I signed. I didn't even know why I was there. Mom hadn't prepared breakfast. She always drank coffee, before making breakfast.

Guess I didn't want to be in my room, because I hated violence with every of my single pore.

"Morning, Mer. Slept well?" She asked after few seconds, before she raised her fist up to yawn. Then she hugged her self, and rubbed on her arms like she was cold.

I nodded, and  she carried her coffee up, took a sip out from it, then closed her eyes and raised her head up. Letting the coffee sink in to clear her eyes. She always did this because she wasn't a morning person, and needed coffee to jerk the sleep off her eyes.

After taking three sips out of the coffee, she examined my face with a puzzled expression on.

I wanted to ask her what she had seen, when she inquired in a serious tone.

"Honey, what happened to your throat?"

"What do you mean?" I signed, suddenly confused as she was.

"Your throat looks like it got heated by fire." She said, taking a step forward to me with her hands still wrapped around her coffee cup, as she narrowed her eyes to examine my throat. "Your throat looks completely red."

And I stilled at this. Suddenly remembering what had happen last night between me and the evil owl.

"Something flew into my mouth that made me coughed throughout the night." I lied, resting my behind against the kitchen counter, then folded my arms over my chest.

There was no way I would tell her a giant owl came to attack me last night, and burnt my throat with it's eyes. She would think I was becoming mentally unstable, and then demand I go see a therapist.

"Good morning." Dad greeted, making his presence known in the kitchen. I felt grateful for this, because his presence would make mom drop whatever she had to say. Or not.

He was clad in his uniform for the day's work. And he made to kiss mom on the lips, but she pressed her lips tightly together, so the supposed kiss became a peck.

"Morning breath." She told him through a smile. And he inturn, smiled.

My parents loved each other so much, and never seized to display it to themselves. Even in front of we the kids.

"Hey, kiddo." He ruffled my hair, then flung open the doors of the cupboard to bring out bread.

"Did you hear the fights and quarrels between our new neighbors?" I signed, as I watched him spread some jam on the bread.

He nodded. "It seems like a lot is ongoing between father and son."

"Plus the son seems disrespectful. How dare him talk to his own father like that?" Mom supplied, with her hand on her hip, and the other on the counter where I had my back on. She didn't looked pleased.

"I'd have no option but to interfere, if this happens again." Dad said, with a straight face on. Then bit into his bread.

"They just moved in, it's still too early to start interfering." I signed, then bit on my buttom lip.

"Yeah, she's right Cole. And we're still inviting them for dinner, right?" Mom questioned, as she slurped the last of her coffee then proceeded to make breakfast.

"Of course." Came dad's reply, as he munched on his bread.

There was limited noise for a while, with mom preparing breakfast on the stove, and dad eating his bread with his phone right in his face.

I could feel my face forming into a frown when images of the boy's bloodied face flashed through my mind, and then how he had locked his eyes with mine.

"Honey, I think you should go freshen up for school. You're already running late." Mom had instruct when she had looked up to see that I was in the kitchen, still in my wrinkled pajamas and unruly hair. I assume. "And wake up that lazy ass brother of yours." She added when I started ascending the stairs.

I pushed open Elijah's door without knocking, only to see him snuggling on his pillow as he snored.

Clapping my hands next to his ear, he woke up through half a snore with dried saliva plastered at the side of his cheek. Then he stared at me in confusion before returning back to sleep.

This made me pull him hard by the ear, and he bellowed out of shock, and leaped off his bed fully awake.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" He groaned at me, stroking his ear.

"Get your ass ready for school." I signed, then chuckled to myself because he looked like a rat with his hair up.

"Stop being so nosy and get out of my room." He pushed me out, and slammed the door right in my face.

                                 * * *

I was heading towards mom's car, so she could drive me and Elijah to school. Although Elijah was still preparing for school, despite after skipping breakfast.

Apparently, we were going to be late for first period of class today.

I was about hopping into the back seat of the car, because I always reserved the front for Elijah, when my eyes spotted our neighbor. In other words, the boy whose fights with his dad had woken up I and my family.

His face was red and puffy from the punches he had receive from his dad. Sitted on the stairs with his back facing the door that led to the entrance of his house, he looked like he had no care in the world as he smoked cigarettes. His house was just next to mine.

Thankfully, that dark presence wasn't hovering around him this time, and he looked really calm and collected.

His nose that looked freshly broken, started oozing out blood, and it stained his white pajama long sleeve shirt.

He wiped the blood away from his nose with the back of his hand, then took another drag of his cigarette.

I took a hard dry gulp, suddenly feeling pity for him because he looked somewhat sad, and lonely.

He was supposed to be in college right? Because he looked twenty, and his dad had mentioned how he had dropped out of college during their fight this morning.

He probably had his own reasons why he dropped out of college.

As if sensing being watched, he snapped his head at my direction and his eyes briefly connected with mine.

I held captive my inhale because he just caught me staring at him.

He maintained eye contact, as he blew out big white puffs of his cigarettes. Making me to gulp and blink twice, with my hands holding onto the straps of my backpack.

He was tall despite that he wasn't standing, because his long legs made it obvious. He had grey eyes, and despite that his face was puffy from the beatings he had received, I must admit his face was violently handsome. There was nothing soft about it. Everything was hard.

His brown hair was mussy and plentiful of strands fell over his forehead. Troubled grey eyes, slightly high cheek bones, a currently broken nose which looked like it had been broken one too many times. And a hard, unforgiving mouth. He even had a stubble.

"Mer, why are you still outside?" Mom's voice suddenly made me peel my eyes off him, and I turned my head to see her dressed in her official clothings, with a grumbling Elijah who had his head phones around his neck, trailing behind her.

Her eyes narrowed in curiosity, and as if sensing what had happened earlier, she snapped them at the boy who I had been locking eyes with.

"Get in the car, you're already late for school." She directed this statement to me and Elijah inclusive, in a stern voice. But she had her eyes fixated on our new neighbor.

I wondered what was going on in her mind, because the look she had on her face wasn't friendly at all. Worse, the boy was still smoking and blowing big puffs of his cigarette, like he didn't care about her. Something which I knew she would see as disregard.

I looked away then hopped into the backseat on the car. Elijah sat in front. And mom was the last person to get in.