Eternal: The Nephilim's Love Story Box Set

Chapter 3

Chapter 3Modern Day

Eli turned the corner, stopped on Joshua’s instruction, then parked the car. The clapboard houses stood apart from each other, separated by brown, weedy patches of grass.

“That’s the place I’m staying,” Joshua said. “Thanks for the ride.”

Eli stared at the house without saying a word.

Looks abandoned. Like a place a homeless person would stay.

Joshua continued, “I guess you’ll never tell me how your blood got on the jacket but you seem okay,”

Eli nodded, bit his lip, and waited to gather his thoughts as he ignored Joshua’s question. He wanted to scratch the wound that healed a few hours ago but he didn’t want Joshua to know that a bullet pierced through his arm. A clean shot that went through the muscle that would have landed any human in a hospital was now just an itch.

But I’m not all human, am I? My absent father made sure of that.

“Hey, that guy you were with, he doesn’t live here, does he?”

Joshua’s brow scrunched. Eli noticed the worry line that appeared.

“What’s it to you?”

“I don’t think he’s a good influence. You don’t seem like you should be with him, doing crazy stuff, getting yourself in trouble.”

“Seriously, dude.” Joshua laughed. “Are you some kinda social worker? You’re really young if you are one and if that’s the case, you’re wasting your time. Been through all that, through foster homes and juvenile centers. I’m eighteen and I don’t need your help.”

Eli shook his head. “No. I didn’t mean to be nosy. Completely out of line for me to even say those things. I’m sorry.”

Joshua smiled, started to say something then stopped. “Forget about it. I’ve taken care of myself for a long time. Thanks again,” he whispered.

Joshua stared out through the windshield, then turned the car door, stepped out and headed to the house. Before he started up the car, Eli saw Joshua face his direction and wave. Eli started the car again then watched Joshua as he walked toward the house then sighed.

It’s not him. I’ll have to go back to Cassadaga to talk to that psychic and demand my money back.

* * * *

Joshua pushed the sliding door then squinted. The foreclosed house was dark. He didn’t know how long the last owners lived there before the bank forced them to abandon it. Luckily for Joshua, it was a place to crash with a solid roof over his head. “Sullivan, are you here?”

Joshua walked to the kitchen and saw it empty. Paper plates, pizza boxes, beer cans piled up the garbage. Flies buzzed around. He walked to the bedroom and found his clothes strewn around, his shoes scattered, his pants pockets emptied. The house smelled musty, the windows locked. Luckily, the sleeping bag he had as a kid was still rolled up near a corner.

No sign of Sullivan.

He hung his head low, not sure how what to do next. Sullivan flitted in and out, depending on Sully’s relationship with his stepfather. It seemed that any choice Joshua made always turned out to be the wrong one but at least he didn’t have a stepfather like Sully. The way that Sully told it, the stepfather would yell at him, throw things at him or—as he suspected—hit him. He thought about the dirty mattress he took from the curb from another house that lay on the floor and considered crashing for the night. But this foreclosed house that they broke into several nights ago stood dark, empty. He knew it was a matter of time before someone—anyone—would come by. He couldn’t afford to get in trouble. He wanted to finish high school. He had probably less than ten bucks left from his part-time sub shop job. He couldn’t crash at Andy’s anymore. Maybe he could crash at Kathy’s. Or this other girl that seemed to like him.

They have no clue I like guys.

He wrung his hands, scanned the area then gathered his clothes. He rolled them, put them in a clean garbage bag he found nearby then walked through the sliding door again. He checked his pocket. He still had it: a Ziploc bag with his birth certificate folded, his updated shot record, and a faded photo of his mom and his biological.

Once again he was alone. No Sullivan, no friends. He just needed to last a few more weeks. Finish high school. He just turned eighteen a few months ago and got the state off his back. He was his own man. Homeless, but on his own.

He walked down the street, the trash bag over his shoulder, not sure of his destination. He knew the bus picked up at Orange Avenue so he headed down that way, playing in his mind the events of the last day. By the time he got to Orange two miles later, he stopped.

Parked in the Denny’s parking lot was Eli’s car.

Eli.

He seemed like a nice guy, some social worker wanna be. He looked like a college frat boy.

College.

That was something that Joshua could never even imagine. If he graduated from high school in a few weeks that would be a minor miracle. It was tough, trying to be one step ahead of the foster care system. One step ahead of the bullies at school. He barely made Cs in everything but math. As he stood there lost in thought, Eli walked out of the diner. And stopped. Joshua smiled, watched Eli walk towards his car and lean against it.

Finally, Eli waved him over.

* * * *

The silence between them intruded in his thoughts. They continued to sit here for a few minutes without saying a word. Joshua couldn’t help it. He wanted to say something but nervousness stifled his voice. Instead he pushed the bacon off to the side of the plate. The waitress ignored them both. Only one other customer sat nearby, several booths away.

“Don’t like bacon?”

Oh, thank God, he said something.

“It’s just—well, greasy. Yuck.” Joshua shuddered. “Do you want it, Eli?”

“No, I do not eat any meat,” Eli said in a flat tone.

“What about cheese, dairy? Are you a vegan?” Joshua asked as he picked up the orange juice.

“Yes, nothing from animals.” Eli sighed. “Plants. Everything from plants. That’s what I eat.”

“Have you been a vegan all your life?” Joshua put the fork down and stared into Eli’s eyes. They were an amazing color, bright with no intruding colors or hues in the pupils.

“Yes. I’ve never eaten any animal.”

“Wow, I can’t imagine what’s it like not to have chicken. I love fried chicken, baked chicken, chicken nuggets, chicken strips.” Joshua laughed then gulped water to clear his esophagus of the grease he had swallowed. “What’s your family, like Amish or Muslim or something?”

“Not exactly. My family always believed that it was wrong to kill and eat animals for food. We’ve always had these beliefs.”

Joshua pushed the plate away so full he felt like he could burst through his shorts. He hadn’t even this much in a long time. He couldn’t figure out Eli. But he wanted to.

“So tell me about yourself, Joshua. Why are you living in an abandoned house? Where’s your mother? Your father?”

Joshua hung his head down, sighed, eyeballed the restaurant again. “I lost my mother a couple of years ago. She had a brain aneurysm.” He balled the napkin that lay next to his dirty fork. “Again with these social worker questions,” he whispered. “You’re not from some do-good agency trying to get me off the street are you? Because of that’s the case, I’m leaving.”

Eli smiled. “No. Just curious. That’s all.” Eli paused. “Sorry about your mom. What about your dad?”

Joshua looked down at the edge of the table then started to pick the corner of the Formica that had worn, exposing pen graffiti on the side. “My mom told me my biological lived around here so that’s why we came, looking for him. We didn’t find him. She thinks he wanted to join the military or Peace Corps, or something. She didn’t really know him that long. He was in college, studying nursing or medicine or something like that when they met. I was too young to understand but I guessed he met her on his spring break. They met then she got pregnant with me. She said she didn’t tell him because she didn’t know at that time. I think she only knew him for about a week or so. She saved a couple of postcards he mailed her of Orlando. Well, when we got here, we stayed. When she died, I was placed in foster homes from when I was fifteen until I turned eighteen.”

“So you’ve been homeless for some time?”

Joshua’s face flushed, his ears warmed, felt hot against his head. He felt ashamed and he didn’t like that feeling. He wanted to punch Eli right now. He hated that word “homeless” just as much as he hated the word “homo” or “homosexual.”

Yet all the words were true. And they hurt.

“Thanks for the lunch, I’ll catch you later.” As he stood, Eli’s hand went up to stop him.

“Hey, I did not mean to offend you. I was just concerned. Curious. That’s all.”

Joshua took stock of Eli and sighed.

He sure is hot. Does he know how good looking he is? He must know.

Joshua stepped back, flopped on the booth cushions, and sighed. He wanted to appear like he didn’t care so he sat back in the corner, stretched his legs. Besides, his stuff was in the garbage bag in Eli’s car and he didn’t know what his next step was anyway. His eye itched so he scratched the eyelid for relief as he stared at the parking lot traffic and spoke.

“If you must know,” Joshua whispered. “I could have stayed with my foster parents, even after I turned eighteen. But right after I turned eighteen a few months ago, I told them I was gay and that was it.” Joshua faced Eli again. “They said they didn’t want a fag infecting the other foster kids they wanted to take care of.” Joshua kept on. “What I was doing was sinful. I was going to burn in hell and if I wanted to remain in their house, I had to be straight, get counseling and I’d have to ask for God’s forgiveness.” His eyes misted, then Joshua wiped a small tear, absentmindedly. He slouched on the seat, spread his feet further, accidentally brushing against Eli’s foot though.

Why the f**k am I telling him this?

“I couldn’t do that. I mean I couldn’t stay with them. But I also couldn’t just run away from here. I want to finish high school. I feel I owe that much to Mom. She kept stressing how getting an education is important. She thinks my sperm donor of a father would be proud if I finished high school and went to college. I have to prove to my father—to my whatever—that I’m somebody.” Joshua picked up the spoon next to him, twirled it on the table for a few seconds.

Eli sat silently.

Joshua interrupted the silence. “When my Mom died, I promised her she would be proud of me. And that when I’m able to, to look for my biological father. She always kept busting on me about school and when we had money to go look for him.” Joshua paused. His voice choked, “I’ve been living here, there for a few months now, but I’m going to finish high school. It’s just a few weeks away. I’ll figure a way to go to college. Somehow.”

Eli sat there, lowered his eyes, and in a low voice responded after several seconds of silence passed. “I’m sorry your foster parents did that to you. I can tell you being gay is nothing to be ashamed of. But, you shouldn’t be living on the street.”

Joshua sat there. His tears trailed slowly. He didn’t know what to say and he didn’t know why he couldn’t stop crying. The last few weeks, going to school, sleeping in the woods or a friend’s couch here and there, sneaking into abandoned for foreclosed homes with Sully trying to earn money at the sub shop had been too much.

Eli sat still, half-smiled before he continued. “One day you’ll see it the way I see it.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “We’re all God’s children.” The stillness ended when glasses fell in the kitchen, shattering as some diners clapped.

Eli then waved at the waitress, pointed to his glass. “More water, please!” he mouthed. He grunted. “Finally she sees me!”

Joshua grabbed some napkins and dried his eyes then got up, swallowed hard to clear the phlegm that collected and forced himself to say something. “Going to the restroom,” he mumbled. Eli nodded, grabbed an electronic tablet from his satchel, which he turned on.

Joshua didn’t let Eli wait long. After he blew his nose in the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror, combed his light brown hair.

Pull yourself together, dude.

When Joshua returned, Eli’s shoulders hunched over the table, his elbows propped his face as he scrolled with his fingers on the mobile screen

“Checking email?” asked Joshua.

“No. I wanted to check something out.”

“Are you lost?” asked Joshua, feigning a smile as his voice cracked. His tone lighter now as he tried to force his anger from earlier back into the emotional abyss. “Okay that was stupid. You’re obviously not lost.”

“If you must know, someone told me to be at the cul-de-sac where you almost got killed. This person told me that when the full moon came out, I would have my answer. Instead, I found a crime being committed on that street where I found you—stealing—I might add.” Eli’s shook his head, grumbling as he prattled. “And I thought she was gifted like the ones I’ve known. I’ve never been wrong about mediums before. So either she misinterpreted or worse—she lied,” said Eli. “She told me that the answer—the clue to finding someone, not you—was to be there. That night.”

Joshua smiled. “Lucky for me you were.”

Oh my God. Did I just hit on him?

Eli didn’t respond so Joshua cleared his throat of any remaining phlegm. “So you were there on that street because some kind of voodoo priestess told you to be there?”

Eli bit his lip, glanced over to Joshua. “She’s not a voodoo priestess.” He laughed quietly. “But, I see your point. She has the ability to communicate with spirits. She told me that the answer I’m looking for starts with me going to that street that night.” He put the tablet in the satchel. “Okay, it shows that her storefront is open until late tonight.”

“You do know what you told me sounds completely f****d up, right?”

“Maybe,” said Eli. “But when you’re looking for someone you’ve lost, who you love more than anything in the world, you’ll do anything. Even if means going to a half-empty subdivision of Florida homes on a dark night to find some kids burglarize a home.”