Promise?

Chapter 5

Lyric remembered once that one of his mother’s boyfriends had asked him why he was always alone. Why did he never have friends to play with? Why was he always inside?

Lyric wasn’t sure how to reply to that. Lyric had always thought that being alone was normal and that he was expected.

Because he was only six, the unknown boyfriend said he'd show him how it wasn't normal. So, he took Lyric by the hand to the town centre. He remembered sitting on one of the benches, ice cream in hand, as said boyfriend pointed out groups of people of all ages and sizes all laughing and talking, and because he was a child, Lyric thought he was helping him.

In reality, that asshole had taught him that he was a freak. He guessed that was one of the reasons he had developed asshole mode because he didn't want to be a freak.

It was weird because Billy had threatened him and said he'd choke him, and Lyric had told him that he would like it. Now, no sane person would say that. Wait, did that mean Lyric was insane? I mean, it would make sense.

It was around three in the morning, and Lyric struggled to breathe. It was only Wednesday night, and he was also starving, which, in all honestly, probably wasn’t helping his asthma. But he couldn't risk taking a cigarette and making it worse, but he couldn't sleep either. It was freezing, and he was cold.

He had missed school yesterday. He just stayed up here. He studied and read a little but mostly slept. During tutor, Claire and her friends came up here. They talked about a lot of random things, and they laughed. It seemed like they were having fun.

However, Lyric noticed one thing. Max. No one besides Claire tried to include him in conversations. But, at the same time, he didn’t talk to them. Was he their friend? You’d think he was. He always hung around them. Lyric didn’t think they minded his presence.

Lyric was brought up, mainly by Claire asking her friends if they'd seen him. Kaito ranted about his annoyance, and Zeke told him to lay off. Lyric didn't think Roland told Claire about what he witnessed, and Lyric still couldn’t get his head around it.

Why not?

He could have labelled him a freak. Well, more than he already was.

Would he use this to blackmail him? But he had no proof Lyric was going to jump. He could have just been looking at the field.

Taking in deep breaths, Lyric tried to control his breathing. It wasn't working. At this rate, he’d need his inhaler or end up in the hospital again. And, with all the bruises covering his body, that was a no-no.

He could try to sleep it all off.

Yeah, that's precisely what he was going to do. He was going to sleep my problems away.

~*~

"Did you really think sleeping would help you breathe?!" Claire yelled, exasperated.

"Yes . . . No. But I was f*****g tired and excuse me for choosing sleep over breathing," Lyric retorted, glaring at her.

Oh, quiet mode was over.

"Nice to see you still have some asshole left in you," Max said. Lyric thought this was the first time he’d seen him speak. Even the others seemed slightly surprised. One thing about him was that he had an eyebrow piercing.

Did that not hurt?

How did he even do that?

"You, my friend, have your priorities straight," Zeke grinned. “You know, because of sleeping away his problems.”

Zeke was also weird; he had blonde hair, but a couple were blood red. At first, Lyric thought he had someone's blood in his hair, but then Claire told him that it was just colouring. Just like she told him, hers was coloured too. Hers was a purple that went blue. Lyric thought a unicorn had s**t on her head. He was sure, in fact.

Lyric took a deep breath, which was hard. "I know, I do. I am not your friend," Lyric spat back, and Zeke rolled his eyes.

"I say we should leave him to rot," Kaito grumbled, and Zeke elbowed him roughly, causing Kaito to smack him.

It was currently break, and Lyric had earphones in; he didn't hear Claire and her friends coming up, and Claire was witnessing him struggling to breathe.

Lyric didn't like having asthma attacks around people.

It made him feel weak. It was weak. He’d been bullied because of his asthma. ‘What do you mean you can’t breathe?’ ‘f*****g freak’, ‘creep’, those were just some of the many things he had been called.

"Just use your inhaler," Roland drawled out as he fiddled with his phone.

"What? Really I hadn't thought of that. Oh. Wait, I did and I've run out."

"Get some f*****g new ones then, don't get pissy at me, you assfuck," Roland snapped back, and Lyric glared at him, and he happily glared back.

"I have to wait until delivery and if I want some from the pharmacy I have to get checked out by the doctor and then I'll get some."

"Go with your mother," Claire said as she zipped up her jacket. Today, she had black contacts, which were freaky because you could not see her pupils.

"She's occupied," Lyric replied dryly.

"Then go with your dad," Zeke said, and he rolled my eyes.

"Ohh, sureee! Let me just go find myself a necromancer and have them raise him from the dead."

"Well, that's one way you could get them," Roland deadpanned, and Lyric glared. He took another deep breath.

"I'll . . . Fine . . . Go," he muttered.

Wow, okay, so he was not okay. If sentences got more challenging, he’d die or pass out in the next twenty minutes. It was a sure sign his oxygen levels were depleting.

"Claire, why are you looking at me like that?" Roland asked dryly. Lyric didn't bother them.

He had to stay conscious.

Just breathe. Wow, no then, Lyric. Let's not breathe.

Oh, god, which mode was he going to go into? He was pretty sure he was displaying signs of all three.

"Because Row, you have a brother who is older than 18," Claire began.

“Yeah, so do you."

"Mine’s at work," she replied quickly.

"What! No way? I am not dragging him into this! He just got out of jail. I'm pretty f*****g sure this is fraud."

"This what? Technically, we haven't done anything yet," Zeke said as he stared at the students below. Lyric watched with him. They all seemed immersed in their conversation. No one looked up.

"Lyric, drink this. It's warm. It should help," Zeke handed Lyric his drink, and he eyed it.

"Is . . . Drugged?" he asked as he eyed it again, also taking a sniff.

It didn't smell drugged, just chocolatey. Of course, even if it were, they wouldn’t say it was drugged, and he was too out of breath to check, so he would ask straightforwardly. Maybe he was becoming slightly delusional with the lack of oxygen.

"No! It's not drugged. What kind of f*****g question is that?" Zeke asked, amused.

"A perfectly reasonable question for someone who's been drugged before," Roland said, and he glared at him and took a sip.

"Row, get Creed here so we can bullshit something and get Lyric his inhaler!" Claire snapped, and Lyric looked up at the mention of my name.

But it seemed like they weren't talking to him, so he continued to watch his legs as he swung them around.

Roland?

Creed?

What kind of names were they?

They were weird. And that was coming from him, and he was named Lyric.

"No! My dad will kill him if he gets his ass thrown in jail again."

"Row, just get his ass here. Your dad likes me! I'll bullshit something up just f*****g help, Lyric, look at him!" Roland rolled his eyes and eyed Lyric up and down. He grumbled something and took his phone out.

Just as he answered his phone, Lyric’s rang. Oh, no. He took a deep breath and answered. "Hello?" he asked quickly, moving my phone away and taking a deep breath. She couldn't hear him wheeze.

"You f*****g bastard!" His mother yelled. "You're a f*****g piece of shit."

"Mom, whatever it is — "

"I am not your mother," she interrupted.

Couldn't she let him finish his sentence?

"Oh, is that your mother? Gimme," Claire snatched my phone from Lyric and began. "Hello! Lyric's mother? Yes, it's Claire. I’m his friend. The thing is, Lyric is having an asthma attack . . . Oh wow. . . Really? Well, f**k you too," Claire hung up and handed Lyric his phone back. "Well, she's . . ."

"A b***h. I know." Was it showing? How paranoid he now was that Claire knew what his home situation was like? No. He was doing fine. This was all fine.

~*~