Chapter 8

6 years ago

10 months before

"Last one in the water is a sissy!" Chris cheered before he jumped from the dock, holding his legs against his chest as he jumped into the air and landed in the seawater with a large splash. Melanie was quick to follow but instead of jumping, she went to sit on the wood before slowly lowering herself in the water, panting at how cold the water was.

"The only sissy here is you!" Alyssa called out before she also jumped in, the water making her curly hair almost appear straight. Paxton jumped in as well right after her and immediately swam up to Chris to splash water in his face.

Carter stood with his toes over the edge of the wood but didn't jump in. He stared at the water that hit the side of the dock, splashing up slightly but just enough to make the tips of his toes wet. He was hesitant about jumping in, somehow afraid of the cold and afraid about now being able to swim back up to the surface.

He then felt a presence next to him and he looked up to meet with Josh's blue eyes, which appeared to be an even lighter blue because of the sun shining right into them. A warm hand then grabbed Carter's and Josh looked out on the sea.

"You jump, I jump," Josh quoted Titanic with a smirk on his lips.

"That's really corny," Carter sniggered and also glanced back at the water which sparkled in the sun.

"I like corny," Josh responded and gave Carter's hand a squeeze.

The squeeze in his hand gave Carter a sudden feeling within his stomach, catching himself suddenly smiling. He had noticed that lately, Josh kept making him feel like that whenever he showed affection unexpectedly.

"When I count three, we jump, alright?" Josh spoke and held Carter's hand a little tighter. The two boys looked at the gentle waves and at how their friend played in the water, splashing and swimming around with laughter filling the air.

"One..." Chris went down under and pulled Paxton down by his legs before they both came up a few seconds later, laughing contently. "Two..." Melanie made a somersault in the water and Alyssa tried to copy her movements though she didn't succeed. "Three!" Carter and Josh jumped from the dock into the air, holding each other's hand tightly, before they splashed into the water. They both swam up and Carter gasped for air before he met Josh's eyes upon opening his. Josh then squirted water from his mouth at Carter and he laughed before splashing some water at his friend.

"Happy birthday, Carter," Josh grinned happily at him.

Now

"Could you pass the salt?" Carter's father asked. Carter looked up at his father before grabbing the salt shaker and handing it to his father. He thanked him before pouring some onto his eggs. Today was saturday, and for Carter, it was the last weekend of summer vacation. He wasn't sure if he was nervous or excited for school beginning again. He was excited because he got to go to school with all his old friends again. Though he was also nervous for going to school with all his old friends again. Plus, it was his senior year and he had still no idea what he wanted to do with his life after high school.

He still wasn't even done unpacking all the boxes in his room. He had actually gotten too lazy with the last three and figured he'd unpack them some other day when he felt like it.

"How was being with your friends yesterday?" Carter's mother asked. He looked up at her at the question, not quite sure how to answer it.

"It was nice. A few mixed feeling, but overall it was nice being with everyone again. Everyone really... grew up," Carter answered.

"Well of course they did. Five years is quite a lot if you think about it," Carter's father said before taking a bite of his breakfast.

"Yeah... it is," Carter said softly as he poked his food with his fork, not exactly having an appetite at the moment.

It was then that the doorbell rang and Carter raised from his chair, wondering who it was since he wasn't expecting any visitors, and seeing from the faces of his parents, they weren't expecting any either.

"I'll get it," he said before walking from the kitchen area to the front door. When he opened the wooden door, a tall, dark skinned male with a small afro stood before him.

"Pax? Good morning," Carter said, a tad bit surprised to see him at his doorstep.

"'Morning," Paxton greeted and flashed a faint smile. "Did I come at an inconvenient time?"

Carter gave a quick glance back inside to see his parents looking up to see who had rang the doorbell. "Not exactly. I was just done having breakfast so you're actually just in time," he said. "Why? Is something wrong?" Carter walked outside and closed the door to make the conversation a little more private.

Paxton gave an audible sigh and went to sit on the porch of Carter's house and Carter joined him, looking at him with concern; he didn't look too good. "I fucked up, man," he said and buried his face in his hands. "Chris told me about what had happened last night, and about what I had said to Josh. I didn't remember anything of it, though." He removed his hand from his face but held them under his chin. "What I said was terrible. I feel so horrible about it. I really want to apologize to Josh but he's not in his boat nor at home. I thought he could be with you as well, but he apparently isn't." Paxton let out another sigh and turned to Carter. "...Do you think you could maybe help me out? I need to be back in Hayland in thirty minutes for a dentist appointment which I can't be late for. I've been looking for Josh for nearly an hour now."

Carter chewed the inside of his cheek. Of course he would help Paxton out. Though he just wasn't entirely sure how to. He had to say it directly to Josh himself anyway. "Yeah, sure. I'll help," he replied. "Though you should tell him yourself the next time you see him." He looked up at the blue morning sky, wondering if maybe he was at Alyssa's house or just out to go to the supermarket. It was the weekend so he should be staying in his house with his father today.

"Hey," Carter asked and his eyes traveled back to Paxton. "What did you mean with what you said last night?"

"I was drunk. I probably didn't mean anything with it," Paxton said.

"No, that's not what I meant. You said something about... "daddy issues" and "turning into a monster like your father". What were you referring to?"

Paxton didn't answer the question right away. Carter could tell from the look in his eyes that it wasn't something he could just talk about lightheartedly. "Josh's father has been struggling with drinking problems ever since Josh's mother passed away. Josh is avoiding alcohol because of it. That's all I know, though. It's all he would tell us."

"Drinking problems?" Carter thought back of the time when Steve Marson, Josh's father, suddenly broke out in yelling and got aggressive at the beach barbeque of the Livingstons a few years ago, though he had never really thought about the fact that he had been drinking a lot. It made sense, now that he thought about it.

"I'll try to talk to Josh, okay?" Carter said and patted Paxton's shoulder. At least now he felt that he was finally discovering something more about all that had been going on while he was gone.

+++

Carter had sent a text to Alyssa, asking if Josh was with her while he walked to the house where Josh and his father lived. He still wondered why Josh spent the workdays of the week in his boat, and only the weekends in his house. He actually had already suspected before that his father had drinking problems. Each time Carter had seen him, he either had a beer bottle in his hand or he already reeked of alcohol.

Now that he thought about it, he also hadn't seen Josh's father for five years. He had never really spent any time with him, or actually really talked to him, but he was still Josh's father so he should at least try to get along with him.

He still knew the exact route to Josh's house. It was farther away from the shore than Carter's house and further up the hill. As alway, it was very calm on the streets and the heat almost made it seem as if there were wet, steaming pools on the stone of the ground.

When he arrived at Josh's house, he stopped in his tracks to look up at the house for a moment. It looked like just another normal, wooden house. The curtains were closed yet it had a very "open" feeling to it, just like the other houses in this street.

It was then that he received a text and felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. After getting it out, he saw that Alyssa had replied to him.

No, he isn't here. Why? Did something happen?

Carter's fingers tapped over the screen of his phone to reply to the text, telling her that Paxton wanted to apologize to him but he couldn't find him. When the text was sent, Carter slid his phone back into his pocket and looked back up at the house. Though as he looked up, he saw a figure disappearing from the window and the curtain fell back in front of the window. He frowned and squinted his eyes a bit. "...Josh?"

Carter walked up to the front door, stepping onto the porch and rang the doorbell. He waited right outside the wooden door, holding onto his upper arm with one of his hand as he waited for the door to be opened. After a moment of waiting, Carter grew a little impatient. Someone had to be home. He saw the figure in the window after all. He decided to ring the doorbell again and also knocked onto the door. "Josh? It's me, Carter," he spoke, hoping for the door to be answered.

There was still no answer and the door remained close.

Carter waited for another moment before he realized that the door wasn't going to be answered. He inhaled deeply before turning around, thinking the figure he saw in the window could have been his imagination. Maybe he was going down with a sunstroke.

Though as he was about to walk off the porch, the door got opened and Carter swiftly turned around. In the door stood a man, messy blond hair and rough stupples that covered his jaw and upper lip, and he wore a black button-down shirt and jeans with bare feet. It was Steve Marson; Josh's father.

Carter cleared his throat and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Good morning, Mr. Marson. It's good to nice you again," he said. "I'm sorry to bother you like this, but do you perhaps know where Josh is?" he asked, knowing he sounded rather stiff.

Steve didn't answer right away and almost seemed to examine Carter. Carter couldn't read his expression and wondered if he maybe looked a little strange.

"It's me, Carter, by the way. Carter Raymore. I used to be really good friends with Josh before I moved away."

A light bulb almost seemed to enlighten above Steve's head and Carter could see that he was recognizing him now. Though his expression then turned dismissive.

"Yeah, I remember you," Steve spoke, his voice hoarse. "What do you want from Josh?"

"I just want to deliver a message to him," Carter responded, forcing a small smile on his lips. "A friend of ours said some hurtful things to him yesterday evening when we went out, and he wants to apologize. Though he needs to be somewhere else right now and asked me to tell Josh," he tried to explain the situation, though Steve appeared to be suspicious of him.

"Listen, why don't you stay away from my son. He doesn't need to be around people like you," Steve then spoke.

Carter furrowed his eyebrows, not really sure how to respond to that. "People like...me? What are you talking-"

"Carter?!" A voice was suddenly heard and Carter turned to where the voice came from. His eyes met with those of Josh who was standing a few feet away, his hands holding bags with apparent groceries. He quickly walked up to them, placed the bags in front of the door and grabbed Carter's wrist to pull him along and away from the house.

"Josh!" Carter called out when he was pulled away rather roughly and had to walk in a hurried pace to keep up with the taller blond. When Josh's house was out of sight, he let go of Carter and looked at him angrily.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Josh spoke loudly. "What were you doing there?!"

Carter was surprised and honestly a bit taken aback by Josh's sudden anger, not understanding what he had done wrong. "I was... I was looking for you," he explained. "I needed to talk to you so I went to look you up."

"You could have texted me!" Josh said. He looked at Carter for a moment before stepping away and letting out a frustrated groan. "Just... just don't come to my house ever again, alright? Don't come near my house and don't speak to my father."

"Josh, I don't understand-"

"There is nothing to understand, okay?! Just stay away!" Josh then walked away from Carter, leaving him behind in utter confusion and surprise. He gave a glance at Josh who was storming back to his house and he breathed a bit heavily, leaning against the stone fence as he processed what had just happened.