Shallow Creek

He retrieved a dustpan and brush and took to his new task, hoping it would lower his heart rate enough that sleep wasn’t completely out of the question.  As he swept the bits of glass into the pan, he wondered if he’d brought this on himself when he complained of boredom.  He yawned long and hard.  Hopefully next time, the excitement would come during the day, after a solid night’s rest.

Chapter 7

Early morning sun streamed through the partially opened blinds in the kitchen.  Brendan’s mom stood by the stove, frying a couple of sausages in a pan.  She turned as Brendan walked to the fridge for a glass of water.

“Did you sleep well after all that excitement last night?” she asked cheerily.

“It was okay,” Brendan lied.  When the morning had finally come, he’d expected to find two holes in the ceiling where his eyes had drilled into the drywall.

“I thought I’d be up all night, but I fell right asleep when I lay down.” She poked at the sizzling sausages with a spatula.  “Your father might be a bit grumpy, though, so watch out.”

Brendan took a gulp of water before putting the glass down on the island counter.

“Oh yeah?  He stay up late watching TV?”  His dad had kept the volume low enough that Brendan couldn’t use that as an excuse for his own insomnia.

“I couldn’t even tell you when he came to bed.” His mom slid the pair of juicy sausages onto a plate with some scrambled eggs.  “I was dead to the world.”

When Brendan made a move for the plate, his mother swiftly pulled it off the counter and wandered back to the bedroom, presumably where his dad was waiting for his breakfast.  He made himself a plate with some of the leftover eggs and a piece of bread that he didn’t even feel like toasting.  The glorious scent of cooked sausages still hung in the air.  Brendan had half a mind to go eat his eggs outside to avoid it, but instead he just stood at the island and inhaled his breakfast.

His mother returned as he rinsed his empty plate into the sink.

“Your father loves those sausages,” she said, carefully plucking the wet plate from his hands.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’re good.”

Ignoring his sarcasm, she added, “I don’t buy them but once a week, just to keep his cholesterol in check.  He’s on medication, you know.”

“I didn’t know that.  Is everything okay?”

“Oh, the doc says he’ll be fine, but he really needs to cut down on the fried foods.”

Considering the food usually served in this house, Brendan wondered if he needed to start making the funeral arrangements, or if Taryn or Grant would handle it.  Thinking of his older siblings brought up a question he had for his mom, one that needed to be asked out of his father’s earshot.

“Where does Taryn live now?”

His mother paused in the process of cleaning his plate.

“Why would you want to know that?” she asked, putting the immaculate plate on a drying rack.

“I haven’t seen her years.  I figure it’s about time I checked up on my sister, see how’s she’s doing.”

His mom turned to face him.  “I know I probably shouldn’t, because I don’t see what good can come of this, but she is family and she’d probably love to see you.”  She shot her bedroom door one more glance before continuing.  “She always had a special place for you, especially after all that came between you and your brother.”

That was news to Brendan.  His older sister had hardly been around at all while he was in high school.  Having a family member who didn’t hate his guts at the time would’ve been nice.

“So where can I find her?”

“Don’t tell your father I told you this.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

His mom then wordlessly jotted down a small map with a house number on it.  Brendan thanked her, but said he could’ve just looked it up on his phone if she’d told him the address.

“It’s more, uh, temporary living structures, more than anything,” she said awkwardly.  “I’m not sure Google would be able to find it.”

“You mean it’s a trailer park?”

“Something like that, yes,” she said quietly.  “Anyway, if that’s what you’re doing, you best be off before your father comes out here.”

He made for the door, grabbing his keys off the old dresser standing guard in the entryway.  Seeing the busted-out window reminded him that he should probably go get some glass on the way back from his sister’s place.  He was sure his old man had a glass cutting tool, so he could probably just get some surplus stock, at least as a temporary fix.

Once in his truck, Brendan reviewed his mom’s map, and then pulled the address up in the GPS app on his phone.  Against all hope, the device pinpointed the location just off a side street on the outskirts of town.  Armed with this information, he pulled out and headed into the seedier part of Shallow Creek.

Chapter 8