The Other Side of Dark

By Alex Gordon

David hadnt felt like his normal self for days. He could not work out why. When David spots a mystery loner by the name of Kelvin David, life being to unravel, where a guide and a black dog appear and lead David into the tragedy of Kelvins life and that of his family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jan 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503500808

Alex Gordon

Alex Gordon is the former sports editor of the Sunday Mail and has run the sports agency 7 Day Press for the past 18 years. He has written many books on Scottish football including The Lisbon Lions: The 40th Anniversary and the autobiographies of Davie Hay, Bertie Auld and Chic Charnley.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Alex Gordon.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2014922621

ISBN:      Hardcover     978-1-5035-0082-2

                Softcover      978-1-5035-0081-5

                eBook           978-1-5035-0080-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/21/2015

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

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CONTENTS

Part I

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Part II

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Three

Part III

Chapter Fifty-Four

Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Three

May the Dark Knights who have

Fallen rest in peace.

PART I

CHAPTER ONE

T HIS HOUSE of wood and steel has played host to much war. The best one that I can remember is when my little sister Anglian lost one of her warpaints that Mum had given her. It was a gift, you know, one of those things that mums do for their youngest. Anyway, my elder sister Ray had taken it without asking, which was an everyday thing in this house. If it was not nailed down or hidden, it was gone; no one and nothing was safe.

When Anglian could not find this warpaint, she did the normal thing, and that was to go out of her room and into the bathroom. It was not there. Then she went back to her room to rip it apart. I mean, wow, by the time she was done, it looked like Hurricane Tracy had missed Darwin and had come to Anglian’s room.

She set off for Mum and Dad’s room with me close behind. I was too late—the ripping had begun. Not a good idea. Before I could stop her, it was too late. I crossed the line where no fifteen-year-old should be. I pushed open the door. I was instantly frozen to the spot at seeing Mum and Dad’s clothing scattered all over the floor, and to make it worse Mum’s favourite peach dress had a big-arse tear up the middle. I looked over to the tallboy. Anglian was opening all of the drawers, pulling anything and everything out and tossing them to the floor.

I was in deep shit. This was going to get me dishes for the next month. I have to do something but what? I thought.

‘Anglian, stop. This is Mum and Dad’s room. What in the hell?’ I screamed.

She stopped and gave me that look that said, ‘You’re the one that should know what’s going on and what is missing’. I had no idea at the time.

‘What in the hell has come over you? You have ripped apart Mum’s room and yours. They are going to be pissed off!’ I said, knowing I was going to get the blame for this mess.

She stopped and said, ‘If it’s not here, it must be in Ray’s room.’

As if I had given Anglian the idea, she ran for the door. I stood there, blocking her, and I wasn’t going to move. She tried to push past me and then kicked me fair in the shins. When that failed to move me, she dug her nails into my arm. I felt the pain and saw that she had drawn blood. OK, now I was pissed, but if I did anything I would be done for. I had to take the pain like a man.

When all of that had failed came the part that every brother hates, and that was the biting. She latched onto my arm where her nails were still embedded. Her teeth were sharp, and to this day, I still have a scar. The pain was too much—I had to let her go.

‘Do you want to start a war?’ I asked as she ran for Ray’s room.

Shit! I have to stop her but how? I started rubbing my arm, feeling the skin she had broken and the dents in my bloody forearm. I just hoped Ray had locked the door. Oh no, Mum had taken the lock off.

I ran to Ray’s room, knowing that I was too late. By the time I got there, Anglian had sounded the drums of war.

My dad told me once that cowards lived longer because they run and hide, so that’s what I did. I couldn’t get to my room fast enough.

I heard the front door open and knew it was only a matter of time before the war to end them all would start. This time, Anglian had gone too far, and it was not going to end with me alive.

Mum and Dad happily yelled out, ‘We’re home.’

I was breaking into cold sweat and to make it worse, I hadn’t done anything wrong—well not this time at least.

I didn’t hear Ray come in, but at that moment, Ray, with absolute rage in her voice, yelled out, ‘David, you pimple! What have you done to my room? I am going to kill you!’

Then Mum yelled at the top of her voice, ‘What in the hell is going on, David Lee Killman?’

When your full name gets used, no words can describe the fear in this house. I would have taken lashing by a whip. Yup, fourteen licks, thank you very much.

Then my door burst open, and Mum spoke first, ‘What the hell—’ then she got cut off by Ray. ‘My room, what have you done?’ Then Dad came in and said, ‘Son, why does every room in the house look like a war zone?’

Before I could get a word in, Hurricane Anglian blew in at a rate of 200 km per hour. She was sobbing and crying and babbling that I had taken her make-up and hidden it somewhere.

Before long, everyone was yelling, bitching, and pointing fingers at one another. I looked for a gap between the bodies and made a beeline for the door and then to my mate John for the night. To this day, I have never asked if my name had being cleared or if Ray handed over the make-up, but it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.

A house is just that—a house, a cold place where there is no one to love and no one there in a way. How can anyone be there? No one talks, brother and sister fight over nothing, and Mum and Dad are only together for the kids. Words like ‘I love you’ are never said, everyone exists in their own world. Then, like a house of cards, the person and the family fall apart. Then years have gone by and no one will put things right. No ‘I am sorry’, no phone calls, no letters, no emails, not even coming over for a beer and a BBQ.

This was a house just filled with dolls in a badly constructed doll’s house that no one played with any more. This family was in danger of becoming that, a house. It took someone very close to my heart to save my family. We would have been done if it wasn’t for him. I will get to this person soon. It’s important to know that this house is now a home: Mum and Dad are happy, and they spend more time together, and Ray, Anglian, and I don’t fight. Well, there are odd little loud words here and there, but that’s it. There is one thing I did have to get used to, and that is an older sister with hugs that will kill a bear.

It’s more than that though. This home is safe, and it will always be here. No doll, no parents saying, ‘I love you’ with pain in their eyes, just love and hope. The good things are Mum’s cooking and Dad’s offhand sayings, and the best thing of all is when Mum leads Dad up a tree and then she cuts it down. Mum is a teacher, and she loves nothing more than putting bait under Dad’s nose and he always bites; like I said, up the tree and Mum would cut it down. It’s something you have to see, and by the end of it, you will be in fits of laughter. Dad always says, ‘That’s why I love your Mum’, and we all love the show.

CHAPTER TWO

T HE PERSON that is close to my heart is named Kelvin Jay Doorson. This is about him, so the world, and I’ll never forget his life and how he became the newest member of my family.

These pages begin with me. My name is David Lee Killman. I am both liked and disliked at school. I have a lot of friends, but I have two best mates John, my partner in crime, and Cory. Who would give a boy’s name to a girl? John and I do all of the pranks at school, and no one is safe from us.

The only prank I will put in these pages is the last one we did. I got the idea from watching Channel Ten late one night; it was a cop show. I saw the copper use pepper spray to bring down a drunken old man, and the old man on the other end of the spray was not too happy about it. He was swearing and crying like a baby and he couldn’t move. But the spray worked. Just think of the kind of fun you could have if you had a can of that stuff.

That did get me thinking about health class in Year Seven and how sensitive bits are below the waist. I went for the pantry and found that Mum had black and white pepper. I chose the white pepper and then I headed for the toilet where I pulled out some paper, dusted the pepper onto it, and left to see what would happen.

Just as I had sat down on the sofa, I heard someone go into the toilet. I looked over to see who had gone in. To my delight, Ray walked out, her face a little red, and it looked like she was a little uncomfortable. I heard Ray say something to Mum, but I didn’t get all of it. I think it began burning down there. I had to hold myself as I ran to my room. Just as I opened the door, I went into a fit of laughter; I almost pissed my pants. Oh the joy of the pepper working its magic. I got to my feet and was in a little pain from laughing so hard. I went back to the toilet to get the paper back so I wouldn’t t get caught.

I sat on my bedroom floor with the pepper paper in hand. I picked up the phone and called John. I told him what I had discovered and done. Then we hatched a plan. John and I were going to hit the teachers’ toilets in the morning. It was silly of that lot to never lock the staff loos. To do this without getting caught was just too easy. A little bit of pepper on the toilet paper would do the job. With John as lookout, I set to work. I can’t remember what day we did this prank.

The last lot of toilet pranks almost did us in. I was in the staff girls’ toilet. I heard the door open. I shut the cubicle door in a panic. When I heard a door close, I opened mine. All clear. I ran like I had a rocket up my arse.

I saw John leaning on the wall next to the toilet door, giggling like a schoolgirl. The bastard had set me up. By the end of the day, the school was alive with people laughing and giggling about teachers not being able to sit still and grabbing themselves in the most inappropriate places. That was a job well done. Hey, Kelvin, did you get a kick out of it?

CHAPTER THREE

N OW THE part when I was an arsehole. If someone was different at school in any way, I would single them out and go in for the kill. Buck-tooth? You know that ad on TV ‘free for free’? That’s what I would say to them.

Bad body odour? In front of the class, I would yell out, ‘Don’t you take a shower? You stink.’ And if you looked gay, mate, I would say things like ‘faggot’ or ‘what are you doing grabbing my ass?’ and ‘what are you looking at, pretty boy?’ and even other worse things. It did get me into a lot of fights at school.

It got to a point where my other friends wouldn’t tell me anything they were talking about, and if I would come up to them to have a chat at that moment, the subject would change or they walked away. If said to my friends, ‘What the hell?’, nothing was ever said in response.

Now I knew I was not an arsehole, and that was a wrong state of mind. I was the arsehole, don’t you see? I didn’t realise it at that time. Even my family was not safe from me. I was half the reason why the home had turned into a house.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names would never hurt me. That is the biggest load of bullshit! Names cannot break bones, but they can break a mind and a person.

If you give a vague description about a person it is hard to know who they are even if you have known them for years.

But if you say their name, you will automatically know who they are and their story. With me, my name will be arsehole even years from now.

Kelvin had been going to my school for over three months I think. I never saw him. Well, I did hear a little bit of gossip that was going around about him, but there was little info on him, just the rumours. One thing that was true, Kelvin would find a spot and hide, and when he got found or chased out, he would find somewhere else to hide.

Cory, John, and I mostly sat under a large oak tree. There was a bench out of the way, and no one sat there till Kelvin found it. The first time I saw Kelvin, he seemed a bit weird. Kelvin never talked and was always trying to hide himself. It just looked like he didn’t belong anywhere.

Kelvin was tall and very white (like a toilet bowl) and his hair was the same. I had never seen hair that white. And he was thin, not a hell of a lot to him. I can never forget those eyes; they were so lost, like a person out in a big blue sea waiting to be rescued. The uniform that Kelvin wore was badly faded, and even the bag he had was second-hand. I know I didn’t get the best of everything, but I always had a new uniform and bag. Didn’t everyone get that? Even the poor kids at least got a new jumper and bag. Not Kelvin.

What got me was that Kelvin had been at our school for three months or more and no one knew a thing about him. It’s like he was dropped out of the sky. If I went to a new school, the first thing I would do was to find out the who’s who of the school and of course find out how much trouble I could get into, and find the hot girls, the normal things. One more thing I would do, just for kicks, I would tell all the boys that I had an elder sister. Why? Well, I love the way she shoots the boys down in a hail of tears. She made them run and cry like little girls. Oh yes, if I was an arsehole, Ray was in a league of her own.

It had been some time since I noticed Kelvin in his new spot. It was odd, some days you would see him and other days he wouldn’t show up. I remember once I didn’t see him for two weeks. I dare not miss a day of school because having a Mum as a teacher can be a pain in the arse, and it’s what she didn’t know that put the fear of God in me.

I asked Cory if she had talked with Kelvin, but apparently, he just kept cutting her off. I didn’t understand; Cory was cute and had boobies … big ones. Kelvin, you could have at least managed a smile or get a good eyeful!

It hurt when Cory would not tell me anymore about what Kelvin had said to her. I remember Cory saying that I was a prick and that a kid like Kelvin did not need my shit. OK, that did burn a little, but I’d look into those green eyes of Cory’s and give up. Only an idiot fights when he knows he can’t win.

CHAPTER FOUR

I SAT DOWN, talking and glancing towards where Kelvin sat, and then I looked down at the ground. I felt someone poking my left side. I looked around. It was Cory, and she was giggling at me. She said, ‘You have been here for weeks, and you have been an arse. What’s up?’

I replied, ‘I do not know. I just like it here, that’s all.’

Cory gave me a smile that always made me melt and blush. Then I went a little shy. Cory put her arm around me and said, ‘It’s kind of cute, you being here with me.’ Then she planted a kiss on my cheek. I didn’t see John, but I did hear him laughing.

‘What are you laughing at?’ I snapped.

‘You, mate. A fire truck, isn’t that red?’ John said, and to make it funnier for John, I got lost in Cory’s eyes. No matter how hard I tried to break free, I couldn’t. Then John lost it and fell to the ground in a fit of laughter. I think he was almost wetting his pants. Cory was also having a good giggle at me, the bitch.

I can remember the day that this happened. I saw Kelvin with tears streaming down his face as he left the main admin building, running back to his spot. Odd, I never noticed a shadow there before. But he was moving to it, making sure that no daylight was touching his body.

Kelvin started to shake, and then he was rocking gently. I don’t know what happened in admin, but it must have been bad. I couldn’t help but stare at Kelvin. What in the hell is wrong with this kid? What in the hell is wrong with me? Why am I staring at him? I thought.

The next few days passed with Kelvin going to the admin office and back to his shadow. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cory and John studying me as if I was a new form of life.

‘What are you two looking at?’ I asked. Cory got right up to my face. I tried not to look into those green eyes of hers.

‘Well, what do we have here? I think it’s David,’ she said in a playful tone.

‘Yes, that is who I am,’ I replied a bit annoyed. Cory tried to make eye contact with me, but I looked the other way till she made me look at her by poking me in the ribs.

‘Well, I like this new person,’ she said and then gave me that smile.

When I got home that night, Mum was making tea and Dad was hiding somewhere in the house. Ray and Anglian were having a good old cat fight. I just went to bed.

As I lay there, the only thing on my mind was Kelvin. To this day, I should have told someone what I had seen. If they didn’t care, I would take a page out of Anglian’s book and slap, bite, and cry to get someone to listen to me.

CHAPTER FIVE

T HE NEXT few days were the worst that I had ever lived.

I saw Kelvin and his shadow—the only friend he could call his own. Kelvin’s trips to admin had been a recess thing and now every break he was up there. What in the hell were they doing up there? Sitting around a campfire, holding hands, and having a good old singalong? I wish it had been that way.

The next morning, Kelvin and his shadow had an argument. Everyone saw it and heard it. I could not make heads or tails of what he was yelling at the shadow. He was pissed off at it, I think.

Some strange person came out of the woodwork and managed to talk him down and gave him a pill. Kelvin did not want to take it, but this person almost rammed it down his throat. Not even a minute later, it put Kelvin on his arse. Then he fell asleep.

I think he spent the rest of the day in the sick bay.

The school came to life with gossip about what happened with Kelvin, and it was ugly. It was like no one had seen the change beforehand. I didn’t feed that unholy gossip machine. When John and Cory would talk about what happened, I would tune out.

I was a little shocked to see Kelvin back at school the following day. The looks that he got and what people were calling him, I do not want to put in these pages, but someone even spat on him. I didn’t do a thing to stop what was happening to Kelvin.

I remember that during lunchtime, I was in my own world, looking at Kelvin. Then it happened, and I tapped Cory on the shoulder and she said, ‘What’s up?’

I mumbled, ‘Over Kelvin’s way’ and pointed to the five kids who had started to pick at Kelvin like a pack of crows, screaming at him. Kelvin got up, but the pack of crows pushed him back down. Kelvin got back up and ran away, crying. The pack of crows, happy with their work, went to find a new victim.

Cory screamed, ‘You pack of dogs!’

I did nothing. I was one of those coward dogs and no better than the crows.

The days that came and passed were a mix of different shades of grey and black, rain and cold. I did not feel like myself at all.

Then the shit really did hit the fan … Thank you, Dad (That was one of his favourite sayings).

This is how it started. When I got to school one morning, Cory and John were waiting for me. I was a little late. As my sisters were getting in the car to go to school, they had a really good cat fight; their faces were still red raw from their nails that they used to wage war on each other. This time, I had no idea what the fight was about. Sisters can be a pain in the arse.

Cory gave me a smile. She simply said, ‘I am glad I’m an only kid.’

I gave her a ‘help me’ look. Then John piped up and said, ‘I have two younger brothers, and they don’t try anything with me.’

‘I know why,’ I said in a smart-arse tone.

John looked at me and said, ‘OK, bitch. Why then?’

I smiled and said, ‘It’s simple. You are a mama’s boy. When the little shits start, you will tell mum.’ It was kind of cute in a weird way to see John go red. Cory and I had a good giggle.

John folded his arms and said, ‘Shut up. It’s not funny.’

Deep down, John knew the truth; he was a mama’s boy, like it or not.

I was too late for home group, so I missed it and ran to class. Maths was first up.

The day passed slower than normal, but when lunchtime came, I passed by the admin building and I heard a lot of noise but could not make it out. The whole ground was full of kids. Not one of us could have guessed what would happen next.

The main entry door to the admin building flew open. Kelvin ran out yelling, ‘You can get fucked!’ The poor bastard didn’t have a chance to finish what the rest of his unhappiness was about.

Then two coppers came out, looked at Kelvin, and said, ‘Now, son, you have to go.’

That just pissed Kelvin right off. He came back at the coppers with a savage scream, ‘Fuck you and piss off. I am not going!’ OK, Kelvin, that did take ball.

So the younger of the two coppers tried to reason with him, but Kelvin was going for gold with the language that you would never use at home, let alone in front of the police. I have to admit I was impressed.

The older copper kept back, smart boy. The younger copper got too close to Kelvin, so Kelvin gave him a bloody good right hook to the policeman’s right cheek. I think everyone heard the crack and saw the blood that the copper spat out. Wow, that looked painful. That was funny.

Then the copper backed off and spat out a tooth. Kelvin kept backing away, but the old copper said, ‘Boy, now you have done it.’

I did not see the other two people come from behind Kelvin, but the copper was moving slowly towards Kelvin, trying to corner him. Like a trapped animal, Kelvin was lashing out in any way he could.

Then the copper stopped and the two others held Kelvin down to the floor. Then the fucking copper put his knee into Kelvin’s back and then he handcuffed him.

I saw someone injecting Kelvin with something, and it knocked him out cold.

All of the students came together in one voice and they were calling the police pigs and told them to fuck off. That’s the one thing I liked the most—when someone screamed out, ‘Weak as piss there, copper!’

I kind of wished that didn’t knock you out. I still do not understand some of the kids that were there. On one hand, they made your life hell and yet, here, they were standing up for you. I don’t get it.

An ambulance came and picked up Kelvin. I had no idea where they were taking him, and they should have put the light and stuff on for him, sending him out like a hero. Then the old bastard of a principal told everyone to go back to class; the show was over. At least Kelvin went down fighting the good fight.

Kelvin you are a dumb bastard. You got a lot of respect for what you did. Even the most popular girl in school was looking at you. Her eyes were saying, ‘Rip of my clothes and take me now, big boy’. I have been informed that she likes them young and helpless. I think she would have done you in the back of the ambulance, and you being knocked out wouldn’t have stopped her.

What had pissed him off so badly that he had to take on the pigs? And for the pigs to act the way they did seemed a bit heavy-handed. Why didn’t anyone call his dad, and where in the hell was his mum?

I know for a fact that if strange people were about to pin me to the ground, my parents would be so pissed off. Whoever had the balls to do that would be the walking dead, or as my dad said countless times, ‘If any person touches my kids, I will turn them into organ donors.’ So where in the hell were Kelvin’s mum and dad? Were they that gutless? And for the teacher to stand looking at what was happening to Kelvin and to do nothing. It’s my understanding that you go to a teacher for help, right?

CHAPTER SIX

I CAN’T REMEMBER the day Kelvin came back to school, and his shadow was waiting for him. The only friend that gave something may be a reason to come to school. Did it give him hope? Can that be the only thing holding Kelvin together? It just seemed so dark, cold, and lonely. Was the shadow his only friend, a friend that lets no light shine in for warmth? What was this dark place that Kelvin hung on to? It couldn’t have been his life? Could it?

No more trips to the admin building. Kelvin’s name would get called over the PA, but he just sat inside his shadow. It didn’t look like Kelvin could take much more. His body looked heavy. He was always looking at the ground, never making eye contact. On the off chance that you did see his eyes, all you saw were the tears that weren’t there—a sea of blue tears less eyes. The moon is the only light which has no reflection. And there was Kelvin. That was the first time I saw helplessness and loss.

It was strange when Kelvin’s name was called on the PA; he looked peaceful. Then the bell rang and Kelvin looked at me with unblinking eyes and placed a piece of paper carefully under the board where he sat. Then he walked away with that PA screaming for Kelvin like the crow that it was.

The rest of the school day passed by quickly. I think people were trying to tell me something but nothing sunk in. Before I knew it, I was in the car with Dad as he always picked us up. It was kind of weird that my sisters were not fighting. Wow! That was a first.

We all filed inside the house, and Mum said, ‘Hi, how was your day?’ I didn’t answer her. I unnoticeably slipped away to my room while all of that after-school talk was happening. I didn’t care much for it.

I pulled out my homework and sat on the end of my bed. Staring at the paper, a chill ran through my body. I put the paper down and wrapped myself in my Doona. I got up and sat on the floor in front of the window.

I saw the sky turn from a light-blue with some white clouds to grey and then black. Then rain made a soft noise on the window, the clouds grew even darker and blacker. The rain was now hitting the window hard. I found myself lying down with my eyes closed.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I DREAMT THAT I was at school where I sit and there was Kelvin standing there just out of arm’s reach. His hair and skin were bright. I looked down and there were four black dogs. They charged at Kelvin, pinning him to the ground. Kelvin doesn’t fight them off. The black dogs rip bright white light from his body. His colour was fading fast, and still no fight from him. I could not move or scream. A big black dog came from nowhere and charged at Kelvin. It placed its jaws around his neck and rips the last of the light away.

‘Son … Son,’ called Dad, shaking me awake.

‘Dad,’ I replied in a daze. Then I continued, ‘Yes, is it teatime yet?’

‘No, you have been out like a light since five. I had to put you to bed so no one could wake you,’ he said with a gentle smile. I looked at myself, and I was in bed.

‘Thank you, Dad.’

‘Time to get ready for school. I am your old man. Think nothing of it,’ he said, leaving the room and closing the door.

Was last night just a dream? I wondered.

I got up and did all of the normal shit to get ready for school. When I was done, I headed for the front door.

‘David, you have to eat something,’ said Mum. I had no fight. I dropped my bag. I didn’t see Ray beside me. I went to the table and sat and Ray took a seat next to me.

‘You dropped the bag on my foot,’ she said a little firmly.

‘Shit, Ray, I am sorry. Are you OK?’ Then all heads turned towards me.

‘What?’ I asked with a blank look on my face.

‘David, are you OK?’ Mum asked a bit puzzled.

‘I am fine,’ I replied, not liking the attention.

Out of nowhere, Ray put her arms around me and hugged the crap out of me. ‘Thank you,’ she said so sweetly.

OK, what in the hell was going on? Every morning since I could remember, this house was a boxing ring. Mum and Dad were the referees, while my sister and I used anything to smack the Christ out of one another. I guess this was a good way to start the day, or was it? I wondered.

I found myself in the car on the way to school. What in the hell was last night about. I was lost in last night’s dream, or nightmare, when Ray poked me in the ribs. She smiled and then asked, ‘Everything OK?’

‘Just a shit night, that’s all,’ I said. Ray asking me if I was OK was just getting too weird I thought.

The