MADDOX

I GOT UP early for swim practice. I always got up early for swim practice, five days a week. Other people were always mentioning how crazy it was to be up before the sun every day, but I hardly noticed it anymore. I was like a robot programmed to be okay with dedicating the majority of my time and energy to whatever sport I was involved with at the time. My dad had instilled that particular attitude into me at about five or six, when he’d insisted I play Little League baseball. I remembered my parents arguing about it here and there, usually when they thought I wasn’t listening.

Then again, when hadn’t they been arguing? Their divorce had surprised no one, least of all me or my two younger siblings. It should have been a relief to all of us, but they’d managed to make even their separation from one another a giant pain in the ass. Always arguing over whose holiday it should be, or who cared the most because of this present or this trip or this appointment. I couldn’t even bring myself to feel guilty for being glad to be away from it.

Quietly slipping my bedroom door closed behind me, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a figure in the dark living room moved, followed by the clanking of a glass bottle onto the coffee table. When I stumbled over to the light switch and slapped it up, I realized it was just one of my housemates, Caelyx. It was obvious by his sloppy appearance and bloodshot eyes that he wasn’t awake before me. He just hadn’t gone to bed. When he picked up the bottle he’d clunked down onto the table and took another long swig out of it, I realized it was vodka.

“Bro, are you serious?” I asked, annoyance flicking through me when he only stared at me with no reaction. “You know if somebody sees you with that shit in here and reports it to the dean, we’re all cooked.”

All three of us that lived in the house were freshmen, meaning that none of us were old enough to have that. If we’d had at least one person over 21 then it would have been alright because we could say it was theirs.

He chuckled. A really grating, irritating chuckle that would have been right at home on a golf course or a country club.

“Don’t you worry about that, little fishy,” he said. His voice was slurred. “I plan on…” He twirled the bottle around in the air as he spoke. “ Disposing of the evidence post haste. There won’t be a drop for anyone to find and your precious career will be oh so very safe.”

“If you think I have some kind of honor code about not kicking someone’s ass just because they’re drunk, think again,” I warned him. But I didn’t really expect a big reaction. I kind of wanted one, since Caelyx Vane had maybe the most punchable face I’d ever encountered in my life. Blonde pretty-boy, snot-nosed rich asshole.

He pretended to shiver, mocking me and my threat, before waving me off dismissively toward the front door.

“Better hurry up or the other fishies will be able to do more laps around the bowl than you. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“Whatever. And take a shower, you reek,” I told him as I left. So I wasn’t the best or most creative when it came to insults. The worst part was I knew I’d think of something better later when I was in the shower and it was too late.

As I walked off toward the school, I passed the two cars in our driveway. Our other housemate, Cyprian, had a pretty decent Jeep. But Caelyx had a gleaming red Porsche convertible that was probably worth more than my life. It was definitely worth more than his life. Like him, it was obnoxious and obviously cost a lot of money. For a guy who came from a well off family, he sure hadn’t developed any manners or air of dignity.

Maybe signing a lease with two other guys I didn’t know hadn’t been the best idea, but then again Cyprian seemed fine. And we hadn’t run into any real issues or problems yet, so I wasn’t about to worry over nothing.

Practice was the same as always. I liked swimming okay, because I could turn my brain off while I was in the water. Once we’d all done our laps and had our time called, we headed into the locker room. A lot of the guys on the team, particularly the three brain-dead amigos, loved screwing around in there. They were always popping each other in the ass with twisted up towels and snapping each other’s speedos. For a bunch of guys who’d probably lose their shit if anyone actually thought they were gay, they loved to act like complete morons behind closed doors.

Once I was done putting my stuff back into my locker, I noticed a text from my dad. It started with Hey Champ , a nickname I’d always hated. He informed me that something had come up and that he wasn’t going to be able to make it to my first swim meet of the year, which was in less than two weeks. My parents had already agreed they’d switch off for who would show up for me. He was supposed to come to the mid-September one and my mom would come to the one in January after winter break. But obviously something had ended up being more important. I rolled my eyes and shoved my phone in my pocket before heading to my first class of the day.

A weird tension hung around me like a fog, pricking and prodding at me so I couldn’t relax. I snapped at a guy in my biology class for stepping too close and nearly scuffing my Adidas, and almost made a girl cry for spilling water across a table I was sitting at. I’d felt off since the day before, but I couldn’t really decipher it. I wasn’t exactly an in touch with my feelings type of guy.

On my way home from my last class, my phone vibrated in my pocket to let me know I had an incoming call. Annoyed, I pulled it out. The only people who actually made calls anymore were old people and scammers.

“Hey, Champ.”

“Hey, Dad.” Fuck my life, why was he calling me now?

“You didn’t answer my text! Wanted to make sure you got it.” Oh, right. I hadn’t.

“I got it.”

“Well, I’m sorry about not being able to make it out for you. It’s just a bad weekend for me. Between the projects I’m on at work, and Missy’s having a surgery that week, it’s just not a good time for me to travel out.”

“Missy?” I repeated. Had he gotten a new dog or something?

“Oh. Haven’t I mentioned Missy to you?”

“No?”

“Ah, well…” He hesitated a bit, sounding awkward. “Missy is the woman I’ve been seeing. You’ll have to meet her, she’s really a great girl. And I’ve told her so much about you and the twins!” The twins were my younger brother and sister. They were 14, just starting high school.

“Alright, fine. Maybe this summer.”

“Well, it’ll have to be a hell of a lot sooner than that!” My dad said, laughing. “She’s excited about it, you know!”

“Okay.” Was that all he’d called to say? Could I go now? Balancing the phone on my shoulder, I unlocked the front door and headed to my bedroom while he kept yapping about Missy. His assertions that she was a lovely and professional woman didn’t change my opinion that the name was more suited for a French bulldog.

“And I told her about how you’re basically a fish in the water! We’ll definitely make it to your next one, Champ. How many other schools are going to be participating? Do you know?”

“I don’t know, not that many, probably. It’s just a swimming club. We’re only a D3 school.”

“But you could get scouted by a coach from a D1 or D2 school, right? You can always transfer your credits.” The extreme betrayal he’d felt when I’d chosen a school where the main focus wasn’t athletics would never fade.

“I don’t want to transfer, Dad. I like BBU. I like my classes.”

“Well, we’ll see how you feel by the end of the year. You’re going to miss out on all that competitive spirit! You know, I could have gone pro if I hadn’t blown my knee out in senior year.”

“I know, Dad.” He’d been a football player, already being fought over by big colleges in his senior year. I’d heard this story a billion times. He’d been telling it to me since I’d only even vaguely understood what professional sports were.

“Damn ACL. Well anyway, I have a dinner reservation, so I’ll head off for now. Sorry about missing your meet! I’ll make it up to you, Champ.”

“Yeah, Dad. It’s fine.”

“Oh, and Maddox?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s keep this between us, okay? The last thing I need is your mother bitching me out over one little missed event, right?”

“Sure. Whatever.” I hadn’t planned on mentioning it to her, anyway.

“Great. I knew you’d understand.” I understood perfectly. If she found out he wasn’t coming to the meet that he’d already agreed to come to, it would be a strike against him in the Better Parent competition. And they were both desperate for the win on that years-long contest. “Talk to you later, son.”

“Yep. Bye, Dad.”

I hung up the phone, and resisted the urge to throw it against the wall. The tension that had been simmering inside me suddenly felt like it was boiling. I already knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on any school work or even force myself to sleep.

There was a party going on tonight at some guy’s house, just a couple streets away. I’d heard several people mention it throughout the day. I hadn’t been directly invited, but those kinds of parties were usually more the merrier type deals. A distraction like that was exactly what I needed. And there would probably be tons of cute girls there. I’d pretty much forgone all physical human contact since graduation, which was probably unhealthy or something. I needed a hookup.

Suddenly, I remembered that I was meeting Ren Suzuki the next day at the library to work on our creative writing project. Why was I thinking about that right now, of all things? It wasn’t like it was early in the morning or anything, so I didn’t need to worry about staying out late.

When the memory of his brown eyes filled with worry and sadness when he’d implied that I might not show up to our little scheduled meeting popped into my head, I sighed and set an alarm on my phone for 30 minutes before the time we’d agreed on. There. Now he didn’t need to worry. Or maybe he was already worried? It’s not like he would know that I’d set an alarm or anything. Christ, why was I even thinking about that weirdo? I had a party to go to.

Pulling my shirt up and over my head, I opened my drawer to find something fresh to put on. Preferably something tight to show off my defined shoulders and triceps. I might not have been the brainiest with the most tolerable personality, but I knew my strengths. I wouldn’t have any trouble finding somebody cute to distract me for the night.