Kayden: The Past (2 page)

High School ~ Mindy

My high school years started with a bang. I had my first drink before the start of my freshman year. My friends and I stole a bottle of Black Bull Whiskey from my parents and sat behind the garage gulping it down as quickly as possible. It was dusk, and lightning bugs were dotting the air in the large wooded backyard. We sat in a circle passing the bottle around, taking swigs, and trying not to cough from the burning in our throats.

The taste was strong, but the feeling it gave me was unforgettable. The lightheaded loopy feeling that was followed by uncontrollable laughter is a memory that will forever be burned in my mind. Our fun was interrupted by my mother’s voice. “Kayden Michaels, get in here, now.” Her usage of my full name made all the hairs on my body stand up.

Everyone scattered running back to their homes, leaving me to take the fall. I grabbed the bottle off the ground and walked towards the garbage cans hoping to discard the evidence. As my hand touched the lid, my mother’s fingers closed over
my hand.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked.

I stood there for a moment stuttering, trying to come up with a good excuse. My mind went blank as I looked in her eyes. She caught me red handed
without a viable excuse or plausible deniability
. I gave her an innocent smile, “I’m sorry, mom.” I had nothing else to say.

“Did you take that from the house?”

“I didn’t think you’d notice,” I said without thinking.

Her face grew red; the anger oozed off her skin like perspiration. “In the house, now,” she spat. My feet felt heavy, and my head swam with all of the ways I’d be punished. “Throw the bottle out first.”

I did as told, knowing I would have to be smarter in the future.

That night I was lectured for hours and hours. When my father came home, all hell broke loose. I got the belt that night along with being grounded for two weeks. Thankfully I still had a month left before school started; plenty of time to still have some fun and experience new things.

I bided my time and planned with my friends over the phone for the remaining days of summer vacation. I had a large group of friends, boys who had my back, except the moment my mom came screaming out of the house. We grew up in the same neighborhood spread out across a couple streets and we were thick as thieves. We built forts together as children, and now, our creativity was becoming a little more… delinquent. My boys were Ron, Scott, Freddie, and Tiny. There were more, but we were the core five. The five who were inseparable through grade school, but life changes and friends often fade away.

Scott was my best friend; he and I used to have sleep overs when we were kids. We loved Batman and all things super hero related, but our interests changed as we grew. Scott’s sister, Mindy, was hot as fuck. I used to go over there just to catch a glimpse of her, but she was a rotten bitch. She hated Scott and by relation, me. She always treated us like shit, but she still gave me a boner.

They planned a party
for my release from the Michaels’ Prison Facility. Scott’s parents were going to be out of town, and luckily for us, it coincided with my freedom. The party wasn’t really for me, but I liked that they waited until the end of my solitary confinement to throw the damn thing. I would have climbed the fucking walls knowing they were partying their asses off while I sat in my bedroom and played Pong.

I put on my best pair of Z. Cavariccis with a black silk shirt and misted myself
with Drakkar. I checked my hair making sure every hair was perfect. My brown hair was short in the front and long in the back; mullets were hot – who the fuck ever picked that hairstyle should be fucking shot. My face, thankfully, was pimple-free unlike some of the kids at school. My eyes were always my best feature – they were jade green, but changed depending on my clothes. The black shirt I picked helped my eyes stand out against my tanned skin.

“Where you going, Kayden?” I heard my father say from the living room as my hand touched the door knob.

“The guys and I are going roller skating, it’s a late skate,” I replied, closing my eyes waiting for a response. I needed a reason why I was dressed up. Going to hang with the boys or play sports wouldn’t match my clothing. We always went to the rink, and I knew my father wouldn’t question me any further.

“Midnight, Kayden. Don’t be late or you’ll get another week.” I knew it was pointless to argue.

“Okay,” I said as I opened the door and closed it behind me. I felt like I broke free from a long term jail sentence. Two weeks in the scheme of life is nothing, but when you’ve only lived about six hundred weeks total – it’s an eternity.

I inhaled the warm sticky air, pulling it into my lungs, and felt the gentle breeze on my skin. The weather would be changing soon, and the Ohio winter would grip us causing everyone to go into hibernation.

The gang assembled on the street corner waiting for me. Scotty lived a couple of streets over, and we travelled on foot together through the fields and cut through the backyards. The light of the house came into view through the trees and the music was a whisper in the air as we drew closer. We moved quicker not wanting to waste another minute.

I reached the door first, and it moved slightly with each beat of the bass. The sound of
“Walk This Way
” blared as I opened the front door and stepped inside. There were people everywhere, filling the stairway and all the rooms. We squeezed through the crowd to find Scott.

He was in the kitchen filling up glasses from a keg and handing them out with a smile on his face. We wrestled together in middle school and spent the summer working out together to get ready for the upcoming season.

Scott spotted us across the room. “Come on over here guys, grab a drink,” he said.

We grabbed our red plastic cups and made our way into the living room. There
were so many girls; I didn’t know where to look first. I bumped into Mindy when I wasn’t paying attention, spilling my drink on her top. She shrieked when the cold liquid soaked her top, outlining her breasts.

“Damn, I’m so sorry, Mindy,” I said.

“Jackass,” she said as she walked away, she may have called me a jackass, but at least she acknowledged my existence.

The rest of the night I spent flirting with other girls and made out with one, but I pictured Mindy in my mind the entire time.

I didn’t drink too much; I couldn’t afford more time in the MPF. I left the party in time to return home by midnight and avoid any grilling or possibility of the smell of beer on my breath being discovered by my dad.

The house was dark when I walked inside; my parents were in their bedroom watching Johnny Carson and waiting to see if I made it home by midnight. I knocked on their door “I’m home, night.”

“Night, Kayden,” my mom said. She didn’t have to tell me, but I knew she was thankful that I wasn’t late. She didn’t want to hear my dad’s shit about my behavior lately. Crawling in bed, I grabbed my Walkman off the nightstand and pressed the play button. I lay in the darkness listening to
“Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
and thought about Mindy’s tits glistening through her wet t-shirt.

High school helped develop my love of women and alcohol. I wrestled and made the varsity team my sophomore year. I worked out like a man driven with a purpose—I wanted to be the leanest and most muscular guy on the mat. Being a member of the team made girls notice me more than they did
previously. The singlet, the little tight uniform, I wore helped show off my manhood. I was a beast on the mat; my opponents knew I would take them down, but that never stopped them from trying. No one was faster or stronger in my weight class. I was the champ.

Sophomore and junior year, I found myself in trouble with the law more than once. We did dumb ass things that we thought were funny and harmless, but my parents didn’t see it that way. My first run in with the law came at the hands of my friends. A dare is something I could
never ignore – no stupid teenage boy ever backs down no matter how stupid or risky.

We were walking back from a party across town when Freddie turns around, “I dare one of you to walk your drunken ass into the police station and ask them a random question.”

The alcohol in my body must have altered my thinking because I took that challenge and didn’t think twice. “I’ll fucking do it,” I said as everyone came to a complete stop.

“You’re fucking crazy,” Tiny said. “You’re gonna get arrested.”

“I’m too smart to get caught; I’ll take the dare. You guys are pussies.”

I walked toward the police station door with wobbly legs and tried to figure out what I’d ask. My palms grew sweatier with every step. I squinted when the light streaming through the door shone on my face. I grabbed the handle, took a deep breath, and pulled it open with authority.

A man sat behind the front desk and looked up when he heard the door close behind me. “Can I help you, son?” he eyed me suspiciously. The town was so small and devoid of action that running a stop sign was a major offense and gossip worthy.

I leaned on the desk steadying myself, “What time is curfew?” I’d like to think that I was wittier than that or had some great line, but I drew a blank and concentrated more on not puking than the actual words falling from my lips.

“Have you been drinking?” he asked.

“No, sir. I just want-tid-to make sure I’m not out past curfew,” I said and belched.
Fuck, what an idiot.

“It’s already past curfew, and you’ve obviously been drinking. I can smell the beer on your breath.” He stood up and walked around the desk and stood right in front of me. I didn’t make a move to leave, just stood there like my feet were super glued to the floor. “You’re not going anywhere, son. Come with me and we’ll decide what to do with you.”

“Do with me?” I asked.

“Yes, I’ll let my superior decide if we’re going to arrest you or just call your parents to pick you up.” Neither option was
good. I was going to be in deep shit no matter the decision.

I followed him into an office and sat there. I knew the guys had split by now knowing nothing good came out of their little dare and my stupid ass needed to always be the one with the biggest balls. I sat there for what felt like eternity before the door to the office swung open, and my dad stood in the doorway looking like he had murder on his mind.

“Let’s go, Kayden.”

“Is that all you’re going to say?” I asked.

“I have no words right now. Get your ass up.”

I stood up and my stomach
felt like someone was doing cartwheels inside. I always hated when my dad was pissed off, especially when he had no words to express his feelings. I followed him to the car with my eyes staring at the ground. I climbed into my dad’s orange Chevy Vega and closed the door softly. I wanted to disappear. I stared out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot.

I closed my eyes, the motion of the car causing my eyes to hurt and my stomach to gurgle. A sharp pain woke me from my slumber as my face hit the car window. My dad had slammed his fist into my face; cold cocked me while I wasn’t looking. “You’re a stupid fucker, Kayden,” his fist hit me again, “What the fuck were you thinking?”

The pain drew me out of the alcohol haze and I could feel my blood almost begin to boil. “Don’t you dare fucking hit me, again,” I said.

“What are you going to do about it?” his fist started to move in my direction, and I moved avoiding another blow.

“I don’t know if you noticed, Dad… but I’m bigger than you now. Don’t push me,” I said staring at him in the eyes.

“Are you threatening me?”

“No. I’m just telling you I won’t take your shit anymore. I’m not that scared little kid who will hide under the covers. If you want to hit
me, at least do it like a man. Don’t hit me when I’m not looking.”

“I brought you into this world,
and I’ll take you out,” he said with a look of such hatred, unlike anything I had ever seen before.

“I’ll go out bringing you down with me, remember that.” The car stopped, and I climbed out, preferring walking home to being in the car with that bastard any longer. I was so angry with him; it took everything I had not to physically fight back in that moment. I knew I had to get away from him and give us both
time to cool off. I walked to Scott’s house and found refuge on his floor for the evening. Tomorrow I’d face the music, and I prayed that neither one of us would speak of that moment again.