Page 2 of Babalon

I know my dad never got to walk the stage and grab his high school diploma, but I sure as hell did and that makes me ten kinds of proud of myself. Just don’t ask me about my mom and her accomplishments because I couldn’t tell you.

She has been absent my entire life, except for the first five or six months, according to my dad. After that, she dipped and wehaven’t seen her since. He blames me for it, saying that there was something about me that she just couldn’t ‘connect with’ as a mom, and therefore, it was best that she left.

Sounds like some ‘sperm-donor’ type bullshit if you ask me, but I digress. It’s my graduation day, and despite my dad not showing up for the ceremony, I am going to make the best of it. First things first though, I need to find him and see if I can borrow the truck so I can hang out with my friends before the rest of the festivities start.

“Dad?” I called out a bit louder, moving out of the kitchen and into the living room. Silence. He isn’t sitting in his worn down lazee-guy chair just across from the TV like normal. I swear I could find its twin under the bridge in the tent-city if I tried; it would look better than his. Taking a peek at his side table, his ashtray isn’t empty but there isn’t a cigar sitting on it, burning, so I know he hasn’t been in here for a while.

Making my way through the dingy living room, down to the hallway lined with faux wood paneling, I finally hear some sort of commotion, causing me to pick up speed.

I’m excited to go out.

“Hey dad!” I ring out one more time before bursting through his door, coming to a halt.

“Oh my god!” I yell.

My hands immediately shoot up to cover my eyes when I spot Dad in the bed with some woman… no, some girl. His broad back sweating profusely, the droplets trickling through the dark and sparse hair on his shoulders while a pair of small hands scratch down his back muscles.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Nadi! Don’t you know how to knock?!” he screamed at me, reaching for something on his nightstand then hurling it in my direction. I jump as it thuds against the wall closest to me, turning to see what it was that had almost hit me in the head. A liquor bottle.

How surprising.

Holy hell, I think I’m going to be sick. Out of everything that I could have walked in on… it had to be this. Not once has he brought a girl home, that I know of, nor have I ever caught him having sex with someone. Reaching up, and frozen in place, I dry heave. My mouth doing that weird salivating thing right before you vomit. My stomach drawing in as I got ready to deposit the celebratory champagne I drank after the graduation ceremony on the floor.

“GET OUT!” Dad bellowed at me and this was the moment that my feet finally decided to move.

I turned and darted out of the bedroom as fast as I could. I ran straight to the kitchen, grabbed the truck keys, and bolted out the back door. I don’t care if he gets mad at me for taking it. At this point in time, he is likely happier that I am out of the house rather than standing there like a deer in the headlights, trying to comprehend the disgusting display before me.

Yanking the door open, in a near GTA style, I climb inside of the truck and immediately slam it before jamming the key into the ignition; you’d think I had just witnessed a murder.

Would be an improvement, honestly.

Trying to suck in a breath, my thoughts jump right back to them, in bed, and I wretch again.

It was only a matter of seconds before I was peeling out of the driveway and on my way to the outskirts of my town, Hazelwood, Indiana. Our town isn’t terribly big, nor is it small. Primarily white trash with a hand full of African Americans here and a sprinkle of Hispanics or other ethnicities there.

Hazelwood isn’t remarkable either, in fact it looks pretty run down compared to its surrounding cities. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if investors start encroaching and try to run the locals out. A few land developers attempted to in the past but couldn’tget a leg up since the rest of the town was too dilapidated to appeal to new home buyers.

As I drive, I can’t help but think back over the past four years of high school. How bland everything was for me. Unexciting. Unremarkable. Just… drab. I feel like I have done everything that I can to get out of this shit hole, but if I know my dad and how big of a dick he can be, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Hell, I don’t even know what I want to do with my life.

Most young people here tend to go into the military, become truck drivers, or work at one of the piddly restaurants that pop up then quickly go out of business. That’s if they stay in town; everyone else has to drive an hour or so to get to anything that pays worth a damn.

As hard as I tried to avoid it, I know that’s likely what my life is going to entail, and god, the idea of that is dreadful. I want more for myself even if the pessimist in me does its best to keep me down.

The drive goes quickly, and the next thing I know, my back is straightening when I see my turn coming up. My friends are having a bonfire tonight and have invited alumni from the past few years to join us since we are all peers now. I hope to see that they’re doing better than I am, at least. Maybe some of them can give me a better idea of what the rest of my life could look like or what directions I can take since the school counselor hasn’t been helpful.

Who would have thought it was so damn difficult to grab a bunch of college brochures off the wall and discuss what the fuck FAFSA is. Apparently very challenging for Mr. Fredrickson.

When I come to a stop, I see my best friend, Ivy, standing next to our other friends, Oliver and Wren. They have been my ride or dies since kindergarten. We have done everything together from getting into trouble to dealing with heart break and everything in between. There were many times where I had to escape toone of their houses after pissing my dad off while he went on yet another drunken rampage.

They have saved me so many times, and I am eternally grateful for what they have done for me. Even if I don’t know how to pay them back.

I’ll figure it out one day, but right now, I need to let loose. I need them.

“There she is,” Wren chimed when I jumped out of the truck and slammed the door. Making my way over to the group, I give them all hugs and beam a smile when Oliver handed me a plastic red cup.

“‘Bout time you got here, Nadi. We were beginning to worry that your old man wasn’t going to let you join us tonight,” Ivy said.

“Yeah, well, I almost died. I walked in on him having sex with someone.”

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