Chapter 12

Dad

“Wow, you cleaned up the place. I'm impressed,” Dad said, walking into Leo's room. “And I didn't catch you putting away your VR glasses so you could pretend to be studying, like you usually do. Shocker.”

“What can I say, Dad. I'm trying to improve.” It was strange comparing Dad to his childhood memories of him. Dad was in his late thirties, but the small athletic man looked younger. Odd, considering as a kid, last time around, his dad seemed older than God. The reason for Dad's youth and fitness was in his right hand. It was a Bio-Blessed Ultra Energy Drink. The smell of the drink, combined with Dad's body odor and aftershave, gave off an overpowering sickly sweet aroma that made Leo want to gag.

“What happened to your face?” Dad asked.

“Tripped. Ran into a wall,” Leo said.

“Looks painful. You should put some ice on that. Heard you were looking at porn on your computer,” Dad said.

“You know that stuff is bad for you,” Leo said, changing the subject, motioning toward Dad's drink.

Dad burst out laughing and shook his head. “My boss drank a hundred of these in an hour. Once he'd pissed away the excess fluid, he went out and ran a marathon. Did pretty well, too.”

“Sure.” Mom and Dad had been consuming Bio-Blessed products for over a year now. Even if Leo convinced them to stop, it was too late to help.

“Like I told you before, Leo, I was a boy once, too. You can come to me if you have any questions, but don't ever let me catch you looking at porn around your mom or sister. Got it?”

“Yes sir,” Leo said. “Hey, Dad, could you teach me how to use your gun?”

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“A gun isn't a toy, Leo. That gun I keep in the bedroom safe is for home protection and home protection only.”

“Yeah, uh... I was thinking of joining the military when I'm older,” Leo lied.

“That might be a good thing for you.” Dad finished his Bio-Blessed energy drink and crushed the can with his hand. “I heard if you make advanced infantry, you get a million-dollar shot of Bio-Blessed.” he laughed. “That'll prolong your life, assuming you don't get killed in the line of duty, of course. I'm leaving to work another double shift. We'll talk about it later.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Leo said as his father left his room...

“Dammit. You were supposed to stay home tonight!” Leo heard Mom say from the kitchen. “I have a graveyard shift. You know I don't like leaving the kids alone.”

“The kids will be fine,” Dad responded more quietly. “Just ask Devon next door to keep an eye on things. Somebody called in last minute, and money's got to come from someplace.”

There were five minutes of angry silence.

“Kids! Dinner!” Mom called.

Leo threw on some slightly less torn and stained clothes that weren't soaked in sweat. Took a deep breath, and walked down the gray-tiled hallway to join his family. He heard the front door slam as Dad left. From what Leo remembered, Dad had spent most of his time at work.

It was insane how different this completely normal family activity felt to him now.

“Oh my God, Leo. What happened to your face?” Mom went over to him, putting her hand on his jaw where Brick had hit him. Like Dad, Mom was in her late thirties but would have passed for a woman in her twenties.

“Ran into a wall. I broke my cellphone too. Sorry.”

“Dammit, Leo! We can't afford to keep replacing your cellphones!” Mom pulled a bag of peas from the fridge, sat Leo on a chair and put the frozen peas against the side of his face. “Anyway, new shoes come first. I can't believe you're still wearing those.”

“I like them. They're comfortable,” Leo said, looking down at his taped-up shoes.

“We'll talk about that later. You two are on your own for dinner, again. I'll text Devon. He'll keep an eye on things. I got to go to work.” Mom threw most of the remaining chicken into a plastic container and closed it up.

“I want a drumstick, Mom,” Lydia whined from the other side of the kitchen, where she was obviously trying to keep away from Leo.

Mom grabbed her purse and the plastic container with her dinner in it. “Your mother needs her protein, Lydia. Eat some more mashed potatoes if you get hungry, and don't watch too much TV.” Then she was out the door.

Leo and Lydia stared at each other.