Community Service Well Spent
Chapter 6 - Questions
By Redrum
Community Service Well Spent
Chapter 6 - Questions
By Redrum
I find him in the lounge when I come; facing the window, watching the ocean's rough waves as claps of thunder and bolts of lightning rain down.
I stride over, the room is oddly silent. When I take a quick glance around I notice that there are only a couple of people in the room, some playing cards while others are reading.
I take a seat on the window's ledge; a cold draft causes me to shiver. The world suddenly goes dark. I grab the blanket that was thrown at me and wrap it around my large frame.
"Thanks." Squall nods, and wraps his own blanket tighter. I reach over and pull the comforter over so it covers his chained arm. He nods in thanks and continues to stare out the window. Damn... is he going back to not talking again?
"Hey, you plan on talking today?" He looks over at me and tilts his head, as if to say 'you haven't talked to me yet'. I sigh and snuggle deeper into the blanket. Why is it so cold? You'd think they'd always have the heater on. "Some like the cold." I look up in surprise, so he's going to talk now is he?
"Do you?" He raises an eyebrow and looks down at the blanket wrapped around him. "I take that as a no. So, now that you're talking, can you answer some questions?" He frowns slightly.
"Depends." On how personal it is, I assume.
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen." Squall glances at me.
"I'm eighteen." I answer the silent question. "How long have you been here?" He sighs and looks down.
"A year." I reach over and place a hand on his bony knee.
"Do you have any friends here, or visitors?" He starts to shake his head but stops mid-motion.
"I have no friends but I do have two visitors."
"Well that's good isn't it?" He looks a me for a moment; icy eyes judge me before he continues after a short pause.
"My father and half-sister."
"At least you have family that comes to see you." Squall sighs and shakes his head.
"They're the ones that brought me here." My eyes widen in surprise.
"Oh!" I'd wondered if he committed himself or not. He seems different from the other patients here, so I'd just figured he must have committed himself for some reason. "Can I ask why?" He pauses for a long time, eyes glazing over as he turns his attention inward.
"They thought I did something, so they brought me here." Can we say, vague? That doesn't tell me much, except that his family must not like him all that much. Well... that or he must have acted really weird or something.
"When was the last time they visited?" He tilts his head to the side, thinking.
"The first week that I got here." Huh, so they haven't paid him any visits for a really long time.
"Do you miss them?" He smirks, but his eyes are sad.
"They were never my real family. They just came to me when they had no other choice."
"What about your mom?" He frowns, turning his head to the side.
"Dead."
"Oh...were you close to her?" His blue-grey eyes darken to an almost solid grey.
"Yes."
"When did she..?"
"When I was fourteen." Whoa... it wouldn't have been so bad for him if he'd been younger, but with all those memories of her?
"So you lived with your father and half-sister for two years?" He nods. "Why did they send you away?" He looks down.
"Many reasons and excuses." In other words, 'change the subject, I'm not telling you any more.' I glance outside and notice that the storm has stopped but the rain is pouring down harder. Squall must really like the effect of the water hitting the ocean.
"So, how come you haven't made any friends? You've been here for a year, and it's not like you're a bad guy to get along with." I chuckle when he blushes. He closes his eyes and seems to wait for the blush to go down. When he finally gains control of it, he looks up at me from beneath thick lashes and rattles the cuff on his arm.
"They didn't talk to you because of the handcuff?" He sighs, looking at me as though I'm an idiot.
"I'm dangerous."
"Huh... I've yet to see that." He rattles the chain again.
"Why else would I be locked up?" Hmm... That's true.
"How come you haven't attacked me then?" He shrugs, causing the navy blue blanket to slide down around his elbows.
"What did the nurse mean when she called you a criminal?" He shakes his head, sighing. O-o-okay, I guess he'll tell me some other time. The curiosity is killing me though.
Knowing that I won't be able to get any other answers out of him, I decide to remain silent and watch the scene outside with him in comfortable silence. I can almost see why he would enjoy this so much. Almost makes not thinking easier.