Eyes Swollen Shut (Chapter One)

and it was fucking cold. I'm talking freezing. Well, maybe not as cold as it gets in other parts of the world but here, where it never gets below eighty degrees, it was pretty fucking cold. That pretentious Catholic school I walk by to get to the bus, their marquee said it was 44 degrees outside. I was like, "Aw, HELL nah!" But I just kept my arms folded and my chin pressed against the top of my sternum.
It was only seven-thirty in the am and I was early. This was the kind of thing we did, even though I hated it. Absolutely despised it these past few years, but what can you do? You bite your lip and you try to just sit there and go through the motions because family is always there when you need them. Although, it becomes apparent just how they decide what is and what isn't important.
I knew what was coming, it was going to be the same as it has been these past few years, ever since I graduated from college and did nothing, not a god damned thing, with my degree. Don't ask why, because you don't care, you've made up your mind about me just like the people in my family have, and they make damn sure I know just how they feel.
So as I walk up to the diner, my hands closed so tightly that my knuckles are bone white, I'm not the first one there even though I'm twenty minutes early. My dad is sitting at a table near the front, he waves me over to him. I walk straight passed the old woman with the intense fuchsia eye shadow, she tries to ask me how many people there'll be in my party, but she bites her tongue as I rudely walk to the table my father is sitting at.
"Sit down, son." He motions to a seat next to him. "I ordered you coffee. You like coffee, right?"
"Yup." I say awkwardly.
"What?"
"Nothing, its just," I take my jacket off, this diner is burning up. My fingers feel like they're going to fall off from the drastic change in temperature. "I've been drinking coffee since high school."
"I started after I had you. I had to get up at three am just to get to work on time." He brings his cup to his lips. "Sometimes this would be the only thing keeping my eyes open." He slurps some coffee down. "Now every gas station has two a dollar energy drinks."
"...So where's Alice?" I ask.
"Probably just leaving the house."
"Why didn't she just ride with you? She does still live with you, right?"
"Yeah, son. Hey, you can come back if you want." He says.
"Dad, you know I can't do that."
"Well, are you making enough? Alice said you had to ask your mom for rent money."
"Yeah, that was like eight months ago!" There are buttons inside of people and sometimes people like to push them. Today is going to be one of those times my buttons will be pushed.
"I never had to ask grandma and grandpa for money when I was raising the two of you."
"No, but you did move in with grandpa after you and mom split." Now this was becoming like a National Geographic show, hunter vs prey.
"I said you could move in! Didn't I just say that!?" My dad was starting to shout. That was around the same time the waitress brought me my coffee and asked my dad for a refill. He accepted.
"So did you guys need more time or...?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're still waiting for my daughter to get here and my son won't be ordering food." He didn't even look at me when he said that not directly but sometimes just putting the spotlight on someone is just like staring at them.
"Oh..." The waitress replied.
"Its true, I'm a addicted to heroin and only show up because my dad buys me coffee and gives me a few bucks to score." I'm lying to her and she can tell. She can feel the tension so she awkwardly laughs and leaves.
"Why do you need to make a scene?" My dad asks.
"I was just following your lead, although I didn't put anybody on blast."
"Hey!" My sister calls from the front door. You might be thinking that she saved the day, but not one bit. Now the number of opponents just doubled. What's that thing the kinds say online? FLM. I think that's it. Or FML or something. Whatever it is, that's how I feel right now.
"Hey, Alice. What took you so long?" I ask.
"I had to get gas." She says as she takes a seat.
"Why didn't you just ride with dad?"
"Because I don't like mooching off of people, like somebody I know." Yeah, that means a lot from somebody who still lives at home and doesn't pay rent or her car payment.
"Hey, what is family for, right?" I fake a laugh. My sister grabs a menu and opens it.
"What's good here?"
"The liver and onions." My dad says.
"Ew, oh my God, no!" She likes to over exaggerate. "That is fricking disgusting!"
"No, it isn't. Its just gamey." My dad replies.
"Brad, what are you getting?" She asks me. I turn my bottom lip up and shake my head.
"Nothing. I'm good with coffee."
"Dad! Why won't you buy him breakfast, we only do this once a month its the least you can do." This might sound like a nice thing but what she's really saying is, "Dad, its not Brad's fault he's twenty-eight has only a part time job working at coffee shop three days a week, has no car and no girlfriend." Yeah, my sister can be a real bitch.
"I asked dad not to buy me anything. I'm on a diet."
"A diet? Are you gay?" My sister asks.
"Alice!" My dad just got a button pushed. If you must know, my dad is homophobic and is very open about how much he dislikes them. So it would be worse than death if one of his kids happened to be gay.
"What? I'm just saying. Brad isn't a body builder so if he is on a diet he must be gay."
"Or maybe I'm just lying to you to make light of the situation?" I respond.
"See? He always does this! Acts like a complete jerk." My sister is getting pissed now. That was when the waitress walked up.
"Are you all set? Anything I can get you to drink, hun?"
"Um, yeah!" My sister puts on a fake smile and changes into her fake happy voice. "I'd like the French Toast."
"How did you want your egg?"
"Umm...my brother is going to have it so however he wants it."
The waitress looks at me.
"Over easy." I say with a cold look on my face.
"And bacon or sausage?"
"I'm a vegetarian so my brother can have those too."
"Bacon, please." This is hell and my family is here to torture me for the rest of eternity.
"And you sir?"
"Liver and onions." My dad says without looking at the menu.
"Okay, I'll bring that right up. And what did you want to drink, dear?"
"Iced tea, please." My sister's fake smile looks like it hurts her face.
I stand up.
"I need to pee."

-Sir Jestro