The Red to My Grey

by William Dudley Berridge Tuckey

  It was late in the night, around one in the morning but we would be having dinner when I’d normally be asleep. Angel sat on my lap as I sat on a small couch with Johnson and Celia squished in beside me. We all watched late night TV while Dad and Sophia prepared dinner in the kitchen. We heard them having a conversation just over the white noise of the TV; we couldn’t make out the words, but we could hear Sophia giggling flirtatiously from inside and Dad laughed wildly alongside her.

  “Those two really seem to get along. What do you think they were to each other all that time ago?” Celia asked as she peered back over the couch to the doorway of the kitchen. I shivered slightly at that but that was nothing compared to how I felt minutes later.

  “Jason, not there I’ll—” Sophia screamed from across the kitchen.

  “Shoosh. The kids will hear us,” Dad’s voice echoed. The four of us turned from the Television to listen to them and then we all simultaneously shuddered.

  “I think that answers your question, Celia,” Johnson remarked sharply.

  “I wish they hadn’t…” she replied softly.

  Half an hour later we were called to the table. The food was actually really good and that dirty late-night feeling was replaced by a variety of mixed aromas of dishes. We all sat quietly while Dad and Sophia continued to hit it off “Giggle. I’ve never been so sore after cooking before,” Sophia said cheerfully.

  “I don’t think I’ve been so exhausted ha-ha-ha.”

  Luckily for us it didn’t take long for Sophia to find herself into some of Angel’s new clothes; they were a little short on her, but I don’t think she really cared as she was caught up in the moment. I’m not sure what she really was to my dad. Though she was dangerous, I could see where Angel had got parts of her personality from. Not knowing, however, made me all the curious, enough to turn our late-night little dinner into an investigation.

  “Sophia, I have to ask. Where are you from and how is that you know my dad?”

  “Well I was raised in this city just like everyone else here. I met your father in high school and we became friends. That answer your question?” She left off with a question that implied she wouldn’t be answering anymore and if that wasn’t enough, Dad booted me in the shin beneath the table. Which left me with an impression that their past must have been more sensitive than I would be able to imagine.

  If the table wasn’t awkward enough already, Sophia had a question she wanted to ask.

  “So, Wade, how far have you gone with Angel?”

  “Mama! Please don’t say things like that!” she screamed with her face bright and red as ever. She then ran over to me and hugged me from behind, leaning her head beside mine. Sophia rested her arm over Angel’s shoulder after getting up from her seat and only riled her up further.

  “Where’s your sense of adventure you two? You’re young, good looking…and all alone at night in that room together.” Drops of sweat fell from Angel’s neck onto my shoulders and I could feel a very different vibe coming from her. I also wondered just how much my dad had told her about us or if she was just making assumptions. Johnson on the other hand was not well suited for these heated topics of conversations and sat quietly, nervous to the point where he couldn’t speak. It didn’t help either that my sister was listening to the whole thing. I kept quiet in an effort not to further incriminate myself and just looked to Dad with one thought only running through my mind. Fix this. Which he did but at his own pace and not without scheming. Things he would do, well they rarely made sense.

  “Now, Now Sophy, he’s had a long day. Give him a break, he’s far more responsible than we were at his age.”

  “I beg to differ but if you say so.” She sat back down and not even twenty minutes later Johnson managed to weasel his way home after eating multiple servings of the bountiful meal. Celia snuck into her room and locked the door, leaving Angel and I to help clean up. About halfway through I was pulled to the side by Dad.

  “Son, I know all this is a bit confusing but you’re dealing with it better than I expected.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  “Why don’t you take a bath? I set out some towels for you.” I could tell he was up to something; he would never show that level of kindness to his delinquent son. I walked to the bathroom with clothes in hand and though I was tired, my mind was very much still active.

  Kind of wish that woman would just run off already, it’s not like Dad can actually keep her here. Where’d Angel run off to? I haven’t seen her for about twenty minutes. I thought to myself, losing focus on what was in front of me. I opened the bathroom door and took my shirt off, but as the shirt covered my face as it went over my head, I came to a startling realisation.

  “I saw her talking to Sophia last and she wasn’t in our room which means she’s in the—” And my fears were realised when I turned around to see Angel sitting in the bathtub. Rather than panic I was greeted by the same distinctive vibe I was met with at the table. I spun around to avoid staring at her, but I heard her get out of the bath and every footstep closer towards me. She pressed herself against me as I continued to stare forward.

  “You didn’t just walk in here to stand there, did you?” she whispered in my ear. I went to look back at her, but I had one glance at her pale skin and swung my head back to bathroom room door.

  “What? Don’t you like the way I look?” she asked leaving me no choice but to confront her to prove her wrong. I turned around and stepped into the bath with her. Despite the raunchy first impressions, it was quite relaxing in the warm water with her in arms. Not a sound but the water falling from her hair as I washed it and a dripping tap brought us at ease. She took a deep breath in and then out before leaning further into my arms, this easy-going feeling was mutual between us.

  “Work was exhausting today. All those outfit changes and photos, they really wore me out.”

  “Em must really want to make her money’s worth from you.” I laughed as I listened to her about her day.

  “Yeah, the clothes she gave me weren’t cheap, hopefully Mama doesn’t get too attached to any of them.”

  I liked being able to be like this with Angel. I felt as if this was how our relationship was supposed to be, without chaos and trying not to get under one another’s skin.

  “You think if we save up, can we get a place just for the two of us, away from everyone else?” I asked without contemplating what it would really take to achieve such a goal.

  “I wouldn’t mind that one day but for now I’m happy with our family, even if it is a little dysfunctional,” she answered softly.

  What was the most enjoyable, calm stage in the night fell to pieces with only a spring of the door as it suddenly flew open. Dad and Sophia walked inside in nothing but their underwear; they didn’t bare a hint of shame. With zero hesitation, they took it off and jumped inside the large bath with us. They fooled around with one another and splashed each other with the warm, steamy water.

  “Mama, what are you doing?” Angel screamed as she tried to hide behind me to cover herself.

  “Well I thought since you kids were having so much fun together in here, we’d join you. That, and I was worried when I didn’t see either of you run out of the bathroom after the first minute of seeing each other,” Sophia said in a sly tone only for her face to blush up slightly as I looked towards her.

  “So, you set this up? Why am I not surprised?” I said in a frustrated tone.

  “We thought we could mess with the two of you a little; I didn’t expect you to actually man up son.”

  “Why are you here now then?” Angel asked nervously. “Supervision of course, Giggle,” Sophia replied.

  “To mess with us more?” she yelled before then hiding her face half under the water.

  “That’s my girl, clever as can be,” she praised her as she patted the top of her head.

  We attempted to get out of the bath, but Sophia grabbed us by a hand each and held us in place with her ridiculous strength. After abo
ut five minutes of us trying not to face them after we had given up on trying to leave as they fooled around, we began to relax again anyway. It was hard not to as the water soaked away the stress the day had brought us. It didn’t take long for them to recognise that they weren’t bothering us anymore. Dad and Sophia relaxed also as we all faced each other from opposite ends of the bath.

  “Son, I know what you’re thinking, Sophy and I we’re just messing around, don’t let us get in the way of what you two have.” If only he stood true to those words, but I’ll have to get around to that much a fair bit later.

  “Again, I’m sorry for barging into your lives without any notice; please forgive me, Angel.”

  She nodded and for about fifteen minutes without either side saying a word. We all relaxed in the hot water before getting out of the bath. When we got to our room, Angel stared into my eyes silently while she wore one of my t-shirts as we laid in bed beside each other. We didn’t sleep a wink that night. I don’t want to go into too much detail but if I ever hear the name ‘Jason’ screamed again, it will be too soon.

  “They have a very intense definition of ‘Messing around’,” Angel whispered in my ear when silence finally did come after several hours. The Sun began to rise and the light peered in through my window. I dreaded the thought of going to work with no sleep in me. I went to get up, but I felt a tug against my arm with Angel fast asleep holding it tight.

  “Whatever,” I said bluntly before crashing beside her. The day played out as normal despite being an hour or two late for work.

  I came home that night to an empty house except for Celia who was having trouble changing her bandages. Her old ones were sprawled across the kitchen table, stained with dried blood. Her cuts were deeper than I imagined and I didn’t realise that Johnson had stitched them from before. I did my best to help her without making her any more frustrated than she already was.

  “It’s like Dad doesn’t even care that she did this to me. I get the two of them have a thing but the way he’s acting just feels wrong.”

  “I couldn’t tell you what runs through his head, but you already know that much, he cares about us and he wouldn’t just throw us away for her…where is everyone by the way?”

  “The two of them went out and for Angel, shouldn’t you check your phone?” I quickly remembered that Angel didn’t have a phone but to my relief, she walked through the front gate of the yard and walked inside. She asked the same question as I did since it didn’t take long to notice the pair was missing. I then received a phone call from Rex, telling me to turn on the news. I flicked to the news channel after switching on the TV to see an on-going news report.

  “Several days ago, the last known location of multiple missing persons, including two police officers that were sent out on an investigation, was burnt to the ground. Behind me is the house that was formerly owned by the Natsuki family. A successful and renowned family with many horrid rumours circling around their practices. However, no evidence has ever come forward to suggest such claims and has been left entirely to speculation. After interviewing some of the local residences surrounding the house, some of them have reason to believe that the fire may have been a deliberate act of arson to cover previous accusations of the family. There have been multiple sightings of Madam Sophia Natsuki, who has been reported missing for over five years and there also have been sightings of who we believe to be her daughter, Angel Natsuki, who was supposedly brutally murdered ten years ago. Prepare yourselves ladies and gentlemen, the mystery all those years ago that baffled authorities, may be coming back to our great city.”

  I dropped the phone without hanging up and turned to Angel. She had tears pouring down her face and then suddenly vanished into thin air only to reappear outside of our room in the hallway. So far, she had cried quietly to herself but this time we could hear her from the lounge room as her cries echoed throughout the house.

  What the hell is going on anymore? I asked myself while Celia stood beside me with her hand over her mouth, unsure of what to think on what she just heard.

  “They think she was a murder victim? The entire city’s thought she’s been dead this entire time?”

  “They don’t know anything Celia, they haven’t seen what I’ve seen.”

  “And what have you seen exactly?” she asked me, but I ignored her and went to my room to comfort Angel; she was miserable.

  I sat down beside her with a hollow feeling in my chest as if she had stolen the sadness I felt for her, leaving me only with frustration pounding away at the back of my head.

  “They can’t be serious with all that. I understand you’re not exactly normal but for them to say all that. Why can’t people just keep to themselves and stay out of other people’s business?”

  “I just want to be normal…I’m sick of being treated like a freak that should have died.” I stopped her there; I couldn’t stand seeing her this way. The woman that invaded my house, sent me running from hers and opened me up to her, was now crying her eyes out with blood filled tears, with no sign of resolution. It pissed me off and left me feeling sick to my stomach.

  “Angel, if you’ve done nothing wrong, that you really are this sweet, kind, loving girl, then you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. Be yourself because being normal sucks, nobody takes you seriously and you begin to feel as worthless as everyone else.”

  My outburst caught her off guard, but she fired off with one of her own. “Don’t you understand? Everyone thinks I’m dead! I stand out enough as it is, because of that report people will become suspicious of me. How am I meant to go on living when everyone thinks I should already be in the ground?”

  “Who cares? You’re here now! That’s what counts, I don’t care what happened in the past. You’re my girlfriend now and I—”

  “And you what?” she asked softly.

  “Sigh. And I love you. I know it might be a little soon to say but it’s how I feel about you.”

  She shook her head and hugged me; her tears dampened my shoulders.

  “No, it makes me really happy that you feel that way. I love you too.”

  Before another thought could pass me by, we heard rumbling from the kitchen. I walked through the hallway alone to check it out. I peeked my head around the corner to see both Dad and Sophia already both drunk and hooking up against the kitchen bench. I wasted no time in immediately turning around to go back to my room, however, Celia passed me by with a pair of earphones on as she walked into the kitchen, parts of me wanted to stop her but for some reason I let it happen anyway. Her reaction was about as much as I expected from her with her short temper and all. She went off.

  “W-what are you doing?”

  “Huh? Ah, Celia I’m just fooling around with Sophy a little after our night out.”

  “Fooling around? Do that kind of stuff in your room and not on the kitchen table, we eat here!”

  “I guess you’re right.” He laughed while his face was completely red as Sophia sucked on his neck, giggling under her breath as she enjoyed herself.

  “Eww! Get out!” They went to their room and Celia stood in the kitchen with her bandaged hands clenched; they shook and I walked up to her to steady her hands.

  “Are you feeling okay, Celia?” I asked her as she pushed away my hands from hers.

  “I’m just tired of everyone in this house. I’m only eighteen but I feel like I’m the only mature one here while everyone runs around holding hands and flirting with each other like teenagers. At least you and Angel keep it cute and cosy in your room. Dad and that lady haven’t been able to keep their hands off each other from the moment they met with each other.”

  “Don’t even get me started about last night.”

  “There was no way I was going to walk in on them to yell at them.” We both shuddered at the thought of the idea. It was kind of reassuring that Angel and I had Celia to confide in, that we weren’t just stuck in the house by ourselves while the relationship between our parents deepened by the day
. Although it was clear to us that they would eventually move past ‘fooling around’, well at least when we weren’t around anyway. I thought I could stick it out until Angel and I moved out. I wasn’t really thinking just how strange a situation it really was.

  “How’s Angel? She was pretty upset after that thing on the news,” she asked me after handing me my phone from the floor that I had left from earlier in the lounge room.

  “I think she’s a bit better now. I should probably go check on her though.” We said goodnight to each other; when I got back to my room, I wasn’t just greeted by Angel but by Johnson and Sabrina as well, with my window left wide open.

  “Hey, Wade, we came to check on you after you weren’t answering your phone after we saw that report on the news.” Sabrina said as both she and Johnson comforted Angel, relaxing on the bed.

  The two of them seemed closer than usual, not arguing with each other or gushing nervously at one another. They were plenty comfortable sitting beside each other, rather than maintaining a set distance. Yeah, I know what I’m describing may sound weird but that’s just how they usually were. I tried not to point it out, even Angel noticed while she was upset.

  “Hey, can I ask you both something? You two are acting differently than usual, did something happen?” she asked gently.

  “I moved in with Johnny earlier this evening. It’s nice to be away from my parents for a change,” Sabrina answered as she stretched her arms behind her head. “It’s refreshing to cook for two rather than only myself. We’ve been trying to take a leap like this for some time now.”

  “It’s about time you really went all in with each other.”

  “Shut up, Wade. What about you? How long have you and Angel been this cosy?”

  “Giggle. Well we haven’t gone quite as far as you two have.” Angel said quietly but it was more than enough to completely fluster Sabrina.

  “Then you haven’t—?”

  “Nope,” she said in a cheerful tone; she couldn’t contain her smile as she messed with her again.

  “Come on now Angel, I know you’re trying to cheer yourself up but there’s no need to stir her up, after all they did come and check on us. It’s not like you guys not to knock though. Is there another reason why you came here?”