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The Life of Another - Chapter 41

© Jake Atkinson

P.O.V. - Roger - Late supper at Nick's house

"So as you probably guessed Roger," said Scott as he joined us at the kitchen table. "That call was about you."

"I kinda gathered." I replied, passing him a take-out box brimming with chow mein and orange chicken. "I'm sorry for all the drama."

Kim chimed in. "Don't hang those ears so low just yet. Honestly, I'm looking forward to talking with your Aunt tomorrow morning. And I'm willing to bet I can get her on our side long before Mr. Forester arrives in the afternoon."

Forcing my ears up, I managed a subtle smile. "Me and my penchant for terrible first impressions." I sighed softly. "You guys have been so patient and understanding. I have to ask, why? I mean, most parents would see me as a scruffy Wolf with a sketchy past and do everything in their power to chase me away."

Kim wiped at her muzzle with a napkin, her tail wagging with a hint of mischievousness. "You're not scruffy! And on top of that, Nickie likes you."

My tail curled, eliciting gentle laughter from Kim.

"You're right," she said, looking to Nick. "He's soooo cute when he gets embarrassed!"

"Mom!" exclaimed Nick defensively.

"Ok, ok." she said, raising a hand. "Seriously though, we've been hearing about you since your first day at school Roger. You know, Nick told us about how you stood up for Bea at lunch that day. Not a lot of kids would have done that, especially when it meant passing up a chance at being part of the 'in' crowd."

"Yeah well," I responded awkwardly. "Who would want to spend time with a small minded group like that? You couldn't pay me to hang out with them. And besides, Bea is awesome."

Scott's chopsticks paused halfway to his muzzle. "Nick and Bea have been friends for so long, they're practically brother and sister. But it's not just that, take Steven for instance. You really went above and beyond helping him when he fell into the stream that night. How is he by the way?"

"That hardly counts." I replied. "Who wouldn't have helped in a situation like that? And he's doing ok, considering. The poor guy is full of all sorts of pins and screws, but they're expecting a full recovery."

"He's fortunate he didn't drown." Kim commented, shaking her head. "Which could have easily happened if you hadn't jumped in and pulled him to the streambank."

Uncomfortable with the attention, I tried changing the subject. "Er uh, I guess. But I'm still in the dark about tomorrow. What with Sue and my school counselor arriving, I can't imagine we'll all be going to the beach together."

Scott appeared to mull over his response, chewing absentmindedly. "It seems the school contacted your Aunt when they first noticed your absence, and she... grew overly concerned. No doubt with a little help from that dean of yours."

"Nigel Burwell." I offered flatly.

"Yeah," continued Scott. "Glad he wasn't my principal!" he said with a grin. "Anyway, her employer told her that she couldn't take off with such short notice, so she quit."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "She works at freakin' PennyMart! Couldn't they get someone to cover for a couple days? It's not as if she'd be forcing people to reschedule emergency heart surgery."

"I know, right?!" Kim commented supportively. "But don't worry Roger. Your school has already offered her a job."

I cocked an ear quizzically, a cue that Scott picked up on. "Not sure what the exact position is, but it's a full-time job, complete with benefits. It's got to be better than whatever she was doing at PennyMart."

"Well that's... nice of them." I responded, idly scratching a cheek ruff. "But why is she rushing out here at all? And what's up with the counselor?"

Scott polished off another chunk of orange chicken. "That's just what I asked the dean." He said, gesturing with his chopsticks for emphasis. "And he gave me some hyped up speech about your irresponsible behavior putting those around you at grave risk, blah blah blah. Personally, what I think it comes down to is that you made the school look bad, and therefor made him look bad."

"Grave risk," I mumbled testily. "Please! The closest I came to hurting anyone was when I fell asleep against Nick. And what's Mr. Forester coming for?" I sighed and poked at my hardly-touched meal. "All I wanted to do was forget the real world for a week."

An uneasy silence hovered around the table until Kim broke the spell. "Try not to fret about it. After we've had a chance to talk with them tomorrow, I'll bet things will work out better than you expect."

P.O.V. - Nick

As we settled around the TV in the living room, Roger's emotions were tearing me apart. First he'd be depressed, then anxious. Then he'd try to stifle them, fail, and sink even deeper.

While he was distracted, I used my mom's phone to look up a few details about valium and confirmed my suspicions. While it wasn't at its peak action any more, it was obvious he was now dealing with the aftereffects, hence his anxiety and depression. On top of that, it seemed to be interfering with his normally all-to-effective method of suppressing his feelings. Something I would normally expect to be a good thing, except that he seemed so helpless.

There he sat, his aura flaring completely unchecked, rippling with subdued electrical rain until a wave of anxiety hit, at which point it would flicker erratically.

With a frustrated huff, Roger stood and ran his fingers through the fur on his head. "Hey uh, I don't mean to be antisocial, but I missed my workout this morning. And between the long plane ride and all, I could use a little fresh air. Mind if I jog along the beach for a bit?"

Concerned on multiple levels, I tried to talk him out of it. "Are you sure that's a good idea? We just ate."

"I had a pretty light meal." he replied. "And besides, I'm not planning on a swim. Then again, the last time I went for a walk to unwind, Steven fell out of the sky."

He flashed his patented closed-mouth smile and looked to my parents, who were exchanging concerned glances.

"It's not like I can get lost." he added. "We're essentially on an island. Worst case scenario, I run so far that I go full circle and end up right back here."

My dad squirmed, a rare sight. "Roger uh, thing is... your dean was rather adamant about you not being out in public places, especially unaccompanied."

Roger sighed dejectedly, his gaze falling to the floor. "Right," he said, his voice low and restrained. "Then is it ok if I go to the bathroom for minute? Don't worry, I'll use the one without a window so you won't have to worry about me making a run for it." He waved his tail to indicate he was joking, but it did little to ameliorate my concern.

"Of course," my mom said. "We'll cue up the movie and have it ready for when you get back."

Roger nodded and padded down the hall, the bathroom door audibly clicking shut after he rounded a distant corner.

My mother leaned towards me. "You know him better than we do. What's troubling him?"

"It's all my fault." I confessed. "He didn't want to leave the school, but I begged and whimpered and... now look what's happened."

"Oh honey," she said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Everything will be fine."

"But will it be?" I protested. "They wouldn't be sending both his Aunt and his counselor unless they had something major planned."

"If they were expelling him, they wouldn't have offered Sue a job there." my father pointed out. "So how bad could it be? Detention? Campus clean-up patrol? After all Roger's been through, I doubt it would be anything he couldn't handle."

"Do you really think that's what has him upset though?" My mother asked. "I get the impression that maybe there's something else going on."

I fidgeted, not wanting to betray Roger's trust. But at the same time, I thought maybe my parents could help. "Roger's special abilities are linked to his emotions, and he has trouble with those sometimes." My ears folded further. "So they started him on valium."

"What?!" my mother exclaimed, sitting up straight.

"That was my first reaction too." I replied, glancing to the hallway to make sure Roger was still out of earshot. "I don't really have the details though, just that he took several tablets before we got to the airport."

"_Several_tablets?!" she added. "No wonder he fell asleep on the plane."

"Yeah, only now that they're wearing off I think he's having a lot of anxiety and stuff." I said hesitantly.

At that point, the bathroom door's handle rattled, causing us to fall quiet.

Roger reappeared a moment later, instantly picking up on the stifling silence. "So..." he said, trailing off into nothing.

"I just had a thought Roger." my father cut in. "We have a treadmill, would that do?"

Roger's tail picked up. "Yeah, any chance it's by an open window? Fresh air makes all the difference."

"Even better," he replied. "It's set up facing a sliding glass door with a view of the ocean. With that open all the way, you'll all but have seagulls sitting on your head in no time. Come on." said Scott as he rose to show him the way. "It's upstairs."

P.O.V. Roger - 3:30 am

How the f#ck did I end up here?

I took a shuddering breath and glanced to the stars overhead, but no solace lay in their fathomless depths. After a somber pause, my eyes returned to the horizon.

Looks to be about a quarter-mile to the mainland now.

The surfboard bobbed gently underneath me, my paws dangling idly on either side as I paused.

A second chance, a chance to be the kid I never was.

Turning my head, I could still pick out the light from Nick's house. Swallowing hard, I faced forward again.

And look what I did with it! I found the kindest, brightest guy in the world... and I tore his heart out!

Lying down, my chest against the fiberglass, I resumed paddling towards the shore.

Damn these feelings! If I had known coming off all that valium would be like this, I would never have taken so much. It's for the best though. Now I can finally see my situation for what it is, instead of what I want it to be. Nick deserves a real boyfriend, someone normal!

A renewed wave of guilt and remorse washed over me, causing me to kick all the harder, as if I could physically outmaneuver its unrelenting force.

Out of the darkness, a boat's engine roared.

Son-of-a-bitch! The speed limit in here is 15 kph! Probably some drunk, rich f#ck coming back to port after an all-night party at sea.

Though I changed my angle, the boat turned to match my new course, its motor at full throttle.

Sh#t!

Idove off the side of the board, sliding beneath the hull of the oncoming vessel only to get caught up in the churning currents from the prop. Rolling and spinning underwater, I could feel my makeshift trash-bag backpack rip away, its plastic drawstring handles tearing free of my shoulders. Finally breaking the surface with a gasp, I was totally disoriented, finding myself facing Nick's island tenmeters from where I had gone under.

Crap, there goes my clothes, the money clip... everything!

Treading water, I scanned the channelfor any hint of my belongings, but only the scarred remains of the surfboard caught my eye.

Good thing I decided to use Kim's old wetsuit, even if it is a size too small. I'd be in a for a long, cold swim otherwise. Sure could use more room in the crotch though! Damn, am I going to be a sight when I get on land! I mean, where does a person even buy a pink and white wetsuit?! Couldn't she have gotten a black one like everyone else? Bah, I'm getting sidetracked. I'd better start for shore before I get tired.

Using the energy from my frustration as motivation, I swam to the docks without further incident, hauling myself out of the water and lying flat on my back across the wooden planks.

Phew, that was exhausting! At least my luck might be changing for the better. This appears to be a private marina.

I got to my paws, shaking my head and tail in the process, before padding wetly across the boards towards one of the larger yachts. It appeared to be in the final stages of a very late party, leaving me to surmise that most of the inhabitants would either be asleep or inebriated enough to be easily handled.

Hope I can find some clothes, or at least something to dry my head with.

Cautiously climbing aboard by hopping over the boat's railing, I almost landed on an Otter that had passed-out on the deck, her head still hanging over the edge where she had apparently been throwing up. Concerned she might fall overboard, I rolled her over and propped her up.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked in a loud whisper.

Although her response was delayed, her eyes fluttered open to stare blankly into mine.

I grasped her by the muzzle and gave her head a brisk shake, thinking it might bring her around more quickly. Her eyes suddenly got wider and up came the rest of her stomach's contents, narrowly missing me before splashing across the deck.

"Feel any better now?" I said with a hint of disgust in my tone.

"Ugh, I'm sooooooo dizzy." she lamented, bringing her hands to her ears as if trying to steady her head.

"Sorry, I was worried you might've overdosed on something." I replied, my hand now resting on her shoulder to keep her from slumping back to the deck. "Seems like you've had a lot to drink, you mix anything harder in with it?"

She wiped at the side of her muzzle with the back of her hand before trying feebly to push me away. Repulsed by her vomit-stained appendage, I recoiled and let go. However she slouched only briefly before saying, "What are you, the cops or something? So I had a little fun."

"Whatever floats your boat." I replied. "It's just that you looked about ready to roll overboard."

"Yeah well, you look wetter than me!" she said before laughing raucously at her own joke.

"About that," I responded. "Would you happen to have a towel handy, or maybe even some old clothes?"

Her gaze narrowed, a comical sight given her inability to hold her head still. "Hey, you're not girl!"

"Very astute," I said dryly. "So about that towel... and if you could keep your voice lower, it would be appreciated."

"If you're a boy, then why are you wearing a girl's wetsuit?" she countered, still staring intently at my chest.

"I uh, lost a bet. Had to swim over from Coronado island wearing my friend's mom's wetsuit."

"You swam all the way from there?" she replied, gesturing melodramatically.

"Well I started out with a surfboard but a boat ran me down and..."

"OH MY GOD!!" she exclaimed, rising unsteadily to her paws. "Now I know where I've seen that logo before! You're Super Surf Girl!"