Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

Cameron had experienced before. It was his first kiss.
    ****
    Glancing at the clock on the wall over his bunk, Morgan saw it was almost time to get up and get ready for school. He had barely slept at all but he didn't feel tired and his anger was only a small flicker of what it had been the day before. Beyond that, Morgan wasn't sure he knew what he was feeling because he wasn't particularly good with understanding feelings to begin with.
    He had grown up with only his father after his mother walked out on them when he was only five years old. His father had tried to hold it together after that but by the time he was ten, Morgan already had a job delivering news papers to help pay for the electricity and beer. Through the booze, his father had barely held on to a job in a steel factory until it was closed down six years ago.
    They moved to this town soon after when his father had managed to get some work in a local cemetery digging graves. It paid next to nothing so Morgan still helped out as much as he could. His only reprieve was going into school early and staying after to practice on the guitar his mother had left behind. It was the only thing she had left behind aside from him and his dad, and Morgan cherished it above everything else.
    In one of his drunken tirades, his father had found it hidden under the bed and chucked it out the window. It had taken all of Morgan's self control not to throw himself out after it. He had waited until his father had passed out before going to find it out in the mud. Aside from being dirty, it had only received a few scratches. After that, Morgan hid it behind the fridge until he was allowed to keep it in one of the lockers at school in the band suite.
    This morning, his dad had come to around one in the morning to go begin digging a grave. Morgan had shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep to avoid having to confess and explain why he was now unemployed. Pulling himself out of bed, Morgan pulled on the first articles of clothing he could find that smelled mostly clean before beginning his trek to school.
    An hour later, he walked into the band suite and headed right for his guitar. Freeing it from its cage, Morgan put the strap over his shoulder, grabbed his crumpled sheets of music and sat down to begin practicing. After doing a few scales to warm up, he shuffled through his music and froze when he pulled out a particular song.
    Feeling anger and something else swell within him, Morgan crumpled up the music to Gotta Be With You and tossed it in the trash. Looking up, Morgan's eyes fell on Cameron's empty instrument cage and his anger began to fizzle as another emotion sent a tightness to grip his chest.
    Snatching his music from the stand, Morgan took his guitar off and put everything back in his cage before turning to leave the practice room. Stopping short, he saw Suzie watching him from the doorway.
    "Hi," Suzie said with a frown of concern.
    "Hey," said Morgan.
    "You're not going to practice?" Suzie asked with confusion evident in her voice.
    "Why? My dreams gone," Morgan spat.
    Silence fell between them and Suzie dropped her eyes to the floor. "Have you talked to him?"
    "No," Morgan said coolly, not mentioning the fact that he was now without a phone.
    "He feels bad, you know," Suzie said looking up into his eyes.
    "Then why did he go?" Morgan asked evenly.
    "Because it is an amazing opportunity," Suzie said in almost pleading tone.
    "Oh I know that," Morgan said trying to sound angry despite the fact that his anger had dwindled down so much, replaced by something else he wasn't sure he understood.
    "Then you should also know he asked if you could come with him."
    "Really?" Morgan said almost cringing at the sound of hope in his voice.
    "Yeah," Suzie said stepping further into the room. "They said it was either him or nothing."
    "Figures," Morgan said brushing past Suzie to leave the room.
    "He likes you," Suzie blurted out.
    Stopping in the doorway, Morgan felt his breath catch in his chest as the tightening he felt earlier returned with such force that it threatened to crumble him up.
    "He has for a while," Suzie added. "And he would kill me for telling you that but it's the only reason he got on stage the other night. He did it for you."
    Feeling the sting of tears in his eyes, Morgan left without another word.
    ****
    Opening his eyes to the bright sunshine that filled the room, Cameron smiled to himself and rolled over. To his shock, he was alone in the large bed.