In the Closet Ch. 09

All characters are at least 18 years old.

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Keith

Zach had been shut in his room all night and all morning. I don’t know what kind of funk he was in, but he owed me a key. Besides, mom had sent me to retrieve him for lunch. I rapped on his door but received no response.

“Zach,” I said through the door. “If you don’t answer, I’m just coming in.” Nothing. The lack of light coming from under the door indicated the lights weren’t on, nor were the curtains open. Luckily the door was unlocked, and I entered to find him lying on his bed. I sighed, approaching him to rip the blankets off of him. That is, until I heard his stuttered breathing. He was crying, or recovering from it. Frowning, I spotted his phone on the bedside table. Time for some detective work. Tapping it revealed twenty texts and three missed calls from Ellie.

He’d gone over to her place yesterday, and whatever had happened had left him like this. They were best friends, so what could possibly have happened? The doorbell rang, and I decided it best not to speak to Zach until I had more information. I left the room and ran into mom, who was coming from the front door.

“Keith? Is your brother coming out?” she asked, looking a bit troubled. “Ellie’s here to see him, and it looks… important.”

“Oh.” Perfect. “Yeah, I’ll let him know. Thanks mom.”

She smiled and squeezed my arm before returning to the kitchen, and I stalked to the front door. Opening it revealed the girl herself, looking like absolute shit. She was dressed the same, and her hairstyle was such that you wouldn’t be able to tell if it were disheveled or not. But her eyes were ringed in red, with dark circles underneath. Seemed Zach wasn’t the only one who’d been crying all night.

“Keith,” she sighed, sounding a bit choked up, a bit resigned, and a bit relieved.

“What did you do?” I growled, skipping the pleasantries. Her expression immediately crumpled, bowing her head in shame. I’d never seen her like this. She was always a tough girl, had to be to protect Zach. My gut twisted when I was reminded that it was my job. I’d failed him too. But what was happening now… looked like it fell on her.

After a very long spell, she looked back up, avoiding my gaze, her eyes even more bloodshot. “I think… I think I made a huge mistake,” she whispered. “He needs you, Keith. As a brother, not… not as anything else. He needs to feel… male.” I’d gathered by how Zach had been caged and stuffed and presented to me that she was fully aware of what had been going on between me and him. I guess she wasn’t one to judge, with her being gay too and all. But now that I thought about it, who had been the one propelling that vehicle? I had a feeling I was looking right at the culprit.

“So I’m supposed to clean up your mess?” I sneered. Which wasn’t fair to say, since she’d been cleaning mine all these years. But based on how she bowed her head again, it seemed she felt it was deserved.

“Please, Keith. Please…” Dark spots appeared on the pavement, accented by the sound of droplets. I took a deep breath and sighed.

“Stop crying and get outta here. I’ll take care of it.” I stepped right up to her, and she seemed to shrink. “But if he doesn’t come looking for you afterwards, you stay away from him, got it? My dad told me to never lay hands on a lady, but he didn’t say shit about women, especially ones who deserve it.” It was an empty threat, but she didn’t need to know that. As much as I wanted to, even the thought of grabbing her by the jacket and giving her a good shake like I’d do when threatening a guy made me uneasy.

She nodded and trudged back to her car, and I waited until she’d driven off before going back inside. Mom had made roast beef sandwiches, along with her signature grilled five-cheese sandwiches. Not only were they really good, they suited my plans well.

“Everything okay, sweetie?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think so. By the way, you don’t need to cook for the two of us tonight, mom,” I said as I started packing a lunch for the road. “I’m taking Zach out, and we won’t be back until late, so we’ll just eat out.”

“Not another night of drinking, I hope,” she replied, sounding slightly disapproving.

“No, nothing like that,” I promised before kissing her on the cheek. “Love ya, mom.”

She replied in kind and I went to go get Zach. Still lying in bed, still crying in the dark, and the sight made me angry at Ellie all over again. Focus. Zach needs you. I exhaled slowly before yanking the blanket off him. He glanced over his shoulder at me, then went back to sulking.

“Not today, Keith. I just want to be alone. Please,” he mumbled.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Keith, just leave him alone. He needs some space. And sometimes that’s absolutely the case, but this time I had a feeling he needed what I was offering. Looking back on it, I was glad I was boneheaded enough to push him.

“Nope. We’re going out. Leave your girl clothes at home, I wanna take you somewhere,” I said snappily.

He didn’t react for a moment, then turned his head slightly as if thinking, most likely wondering where I was taking him if it wasn’t as Zoey. It definitely was a first, so I didn’t blame him. “Fine.”

Jackpot. I left to let him get ready, and he came out dressed in jeans and a hoodie that was three sizes too big. It was way too hot to be dressed like this, and when I realized why he was, I grew even angrier at Ellie. Chill out, stay focused. We said goodbye to mom and got in my car, and I handed him the sandwiches so he could eat on the road. We were driving out of town, and he was quiet for most of it.

“What’s the worst thing your best friend has ever done?” he asked quietly, breaking the silence.

“Cody? Hm…” I glanced over at him, fully aware of the minefield he’d dropped me in. He was clearly still thinking about what Ellie had done, and now I was about to talk about his biggest bully. With his current mindset, I had to be careful. “After breaking up with one of his girlfriends, he went and slept with every single one of her friends. And he sent her pictures of every encounter.”

It was incredibly scummy, and Zach reacted accordingly. He whipped his head toward me, his tone sharp and judgemental. “Why are you friends with him?” I didn’t respond, because I didn’t have an answer. “People are the company they keep, Keith. And you’re nothing like him, so I just don’t get it.”

It was heartening to know he didn’t think I was a scumbag like Cody. But it did get me thinking about why I was still friends with him, knowing how he was. I noticed I’d been hanging out with him and the guys less and less ever since all this shit with Zach started. That first confrontation was Zach holding up a mirror to me, and I think… I think I hated what I saw. Maybe it was melodramatic, but I started wondering what kind of person I would have ended up becoming if not for that. While he stared out the window, I glanced over at him, at the person who might have just saved me from a worse version of myself. I couldn’t help the little smile that crept onto my face.

Thanks, baby bro.

After a long ride, we finally arrived at our destination. I parked and we got out, with Zach squinting against the desert sun as he listened to the sounds of speed and fun. “Go-karts?”

“I remember you loved it when dad took us years ago. I hope that hasn’t changed.”

He beamed as he approached the chain link fence that enclosed the facility’s grounds, looking out to the track as go-karts raced and drifted, the air thick with the sounds of screeching tires and revving engines. He turned back to me, eyes almost sparkling. “Really?”

I grinned and ruffled his hair. “C’mon. Let’s get suited up.”

The rental place provided racing suits and other necessary gear, and an instructor gave the mandatory safety briefing, given it wasn’t our first time but it had been quite a while since we last came. This wasn’t bumper cars, so avoid collisions when possible. Keep all limbs within the vehicle. No stopping on the track, all gear is mandatory to drive, sign this waiver, all that. After the briefing, I supplemented by reminding Zach that the go-karts were low to the ground, meaning the force of gravity would be stronger during turns.

We stepped out to our go-karts, pulling on our helmets. He was struggling with his strap, and I walked up to him and clicked it in. He looked at me with wide eyes, but instructors came over to make sure all our gear was properly worn before he could say anything. And then we got in our vehicles and were off.

The go-karts left us basically sitting on the ground, with a metal band wrapping around the vehicle to act as a bumper in case of collisions. The instructors guided us to the starting line, and I looked over at Zach.

“Bet I kick your ass, Z-Man,” I called over our engines.

“You’re fucking on, K,” he yelled back. “Get dusted.”

We flipped our visors down, and with the wave of a flag we took off. Driving a car couldn’t hold a candle to go-karts. There was just something so visceral about the barebones frame, the feel of the road mere inches from shredding your ass, and the massive Gs you were pulling. It felt like my insides were pushing against the entire left or right side of my body, depending on the turn, and fighting against the Gs gave me an invigorating sense of power. My mastery of the vehicle likewise gave me a similar sense of control. And I hoped Zach was feeling both as well.

Because he was kicking my ass.

There was one other group at the track with us, and after a couple laps our turn was over. We stopped in the pit and climbed out of our seats, and Zach flipped his visor up.

“Dude, you don’t need to go easy on me,” he panted. Between the temperature, the racing suits, and the adrenaline, we were already pretty sweaty.

“Sure, sure. Alright, for real this time,” I replied, wiping the bridge of my nose.

Two more laps later, and he wasn’t letting up.

“Alright, for real for real this time,” I barked.

Even though his face was squished by the helmet, he still managed a smug grin. “I think you actually just don’t have it in you.”