Red String of Hate

Ray would’ve never considered having a roommate, he didn’t want one. Sadly though, things were tight- they never seemed to get easier, so a roommate was the best option for him. Someone to help him out with things- even if it was just a situation where he no longer had to be alone in a new home. He had put out a couple things online, in a few trusted forums, hoping that maybe he’d catch someone he liked chatting with in need of a place. The taker ended up being someone he’d only spoken to a few times before, but desperate times called for accepting their offer. They said they could cook and clean- and make sure that Ray didn’t have to stress too much about the actual apartment itself.

So, when he finally got out of his car and started walking up to his new roommate’s current home, he was both excited and frustrated. Excited to meet someone, excited to maybe make a friend, but frustrated at the entire situation he was being forced to go through. Their home was in a bit of a rundown area, with a few cracks along the walls and stains deep in the concrete. He didn’t really want to consider what they might have been. It seemed sizable enough, with a two-car garage and a fairly large yard. Ray looked around at the lawn- or what should have been a lawn. The grass was dry and brown- long dead. There were a few planters around the windows, but other than a stubborn rosebush, everything there was dead as well. It made a feeling of dread settle deep in his stomach- if they didn’t take care of plants he couldn’t imagine that they were a good person. With a deep breath, he knocked on their front door.

A shout came from somewhere inside, then the scrambling of bodies moving towards the door- a few barks from a dog somewhere deeper in the house, then the doorknob rattled. Ray did the best he could to smile, as an older woman opened the door, squinting at him. Her hair was thin and graying, though the ends of it were dyed a mix of greens and blues, half-pulled into wavy ponytails at her shoulders. She wore a loose t-shirt with a logo he had never seen before tucked into a pair of old looking sweatpants. Definitely a mom.

“Can’t you read?” She had a rough voice, and coughed before she continued. Ray tried to ignore the smell of tobacco. “Sign says ‘No Solicitors’- I don’t want whatever you’re selling, kid. Don’t care how good the cause is.”

Ray did everything in his power to remain calm, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket. Smooth leaves bloomed from his fingertips, and he settled with gently running his fingers down them- relaxing himself as best as he could in the situation. The smile remained on his face, and he tilted his head slightly in confusion. “No- I, um… I think there’s a misunderstanding? I’m here for… Sebastian?”

“What’d he do this time?” Her tone was cold, face settling into an angry expression. Ray nearly winced, starting to understand why this Sebastian guy was also trying to move out of his current house.

“Nothing, Ma’am,” Ray straightened himself out, looking up at her. She seemed to relax a bit, that was good. “I’m moving into an apartment in the city, and he recently applied to be my roommate.”

The woman seemed surprised, but quickly shook it off. “Ah- that’d explain the packing… Thought he was gonna run away, he hasn’t told us anything.” Ray felt a bit bad, spoiling the secret, but he wasn’t going to lie to a lady he just met. She was- most likely- Sebastian’s mother, and he didn’t want to get on her bad side by doing something like that.

She opened the door wider, reaching down to loop her fingers through the collar of a large dog that had bounded towards the sound of it opening. It was white and black, somewhere between a Rottweiler and a Pitbull- and Ray would be lying if he said it didn’t make him slightly nervous. The woman stepped back, letting him inside, and told him to make himself comfy on the couch.

It was dusty, and ripped, but it didn’t seem to be very dirty, overall. He assumed it was just a well–loved piece of furniture. He sat down at one end of it, making himself take up as little space as he could, the leaves in his pocket turning into rose petals for him to caress.

“Bass is out right now, was walking his sister somewhere. He’ll be back soon enough.” She informed him, closing the door and turning towards the dog. “Now, Moo- you best be nice, alright? No jumping, no guarding. He’s a good boy.” She finished her command by patting the dog’s wide head, leaning down to plant a kiss on its head. The dog seemed to understand well enough, thumping its thick tail against the ground, standing and shoving its snout against the woman’s knees before walking away down the hallway.

“Ah, by the way,” The woman began, straightening her back and turning her attention back to Ray, “Sharol Coven. Ma’am is a little too formal for someone like me, so you can call me Sharol. So, who are you?”

Ray nodded, making as much of a mental note as he could. “I’m Ray Moriglo, I live over in Merimere, but I’m moving to get away from some family.”

Sharol smiled at him, taking a seat on an old chair to the side of the couch. She relaxed into the cushion, clicking her tongue a few times before she spoke again. “Merimere’s a nice place, but I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about it lately… You’re probably better off getting outta somewhere like that… Did your family do something?”

He could hear the concerned tone of a mother in her voice, and he shook his head softly. “Nothing serious- don’t worry. My elder sister moved out a while ago, and my mom has been taking it badly. Dad’s the one helping me out, before she smothers me to death.”

“Awh, she’s just sad her babies are leaving the nest. But… I did something similar, back when I was a kid, so I get it.” The woman laughed a bit, nodding her head. Then she looked Ray in the eyes for a moment, evening her expression into something serious. “You’re going to call her now and again, right?”

Ray couldn’t help but snicker, all moms were really the same. “Of course. We set up a schedule for weekly calls, and she even gave me her work number to make sure I didn’t lose contact in an emergency.”

Sharol seemed to relax at that, a smile spreading across her face. She reached over and ruffled Ray’s hair. “Good kid. You better make sure that Bass calls me, too. Or at least that he calls his sister- but I’m sure he’ll do that anyways.”

“Ah, about him- what kind of person is he?” Suddenly, Ray felt nervous again, remembering why he was here. He bit into his lip for a moment, while a slow, thinning cat wandered into the room- as though finally hearing when Sharol clicked her tongue. ”We’ve only talked online, and this is my first time meeting him."

“Mmm… I think that I might be a bit… Biased, but I think he’s a great kid. His older brother Gill was a nightmare, but he was always such a sweet kid in comparison.”  She began, reaching down to bundle the cat in her arms. It was a pale bluish color, and nearly immediately settled into her hold, closing its eyes happily. “He’s… a little strange, his interests have been all over the place- so don’t get mad at him if he suddenly really likes a new thing- but I think that that’s more fun than if he hadn’t ever branched out. He never liked his brother, so I think he did everything in his power to make sure he acted opposite of him. It meant that I had one devil, and one angel- and that’s only partially a joke!”

Sharol laughed at her own joke for a moment, while Ray smiled along. He didn’t know what was so funny about that particularly, but he couldn’t really ask. She stopped laughing after a moment, and seemed lost in thought for a moment. The slow whir of a fan above them, and the purring of the cat in her arms filled the silence in a comfortable way.

“When his little sister was born, he practically took over my job entirely. She’s my pride and joy, always has been, but she’s his pride and joy first. Little thing came out too soon, and she was as fragile as a house of cards- but Bass always made sure she was safe and happy. He’s kind, almost to a fault- and selfless, but you better not take advantage of him, Moriglo.”

Ray raised his hands to protest, but she laughed before he could.  “Kidding, kid! You don’t look like the kind that could do anything to him anyways. He’s always fought off the bullies for everyone, I’m sure he could take you.”

“I promise I’m not going to try and do anything- I just need someone to help me out with living there.”

“Hmm, oh- where are you planning to go, exactly?”

“Tal Ku,” He started, and watched as apprehension filled her expression. “Devil’s Rise, but not around Hellsgate. It was the cheapest place I could get a hold of on short notice.”

“Is it safe?”

“I made sure to triple-check the neighborhood, and I downloaded a watch app a few weeks ago- nothing bad has happened there. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

She shifted her weight, making the cat in her arms chirp out a meow, but didn’t seem to be as nervous as she was when he said the name of the city. She seemed as though she was about to talk again when the front door opened, and Ray looked up to see who walked in.

He was tall- definitely at least half a head more than Ray, and pale. Nearly-white hair was pulled into a tight bun, with specific strands left loose to frame his face. His shoulders were pretty thin, and so was the rest of him. A pair of sunglasses rested on his face, and he wore a deep colored coat over dark skinny jeans and a white v-neck. Ray wanted to punch him immediately. He looked so… typical, somehow.

The stranger- who Ray could only assume was Sebastian, tilted his head, reaching up to readjust his sunglasses, placing them atop his head, careful not to ruin his hairstyle. Eugh. As he kicked off his shoes- high-tops of some sort- he spoke. “Ma, whose this?”

“This is Ray! He’s here to meet you. Did the two of you make it there okay?”

Sebastian nodded in reply to her question, “Tetra tripped on one of the corners, but she said she was fine.” The dog- Moo, he thought he heard Sharol say- bounded up to meet him, and he crouched down to scratch down her back, before patting her on the top of her head. Then, he stood and turned his attention towards Ray. “Nice to meet you, Ray.”

His smile was annoying, somehow, and Ray couldn't do anything but smile back. He didn’t understand why this guy wanted to move out- his mom was nice, he had a sister he cared about- surely this life was working out perfectly for him. The thought made bile rise in the back of his throat, but all he could do about it was stand up and walk over, holding out his hand. Sebastian seemed confused for just a moment, but reached out and shook it. His grip was stronger than Ray expected, and nearly threw him off balance.

“You too.” Ray felt like he was definitely meeting the wrong person. He should’ve waited for another offer. Should’ve called some closer friends he knew needed a place. Should’ve done anything but ended up here, awkwardly holding a stranger’s hand, because he knew if he let go he would punch him.

Sebastian pulled away first, staring into his palm for a moment. An orange Lily sat nestled there, and Ray wanted to die on the spot. “Were you… carrying around a flower?” Sebastian asked him, tilting his head.

Ray nodded, using the hand still in his hoodie pocket to produce a few more blooms of various kinds, reaching in then with his free hand and pulling them out. “Yeah, um… I like the way that the petals feel, y’know?”

“You… stim on flower petals? Real ones?” Sebastian stared at him, and the look in his eyes was definitely one that said ‘you’re killing flowers for this?’ Ray couldn’t just bust out the fact he had flower magic like this out of nowhere, so he had to nod along, stuffing the flowers back in his pocket and sheepishly raising one hand to rub at his neck.

“Yeah, um- they’re from my mom’s garden. She’s really good at growing them, and lets me have a few every couple days. I.. sort of forgot I had these on me…” The excuse was good enough, because Sebastian smiled at him again. Ray did not want to admit that that smile eased him.

“That’s good, then. I was worried you were just out there stealing flowers from some poor garden-” For a moment, he turned to glance out the window at the rosebush outside, “that’d be… Pretty messed up, if you did.”

“Of course I wouldn’t do that- I can’t imagine trimming someone else’s stuff without permission.” Ray huffed, turning and walking back towards the couch. He sat down carefully, making himself small at the edge of it again. Sebastian followed, sitting on the opposite end.

Sharol had a smile on her face that Ray couldn’t place, so he glanced over at Sebastian, who seemed to be trying to avoid his mother’s gaze. She moved her arms to pool the cat she had onto the coffee table, earning a weak mewl of protest, and stood with a slap of her hands. “Well, boys, I’m going to make some lunch, alright? It won’t be much, but Ray, you’re free to stay!”

Ray went to protest, but Sebastian cut him off. “Thanks, Ma. We’ll go hang out in my room, okay? I don’t want dad coming home and harassing him.” A distant expression crossed Sharol’s face, and she nodded. Despite just sitting down, Sebastian stood again, turning towards Ray. “C’mon.”

It wasn’t an offer, or a question, but a command, and it made Ray clench his fists, rose thorns sitting into his palms. They didn’t pierce skin, but they kept him from shouting. He stood and followed Sebastian down the hallway, to a door that was seemingly about to fall completely off the hinges. It was covered in stickers of various kinds, some of them old and nearly impossible to recognize. He assumed that these were the results of the various interests that Sharol had spoken about.

The inside of the room wasn’t much better. In one corner, there was a mattress and box spring, just on the floor, and the carpet was covered in various rugs. In fact, he couldn't really see any of the normal carpet, aside from in a few small patches where rounded edges didn’t meet up with squared ones. The walls were littered in posters- everything from animal magazine cutouts to celebrities to seemingly hand-drawn art of various quality. There was a dresser and desk against another wall, both covered in various knick-knacks. It was almost too cluttered, and made Ray a bit nervous.

“Sorry about the mess, I promise I won’t bring all of it with me.” Sebastian said quietly, shrugging his coat off onto the mattress. He didn’t seem ashamed or anything, and reached into his closet to tug out a beanbag chair.

“That, um- that wasn’t what I was thinking.” Ray watched as Sebastian settled into his chair, then pointed towards the desk for Ray to sit in the chair there. He did so quickly, almost nervous to stand for too long- the visual stimulation in that room was almost enough to make him woozy.

“Nah, I know. Just wanted to let you know. Sorry if you were stuck talking to my mom for too long, I was planning on being here- but I couldn’t let Tetra walk alone.”

“I-it’s okay! She was pretty nice,” Ray raised his hands, waving them slightly. “Um- did… Did she nickname all of you after fish?” He asked, a slight flush on his cheeks. He felt stupid for asking, but couldn’t help the curiosity.

“Me and my brother, yeah. Tetra is when they gave up on nicknames, that’s just her name. Dad’s a fishing expert or something. At least, that’s what he says he’s always doing.” There was a bitter tone in Sebastian’s voice that Ray couldn’t quite place, but he didn’t want to press it. Instead, he looked around the room again, trying to distract himself from the awkward air he knew he was leaving hanging there.

“I see… Um… You’re… Into a lot of stuff, huh?” What an obvious question- gods, could he be more dumb right now? Probably, but he was almost certain he was reaching new lows with his cell count.

“A lot of it is older stuff I liked, but I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of things. What if I took down a poster, and then later on was sad, or something? I’m a little better now, about keeping my stuff more in check, but I used to go wild- all-in on every interest. No idea how Ma got the money to fund it, but that’s why I take care of Tetra for her!” Sebastian smiled to himself, and Ray felt… Even more awkward. He was learning the story of someone he just desperately wanted to absolutely obliterate. He was so happy, so enriched, had such a loving little life- it was annoying.

“Oh, but!” Sebastian clapped his hands together, just like his mother had, “I need to learn about you! I’m sure she told you enough about me to last a while, aha.”

“There’s not much to say. I like flowers, I’m moving out to get away from a smothering, helicopter mother, and I work as a customer service expert for a furniture store.”

“Is moving going to change your job?” Sebastian asked, pursing his lips. Ray couldn’t help but note how motherly he looked, staring at him like that. All he needed was to put his hands on his hips and tap his foot, and he would be the spitting image of a concerned parent. Weird.

“No, there’s another location in Glory’s Fall that I've already transferred to. I’m starting there next week, when the apartment is ready.” Ray sighed, leaning back into the desk chair, “I’m also allergic to shellfish, but that’s less important.”

Ray shrugged, but Sebastian literally stood up and walked over to the desk where Ray was sitting, leaning over him to grab a composition notebook. Ray was confused, but the other pulled back, grabbing a pencil and flipping through it to a certain page, writing something down. As soon as he was done, Ray instinctively grabbed the book, looking at it.

A whole page of information about him was not what he expected, but it was all stuff he’d said online. A sort of roommate cheat sheet, he assumed, though he still lifted an eyebrow and stared up at Sebastian, who was now shuffling his feet, a soft reddish color blooming on his cheeks. “What’s this?”

“Just some information,” Sebastian said, reaching to grab at the book, trying to get it out of Ray’s hands, but Ray moved it backwards, out of comfortable reach. “It’s nothing weird, I promise. I just don’t want to forget anything important.”

“I don’t know… it almost looks like the way a person would stalk their cru-” Ray began, but was stopped by Sebastian clapping a hand over his mouth, knocking him off guard long enough for the taller man to grab the notebook out of Ray’s hands.

Sebastian glared at him, and Ray finally focused on his eye color, a soft purple. “You’re not interesting enough for me.”

“Wh-” Red bloomed across Ray’s face, thorns squeezing around his wrists, itching to whip across the other’s face, almost about to- interrupted by a yell from the kitchen.

“Boys! Lunch is rea~dy~!”