Scratch Ch. 01

"Great job, honey," Mother said.

"So it worked then?" Thomas chimed in. He was sitting strategically to Father's right.

"Yes," Father said shaking out his cloth napkin on to his lap. "It was a bit of a dirty business and not typically the kind of press we want to make, but it had to be done."

It was all over the news last night. Joseph was happy to ignore it, but between make out sessions, Lindsay pulled up a video of the President's special address to congress. His speech itself was mundane and politics as usual, but what took headlines was the Florida Junior Congressman's outburst in the midst of the speech.

"You're killing our soldier's!" Father had shouted. In the news he spun it as an emotional moment that overtook him as he could no longer sit by and listen to the President's lies about the wars. In reality, he had spent a month planning this with his team. Polling suggested he would lose his race in a few months to be in senate, mainly due to popularity.

"The bill should go through by a landslide," Father continued as he scooped some bacon on his plate. "And now that I'm chief sponsor, it should put me over the edge for election time."

"Ah ah ah!" Mother warned. "We say grace before eating and taking the world over." Everyone chuckled except Alyssa and Joseph who just stared at another. They held hands as Bruce said grace. Joseph and Alyssa used to always play this game, whether at church or the dinner table where they squeezed each other's hand harder and harder until one gave up. But not today. Joseph squeezed her hand and got nothing in response. He looked to her and saw her knees bouncing wildly as the nerves built.

Joseph turned to his father while the others had their eyes closed and head bowed, but John Conright didn't either. His iron jaw was clenched as he stared daggers at Joseph and what he was wearing.

"Amen." Everyone else said. Forks and knives clanged on plates as they dug into breakfast.

"Joseph," Father started and Jo mentally began pulling on his armor and dawning his shield. "So nice for you to join your family for breakfast for once... if only clean clothes can join you, too." Bruce and Thomas snickered trying to lighten the comment or enhance it.

"I'm telln you mom," Stephanie droned on to Mother. "If Daddy doesn't make an example of this Officer, the Conright name might be..."

"Sorry, I missed the family viewing party last night, Dad," Joseph replied. "I heard your spontaneous, emotional, and heartfelt comment, had quite the effect."

Stephanie quieted down quickly as the awkward air slowly brewed. "Ohh, it's okay." Father said drinking his coffee. "You're 18, graduating soon, and had Prom last night. I wouldn't want to deprive you of that."

"Actually, I didn't go," Jo replied.

"What?" Father snapped.

Thomas looked between the two of them. "Bro, how could you not go?"

"It's easy publicity," Bruce added on. "You show up with a nice car and expensive tux and you make local papers."

"You'll regret it," Thomas added.

"Alyssa didn't go either!" Stephanie blurted out. The men paused before turning back to Joseph.

"How can you be so selfish?" Bruce accused. "It's election season. Every story matters, like Dad says."

Joseph laughed and turned to Bruce, "maybe you should ask Dad to stand so you have an easier time at kissing his ass."

"Wha-" a flare of anger shot through Bruce's face.

"Joseph!" Mother denounced.

"Sorry," Jo said staring at his brother Bruce. "In no way does Bruce ever ever Kiss Dad's ass..."

"I've got..." Alyssa blurted out. "...something to... say." Jo turned to her almost wanting to tell her 'no, don't do it.' He could already feel his family's wrath taking aim.

"I didn't go to prom either last night... with Jeffery," Alyssa said nervously. "Because I'm not really dating Jeffery..."

"Haha I knew it," Stephanie laughed. "Who would date you?" Jo shot her a look.

"Stephanie!" Mother warned, again.

Denise spoke in almost a whisper over the table, "you've got two more years for Prom, hon. It's okay. I didn't go to prom my sophomore year, either."

Father didn't care about Alyssa's attendance or not. Father always treated her with indifference. She was not stick-thin skinny and did not cake on make up like Stephanie, so photo ops with her were not necessary. He was fine with keeping her out of the news.

"That's fine, Alyssa-" Mother started.

"...and..." Alyssa continued. Even Joseph felt a ball of nerves forming in his gut. "And. Ahh... I'm dating someone else... ... Her name's Sam."

For the briefest of seconds hung a moment of calm while the table processed. Like the time between seeing a flash of a nuclear bomb and hearing the explosion.

"Hahahaha!" Stephanie tried to cover her mouth. "I knew you were a dyke!"

"Alyssa! I mean- Stephanie!" A flustered Mother snapped. "Quiet! Alyssa, honey... Are you sure you're..."

Joseph watched Bruce and Thomas watch their father.

"Gay? Yes, mom, I'm sure I'm gay," Alyssa responded. "I've been gay as long as I can remember. And now I'm sick of hiding it. Sam is sick of hiding it. Everyone can fucking know."

"Haha Can I switch seats with someone?" Stephanie continued relentlessly.

Jo leaned over the table to see Stephanie's face, "how about you just move your seat into traffic, and solve God's mistake right now, huh?"

Before Mother could try, Father's voice boomed. "Today. Of all days?"

"I'm sorry Dad! I just thought-" Alyssa spoke with tears already filling her eyes.

"Thought! Thought!?" John Conright stood. "Of course you're gay! You dress the part, never have boys over, except that queer one, but now. After a month of planning of finally, topping the polls, you want a Republican Congressman to announce his daughter is gay?!"

Alyssa's face was buried in her palms as she cried. Joseph shot to his feet, "Dad shut up!"

"Screw you, Dad!" Alyssa pushed away from the table and ran for the stairs.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Bruce stood in front of Jo. "He's just telling the truth. She's been in the closet this long, it can wait another year."

Joseph pushed Bruce who immediately went for Jo's legs pushing him onto the dinner table.

"You stupid fuckn-" Joseph swore as he punched Bruce's ribs.

Everyone screamed and legs of chairs screeched on the hard wood floor. Arms wrapped around Jo's chest and his brother's as they were pulled apart. Jo was pulled around the corner to the living room.

"Take a deep breath!" Thomas ordered.

"Get off me!" Joseph pulled away, pacing in the doorway.

Thomas held his hands up, "easy...easy, Bro."

"Piece of shit!" Joseph yelled about no one as he struck the wall.

"Alyssa, honey!" Jo heard his mother yell for his sister as she stormed down the stairs and ran outside. Jo's thoughts were cloudy at best. Simply being around his family was like poison suffocating his lungs. Every time they talked or he saw their face it only showed him how unbearable living there truly was for him.

His father entered the room. His hands already on his hips as he eyed his only disappointment for a son. The son that was politically useless...

"Well, Joseph," Father said. "It seems turning 18 doesn't stop you from acting juvenile."

"It also doesn't make your assholeness more tolerable," Jo said, stiffening his chest for a fight. John Conright's jaw angled down on his son. As a child, his father would spank him or take his belt to his ass for talking back. In adolescence as Joseph's smart mouth grew so did his size, and Father could only punish with vague threats of spankings and a looming figure to stand over Jo. Now a man, Jo was about as tall as his Dad and physically stronger.

As he poked the bear, Joseph could see his father's thoughts cycling through punishments, extortions, black mail, and threats. Trying to think of a way to put Jo back in his place. He knew threatening to cut Joseph off from the family and sending him off on his own was no threat, because Jo wanted it. And once free, Jo would be even more of a political liability and his Dad would have no control over him.

The stare down lasted a long moment before Thomas broke the ice. "Jo, maybe everyone's emotions were high, so Dad didn't say it the best way, but he's right. This kinda thing is what gets a politician unelected. Dad provides for this family by holding office. He's only thinking of the family as a whole."

Joseph sneered a dirty snicker as he shook his head, "I can't tell if you actually believe that shit, Thomas, or if you're just as full of shit as hi-"

"Enough!" Their Dad boomed. "Thomas? See to the girls." Thomas gave a final look to the two of them before leaving the room.

"You've always fought me," Mr. Conright said. "I gave you this house, cars, opportunity... none of it is good enough for you. You're a spoiled brat and you'll never listen to me. Can't dress nice for press pictures, won't do sports, won't even go to church to make your mom happy. But you do care about your sister Alyssa..."

John Conright crossed his arms as he glared at Jo with the slightest of smirks in the corner of his mouth. "I don't have time to deal with you or your stupid adolescent problems. I've tried for 18 years, if you haven't learned now, you won't. I've got election season starting and now, I have to deal with Alyssa's queer bullshit. So this is what you will do. You will go to church from now until election. You will dress well, and you will show up to every family function that is photographed by the press. And besides those times, you will stay out of the press and do nothing to embarrass the family or jeopardize the election. That means no stunts, no fights, nothing stupid shared on social media. Finally, you will find your queer sister and convince her to stay closeted until my PR team can run some polls and come up with a strategy for this mess she creat-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jo exploded. "You're... I would never do any of that for you! I will never do any of that, ever!"

"Yes, you will," his Dad spoke calmly as he stepped into Jo's personal space. Jo tensed considering the ramifications of punching his Dad. "If you do not do every single one of those things to the letter, I will cut you off from the family-"

"Go fucking ahead and do it!" Jo yelled.

"And I will cut Alyssa off from this family," his father finished. Joseph's mouth hung open as he took a step back from his Dad. "I'll kick her out from the house on her 18^th birthday, not pay for her college, and take her car away. But between now and then I will slowly leak documents, videos, pictures of her to show her as the kind of terrible, gay, ingrate who deserves to be cut off from her family."

Jo was speechless. He was prepared for battle with his Father. He knew he'd take his share of wounds and hardships, but he didn't think John Conright was capable of this. Their entire family knew Alysa well enough to know she wasn't a strong willed person. She had a gift for loving everyone she met unconditionally, until they gave her a reason not to. She was impressionable and naïve, but a good person. His Father knew this would crush her and worse.

John Conright stepped forward, again, and whispered, "I don't care how small it is, if you do anything to risk this election, I will bury your sister in dirt, then I will bury you."

They stared at one another, again, but this time it was different. This time there was a shaky glass look in Joseph's eyes. A look of fear swirled with anger that couldn't be tamed, while John's eyes were hard as rock.

John Conright stepped back and said, "go. Get out of the house today. I want you to think hard about how you will deliver what you owe me for the summer. Go." He ordered.

As Joseph went to leave he saw Stephanie, his other sister hiding in the hallway. Her body frozen and a twisted look of curious wonder on her face as she processed whatever she overheard of their conversation. Without even changing, Joseph got in his Charger and left. His Mother saw him leaving and tried to call for him to stop, but Jo couldn't hear anyone over his thoughts at that point.

The Crew.

Jo let himself into Anna's house as he always did and made for the stairs. Anna's dad was a single parent of an odd daughter. He sold insurance of some kind to fortune 500 companies around the world, so he was never home but always had plenty of money.

When Jo started down the stairs he wasn't trying to be quiet, but Anna's house had one of those rare stare cases that didn't have a creaky stair in it. By the time he was half way down he could already hear his friends.

"-would you shut up, he's gunna be here any minute," Jo heard Anna whisper. He stopped short before completing the final stairs and revealing himself.

"He's not here yet!" Michael said. "I just- I don't know. It's his fuckin' birthday, maybe- maybe we should wait to tell him."

"What if she's at that club?"

"After that? No way she's there."

"God, I hate clubs, they're soo... loud and-"

"Goddammit, Josh, can you stay on fucking topic!"

"What's up sluts?" Joseph said feeling too uncomfortable to continue spying.

His friends exchanged a quick glance of apprehension that filled a pregnant pause.

"Hey hoe." Michael said putting his phone in his pocket.

"Tsup bitch." Josh said taking a drink.

"You guys are idiots," Anna finally said. They sat on a grouping of plush black leather couches that formed a horse shoe around a coffee table stacked with half full liquor bottles, cans of beer, and various snacks spilled open. A large TV mounted ahead of them displayed a video game on pause. There was a pool table with balls knocked about on top behind the couches on the other side of the stairs entrance.

"Why? Do you prefer to be called hoe?" Michael said with a smirk.

Anna held up her fist, "go ahead, needle dick. See what happens."

"What is that your dick pumping hand?" Michael laughed followed by Josh and Jo cracking up. Anna lunged from the couch. "Oh shit!" Michael followed suit, clamoring over the back of his couch. He circled the pool table while being hunted by Anna. The cat and mouse game ended with Michael tripping in his drunken stuper and falling in front of the couches only to be pummeled by Anna's body punches until he submitted.

Anna was the only one of the three he went to school with. Anna was also the only person at school he actually hung out with- besides his girlfriend, Lindsay, of course. Michael who had a soft stomach, messy hair, and thin glasses, and Josh who was skinny with a shaved head, both went to S. Brook High. Public school. They were friends of Anna's that quickly became Jo's seeing as though he had none. But Anna was the interesting one. She was tall with an athletic build and hidden curves under her layered clothing. Keeping her blond hair in a ponytail, she usually wore jeans and men's t-shirts. Somedays she'd wear a form fitting top under a hoody, but never by itself.

Joseph took a hard swig of Tequila from the bottle as the others laughed and Anna stood over Michael. His mind still swirled with what they were talking about. Part of him wanted to just say it aloud, and stop the drama. But really he wanted to turn his thoughts off. He didn't want to think of graduation, college, politics, or any of this bullshit. He wanted to just get fucking annihilated drunk tonight and forget everything.

Jo took another drink and texted his sister.

'Al!'

'Wat!' She replied.

After leaving the house this morning he called her while driving out of town. She was still in tears but over at her girlfriend's house, at least. He stayed on the phone with her until he could at least get her to laugh some and told her it would all be alright. He didn't tell her about their Father's threat to cut her off from the family and ruin her life if Jo didn't obey. She had enough on her plate... He spent the rest of the day alone in his car or walking trails in the woods, which was not uncommon for him to do. He waited till Anna started texting him how his Birthday was going before heading over to her place.

'U stayn at ambers 2night?' Jo texted.

'si.' Alyssa replied

'slut'

'Lol! fuck you. U dying of alcohol poisoning somewhere tonight?'

'lol si' Joseph was glad she was sounding more like herself.

'make sure u pass out face down on top of a hill'

'lol wtf y?'

'so you don't drown in a vomit puddle idiot!'

'lol best advice ever.'

"Jo, you gunna jack off on your phone all night, or you gunna drink!" Josh kicked his leg.

Jo kicked him back with a grin, "fuckn' drank!" They cheers'd fifths of tequila.

"Hold up hold up..." Michael shot to his feet and grabbed a fifth of whiskey for himself and Anna.

"God help me..." Anna mumbled to herself as she took it.

"To our boy, Jo Jo turn'n 18! Happy Birthday, asshole." They clanked bottles and each waterfall'd several shots into their mouths. Half of which Josh spit across the floor and Michael. Another fight ensued.

The taxi came sooner than anticipated, as always, and everyone scrambled. Anna had probed Joseph over what had happened earlier with the family breakfast, but Joseph glossed over the details and Anna caught the hint to the change in subject. More alcohol ensued.

Anna got the phone and slobbered her way through the conversation telling the driver they'll be right there. Everyone took a frantic swig of tequila before stumbling over each other in giggles out the door.

"You go to bar?" The driver asked suspiciously staring at the troop of teenagers cramming into his car. Anna sat up front with the driver as the guys piled into the back.

"Ow! Goddammit Josh," Joseph yelled as Josh's bony hips smashed into his.

"Hhsss not me," Josh said. "Its gigantor here!"

"Fuck your mother," Michael said trying to squeeze in the back.

"Anna!!" Josh cried. "Switch with thunder cheeks back here!"

"Umm no," Anna said. "Sarb-sorby. Er-" Anna covered her flush cheeks as she giggled. "Sorry about them- um. No- no bar. It's a house we're going to. A house..."

"Anna!!" Josh cried again. "Come on! You can sit between me and Jo Jo..."

Joseph couldn't help but feel a pull of uncomfortableness strain in his throat as he waited to see if she would sit beside him. Anna had always been hesitant to sit beside him, he'd noticed. Hesitant to touch him even. She'd always hugged Josh and Michael, even some other boys he didn't know at their school but the most contact she chose to give Joseph was the occasional punch, slap, or push. He didn't understand it but he never forced the issue. He figured she didn't trust him as much as the others yet, or maybe didn't like him as much. Whatever.

"Anna!!"

"Annaa!" Michael joined in chorus.

"Goddam-" Anna stormed to the back of the car and switched seats with Michael, letting him fall to the concrete. She sat with Josh between her and Joseph.

"Ahh okay," the cab driver said. "We go now?"

"We go now," Michael repeated.

"Haha okay."

The private party was thrown by a classmate, Robbie Tommens, at Club Rain. Tommen was another trust fund boy with poor supervision, but he was everyone's friend at school. Because he had the market cornered when it came to weed at Lawrence High. Even the owner at Club Rain owed him a favor or two, apparently, seeing as though they opened their door to a private party of high schoolers. Everyone came to Robbie's parties. Though most came driving their daddy's Ferrari and not in a taxi.

"Seriously? 800 people?!" Michael asked as he passed a soda bottle filled with whiskey back to Anna.

"842," the cab driver nodded.

Anna coughed swallowing a shot and passing it on, "all of them'er boatboat- boat workers?" She laughed covering her face.