Chapter 72 - Out On Your Own
"About time you finally showed up," Marcus' father, Kyle Veridan, remarks.
"Dad?!" Marcus asks, stunned.
The two are standing in their home, Kyle is a tall somewhat muscular man with white skin, black hair in a two-block style, a goatee, and green eyes. He's wearing a simple white button-up underneath a black suit jacket, glasses, black pants, and black shoes.
"What are you doing here?" Marcus asks, confused.
"That's a silly question, I live here don't I?" Kyle Veridan jokes.
Marcus is tense as he looks at his father, when was the last time he really had a proper talk with him? He honestly can't recall. Most of his communication throughout his life with his parents was always notes that were left behind by them.
And yet, despite him now being face-to-face with his father, he can't help but feel uneasy as he looks at his old man.
"So, how's school been going for you?" Kyle Veridan asks.
"It's- It's been fine," Marcus remarks.
"So you like it?"
"Y-yes."
"Well that's good to hear," Kyle Veridan sighs.
As the two stand there in silence, Kyle eventually breaks the silence by saying, "You can get out of the house now."
Confused Marcus just murmurs, "What?"
Kyle remarks, "You're old enough to fend for yourself. Besides, it wouldn't be nice of us to have you move with us."
"You're moving?" Marcus questions, "Why didn't you tell me-"
Kyle just places his hand on Marcus' shoulder as he remarks, "I wanted to take you with, I really did, but… your mother had other plans. You got five minutes and if you aren't out by then I'll have to force you to."
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Marcus walks down the streets away from the place he once called home. As the light drizzle continues, the only thing Marcus has with him is just a backpack of anything he managed to take before getting kicked out.
If he's being honest with himself, he always expected something like this. He may have just been disowned, but his parents abandoned him long ago.
As he tries to think of what to do now, he thinks of the place which has been a second home to him. The Everst Family Household.
Marcus makes his way there through the rain and is about to knock on the door when he hears something.
Sobs.
The tears of Sally Everst.
As Marcus stands there, his hand just inches away from the door, he moves his hand back and turns away.
He forgot that Sally was suffering deeply from all of this, and he didn't want to be just another thing that made her life harder.
He doesn't want to be a burden.
So next he thinks of maybe staying at his other friends' places; Cameron is out of the question since he needs to focus on getting better, Alex's house is crowded as is and he's probably still at the station.
So he decides to walk over to the apartment building where Elizabeth is at. However, when he is about to enter the building, he sees something.
At a diner across the street, Elizabeth is eating with her family, and while her younger siblings Hai & Nhung are concerned, Elizabeth and her parents are trying to reassure them that everything is okay. Seeing that despite the anguish and pain she's in, smiling and making her siblings feel at ease, if he decided to ask to stay with them…. That would just make all of her efforts in vain.
Marcus walks away as he thinks back to all that's happened; from when Ronnie helped him in middle school, him joining them on their trips to the east side & Club Azure despite not knowing how to fight, even little things like having them all track a ghost or forming the miracle clinic… all of it has made him a burden to them.
As Marcus continues walking down the rainy streets, he spots a hotel still open. As he enters, he sees that at the front desk is an employee. Marcus walks over to them.
"Is it okay if I stay here for the night?" Marcus asks.
"You have the money?" The employee questions.
"N-no but-"
"Oh so you're homeless," The employee remarks casually, "Yeah we got a few rooms that are free for you people to stay in."
Hearing those words, Marcus doesn't really know how to respond. Homeless. He hadn't really thought of it as the case but thinking of it now, that's the situation he's now in. He's homeless. Though that way of describing him, the way the employee treated him, Marcus wonders to himself that if he wasn't homeless; would the man treat him differently?
"What's your name?" The employee asks as he scrolls through an email.
"M-Marcus," Marcus remarks.
"Marcus Thompson or-"
"Veridan."
"I see, do you have any identification with you?" The employee asks.
Hearing that, Marcus tries to look through his bag but he realizes he didn't get any form of documentation about him. Though how would he even know to take that with? He didn't plan on being in this situation and yet-
"Well I don't see your name appear on any of the records the shelters give us, and since you don't have any registration I'm sorry to say but you can't stay here," The employee remarks.
"But why?" Marcus questions.
"We don't have any proof that you're homeless. For all I know you can just be a kid playing a prank on me," The employee remarks, "So I'd rather give up a free room to someone who actually deserves it."
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As Marcus is now walking down the now downpouring night streets alone, he begins to realize just how differently the city is when you aren't well off. People doubt if you even are living badly and nobody teaches you about these things.
The city itself is designed to be against you. Whether that's by making park benches have armrests so you can't sleep on them, gaps being put in between stores and awnings so rain will fall on you if you decide to rest there, dividers on sidewalks causing people who need to sleep on them to be closer to traffic, even bridges have boulders and spikes placed underneath them so people won't decide to sleep there.
Even the city abandons you.
Exhausted from how long he's been up for, Marcus decides to find a spot in an alleyway and rest, tired from his time at Club Azure, tired from his time at the hospital, and exhausted from trying to find a place to stay…
The only thing Marcus wants right now…
Is to just sleep.
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Eventually, Marcus awakes in the alleyway. As he tries to get up, he sees a few people standing over him. One of them slams Marcus' face back into the ground.
"Hey, look what I found guys," the stranger remarks, "A sewer rat."
"He fucking smells like shit," Another jokes.
Marcus tries to break free but he can't, he's just too tired.
"Hey, I got an idea," the stranger begins to say, "I bet this bitch is loaded from all the 'donations' he keeps on getting. He won't mind if we try and get a piece of that too."
Hearing those words, if he was like how he was back in middle school, he would have just folded, but he isn't. As Marcus tries to get up, the stranger slams his leg into his face, causing Marcus to be sent to the ground.
"This fucking sewer rat!" The stranger hisses as he starts to kick Marcus, "Know your place!"
As the other two start to join in on beating up Marcus, Marcus tries to get up but he can't. He isn't strong enough to fight back against all of them. He isn't like Ronnie, Alex, Elizabeth, and the others. He's just a burden-
"Hm?" The stranger remarks as he feels a hand wrap around his shoulder, "You want a piece of me too-"
The stranger is interrupted by the new figure's fist being smashed into the stranger's face. As the person falls to the ground, the new figure doesn't let up as he takes out a blunt weapon and continues to slam it into the stranger again and again and again. He stops and catches his breath as the stranger tries to crawl away, his buddies helping him get away from this guy who showed up out of nowhere.
"Thanks for the-" Marcus begins to say but stops as he locks eyes with his savior.
As he looks at the figure, he can't help but reminisce about the past. Back when the two were close friends, and back when their friendship came to an end. Back when the two of them weren't strangers.
Back when he did know the person who just saved him.
Back when he knew Hunter Huntingson.
See You Next Chapter!~