Chapter 12 Zander's past

The next day CJ left his house and made his way to Zander's, it was noon and the sun was in the middle of the sky half hidden by gray clouds the color of Zander's eyes. CJ had contemplated what to wear that morning, should he go with t-shirt and shorts, was that too casual, at the end of the day he'd decided to wear an ash shirt with gray sweatpants and slides with a black cap, he was feeling very good about his choice and walked confidently on the sidewalk with his bag swung over his shoulder.

Finally he got there, the house was not very different from every other house in the neighborhood except it was the only house that had a garden where the front lawn usually was, CJ recognized the dandelions and the sunflowers that blossomed beautifully on his left and the roses and hibiscus flowers that grew on his right in the spring sunshine, he wondered who took care of them, probably Zander, CJ could just imagine his delicate hands brushing the petals of dandelions with tenderness, cutting the thorns of the roses with extreme care, rubber gloves and pincers in hand, his sleeves rolled up and his knees bent in concentration.

CJ was so lost in thought that he didn't realize that he was at the front door. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, it's chime reverberated through the house and in no time Skyler was at the door.

"Hey CJ" she said going in for a hug.

"What's up Skyler" he hugged her and walked inside. The living room was spacious and homey, there were several CD's stacked up beside the TV and surprisingly they were all kids movies.

"Nothing really, I was just about to go meet Matthew, are you here for Zander ?" replied Skyler.

"Yeah, we're supposed to be studying today"

"Okay, well he's in the gym upstairs"

"Thanks, have fun on your date"

She smiled and went upstairs.

CJ had only been to Zander's house twice and both times his parents weren't there, today was no different. The kitchen was clean and there was no sign that their mother had been there or not, usually there would be a cold coffee pot or aprons hanging on a peg but there was no such thing, CJ had always wanted to meet Zander and Skyler's parents, especially their father since he'd met their mother before.

He made his way upstairs only stopping occasionally to chuckle at family portraits, Zander giving his mother a peck on the cheek, Skyler in a bathing suit with a thumb in her mouth and a picture of all of them, their mother who had the intense gray eyes that they both inherited and their father with long black hair that only Zander had, Skyler's was more brown than black like their mother's, they looked like a prim and proper family, a quiet cheerful father that enforced discipline and a mother that didn't take nonsense but at the same time had this odd tenderness that surrounded her, there was someone else in the family portrait, a boy that looked about 5 years older than Zander, with black hair but instead of gray eyes, they were dark green, like their father's. Zander never mentioned that they had an elder brother. CJ didn't dwell too long on it, he continued upstairs where their where various rooms, the first one on his right was the gym, a room not necessarily supposed to be a gym but had the essential equipment, treadmill, dumbbells, bench press, stationary bicycle, a punching bag and a yoga mat, Zander was dealing with the punching bag, delivering blow after blow, this Zander was different from the one CJ had painted in his head tendering to flowers.

He wore a black tank top and black shorts, his exposed arms glistened with sweat and his hair stuck to his face with it, he didn't seem to tire out and CJ was fascinated as well as intrigued.

"Whoa, what did that poor punching bag ever do to you" said CJ with a smile.

Zander stopped and turned and then smiled as he realized who had spoken.

"It broke my heart once, just returning the favour"

CJ chuckled and Zander grabbed a towel and water bottle.

"I wasn't expecting you so early" said Zander.

"I couldn't wait to see you", he wanted to say, instead he said.

"I'm a morning person"

"No wonder you're at school before everyone else" said Zander, he took a swig from the bottle and wiped his face with the towel.

"C'mon my room's this way"

He lead the way and CJ followed, they got to the second door to his left and Zander opened it and they stepped into his room.

CJ had never been in Zander's room and marvelled at how neat it was, the bed was dressed, it's white sheets showing no crease, Zander's table had books stacked neatly according to colour, his closet door was closed but judging by how neat the room was the closet couldn't be any different, there were also paintings everywhere, there was one that was a caricature of Skyler, only with a larger head, beady eyes and pointed ears.

The only place that seemed a little messy was a corner of the room that seemed to be a mini art studio, there were cans of paint on the floor and paint brushes on the bench, the canvas had a tarp over it obscuring the view of whatever Zander was working on.

"Wait here, i'm just gonna take a quick shower"

CJ nodded and Zander went to his closet to grab a different towel and headed to his bathroom. CJ stood up and went to look at more of the paintings, there was one of Zander's mother, she seemed less intense in this one, she had her hair up in a bun and was wearing a suit but her eyes shone with pride and her lips were quirked up in a smirk, there was another, this one was a girl, she had brown hair and eyes the colour of coffee, her skin was painted to look tanned, she was smiling but it looked like Zander had painted her with sadness, maybe she was his ex ?, CJ never thought that Zander had dated before, he seemed so reserved, CJ pushed the thought from his mind and moved to another painting that was beside the art studio, it was a painting of that guy in the family photo downstairs, though he was older here, his black hair was spiked in this one and he had the beginnings of a beard, he wore camouflage and had his hands behind his back, though his mouth was in a thin line his green eyes smiled for him.

"What are you doing ?" said Zander.

CJ was startled, he turned and gulped at what he saw. Zander stood in front of him, with his towel wrapped around his waist, his hair was damp from the shower and his upper body glistened with the remains of tiny drops of water, his chest, his abs and his arms bulged with decently sized muscles, CJ had seen him shirtless multiple times before in the locker room but other students had been there, this time they were in the privacy of Zander's room.

"CJ, are you okay, you look like you want to pass out" said Zander.

CJ shook his head and looked at Zander's face which was less distracting.

"I'm sorry, I was just checking out these paintings, they're really good" said CJ.

Zander searched his face as if looking to see if he was lying.

"Are you sure you weren't just swooning over my perfect body ?" said Zander with a smile.

CJ smiled knowing that Zander was just teasing him, though he was right.

"Zander, I'm gay not a pervert"

Zander chuckled and went into his closet, he came out wearing a black t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"Who's that girl ?" asked CJ pointing to the painting.

Zander's look spelled confusion but then he looked in that direction and frowned.

"That's my ex" said Zander, he went to the painting and took it down.

"Nothing important" he said.

CJ sensed he didn't want to talk about it so he pointed to the other painting behind him.

"I'm guessing that's your brother" said CJ.

This time Zander smiled and walked to CJ's side.

"Yeah"

"What's his name ?"

"Jade, my mom named him that because of his eyes, they reminded her of the jade crystal"

"How come you never talk about him"

Zander looked at CJ, he wasn't smiling anymore.

"That's because he died two years ago"

"Oh" replied CJ.

"Zander, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked"

"It's okay, you know he's one of the reasons why we moved, after he died, things just weren't the same, I couldn't concentrate in school, I lost most of my friends, my parents thought that if we moved, I'd move on and just....."

"Forget ?" said CJ.

Zander chuckled.

"There you go completing my sentences"

He looked at the painting.

"They wanted me to forget but I just couldn't, he was my brother, my best friend, my everything"

A tear fell from his eyes and CJ couldn't stand it anymore.

He took Zander by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug.

Zander readily wrapped his arms around him, both their eyes were closed and each could feel the others heart as it beat.

"I've never told anyone that before" said Zander.

"I'm not just anyone, am I ?" replied CJ.

CJ didn't know how but he knew Zander was smiling.

"No Andrian, you're not".