Sal awoke to raised voices coming through the closed door; his parents were fighting. Their heated quarrel had risen above the sacred silence, their voices coming through the walls like a wrecking ball. They agreed with one another for the most part, but they nevertheless fought like hungry dogs fighting over pack dominance.
He crept out in the hallway. Didn’t they realize he was in the house?
“How could you be so reckless, Jerry?" his mother hissed. "Why didn’t you call someone?”
“I believed I could handle it. I figured if they got what they came after, they'd leave us alone.” His father had spoken in a polite voice, showing interest in the lives of his family, of his wife.
“What if they’d come to the house? What then?” his mother’s had voice turned high-pitched.
“Only they didn’t, did they? I know these people,” his father said.
“No, they didn’t. They ganged up on you at your workplace, and you got saved by our son.” She was angry.
His father sighed. “I’m sorry, Beth.”
“Sal.” She chuckled. “What high thoughts he must have of us by now. What the hell were we thinking?”
“We wanted to provide a safe life for him. That’s what we were thinking. That man’s life…” his father paused. “Charlie. What kind of life could he have given Sal? It was chaos.”
“I know we were in it together, but does that make it all right?
"How the hell did he find Charlie, anyway?” His mother yelled.
“I don’t know. He's resourceful, Beth, he always has been. We just didn’t want to see it. Ever since he was little, he had this expression on his face, like he knew everything.”
“I still can’t believe he forgave us.” His mother sounded as she was gasping for breath.
“You should've seen him down there. He was like a wild animal. He took those guys out like they were common bullies, not insane thugs.”
“He is special, isn’t he? The perfect student, an amazing athlete, popular with the girls…but we don’t really know him, do we? He's always doing his own thing. There's something almost supernatural about him.”
“Supernatural?” His father was skeptical.
“You said it yourself: he beat up four grown hooligans and walked away unharmed.
"He brought Vickie back.
"His whole appearance…" His mother sounded exasperated.
Their voices lowered. “Haven’t you noticed how he's always flirting with people, charming them…and not just girls—guys, too." “What are you getting at?” his father asked.
“I just think it's odd there are is certain things we haven’t noticed about him, despite it being right in front of our noses.”
They seemed to have forgotten about the issue at hand—the Nazis—when the phone rang. His father answered.
“Hello? Yes, this Dr. Williams. No, I just want to forget the whole thing. Yes, thank you.”
“Who was that?” his mother asked, sounding worried.
His father hesitated. “The police.”
“Well? What did they say? Did they make an arrest?” his mother pressed on.
“No.” His father sighed. He knew he was on thin ice.
“Let me guess,” His mother sounded angry. “The police asked you to consider pressing charges on those psychopaths, isn’t that so?”
“Listen, Beth, I didn’t want them to inform on me. You know how hard it's been for me to put my past behind me.” He sounded bitter.
“I know, Jerry, but what if they come back with reinforcements?”
“Maybe we could have Sal in a SWAT uniform, patrolling the premises.” A dry chuckle escaped him.
“Jerry, I’m serious.”
“Okay…okay. I’ll call the police and see if I can fix this.”
Sal grew irritated while listening to his parents’ conversation. They really tried his patience. He decided it was time to come out from hiding. Shock registered on his parents' faces when he turned up in the kitchen.
“Hey, sweetie. We thought you were out with Vickie and the kids. I could've sworn I watched you leave.” His mother’s face was awash in confusion.
“I’m hungry.” Sal went to the fridge, the feeling of being in control making him high.
“Sal, I don’t know how much you heard, but you need to understand that we’re only concerned about you…about the whole situation.” Sal’s father had used his doctor’s voice, the same voice he used when he ordered his patients around.
Sal pulled some yogurt out of the fridge and drank it straight from the carton. The conversation was already beginning to bug him. He wiped his mouth with his hand. “Well, we all make mistakes.” He was arrogant; all that power and so little grace.
“With great power comes great responsibility.” Sal laughed. He was beginning to sound like Darwin. His mind began to swirl, his breath went shallow, and he sought into their unconscious minds, manipulating them.
“The Nazis aren’t coming back," Sal said, his voice harmonious. "They've been dealt with. There's no need to pursue the matter any further. Leave it alone. Get on with your lives.”
His parents seemed more or less disabled by the experience, so he went upstairs to get dressed.
“I’m taking Angel for a walk,” he said as he walked past the kitchen where his parents' behavior had gone back to normal.
“Okay, sweetie, have a nice time,” his mother’s voice responded back. Their prior conversation seemed to have been dismissed from their minds.
Perfect.
His mother had believed she'd seen him leave earlier that day with Vickie. Maybe it had been one of Seth’s tricks. Perhaps he was back.
Sal spent the rest of the day sitting on the field by the old shed, hoping Seth would show up.
He was pathetic.
He was a freaking doormat.