The internet was a strange and wonderful thing and Reggie wasn't sure there was anything it didn't have an answer for. Maybe it wouldn't be the right answer or maybe they'd have more than one answer and things would get really confusing, but it always had an answer and in this case, it had the right answer.
Reggie thought that maybe he'd asked the wrong question.
His parents weren't like Luke's parents, they didn't miss him and they didn't remember his birthday when he was alive, so why would they remember it when he was dead? Maybe it was some kind of perverse self torture that wanted to know if they liked him in death now that he was gone and couldn't screw up. He didn't expect a shrine, or his bedroom to be kept all nice and neat, but maybe a picture or two?
They were divorced and it was weird, so weird, the way that finding that out on a computer screen made his eyes tear up even though he knew it was for the best. Why was he sad about it? He was dead, they were horrible together, it didn't change anything for him, so why did it feel like he'd done something wrong? It was stupid, it was so stupid, just like he was, just like the way his face turned red and blotchy like that shirt he spilled juice on and his mom couldn't get the stain out of. She'd made him wear it to school anyway, that was what he got for ruining his shirt.
His mom had moved on, out of state, and maybe she was happy there because she'd never liked the beach, always complaining about how sand got everywhere even if she always bragged about her access to the water to her friends. It had confused Reggie so much as a kid who heard both comments, because how could she like the water without liking the sand? He'd tried asking once, but she told him shut up.
And he permanently had and then she'd ran away from every reminder of him, so there wouldn't be any visiting her now that he was dead, no misplaced care for how she turned out.
His dad was different, the man had an address nearby and it wasn't a good place to live, the streets dark and dingy and just because Reggie couldn't touch things well didn't mean anything was wrong with his sense of smell. There was an ever present tang of urine and Reggie kept reaching up to scratch his nose, wanting to hide the way he was trying to breath through the sleeve of his flannel.
Whatever happened to his dad, it wasn't good, and Reggie wasn't even sure what he was doing there anymore. Was he going to haunt the man, make him feel bad for everything he'd done as a parent, make sure the man knew that Reggie was in a place that he couldn't touch him? Somehow that seemed laughable and unsavory, and why could Reggie's stomach still roll even when he was dead?
There wasn't anything for him, seeing his dad again wouldn't bring closure or make him happy, listening to yelling coming from somewhere close by only made Reggie hurt and hadn't his parents broken his heart enough?
What a coward he was to come all this way to see his dad only to be warded off by the unknown of that room, even if it was so easy to picture. A torn up recliner. Empty bottles. The smell of cigarette smoke. Something broken with pieces on the floor, but it wouldn't be anything of Reggie's anymore. As long as Reggie didn't go in, there was the chance that maybe there was a picture, one the man didn't yell at in rage, but looked at when he felt sentimental. It was a nice fantasy and it was so close to ending.
Jerking around, Reggie quickly found where Luke was standing near the doorway, his white band shirt standing out against the bland walls stained with a yellowish tinge, and Reggie's insides twisted again as he straightened from the slump he hadn't realized he was in. Luke didn't look angry at his hesitation and being still or hesitant weren't things that Reggie associated with Luke, but here Luke was, offering him an out, not even mad about the waste of his time.
"Yeah, I - " Someone walked through Reggie, muttering about going to break up the noise, and Reggie shook himself before bouncing back over to Luke, forcing pep into his step. "Yeah, let's go home. I want to go home now."
Fingers twisted together with his and in the space between one unnecessary breath and the next, they were inside the studio again and Reggie could breathe.