AK Character Flashback- AJ
Over the past few years, AJ Longoria had trouble going to sleep several nights a week. It wasn’t something the mute 9 year old ever had a second thought about- he couldn’t remember the last time he had a night of peaceful rest. He barely remembered life before his mother died.
In the dark of his room, AJ laid on his back, his gaze piercing the confines of his room as he imagined life in space- a recurring fantasy of his now. Finally, he was at the point where every muscle in his body was relaxed and he could feel himself drifting.
A noise coming from outside AJ’s room forced him out of his stuporous fantasy and he sat up, turning his bedside lamp on. He held his breath to catch the noise again. Just above the din of the tv in the living room, AJ could hear sobs.
Uncle Billy was crying again.
AJ slipped out of bed, pulled a night shirt on and crept out of his room into the apartment’s hallway. As he walked forward, his gaze bounced from the light of the TV cast against the wall and the hallway exit.
When AJ rounded the corner, Billy was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, shoulders shaking. He watched his uncle in silence as the man sobbed and choked on tears. Billy looked tired, and AJ knew how it felt.
The boy wasn’t sure how long he stood there, watching Billy, but eventually the man looked up at him, and his face changed from pain to regret.
“Shit.” Billy wiped his tears from his face as AJ joined him on the couch. “I’m sorry, bud, fuck.”
AJ faked being shocked and signed, [Language]
Billy actually chuckled before staring down at his own feet. AJ studied the man’s face. Three years after his mother died, AJ was sure he’d forget what she looked like if it weren’t for the pictures he had. AJ’s father, however, was practically an older version of Billy- he’d always remember what Liam Kitsak looked like. AJ reached up and fixed his uncle’s hair and smiled, despite the man trying hard not to look him in the eye.
“You deserve something else. I’m trying here, buddy, I really am. I just don’t know if I’m cut out to be a dad. Like, you deserve a mom and a dad who know what they’re doing.”
“Yeah, you say that. I don’t even know why I’m taking these problems to a nine year-old,” Billy shook his head and threw himself back against the catch with a huff. AJ studied the man’s face for a while longer before taking his hand and squeezing it.
[You are best. I am where I belong.]
Billy chewed on his lower lip, not even bothering to stop the tears streaming down his face. “I haven’t known what I’m doing since I graduated high school. I didn’t know what I was doing in the army, and I didn’t know what I was doing when I got out. Then, your mother dies, and my brother leaves the both of us here to do what? I don’t know, I guess I’m just tired.” Billy glanced at AJ as the boy nodded. He wiped the tears from his uncle’s face and patted his shoulder. “I guess you know something about that, don’t you?”
AJ nestled in close and grabbed the remote to turn the TV volume up. He was committed to staying there with Billy until he felt better. The two sat in silence for a while before Billy cleared his throat. “So your teacher says you’ve already made a friend on your first day of school.”
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