Seeds of Hate Read Online Free Page A

calls me Nate."
    I saw Mikey looking at me from the corner of the room. His nose was scrunched up like he had just walked into a cloud of fart.
    "Thanks, Nathan."
    "I'll see you tomorrow, Javi," he replied and then went out the door with his mother next to him.
    "Did you have a good first day?" asked my mama as she kneeled down to my side.
    I smiled. It was big. And it was happy, but it wasn't awkward.
    "The best, Mama. The best day ever."

Chapter 5
    Telephone Wires
    (Javier)

    My bare feet walked me home with hesitation. The closer I got, the sooner night would fall and tomorrow would come.
    Tomorrow.
    The ground chilled my toes and held as a constant reminder—I would need new shoes. Again. The fourth pair in eight months. Although my mother understood my habits and tactics, she wouldn't be happy at the wasted expense. It was better than the alternative though. I think.
    A green bench with peeling paint held my weight as I sat and stared at the cars passing by. We lived on a busy street, in a decent area with mixed wealth. She would be home now, getting ready for her second job, and I didn't want to explain my day. It would be obvious I had an altercation the moment I stepped through the front door.
    The cuts, bleeding and bruises wouldn't alarm her. That was more of an accepted constant. It also pointed in the opposite direction—life, energy and exertion. No shoes meant a black looming cloud of fear for her and she hated it.
    Hated. It.
    I sat for a while longer, allowing myself to come to terms with my outburst. Two hundred and four more days and I could put it all behind me. Everything about high school—Nathan, the incident, losing my shoes, my nightmares. Starting new, moving away, even being away from my mom, it would all be good. Necessary. Because this place, this place was still killing me. I didn't even realize a piece of me was missing until it was gone. That's how slowly I was being murdered.
    I needed out. And soon.
    The stairs rumbled as I made my way up to the second floor of the La Vista Park apartment rentals. Home sweet home. Light came from just about every unit around us except Gio's. It was dinnertime, so families were gathering, meals were being made, and days were being discussed.
    I knocked on the door. Even the porch light was off.
    "Gio, are you there?" I asked.
    Feet pattered toward me as the handle yanked back and the apartment opened. He looked straight down. It was the first thing he noticed. His head tilted to the side and his eyebrows pinched at the center.
    I ignored his response. "My mom is leaving for work in ten or twenty, okay?"
    Gio's eyes wouldn't relax. His concern was etched deep into his skin, he knew more than I ever gave him credit for.
    "Okay?" I repeated.
    A small smile appeared, his chin fell and then he closed the door. I could hear his feet beat against the floor for less than two seconds. He would sit on his couch in the dark and count the minutes until my mom left. Our routine was becoming predictable.
    I turned toward my door, but my hand was yanked back. Gio stood there with a pair of black slippers. I flipped them upside down and saw the number ten and a half. My exact size.
    "How did you—" and before I could finish, he was gone and back inside his empty apartment. I put the slippers on and wiggled my toes. With the exception of white shoelaces, they blended in very well to my normal outfit. Interesting. Maybe she wouldn't notice.
    I looked back at his apartment door and saw the number twenty-seven hanging at a crooked angle. Walking up to it, I traced the number with my finger and straightened it. Then I turned and left to greet my mother, a smile I didn't create pulling at the edges of my cheeks.
    The night went by. My nightmares came and went and when I woke up, the sounds of violins and pianos greeted me. Gio's bed was already put away and his sheets and pillows gone as if he never came. Gianna must've come home. Sometimes I wondered what would happen if she