Chapter 10: House Rules

It had grown dark when headlights splashed across his window and a muffled engine pulled into the driveway. They awoke with a start and fumbled for their clothes, dressing quickly in the dark. Peter flipped on his room light and opened his door just as the front door rattled and opened inward.

He settled into his wheelchair and wheeled himself into the living room with Kathy trailing behind—as his mom and Paul stepped inside and turned on the main lights. They blinked in surprise to find him gazing back at them with an angry expression on his young face.

“Peter!” Janet exclaimed, dazed. “What are you doing here?”

He snorted. “What do you think, Mom?”

“But I thought you weren’t...” she paled and held her hands to her face. “Oh dear!” she gasped, realizing her mistake.

“Well, it’s good of you to show up finally,” he replied sarcastically. “We were worried we’d have to call the hospital to take me back.”

“Oh, honey!” she cried. “I’m so sorry.” She saw Kathy and frowned but said nothing. “Why are all the windows open?”

“To get rid of the overwhelming stench of cigarettes and drugs, Mom.”

“Hey!” Paul growled, stepping forward. “Watch your damn mouth, kid!”

Peter stared up at him coldly. The intense feral rage simmered deep in the recesses of his mind. “Or what? Gonna beat up a crippled sixteen-year-old?”

“Peter Elliot!” his mother screamed. “How dare you speak that way!” She began closing the windows. “And letting all the heat out as if—”

“I turned the heat off,” he interrupted, still staring down her scowling boyfriend. “And you need to contact the nursing home now to let them know you’re finally home—”

“That can wait until tomorrow.” Paul interrupted, closing several other windows.

“—or the police will swing by for a welfare check,” the boy finished loudly. Both adults froze and looked at each other, then back at him with mixed expressions, hers fearful and his angry. “Hey, don’t blame me!” he added smugly. “It’s not my fault you went partying instead of acting like responsible adults.” He felt Kathy touch his shoulder warningly.

“Listen, you little—”

“Paul, please!” Janet cut him off. She gazed at the native girl behind her son. “Katherine, thank you for staying with Peter until we returned, but it’s probably best if you head home now.”

Kat gazed back at her contemptuously. Peter touched her hand, resting on his shoulder.”It’s okay, babe,” he said softly. “I’ll be fine.” He turned his intense gaze towards his trembling mother. “Won’t I, Mom?”

Janet opened and closed her mouth before stammering, “Why wouldn’t you be?”

Kat pressed her lips together angrily and turned to fetch her shoes and bag. When she came out, she bent over Peter and kissed his lips. “I can come back in the morning—”

Peter shook his head. “Wait till after school. I’ll page you if I need anything.”

“Do that,” she grunted with a nod, heading for the door. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” he smiled.

She opened the front door and froze. He could sense her surprise, and she turned around to scowl at Janet and Paul. “Nice car,” she muttered before stepping out.

Peter felt his color rise as he spun his chair and pushed himself to the front door. Peering into the dark driveway, he saw a black 1990 Trans Am with gold flames and the iconic golden Firebird logo across the hood. He shook his head and snorted as he slowly closed the door and turned back to find his mother gaping at him with a stricken look.

“Very nice,” he said neutrally. “I’m curious, Mother. Where is the Aero Star we won in the settlement? And what happened to my Buick?”

“Well, dear, Paul had a friend who came and towed it away for free so it wouldn’t keep collecting weeds.”

Weeds that haven’t been mowed in weeks! He clenched his jaw tightly, “I wanted that car!” he snapped angrily. “You knew that!”

“Well, that wasn’t your decision, young man!” she snapped back. Then, she softened her tone. “Honey, it was just an old piece of junk. We have a new car now.”

“It was Grandpa’s!” he cried, punching the arm of his wheelchair, “and it was promised to me!”

She paled, realizing how much it meant to him and what she had taken from him. “Oh baby, I’m so—”

“Where is the Aero Star?” he demanded.

“Well...” she blushed shamefully as she stuttered, “Since you could walk...” She glanced guiltily at him in the wheelchair. “Well ... you shouldn’t need the wheelchair anymore!” her voice sounded pained as she looked despondently at her feet. “So, we traded it in for a better price on the Pontiac.”

“You did ... WHAT?” he raged.

Even Paul looked uncomfortable during his emotional outburst.

Peter felt heat flush his face as his heart raced. He took several shuddering breaths with his eyes closed, trying to understand his disbelief. “I nearly got killed by a drunk driver,” he began, his voice trembling with anger. “We won a settlement from the company responsible—to help ME with MY disability!” he knew his face was dark with rage, and he felt his body shaking. “We were given a free van to transport ME, and you had the AUDACITY to trade it in for a muscle car that can’t even carry a pair of crutches?”

“Hey...” Paul interjected defensively. He was cut off by Janet’s and Peter’s stare.

“Peter, please,” she begged. “I didn’t think you still needed the van.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Look, we will figure something out!” she exclaimed. “We still have some money left. We can buy the van back—”

“How much...?” he asked under his breath.

“Sorry?” she replied hesitantly.

“How much is left?” he continued, “of the settlement?”

Neither tried to answer, which told him all he needed to know. He blew out an explosive breath and wheeled his chair around. “I’m over this crap!” he snarled. “I’m going to bed.” He closed the door and threw the bolt with a loud click.

He turned on his computer. While it was booting up, he heard a gentle knock on his door.

“Peter? Honey?” Janet asked quietly from the other side. “Why is there a lock on your door?”

“Because I don’t feel safe in my own home when I have to sleep under the same roof with drug users,” he replied loudly. He heard nothing else from the living room as he dialed up the internet and accessed his brokerage account.

He half expected his short position in Oracle to be closed, but the stock had wallowed during trading hours, making no significant move in either direction. His puts remained unchanged at 2.55, though he saw a drop in open interest, which he saw as bullish. He wanted to talk to Jeremiah but couldn’t, so he reviewed his notes and read other trader’s comments.

He felt optimistic about Oracle, having used their database exclusively and seeing it as an industry standard in progressive software. The company’s deficit seemed unjustified by public sentiment over an accounting error. With nothing to lose, he canceled the Stop Loss and placed an order to sell all his contracts at the market open. At $18.30 per share, ORCL was heavily undervalued, and he was interested in buying a significant position. He’d watch the opening bell and, if bullish, planned to buy 5,000 shares. He wasn’t ready to switch to Calls after a successful short play.

The next software company he planned to buy was Lotus Corp., as he felt similarly encouraged by his personal experience with their software. He logged and tracked all of his positions and PAK Gaming, Inc. records using 1-2-3. He checked his other positions and made the notations on his spreadsheets before shutting down the PC and getting ready for bed.

Now back home and in his bed, he had reverted to sleeping in the nude. He sniffed deeply as he crawled under the blankets, savoring the lingering scent of Kat’s body and their recent activities. He smiled inwardly at the memories and sighed contentedly as he considered his feelings for the girl.

He had been lying in the dark for about 15 minutes when he was suddenly awakened by a commotion above him. Even with the master bedroom on the opposite side of the small house, he could hear his mother’s voice raised in passion. She began crying out repeatedly, and he could distinguish the rhythmic thumping of the bed against the wall. “Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!” she yelled repeatedly, drowning out the grunts of her lover as he banged her.

Part of Peter’s subconscious recoiled in disgust at the unwanted images from the racket, while another part became aroused. Her cries grew louder and harsher, and he felt the vibration of their intercourse through the ceiling.

“Oh God, yes!” she screamed. “Oh, Baby, please! Fuck yes!” Peter was shocked to hear his mother curse, having never heard her swear. He couldn’t remember ever hearing his parents having sex either. The grand finale was explosive and riotous, and he was certain the neighbors could hear her keening wail as she orgasmed. He rolled over with a sigh and tried to sleep. He drifted off, thinking of Kathy, imagining her passion-filled eyes and tight embrace.

His sleep was interrupted hours later as they serenaded him with an encore performance. The wails and thumping lacked intrigue this time, and he covered his head with his pillow to muffle the noise.

Tuesday morning, he rose early and enjoyed his first bath since before the accident. The tub in his new bathroom was lower than a standard bathtub but deep enough to let him lay back and submerge his entire body. After being clean and dressed, he logged into his account and checked the premarket prices to determine the market direction.

Hungry, he went to the kitchen and cooked hashbrowns, sausage links, and toast. The smells overpowered the cigarette smoke because he heard footsteps on the stairs while reading the Investor’s Business Daily, which he subscribed to last week at Clairmont East. Paul appeared with a half-smoked Marlboro in his mouth, wearing faded jeans and shoes but no shirt. His chest and arms were covered with old, blurred tattoos. Peter ignored him as he went to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. He and Kathy had bought a can of Folgers, sugar, and Coffee Mate. Peter liked lots of cream and sugar and noticed his mom’s new boyfriend did, too.

He finished his meal and pushed the plate aside to spread the paper on the table. He glanced over the columns until he found ORCL. It had a sustained relative strength rating of 98 and an A grade in accumulation and distribution. He decided to purchase it once his funds cleared.

“Didn’t bother to cook enough for everybody?” he heard Paul grumble as he spotted the clean skillet in the strainer next to the sink.

“For starters, I had no idea you’d be up this early,” Peter replied dryly as he washed his plate. “And second, you guys never bothered to keep any groceries here while I was gone, so I only shopped for myself since I can’t eat out.” He set the plate in the strainer. “But feel free to help yourself if you want to fix something for you and Mom,” he finished as he wheeled himself back to his room, grabbing his paper and coffee. He shut the door behind him, ignoring the unflattering remarks.

He accessed ARPANET and checked messages from users worldwide who tried PAK Gaming, Inc. games. He was surprised because he had only included his ARPANET networking ID in one discussion on the Gooney Board. He found dozens of messages and excitedly read through them, making notes on paper. He replied to a couple he knew and drafted a new message to Alan and Kat about his morning. Logging off, he checked the time and his E-Trade account. His short position in ORCL had closed, adding $255,000 to his available balance! He whooped loudly and ordered 5,000 shares of Oracle stock, trading up slightly at $18.25/share.

He felt giddy as he shut down the PC and turned to his texts and assignments for the week. It was only Tuesday morning, but he had already completed all the worksheets from his teachers and started taking cliff notes for his AP Micro and Physics papers.

An hour later, he was interrupted by sounds outside his room. His mother and Paul were conversing in low voices while she worked in the kitchen. He tuned them out until he heard a knock on his door, and his mother peeked inside.

“Good morning, Peter,” she said pleasantly. He looked up from his desk and found her gazing at him with hesitation and hopefulness. “How are you?”