Homemade

It wasn’t a long walk home. The bus let off just three blocks down the street. Jason took his time, though, his backpack slung over one shoulder, a hand shoved into the pocket of his faded jeans. Long brown hair hung in his eyes, the young man brushing it back every so often. It was a nice neighborhood, trees lining the road, old, stylish houses that had always been kept nice and pristine looking. His family lived in the only blue one that was on that street, a three story home that had belonged to his grandparents… on his mother’s side.

As far as his family went, his father worked for some big company in the city. Jason didn’t know much about it, other than it kept the family income pretty high. But business wasn’t his area of expertise. No, he was much more into art, music… that sort of thing. Stuff that didn’t require a lot of education… just heart. His mother was more along the lines of a happy homemaker. She was good at it. Her skills were that of Martha Stewart herself. All doilies and roasts with lemon sauce. But he couldn’t really say he was close with either parent. Then again… what seventeen year old could?

It was just another day for him, and as soon as Jason walked in and smelled the food already cooking for supper, he had to smile. He was an only child, but he had enough close friends to make that not matter. That and the fact that he was spoiled rotten… he didn’t need anyone else in the house.

“I’m home!” he called in to his mother, glancing in the living room for her before walking into the kitchen. He smiled when he saw the woman, her blonde hair pinned up in some new elaborate fashion that she had probably caught in a magazine. “What’s cooking?” he asked, dropping his backpack into one of the chairs at the table in the adjoining dining room.

“Why, does it smell good?” she asked, smiling back at him before pulling out some flour for something else she was going to make. Catching him looking down at the newspaper that his father had left on the table, she cleared her throat a bit. “Homework?”

“Huh…?” Jason blinked and looked in at his mother again, finally nodding a bit. “Oh, yeah. I’ve got some homework. They just don’t know how to give me a weekend off, you know?” He just heard his mother laugh, but his attention was still focused down at the newspaper. ‘Another Student Missing’ was the headline. It was kind of scary. Ever since kids had started coming up missing in the neighboring districts, Jason had been a little leery of wandering out of his own, or even associating with kids from other schools. No one knew if they had been taken away somewhere… or if they were dead. No bodies and no evidence was ever found.

“You know… when I was in school, we didn’t have to worry about things like that,” his mother murmured. She’d kind of snuck up on him, so Jason couldn’t help the small jump. “This day and age, everything’s just going to hell. Of course it doesn’t help with all those hooligans running around. Kids today just don‘t know how to behave… to listen to their parents.”

“Yeah… Hey, I’m going to go do this homework. Call me down for supper?” he asked. His mother just gave a bit of a nod and headed back into the kitchen, Jason snatching up the newspaper and his backpack before going up to his room.

He tossed his bag down near his desk and flopped down on his bed, reading more on the latest teenager that had disappeared. It was a boy. It almost always was a boy, which was odd considering that most other places it was always girls that came up missing. He scanned over the page, finding a photograph. This kid actually looked familiar… Frowning in thought, Jason read until he found out the student’s name and where he went to school.

“Oh, hell…” he whispered to himself. “He was from my school…” Had the kidnapper/killer changed areas? Or was it just a fluke? He could’ve been a runaway. It was just natural for that to happen every now and then. And it didn’t match the kidnapper’s pattern, either. Never before had a kid from Jason’s school come up missing. Letting out a harsh breath he shook his head and scolded himself for getting worked up over such a thing. He was just being paranoid… right?

He’d done his best on the homework he had brought home, only about halfway through it before his mother called him down for supper. His father had been home for a very short while. It was amazing that they all managed to eat as a family, the way the man worked all the time. But Jason didn’t complain. He still loved his father, felt loved by him, and the man’s job kept their lifestyle comfortable and without much worry.

“Sweetie, this stew is great,” his father commented.

“Yeah, what’s in here, anyway?” Jason chimed in.

“Family secret, dear. If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” his mother replied, humor glittering in her eyes. Jason just grinned and dug in, silently praising his mother’s cooking, too.

“I didn’t think your family kept any secrets.” his father continued.

The teasing always happened between his parents. He figured that’s what kept them so happy, their sense of humor. Jason was just glad that he had stability in his life, not like some of his friends that had parents divorcing or dying… having affairs that they didn’t try to hide from the community. It was terrible. But he tried not to think on those things, the mood at the table not needing to be changed. He listened to his parents talk about their day, chiming in the answers to questions directed at him about his.

When finally he was done, he went to excuse himself, he was stopped by his mother… a kind request that he take out the trash. He didn’t mind chores, especially when they didn’t give him very many at all. With a nod, he took his dishes into the kitchen and gave them a good rinse before stacking them neatly in the washing machine. After that he went for the trash, glad to see that it was all tied up and waiting for him. It took a bit of effort, Jason actually having a bit of trouble hefting the bag out the back door.

The wind held a definite chill to it, the darkness already falling in the little neighborhood. All the bushes and trees rustled with each little gust. It gave him the chills, almost as if someone was watching him. Nonetheless, he carried the heavy black bag around the side of the house, over to the big trash can and slid it inside. The thing at least had wheels on it, so in the morning before he went to school he’d be able to take it out to the curb without problem.

He was about to head back inside when he heard a car horn bellowing from out front. Jason spun around and headed out the side gate, pretty sure of who it was. There in front of his house sat his best friend’s white convertible. It was a dingy old thing, the type of car that could’ve been considered a classic collectible… if it had been taken care of. The way it sat there, the engine rumbling awkwardly, body dented up, rusted along the edges, no one was going to even put in the effort to restore it. Least of all his friend, Matt, who was more concerned with getting the old thing to make it just a few more months. Even the tires were worn near bald.

“Hey, Jason!” the other boy yelled out, waving at him as if he wouldn’t know just where that call had come from. “Come on, man! Let’s go for a cruise!” Jogging over to the car, Jason leaned in and shook his head. “Hey, come on. I’ve got a couple of girls that are going out with us tonight. Hop in.”

“You know I can’t, Matt. My parents would kill me if I even asked.” He lowered his head a bit as Matt scoffed at him, knowing that the other boy’s parents were much more lenient. “Well… can it wait until the weekend? Friday?”

“Man, you don’t want to know how hard I had to beg, okay? We’re talking Marie and Shannon, here… the cheerleaders!”

“No way!”

“Oh, yes way. And if we blow them off now, that’s it. We don’t get a second chance. They’ll have someone else to go out with come Friday night if we don’t jump on it!” Jason thought for a moment, glanced back at the house, and finally shook his head.

“You know I want to…”

“Then let’s do it! Just sneak out or something. Your parents will never know. They think you’re a goody-goody.”

“Yeah…” Jason admitted with a sigh, ducking his head and giving a bit of a grin at the thought of being able to date one of the cheerleaders. It didn’t matter which one, they all looked hot to him. “Okay… I’ll do it. But just this once!”

“That’s the spirit! Now… I’ll swing back by around nine. Meet me up at the stop sign, okay?” Jason nodded and waved his friend off, knowing that what he was about to do wasn’t the wisest thing in the world. But hey, years of playing it safe, obeying every rule set down in front of him… he was allowed one goof up, right?

Nine came around almost without warning. Determination to not let even one grade slip because of this little night time excursion had him working hard on his homework. It was done in time for him to take a shower, pick out something nice to wear, decide that it looked tacky, and try about three or four more times. By then it was time to go, and he peeked out into the hallway to make sure no one was there. It seemed that his parents were both already in bed, resting up for another busy day. He slinked down the hall, down the stairs, and right out the back door. He kept it unlocked so he could get back in with less fuss. In an upscale neighborhood like that, it was okay.

He saw Matt’s car down near the stop sign and ran to meet up with him, coming to a dead halt when he saw the girls already in the car. The first one was blonde, loose curls cascading down over her shoulders. She flashed him a perfect pearly smile and gave a little wave with a neatly manicured hand. The other girl was a brunette, her hair shorter but absolutely perfect. Not one hair was out of place. She waved at him too, and then a completely dorky moment passed where he found himself waving back. Matt just laughed at him. Of course. He felt himself flushing a bit before clearing his throat and getting in the car, the two pretty girls squished between them. They didn’t seem to mind though, girlish giggles erupting from them before Matt laid on the gas and took them soaring down the road.

The evening came to an end all too soon, in Jason’s opinion. He’d ended up with Marie, the blonde. It was a little odd… He’d never dated someone quite that pretty and popular before. But they hit it off rather well. Matt took him back to that same stop sign when it was time to say goodnight, Jason shutting the car door behind him and leaning back in for a goodnight kiss.

“Okay, so… Friday night at eight?” he asked Marie, then stole one final kiss before Matt punched the gas, giving a wave out the window. Jason just stood there waving until the car turned down the way, leaving him standing alone… along the dark street… It wasn’t a feeling he liked, especially when the wind picked up. Shivering, he ran back to his house, nearly tearing straight through the gate to get into the back yard. He made it to the back door and turned the knob… only the door wasn’t quite as unlocked as he’d left it earlier. He tried again, tugging harder, dismayed to find that it was no more unlocked than his last attempt.

He found himself cursing under his breath, looking up at the back windows to see if he could get in. He put it down to one of his parents checking all the doors before going to bed sometime after he left. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was almost midnight. There was no way he was going to get away with just knocking on the door. They’d skin him alive! Instead he crept back along the side of the house, keeping his eyes up toward the windows. He saw one of his own bedroom windows, which he had actually left open without thinking about it. Glancing down he saw the garbage can and right away moved it to where it would provide some help. He started climbing, his feet placed along the edges of the trash can so that the lid wouldn’t cave in. There was some sort of drain pipe that he lifted his foot up onto, giving it a bit of experimental weight before hoisting himself up on it. From there, he could just about reach his window. And then, unexpectedly, the pipe that was holding his weight gave out beneath him, sending the boy crashing down on top of the garbage can. Groaning, he tried to peel himself up off the ground, his head throbbing loudly. He’d hit it pretty hard during that first class landing of his.

And then he realized that he’d dumped the trash over. And the bag had ripped open. Blinking the stars away, he tried to shove the junk back in. But… he felt something long and hard, curiosity getting the better of him. Pulling it up so he could see it, even in the dark, his eyes went wide in shock. It was a long bone… and yet it had been broken. His other hand sifted through the garbage and finally found another piece of bone… and then another. They were all broken to smaller pieces, hidden in the middle of the bag that he’d taken out earlier.

“Holy-” He examined some of the bones, matching them up until he realized that that there was no way it belonged to an animal. His heart could’ve stopped right there, Jason feeling like he’d been ripped straight out from his nice reality. And then he heard footsteps, his eyes stopping on a pair of feet in women’s slippers.

“Someone has been a very… very… bad boy.”

Looking up, he saw a figure standing there, fisted hands on her hips.

“M-mom?”

~Two Days Later~

The black and white sat outside the house, the officers inside with Jason’s mother. They were in the kitchen, discussing the disappearance of her son. Everyone thought it was such a shame, just knowing that Jason had been snatched up somehow by this terrible kidnapper that had taken already a dozen teenagers from surrounding school districts. Even then, on the bright and sunny day, the neighbors couldn’t believe that something like that could’ve happened ‘so close to home’.

“And this is the most recent picture you have of Jason, Mrs. Walters?” Officer McDougherty asked, handing the school picture to his partner.

“Yes, it is.”

“And you don’t know of any reason he might have to run away?”

“No… none at all,” she said, dabbing at her eyes. “He was good in school, had friends… He was the perfect son.” She turned around then to stir the food simmering in a large pot on the stove, the smell permeating the air with a rare richness.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t the food that sent him running,” McDougherty joked lightly.

“Oh… would you like some?” she offered. “It’s an old family recipe.”

“Really, now? What’s in it?” That made the woman smile, her eyes glittering with amusement more than sorrow over her missing son.

“Now… if I told you, I’d have to kill you…”