The Unfinished Manuscript

Isolation

Billy Brunswick lay on the black leather couch, his lanky figure forcing his feet to remain firmly on its armrest, immersed in Frank Salisbury's most recent novel: Uncaged Birds.

His father stormed into the room, his figure stiff. His jaw was clenched and he was clinging tightly to his laptop. His hair hadn't yet been brushed and its strands were going every which way, resembling someone who had just suffered a close call with electrocution. His tie had not yet been done.

"My boy, I can't believe you have been wasting away on that damn couch all day."

He sighed, exasperated.

"For f**k's sake, son! Sometimes I just think you're a waste of space!"

He glanced at the title.

"And Frank Salisbury, no less! You realize that guy is in hot water, don't you, my boy?"

Chad shook his head.

"That man f****d with the wrong people."

Billy's heart sank as he continued to read, but he feigned indifference as his eyes followed the words on the page in front of him, hoping the act was convincing enough for his father to believe it.

"You need a damn job, boy! All you do is f*****g sit here and read nonsense! My generation understood the value of hard work. We didn't just get our f*****g asses handed to us n a sliver platter!"

He heaved an enormous sigh of exasperation.

"GOD," he nearly spat on the floor, "I hope you're not a Goddamn homosexual."

He grabbed the book from the Billy's hands as the boy groaned.

"C'mon, dad, I'm on the second to last chapter! Just one more page?!"

As billy looked up at Chad, his expression resembled a puppy who was begging for the last tasty morsels of human food at an elaborate family dinner."

"Absolutely not! They are investigating this man, son, if I can even call you that! I don't want you filling your head with all of this nonsense."

He glared at him, eyes glinting.

"Frank Salisbury is a dangerous man."

Billy got up and stormed out of the room, trying desperately to stop the tears threatening to seep though his decidedly gruff exterior.

Damn it! I never did get to figure out who killed the guy.

He thought to himself, desperate to get his hands on another copy of the book, no matter what it took.