“Hey!” he shouted.
“Is it broken? Why aren’t you at the hospital?”
“I saw a doctor,” he said. “That’s where I got the bandage thing.”
I reached for the tube he had pointed to and read the label, recognizing the bruising cream. “Is this all you need?”
He nodded.
“Come on,” I said. I stood up and clutched his arm to help him up. “Let’s get you to inside so you can lay down. You look terrible.”
He laughed. “Are you calling me ugly?” He picked himself up and started limping for the door. I tucked myself under his arm. It wasn’t that I could pick him up if he fell, but I could at least serve as a minor crutch. He looked a little relieved and he leaned against me as he moved forward.
It was slow progress back to his house. Nathan kept stopping to take in a breath. I opened the door for him and he hobbled in.
“Where do you want to lay down?” I asked.
“In my bed,” he said. “Once I’m down, I don’t think I’m getting back up.”
I gritted my teeth and got under his arm again, letting him guide the way through the living room and down a dim hallway until we faced a door at the end. I opened it and he hopped in.
There was a low dresser pressed up against the wall and a standard double bed in the middle of the room, no headboard. The bed was draped in a dark brown blanket, maroon sheets and two pillows stuffed in the middle, unmade. There were karate movie and jujitsu poses posters along the walls. There was a walk-in closet completely filled with clothes, boxes and some broken workout equipment. A workout bench had been pushed to the corner, dumbbells sat on a box next to it. There was a window on the other side, the wood slat blinds were drawn.
Nathan plopped onto his stomach on the bed. He landed halfway, with his legs hanging off the edge. “Fuck.”
I climbed up onto his bed. “Scoot up.”
He did a push up and crawled further onto the bed until he smashed his face against the pillows and he collapsed again. His broad shoulders shook as he took in a heavy breath.
I crawled on my knees next to him, opened the tube and squished the bottle in the middle to get the white cream onto my fingers. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what happened,” I said. I spread the cream over the bruises on his back.
“You don’t want to know,” he said, his words were half slurred by the pillow in his face.
I sighed. “Are you in trouble with the mob? Do you owe them money?”
He barked a laugh. “Not at the moment.”
I used the cream over the bruises along his back, rubbing it in. I worked silently, not knowing what to ask, knowing there was nothing I could probably say to him to get the truth from him. When I was done with his back, I patted his arm. “Let me see the front.”
When he flipped over, there was another layer of bruises along his ribs and down his stomach. I squeezed at the bottom of the tube to get more of the cream out. Touching his back had been one thing. Now that I was looking at his muscular bare chest, my fingers trembled. I pressed my fingers to the bruises, trying to calm myself as much as to help his injuries.
I felt his eyes on my face but I couldn’t look at him when I was touching him in such a way. I focused only on rubbing the cream in. My cheeks started to heat up when I realized what I thought had been shorts were only a pair of boxers. I’d been too preoccupied that he was hurt to notice. I was in a bedroom with a half-naked boy.
“What were you doing out there?” he asked, punching at the pillows under his head to fluff them up.
“I was going home from Kota’s.”
“I didn’t know you were allowed out yet. Aren’t you grounded or something?”
“Weren’t you supposed to be in gym class today?”
He smirked. “I had something to do.”
“Huh.” I finished rubbing the cream in and then replaced the cap on the tube.
He reached out to me, grabbing my wrist. “It had to be done,” he said. His face was stern, getting that serious look I recognized, his blue eyes going dark. “If it wasn’t important, I would have been there with you in class. I wouldn't leave you alone.”
Why was I that important to him? It seemed ludicrous. “I’m not worried about being alone,” I said softly. “I’ve been alone for a long time. I can handle myself. What I’m worried about is the next time you’re gone from class and I’m wondering which hospital you may end up in.”
Nathan’s mouth opened as if he wanted to say something but he promptly closed his lips again. He held on to my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze but said nothing.
I noticed the light in the window going dim. “I have to get going,” I said. “Do you need anything?”
“I took a pain killer before you got here,” he said. He let go of my hand. “Don’t worry about me. Go home before you get into more trouble.” He turned slightly as if he wanted to move onto his stomach. Groans escaped his lips and he gave up, falling on his back again. “I might not get to school tomorrow.”
“That’s too bad,” I said.
“Why?”
“You’ll miss taco soup.”
I crossed the room, flicked the light off and shut his door, ignoring the questions he was asking as I left.
Victor: “You need a violin for class tomorrow, right? Did you get one?”
Sang: “It’s okay. I’ll explain it to Mr. Blackbourne.”
Victor: “I can go get you one.”
Sang: “Don’t do that!”
Victor: “Why not?”
Sang: “Don’t spend money on me. It’s bad enough you pay for this phone.”
Victor: “Please?”
Sang: “Goodnight, Victor. Stop worrying about me.”
W ednesday
N o L onger I nvisible
I dr
eamed I was trapped inside a car. I didn’t know how to drive and I was turning the wheel, pushing the breaks. The car careened down a hill and the ground was tilting. Cars raced around me. I was going to crash.
I woke with a start, jumping out of bed and running for the bathroom. I ran the cold water in the sink, splashing it across my face to erase the nightmare. It wasn’t helping. The memory stuck. When my heart settled, I stumbled back to my room, flicking on the light, grabbing my diary to write in until it was time to get going.
Marie and I walked the short distance between our house and Kota’s before the bus came. Danielle and her brother were already out there, standing on the very edge of Kota’s driveway. Kota stood alone, his head down and scuffing his shoes at the concrete.
“Kota,” I said, walking up to him.
His head lifted and his face lit up. “Hi.”
“No Nathan?”
His lips pursed and he shook his head. Marie walked around us and headed straight to Danielle, waving to her. Danielle greeted her with a smirk and they tucked their heads together, talking.
“I saw him last night,” I said quietly, not wanting the others to overhear. “I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t show.”
His eyebrows shot up. “How is he?”
He didn’t know about this? Or was he surprised to hear I went over there? “I think he broke one of his fingers. There were bruises all over his body.”
He blanched. “I didn’t know it was that bad.”
Was that the truth? Did Nathan or Victor not keep him informed? Did he not go see him? “What’s going to happen? The principal was asking about him yesterday when he didn’t show up for gym class and now he’s going to miss the second day of school.”
“Mr. Blackbourne is telling us to redirect any questions from teachers to him.”