there,” said Blue, her mind catching up with what she had just seen. A thigh, part of a torso, flashing past bare and white as bone. The record crackled between songs. Gloria took up another fistful of salt and moved towards the front door.
“Gloria, wait...”
But it was too late. She had opened the door.
There was a tall, thin figure standing there - white and naked behind the screen. Blue jumped halfway out of her skin but then as she drew closer and looked through the mesh, she realized it was just a kid, a gangling, naked stringbean of a boy, his hands cupped over his genitals and his hair plastered to his head with the rain. “In,” said Gloria, opening the screen door as if this happened all the time.
“What the hell is going on?” said Blue, staring up at the kid. His eyes were full of fear and confusion, like he had fallen out of a raincloud onto the sidewalk and had no idea how he’d got there. He was precariously skinny - a boy stretched to the full height of manhood like he was a piece of human chewing gum. At first she didn’t recognize him - his hair was lank and dark from the rain - but then he turned his head to look at Gloria and the shape of his profile sparked recognition. She had seen him before, standing over Stacy’s kitchen sink, eating a peach. Sitting in the passenger seat of his mother’s truck, texting and sulking.
“Axl?” Blue said.
Axl sniffed and shivered. “I don’t know what happened,” he said, in a voice that hammered home just how damn young he was. “I don’t know why...I don’t know...”
“It’s okay,” said Blue. “Let’s get you dry. Come on in. It’s okay.” A prank, she guessed. Kids were assholes. They had probably taken his clothes and tossed him out in the rain, for reasons best known to their selves. “Gloria, where do you keep the towels?”
Gloria looked at Axl and sighed. “Always the boys,” she said. For an awful moment Blue thought she’d wandered off into a world of own once more, but then she turned back down the hall and opened a linen closet set into the space beneath the stairs. “Towels,” she said, and puttered off, clutching her box of salt.
The hall light flickered as Blue approached the closet door, and Axl glanced anxiously upwards at the bulb. “It’s okay,” Blue said, and fished out a couple of large, green bath towels. She let him cover himself up and hurried to close the front door, hoping that they weren’t going to lose power on top of everything else.
She led Axl into the living room. The record was now in the middle of Stairway to Heaven and she later she remembered thinking it was strange that it hadn’t skipped or scratched when the power was interrupted. “What happened?” she asked, settling the damp, shivering kid in a patched and duct-taped recliner. “Did someone do this to you?”
Axl shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
Great. He was probably high. “Okay,” she said. Stacy was going to love this. “Sit tight. Get warm. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Blue closed the living room door and went back into the hall, phone in hand. Once again the light flickered, but she ignored it and dialed Stacy’s number. “Hey, what’s up?” said Stacy. A child was crying in the background.
“Don’t freak out,” said Blue. “But I think Axl was in some kind of accident.”
“What? How? Why? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. I’m at Gloria’s place. He was just...I don’t know...naked.”
Stacy made an irritated noise. “One second,” she said, and then Blue heard her talking to her toddler - “Caleb, if you don’t knock if off then no more candy. Ever. Do you understand?” – then she was back. “Okay. Did you say naked ?”
“In the rain,” said Blue. “I saw him out the window then Gloria opened the door and he was standing there, buck naked and soaked. I’m guessing some of his classmates played some kind of prank - ”
“ - guess again,” said Stacy, with another hiss of
“Gloria, wait...”
But it was too late. She had opened the door.
There was a tall, thin figure standing there - white and naked behind the screen. Blue jumped halfway out of her skin but then as she drew closer and looked through the mesh, she realized it was just a kid, a gangling, naked stringbean of a boy, his hands cupped over his genitals and his hair plastered to his head with the rain. “In,” said Gloria, opening the screen door as if this happened all the time.
“What the hell is going on?” said Blue, staring up at the kid. His eyes were full of fear and confusion, like he had fallen out of a raincloud onto the sidewalk and had no idea how he’d got there. He was precariously skinny - a boy stretched to the full height of manhood like he was a piece of human chewing gum. At first she didn’t recognize him - his hair was lank and dark from the rain - but then he turned his head to look at Gloria and the shape of his profile sparked recognition. She had seen him before, standing over Stacy’s kitchen sink, eating a peach. Sitting in the passenger seat of his mother’s truck, texting and sulking.
“Axl?” Blue said.
Axl sniffed and shivered. “I don’t know what happened,” he said, in a voice that hammered home just how damn young he was. “I don’t know why...I don’t know...”
“It’s okay,” said Blue. “Let’s get you dry. Come on in. It’s okay.” A prank, she guessed. Kids were assholes. They had probably taken his clothes and tossed him out in the rain, for reasons best known to their selves. “Gloria, where do you keep the towels?”
Gloria looked at Axl and sighed. “Always the boys,” she said. For an awful moment Blue thought she’d wandered off into a world of own once more, but then she turned back down the hall and opened a linen closet set into the space beneath the stairs. “Towels,” she said, and puttered off, clutching her box of salt.
The hall light flickered as Blue approached the closet door, and Axl glanced anxiously upwards at the bulb. “It’s okay,” Blue said, and fished out a couple of large, green bath towels. She let him cover himself up and hurried to close the front door, hoping that they weren’t going to lose power on top of everything else.
She led Axl into the living room. The record was now in the middle of Stairway to Heaven and she later she remembered thinking it was strange that it hadn’t skipped or scratched when the power was interrupted. “What happened?” she asked, settling the damp, shivering kid in a patched and duct-taped recliner. “Did someone do this to you?”
Axl shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
Great. He was probably high. “Okay,” she said. Stacy was going to love this. “Sit tight. Get warm. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Blue closed the living room door and went back into the hall, phone in hand. Once again the light flickered, but she ignored it and dialed Stacy’s number. “Hey, what’s up?” said Stacy. A child was crying in the background.
“Don’t freak out,” said Blue. “But I think Axl was in some kind of accident.”
“What? How? Why? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. I’m at Gloria’s place. He was just...I don’t know...naked.”
Stacy made an irritated noise. “One second,” she said, and then Blue heard her talking to her toddler - “Caleb, if you don’t knock if off then no more candy. Ever. Do you understand?” – then she was back. “Okay. Did you say naked ?”
“In the rain,” said Blue. “I saw him out the window then Gloria opened the door and he was standing there, buck naked and soaked. I’m guessing some of his classmates played some kind of prank - ”
“ - guess again,” said Stacy, with another hiss of
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