T.J. Klune - Bear, Otter, and the Kid 1 - Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune

into the hallway, where it bounced off the carpet into the wall. I reached over and turned on the shower and sat there as the cold water fell on me, willing myself to become sober. My clothes quickly became soaked and clung against my skin. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs and shivered.
    I was startled out of a daze sometime later when Otter walked into the bathroom. He was wearing a suit and tie, and I wondered why he had gotten so dressed up to come to my house. I wondered why I was still sitting in the shower, my skin numb and teeth chattering. I wondered why I noticed that Otters tie matched his eyes almost perfectly. He leaned against the bathroom doorway, big arms crossed against his chest, head cocked to the side as if he was trying to figure out just what the hell it was that I was doing. I felt like I needed to explain.
    “I got scared,” I said stupidly as I gestured around me. “This is the only place thats safe when everything quakes.” He didnt say anything; instead, he left the doorway and climbed into the bathtub with me, suit and all. He sat down next to me, our knees knocking together gently. He reached over to the faucet and flipped it until the water grew warm. I looked over at him, eyes wide.
He saw me staring at him and shrugged. “Its only a suit, Bear. And your lips are blue. Whyre you sitting here with the cold water on?”
    I looked down at my hands and realized how insane I must have looked when he walked into the bathroom. “I was trying to get sober,” I said, my voice sounding like the Kids.
Otter snorted and lifted the bottle out of my hands. “I bet you were. Why in Gods name would you be drinking this shit?”
    “Its all I had. Its all my mom left,” I said, as if it explained everything. “Well, then, this wont be so bad,” he said as he leaned forward and dumped the rest of the bottle into the toilet. I started to protest but thought better of it when he shook his head.
    “Fine,” I said. “I didnt want any more anyways.” I put my head on my knees, finally starting to feel warm again. We sat for a bit, not talking, and that was okay. The shower was too loud to be able to talk properly, but it was good just to have someone there. I was conscious of his presence, his knee knocking against mine every so often, and I took comfort from it. I felt the world slowly right itself, and when I was sure the earthquake was over, I got up and reached over Otter and turned off the water. I got out of the bathtub and handed him a towel.
“Better?” he asked as he took off his suit coat and tie. He rubbed the towel over his face and hair.
    “Yeah. You didnt have to come over, Otter.”
“I know.”
“And now youre all wet.”
“Youre very observant when youre drunk.”
“Whyd you come here?”
“You asked me to. Whyd you call me?”
“I dont know,” I said truthfully.
    “I dont know, either, Bear. But Im here now. And yes, I am soaking wet, as are you. Can I borrow some shorts and a shirt or something? We cant stay in these clothes.”
My mind took that the wrong way, and I felt an aftershock course through me.
    He followed me to my bedroom, where Ty was still asleep. He waited in the doorway while I grabbed some clothes for him. I tossed him an old shirt and some cargo shorts. He walked away, and I heard the bathroom door shut. I hoped he hadnt notice how my hands were shaking. I told myself it was because I was cold. I felt like a liar.
    I quickly peeled off the wet clothes and used the towel to wipe down my chilled skin. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt. I quickly found out I was still drunk when I couldnt figure out how to work the zipper on my pants and my shirt ended up on me inside out and backward. I cursed softly.
    I walked out of the bedroom, making sure to leave the door partway open again, and went into the living room, where Otter was already sitting on the ugly couch. My clothes seemed to fit him better than they did me. The shirt