Grandpa looked back and forth between us. He’d have to have been blind to miss the way we’d rubbed each other wrong for years, but he was an optimist and he loved us both. He’d tried so hard to mediate and create a happy family. I’d faked it for him, more often than not, but Uncle Wayne hadn’t been living in my space back then.
“Hopefully, he’ll find a job and a place of his own soon,” I said, trying to keep a level tone.
“Although…” Uncle Wayne gave me a sideways glance before smiling at Grandpa. “You’re not getting any younger, Dad, and this is a big house, even for two people. And if Callum gets traded, then you’d be on your own. Might be best if I plan to stay for a while.”
Grandpa nodded but his return smile was a little wan. “We’ll see how it goes, son.”
Ihatedhearing him use that word for Uncle Wayne, the one I’d come to cherish as a boy. No matter how true it was.
Uncle Wayne told me, “I’ve taken the attic suite for mine. Privacy, you know.”
I stared at Grandpa. That suite had been where my parents stayed when we’d visited before they died. I’d gone up there now and then through my preteens, wishing some part of Mom and Dad had permeated those walls and could see me. There were two other guest rooms in the big old house.
Why did he give Uncle Wayne that space?Although maybe Uncle Wayne had chosen it without asking. Or maybe Grandpa wanted him as far from me as possible.
Either way, the thought of Uncle Wayne sticking his clothes in the old wardrobe up there, and sleeping on the wide, creaky bed, made my stomach heave.
Suddenly, I couldn’t be there, couldn’t go up to my room and undress and fall asleep with Uncle Wayne overhead. I said, “Hey, it’s my night to go hang out with Jos next door. You two get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“It is?” Grandpa frowned at me, then his expression sagged into fatigue. “Oh, of course. Sure. Give my regards to Jos and Zeke. Sleep well.”
Uncle Wayne looked back and forth between us. “Who are Jos and Zeke?”
“I’m babysitting the neighbour’s kid,” I said. “Don’t steal anything while I’m gone.” I whirled and stalked out, ignoringGrandpa’s soft, “Now, Callum,” and Uncle Wayne’s smarmy, “Don’t worry, Dad. Words can’t hurt me.”
Words can’t hurt me.The biggest lie in the universe. Uncle Wayne had never hit me, never touched me. He hadn’t even grabbed me too hard, the way my friend Nick’s father used to handle him, leaving bruises that ringed his wrists. But his words, murmured in the shadows, whispered near my ear a minute before Grandpa would appear, had cut deep.
I plunged out the door and down the steps. The cool of the early March evening chilled my back through my dress shirt, but I welcomed it against the heat of my blood. I wanted to hit someone, or something, just punch away till my hands bled. But if Uncle Wayne was back, invading Grandpa’s house, I needed to be smarter than that. Hobbes was right when he said I couldn’t afford to be injured. I couldn’t let the motherfucker get to me.
Before I could think better, I’d pounded on Zeke’s door too many times, too loudly.
He yanked the door open. “What’s wrong? Do you need help?”
I realized how I must look, still in my dress shoes and half a suit, with my hair no doubt a mess and no jacket. “No, sorry. I… Can I stay here tonight? I’ll get out of your hair in the morning.”
He pulled the door wider. “Hey, it’s no problem. Did you have a fight with your grandfather?” He looked puzzled, which was fair because Grandpa wasn’t a guy anyone would fight with.
“I played like a fucking loser, and now my uncle Wayne is home,” I said. “And I don’t want to be. Not tonight.”
“Sure.” He stepped back. “Come on in. Watch a movie with us. Unless you want to go home and fetch your stuff first?”
“No way.” I squeezed past him. “But I’m not inviting myself into your—” At the last moment, I spotted Jos and changed “bed” to “evening routine. Just want to beg a spare room.”
“You’re always welcome. Jos appreciated having someone around when I was on evenings earlier in the week.”
I shivered and rubbed my arms as I made my way to the living room. “Worked out for me. Your TV is awesome. You do nights next, right?”
“Yeah. Early nights starting Tuesday. Five p.m. to three-thirty a.m.” Zeke glanced at Jos. “Still haven’t figured out what to do.”
Jos wrinkled his nose. “I’m getting used to you being gone. I’ll be fine.”
“Hey,” I said, grabbing for a lifeline. “Great! I’m not on the road till Friday. I could sleep here the first three nights, if that helps.”
“Sure—”
Zeke was cut off by Jos’s “I don’t need a babysitter!”
Zeke grabbed Jos’s hoodie sleeve and said, “Hey, come on. Let’s make some popcorn.” He towed the kid toward the kitchen. Jos frowned but didn’t resist.
