Chapter 7
Pixie Rae
MOM AND I went over the different bills that would have to be paid while she was gone. The first travel was going to be five days. The rent came due, so Mom wrote out a check and I practiced signing her name in case of an emergency. I’d slide the check under the door of our superintendent. Things I needed to know while she was gone, she reviewed. The rules she had with me about the door being locked and me not going out at night. Things I already knew. We discussed how I could save on electricity despite me not wanting to spend the night in the dark. She recommended us getting some glow-in-the-dark stickers. I knew it wouldn’t work. Night got to me. I saw things in the dark and it terrified me, even though I knew it was only my imagination. But it was hard to convince my head of reality when my mind was so good at playing tricks on me.
I’d tell her what she needed to hear, though. At least I had Gaze now. Someone. Our summer had been great. Pretty much we were inseparable. He called me a motormouth because I liked to talk, but then he’d tell me it was okay because he liked to listen.
I wished Mom would be home more, but like she said, we had to both make sacrifices. Her new job came with a higher paycheck.
I helped her pack when it was time for her to leave. She cried a little, but I made sure to wait until she had left to cry in my room. Eventually, a Nerf bullet slammed into the wall. I sat straight up, grabbed it, and walked to the window.
Gaze held up the ball with a smile. I nodded. We didn’t have to talk to do this anymore. We went back-and-forth almost thirty times before I threw the wonky one. A new record.
After I got back from saving the ball, Gaze held on to it for a few seconds.
“My window will always be open.” And then he threw the ball.
I knew what he meant, that he’d be there when I was alone. It gave me courage. We got to thirty-five before he had to go get the ball. Another new record.
Chapter 8
Pixie Rae
I WAS WALKING back from the bakery with two bagels in the morning when I saw Gaze’s dad slumped over next to Tapps. He had a black eye and was snoring. I didn’t know what to do, but leaving him there didn’t seem safe. I walked into Tapps, and the place was empty, save for a few men sitting around a table playing cards.
“Excuse me, but do any of you know why my friend’s dad is outside?” I waited, rocking from my toes to my heels.
“Bruce? He drank himself stupid last night and had to be ejected when he tried fighting with everyone.”
“Oh. I can’t leave him outside because he is my friend’s dad, but he’s too big for me to move. Can you guys help me?”
“Leave him. He can behave himself if he doesn’t want to be treated like trash.” The one with the graying brown hair pointed to the door.
I spoke mostly to myself, “I can’t do that,” and huffed before leaving.
I stood there trying to figure out how to get Mr. Jones to at least get up. I tried pulling on his arm, but it fell slack. I tried pushing on his shoulders, but he was just a sack of meat.
Before I could try anything else, the men from the card game came out grumbling. “Where do you want him?”
“Thank you! Just follow me with him. He’s in the building across the street. His son will know what to do.” I led the way while the men hefted Mr. Jones between them, his legs dragging on the sidewalk.
“How old is his son?” the graying hair guy asked me.
“Same as me.” I saw the look that he passed to his friend on the other side of Mr. Jones. Disapproving. I recognized that look. When adults disagreed with how someone was raising their kid. I’d watched teachers share that look when they had concerns about my mother’s schedule. In fact, I saw it so much that I knew not to mention how my mom had to leave so often. And now, I’d have to watch that even more now that she would be gone for giant chunks of time.
I pointed to the stair. “He’s on the fifth floor.”
“Aw, hell no. Ralph, you got the key to the service elevator?” The blond man shuffled Mr. Jones around while he fished in his pockets for his keys.
I didn’t even know Gaze’s building had an elevator, but sure enough, Ralph motioned for them to go to a set of double doors that I’d never noticed before. They wrangled Mr. Jones into the small space, so I decided to skip the ride up.
“I’ll meet you on the fifth floor.”
When I got to what I assumed was Gaze’s apartment, the men were gone. They must have gone down the elevator to leave. Mr. Jones was lumped in front of the door and I knocked gently. Gaze didn’t answer, so I decided to go back to my place and talk to him from the window. Mr. Jones was at least inside and close to home. The way he was placed against the door, all Gaze had to do was open it for Mr. Jones to fall backward into the place.
When I got to my room, I tossed the ball on the plank and it soared through Gaze’s window. I heard it bounce once and then Gaze was looking at me from the window.
“Your dad is at your door. He’s…” And then I really saw Gaze. He acted like he was dreading what I might say. It was more than just getting his dad home safely. There was the whole aspect of Mr. Jones being in Tapps way too much. And now Gaze had to deal with his unconscious father for the rest of the day.
“Thanks.” He had the ball in his hands. He tossed it back to me and we started the game. I had to get the ball twice because I wasn’t concentrating. But then it was his turn. I waited while he stayed, looking at the ball rolling to a stop on the alley.
I didn’t know what to say. To offer to come help him with his father? But I could tell he didn’t want that. His whole body was tense.
Gaze was still looking at the ball. “Can you close your window? Just for a little while?”
Privacy? Maybe that’s what he needed. He’d already promised me he would never close his. So I did as he asked. I closed the window.
I moved to my mother’s room and watched the ball. No Gaze. He didn’t pick it up in the time it usually took. Which made sense, because his father had to be dealt with.
I waited. And waited. Still the ball lay there. I didn’t want someone to take our ball, so I walked down my stairs and grabbed it. I heard someone screaming. I looked toward the window that was Gaze’s. The clear sounds of punches echoed down to me. Soft crying. More yelling. More punching.
After running all the way up to my place, I went to my window, just in time to see Gaze’s father toss Gaze into his room and slam the door shut. I waited. I knew it was like this sometimes. My neighbors fought sometimes. Of course, they were adults. I saw plenty of fights at school. But nothing had sounded so out of balance to me before. It twisted my stomach and made me angry.
When I saw Gaze look through his window into mine, I could see he had a bruise on his cheek. I held up the ball, and he nodded and then winced.
I learned that night what Gaze’s other secret was. He already knew mine. I pushed my window up and started the game again. We didn’t discuss what I saw. But I knew that Gaze wasn’t always safe. I was scared of the dark, but Mom would never hurt me. I also got the ball for the rest of the night, because I didn’t want Gaze to have to face his dad again.
I was also never going to get Mr. Jones brought home again. He could rot where he slumped as far as I was concerned.