by Nunn, Alexis
“He’s adorable. Where’d you get him?”
I nodded, looking back to him, “Got him when I was little. Mom’s dog. Bonded with me. Always there for me. You know how pets are. Like a brother.”
“I totally understand what you mean,” You don’t understand at all, “I had a cat and that thing was like a stuffed animal. He’d sleep with me and follow me around. He was a good pet. But animals get old and die. How old is yours?”
“I’m seventeen so he’s,” I stopped before I said nineteen. I said I got him when I was young, “Twelve?”
The answer surprised him, “He’s pretty healthy for such an old dog. I take that back, his fur is getting thin, like there on his tail.”
I shrugged, “Oh well.”
“You better be careful. The animals infected with the Animal Wendigo Virus might get ahold of him!”
“He keeps away from werebies pretty safely as it is.” Oh, the irony.
“The what?”
“Werebies. Oh, sorry. We made up that name for them. Werewolf zombies. Like, were-zombies. Werebies… It’s faster than saying infected with the Animal Wendigo Virus.”
The name lingered in his thoughts until he agreed, “That’s quite a catchy term for them. I just might tell them back home about it. You might be on to something.”
He grinned and elbowed me. The bony edge cut into my ribs and I winced. He didn’t notice or didn’t care to notice.
He continued on, “So how did you end up here, middle of nowhere. Land of no AOL or reliable phone signals?”
I chuckled, self-conscious now. There wasn’t a way to avoid telling the truth on that question.
“Walked here from Indiana.”
He choked with surprise, “What? All the way from the USA?”
“Well, not that we walked all the way, but I really did come from Indiana. So technically I’m illegally living here. And a missing person back in Connersville.”
That never occurred to me before. We are evading taxes and wanted by the government by now. Great decisions by our mother.
“That’s a bit away. Why?”
“The virus got to us where we were. Mother and Grandpa decided to escape while the border was still open. We still crossed illegally anyway.”
“You do what you have to,” Lewis blinked, eyes covering the floor instead of me now.
I was lost once again for something to say. I was terrified to accidentally give away Feliks was a werebie. This was more than just being careful. This was now a priority.
Robert, who watched us quietly the entire time, finally made his way out to the living room. He grabbed a chair from the kitchen island and sat off to the side of Lewis.
“No Robert, I’ll get up, you can sit here. I’ll go get Fadiyah and Lilya,” I stood up without his answer, making it an order. He didn’t object, only hesitated.
The older man took my seat at the couch while I headed out the door, Feliks quickly following my path. We walked in silence until I heard the door shut completely.
“You hate me now?” I asked Feliks.
He thumped his tail against my leg as a simple yes, too mad to answer me.
“I had to treat you like a dog, sorry.”
He gave me another thump and trotted ahead of me. The door to the Schocke’s opened and he slinked inside. I stepped up to the door and pushed it open farther.
Inside, Fadiyah was lacing up a pair of shoes and Lilya was putting on a small jacket. Fadiyah’s hijab got caught in Lilya’s jacket, pulling it off. Fadiyah sighed, letting it fall off. She looked at it almost guiltily and then folded it up. She tucked it under her arm.
“Are you guys going to go talk to Lewis?”
Fadiyah nodded and promptly looked up, a flash of realization present. She leaned forward, taking a look down the hall before addressing me.
“Don’t talk to your dog. Okay?” Fadiyah whispered. Lilya smiled and nodded at me too.
“My dog?” Lilya ran out of the house, eager. Fadiyah sighed and began to say something when I heard a high shrill voice echo down the hall.
After the voice, I heard a few stomps. A plumper short woman who matched Lewis’s dark skin started walking down the hall. She was wearing the same white jumper Lewis was in. Her eyebrows curved down to a sharp point and she sneered, tilting her head up at me. I swallowed and smiled awkwardly at her, guessing logically this was the other of the two that came: Beverly. Hands on her defined hips, she scoffed.
“Now who are you?”
Upon her face rested round spectacles that she pushed up, taking a step back to completely look at me. She was nowhere close to the sweet lady I had imagined.
“Hi, I-”
“You ain’t that damn boy who used to be here. I don’t know what damn boy you are. Another one of those funky girly ones.”
“Ma’am, please call me a girl. I’m a girl.”
She grunted, “You confused about it or something? You got a girl’s face but a-”
“Hi, I’m Darylene!” I cut her off before she went off.
“Daryl Lee? What kind of a girl’s name is that!” The old woman huffed, “Back in my day we knew what sex you were!”
“Darylene. Like dare-rih-lean. One word. I go by Lene usually. I’m seventeen. It’s quite a pleasure to meet you,” Something about this woman made me feel uncomfortable, scared. My cheeks felt heated and I wanted to flee because of the way she stared at me.
Fadiyah, shoes now on, caught a glimpse of my face and intervened. I stepped away from the woman and Fadiyah got between us, distracting her. I slipped away and sat down by Feliks who was sitting on the floor. He gave me a sympathetic nose bump and rubbed the side of his face against my knee, then gazing up at me encouragingly. I could only sigh and look back at Beverly.
I heard Beverly scoff once more. When I looked back up, she had a chunk of Fadiyah’s hair in her hand, while Fadiyah was pulling away.
“I thought you were one of those Muslims. Where’s your head thing? I see all your hair and neck,” She said venomously.
Fadiyah inhaled sharply, “I’ve told you I wear those because they were my mother’s! There’s no requirement for me to wear them, I just usually do. And it’s right here!” She lifted it up and started to fix it back around her head, “Why are you so dead set on being mean today? I’m already sick of it!” Fadiyah growled, taking a fighting stance, feet apart and body angled at Beverly. Her shoulder jumped up and down while she tightened her fists, “Go see your real family. I lost my enthusiasm to see him now.”
Beverly just shook her head, “Defiant children of today, ready to argue over everything you say. Don’t you have any respect for your elders?”
I rose, seeing Fadiyah verbally attacked made me feel like coals under my skin burning hot enough to fuel a freight train.
“I respect my elders and especially those who earn that respect. You aren’t either!”
At that, she turned on her heels and fled. The direction she took was towards her bedroom. I glared at Beverly and left the room to follow my friend. Feliks stayed in the room.
I turned down the hall and treaded on eggshells outside the door. She had shut it.
A closed door isn’t an invitation inside and I knew I couldn’t betray her trust to open it. That was something I wasn’t prepared to do. Sometimes people needed space, it’s something that had to be respected unless absolutely necessary. So, I stood there waiting for the possibility that it would open but it didn’t.
The front door opened and closed while a complaining Beverly left the house. I tore myself away from the room and returned to the living room. The air felt like it increased the gravity. It felt like a vacuum, too much pressure and too much silence. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen to breathe in.
Feliks looked up at me, eyebrow-ridge dipping down and he tilted his head.
“Her bedroom door is closed. She wants to be alone.”
He understood.
I walked over to him, towering over him. He stood u
p, shaking his torso and stretching his front paws.
He adjusted himself, “Then what should we do?”
“Obviously I’m not going over there. That woman is over there. I think it’s best to stay here with Fadiyah.”
TWENTY-ONE
We stopped talking. Feliks hopped up on the couch and I still stood there. My face stayed parallel to the ground and my shoulders stiffened. I wanted to be angry at Beverly. I wanted to go break down the door and barrier between friends so I could be with Fadiyah, but instead I remembered how weak I was. Without stupidity to propel me, I backed off. I was not strong enough to confront the woman. I was not strong enough to be brave.
Feliks had no fight to brave against. He stayed back and just watched this one. He couldn’t do anything if he wanted since he had to be a dog. Dogs are passive unless threatened.
I just breathed. The walls still stood and the world went on. Fear faded and the quiet became less terrifying. Pressure started to become more of a second thought than the oppressive force it first seemed to be. My head raised back to its place.
There wasn’t anything I could do but hate myself. That plan still wasn’t even a good idea.
I walked over to Feliks’s side and rested. He directed his eyes at me, then laid it on the arm rest. I thudded my head against the top of the couch, defeated, sinking down into it. The cushion (more or less, the springs underneath) creaked from my dead weight.
Our house could be seen from the window. Figures moved around behind the open windows. Jealously over them enjoying their time was unavoidable. It was even worse that it was our house Lewis and Beverly overtook. Feliks and I weren’t at home here.
Feliks swayed his ears, turning one back towards me. I reached over and pinched it. He yelped, growled at me, and pulled his hind legs up into a ball under him. His legs tried to tuck up under the sweatshirt. The loose band on the hemline only trapped his legs in it.
He kicked out, trying to free himself from what now seemed like a poor decision. I laughed at him, watching him succeed in pulling the neck hole tightly around his shoulders.
“Do you need help?”
He just growled and bit the shirt, kicking his legs up in the air, hind legs springing free. If I had not jumped back in time, I would have been clawed across the face with his wild paws.
He shimmied back into a comfortable place, “No.”
Feliks rested his muzzle back on the armrest, staring out towards the window. He flicked his ears towards it, getting my attention. I stared out with him, noticing a show over the glass panel in the door. Our front door opened and Lewis stepped out, nearly missing a step, too busy talking to Robert. Even from far away, you could see the embarrassment and laughter in his face.
My brother suddenly perked, looking towards me and back to the window. Lewis must have been coming over here.
“Stay down, pretend to sleep.”
He nodded, tucking his head between the arm and his fluff. I reached out and plopped the hood over his head and ears.
It didn’t take long for Lewis to get the door. I stood up, brushing over my clothes instinctually.
He entered, looking around and spotting me, “Dar… Lene. I was wondering where you guys went.”
I nervously laughed, “Yeah, I went to get Lilya and Fadiyah or you.”
The teen nodded, “I saw Lilya. Where is Fadiyah? I haven’t seen her since I was a bit younger.”
Fadiyah wasn’t in the mood to talk, I was sure.
“She’s in her bedroom. Beverly got in an argument with her and they didn’t end on good terms.”
That statement hit Lewis with familiarity. The corner of his grin rose with his nostril, “She’s not a nice lady. I have to live with her. I know she doesn’t get along with Fadiyah, but I think she only puts up with her for Lilya and Robert.”
Blink, “Yeah, I can tell.”
Carefully, he placed his balled hands in his pockets, “She’s the kind that doesn’t believe in family outside blood. She doesn’t really consider Fadiyah part of the family, and I know that hurts her. If you aren’t a Schocke or Frymoore by blood, she doesn’t care. She still wants respect like family or a queen, but she won’t get it like that.”
“Agreed. So your name is…”
“Frymoore.”
“That’s a cool name. Mine’s just Stern. It means star in German, not serious. Everyone at school always asked me if I was a serious person. Neither of us were serious most of the time.”
“Neither?” He asked, continuing on my thought.
I screwed up. Nerves started to rise, “Oh, I meant my... you know… cousin. He’s back at home. I miss him.”
Lewis frowned, “Oh. I’m sorry. What was his name?”
“F… Fuck. Oh no, not that, I mean. Well, we called him… Roy.”
Lewis just laughed, making me feel more nervous, “You took a while to get to that. It almost sounds made up. He isn’t is he?” He joked, turning towards me with an open hand.
“No,” I let out a strained breath, “Oh, no, sorry. Just stressed out. You guys showed up and startled me, then Fadiyah gets in a fight. Nerves. You know?”
Feliks shifted on the couch, giving me a cautious stare from under the hood. He watched Lewis too, keeping his four paws in place so he could leap at any time. It felt worse knowing he was listening to my awkward, bumbling mess.
That was a close call, though it’d be nearly impossible for him to guess my brother was a dog. He didn’t seem suspicious of us so far, hopefully it will stay that way. The ground I was treading on was thin and easily I may fall through. I was just idiotic enough to give myself away.
Lewis smiled casually, stretching his arms behind his back and yawning, “Sorry, I’m a little tired from heading out here. We are planning on staying a few days until Rob’s birthday. Then we’ll head out.”
“That’s only about three days away. Are you staying an extra night after?”
He confirmed my guess. The guy was strange to talk to. I hate being out on the spot to talk to people I don’t know. I just knew fragments about him.
There were a few questions I had to ask but didn’t see many to be relevant, “Are you staying in one of the extra houses?”
Lewis nodded, “Yeah, we are staying in the Manchesters’ old home.”
Nothing.
“It’s the one that is by Robert’s house,” He clarified for me.
Now I felt stupid, “Oh, I hadn’t know about them. I only knew about Xavier.”
The name didn’t register well with him. His upbeat grin faded and his eyes averted from mine. He stepped out with his right foot and put his hands away in pockets. For a second, there was a moment of concern that I had brought up something I shouldn’t, but he just went back to normal before I made it worse. From the left pocket, he pulled out a round package. It wasn’t that large but I was surprised I hadn’t noticed the indentation of it before.
He flipped it over in his hand, letting the delicate tissue around it fall loose. I saw the shimmer start to emerge.
“A CD?”
“I made it for Xavier. I mean, I always keep him up to date with cool songs I come across.”
That explained the playlists I had found.
“You guys were close?”
Lewis paused, “Close? We were pretty good friends. I just never thought I’d come to find him gone. We were young and it didn’t seem to be a concern. But then I heard the news about the Animal Wendigo Virus. I feared for him. We sent mail to them, but they never would agree to come into town where it was safe. The surviving Manchesters came. I’ll have to tell them about this.”
That awkward moment came back, “I’m sorry about your friend.”
“I won’t let that kill the mood, okay? Here, you can have it,” He offered it to me.
I looked at it with a stupefied amazement. It wasn’t necessarily surprising, only his abrupt willingness to give away his late friend’s present had me taken aback. How do I respond to that? Seem ungrateful
and turn it down or possibly seem greedy and take it?
“Are you sure you want me to have it?”
He insisted. There now was the fear of disappointing or offending him. God, do I hate decisions.
The CD had only a date written on the top. No track listing. Great, it’ll be a mystery. I’ll have to sit up one night, listening to it track to track. Why am I complaining? It was still a gift.
“Thanks. Why did you come over here?” It was bothering me why he was alone.
“Oh, we thought it was about time to give you your own house back.”
He just laughed legitimately, throwing up an arm and laying his palm against his neck. He scratched his neck and shrugged. There was something unfamiliar in the way he flashed me his grin. It didn’t feel casual.
I want to leave. “I’ll get going. I’ll see you.”
Feliks heard his cue and jumped down, taking a millisecond to be hip-to-calf with me. His tail swirled, tell-tale of his eager departure. I left the house as eager as Feliks.
My fingers were only inches away from his hood, but still too far away to give his head a pat. I’d have to wait.
On the way to the house, our door opened and Beverly waddled out and huffed her way passed me. I swore I caught a stink eye in my direction. Robert was paces behind her, Lilya holding his hand, and our passing was more kind. I never thought I would see him be sympathetic towards us. His eyebrows were soft and he patted my shoulder, it was passing but there.
“You guys are doing well. Stay smart.”
Then they were both out of speaking distance and Feliks and I were at our door. I opened the door for my brother, and he kept eye contact as he dawdled inside to make me wait.
This kid was a treasure. He didn’t act mature, given he was nineteen and turning twenty this year. He was as old as our father when he was born and you couldn’t even tell. Somebody didn’t inherit the maturity of a Stern or a Svensson. It must be some rare recessive trait only he got.
“Hurry it up, you brat.”
“Ouch, my pride!” He wailed, starting a running jump on the couch.
I closed the door.
“Every day, I question why I put up with you.”