Page 9 of Bleed Me

CHAPTER THREE

Bang! Bang! “You ever getting out of the shower?”

I was yanked from the memory to realize I was without Delilah and in a dirty tub. With heavy shoulders, I turned off the water then grabbed a questionable towel.

Dressed, I left the bathroom to be greeted with another beer. Art asked me, “You good?”

Not. At. All. “Yeah. Good.”

He walked back into the living room. I followed, observing as he pointed to a couch. “I grabbed ya a pillow and blanket. Fall to sleep as fast as you can. We’re on the road in three hours.”

He went to turn off the lamp, but I asked, “Mind leaving that on?”

Art froze and stared at me for a moment. He finally moved his hand from the lamp. “Yeah, no problem. You sure you’re good?”

I may never be good again. “Yeah. Of course. Solid.”

Art glanced around, then fought a yawn while saying, “Ya know, I’m actually not tired. Want to talk for a bit?”

He was lying, and I was grateful.

Trying not to be seen as the desperate kid I felt like, I shrugged. “Yeah, that’d be cool.”

Art, tiredly, plopped back into an old blue Captain’s Chair. Untying his biker boots, he said, “Where shall we start?” He stopped in thought. “How about when you met Dumb Ass.”

That made me smile. That was Diesel’s nickname for Tucker.

I kept smiling as I told Art about the bus stop, Tuck defending Delilah’s honor. Now, Art was smiling, too, sitting back with his feet propped up. He asked, “Fight? What fight?”

“Well, Delilah screamed…”

I had been outside the school building, headed for the bus when something in me snapped, and I was sent into action. Before I knew it, I was with fists, side by side with her brother, fighting four kids that I had never met before. It’s sad, but there was a satisfying release hitting someone my size. My mom’s new boyfriend made it impossible for me to have an equal opponent.

By the time it was over, I had only one thing on my mind.Delilah. I turned to her in a rush. “Are you okay?”

She was relieved. I had saved the day. My heart soared…

As for Tucker, he was nothing like I had expected. Due to a little blood on my t-shirt after that fight, at his home, he gave me one of his t-shirts he had outgrown. He nor Delilah judged me when I wore it the next day at school because it was now the nicest shirt I had ever had. In fact, Mr. Ward told me Tuck had a bag full of clothes he had outgrown, and I was free to have it. I took every offered bit of clothing, so proud to have such a friend. No one had ever given me anything before. No, they only took.

Drifting thoughts had me thanking Art. I tugged on the hoodie. “Thanks for this, man. I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.”

He waved me off with his beer bottle. “Nay. Keep ’em. Tell me more about Dumb Ass. Kid sounds solid.”

“Ah, yeah. Damn good friend.”

Tuck and I became tight overnight, with a bond I was somehow longing for. Soon, the three of us were inseparable. Delilah was a girl youdared not fuck with because, by some trial and error, everyone learned that the wrath of two would come down and pound you on yourhead. This method was frowned upon by the school system, and punishments were handed out to us both, frequently.

Mr. Ward, on the other hand, had no problems with Tuck and me coming down with that hammer. Once, he even grilled steaks to celebrate an ass-whooping that we had handed out and been sent home for. My mom didn’t answer when the principal called, so Mr. Ward, who knew the principal, took me to his home. I never forgot what it felt like to have someone… care.

Mr. Ward told us, “Them boys need some manners. And if their mamas nor the school are gonna give ‘em any, I’m glad I have you two to get the job done.”

Everyone went quiet as I sat motionless, staring at the huge, juicy piece of meat on my plate. Delilah’s voice rung in my ear, “Kenny, what’s wrong with your steak?”

My throat tightened with gratitude. “Never had one before.”

Mr. Ward had a special way of taking unwanted attention off me. He lifted his chin and said, “Never too late to have one, I always say.”

I did have my first steak that night, and I was fed every time I was over—which became more and more often. Bones. My exposed bones began to disappear, and the shape of a young man took the skeleton’s place.