to the floor. My curiosity of the large envelope overruled my desire to get dressed.
So I stood there, naked, and opened the envelope.
There were several papers in it.
Copies of pictures and drawings.
And then a picture of him.
Of Josh.
Sitting on the top step of an abandoned house, arms on his knees, a lit cigarette burning away, his intense stare jumping off the picture and hitting me.
Oh, yeah, I knew exactly who Josh was.
Chapter 4
Take a Swing and a Shot
THEN
(Josh)
I climbed up on the hood of the minivan and twirled the baseball bat in my hand. There was no time for a tough guy speech or anything like that. Not that I had one to give anyway. I was running with three guys – Murph, Nash, Abel – and they were all way too deep in bottles of cheap booze, half drunk, talking about parties and girls.
But they still came with me all the way across town, walking back alleys and some busy streets to track down this fucking minivan.
I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to drive a minivan.
Leaving two kids behind to be raised by a woman who should have been retired and enjoying a simple life. Playing this fake game of caring about someone else and a different life, always leaving me wondering what was really said about me and her.
“Hey, Josh, you swinging that bat or what?” Murph asked.
“It’s getting fucking cold out here,” Nash said. “Freezing my dick off.”
Abel punched Murph in the arm. “Yo, Nash is afraid he’ll shrivel up in front of Katie. Remember last time? In the rain?”
Murph burst out laughing.
“Fuck you guys,” Nash said. “She dared me to run out in the rain naked. What the fuck was I going to do?”
“Tell her no?” Murph asked. “Shit, you thought that was going to help your chances with her? The look on her face…”
“And you screaming at everyone about being cold,” Abel said, snorting. “And what happens to your dick when you’re cold…”
“Shut the hell up,” I growled. “Let me do this.”
“Hey, Josh,” Murph said. “You might want to-”
I swung the baseball bat. And as I came down with it, I jumped a little just for extra power. I knew nothing about baseball, but I knew how to use a baseball bat.
When the bat hit the windshield there was a pop sound. The windshield didn’t explode like in some action movie. Instead, there was almost a dent in the glass. It spider cracked into an uneven circle. So I had to do it over and over, making my mark.
“Fuck, Josh!” Nash yelled. “Company!”
I had the bat in the air, and I looked at the house.
Tall bushes. Ugly yellow color. Concrete porch with a white, metal railing. Cliché and fake.
“Where?” I asked.
“Across the street,” Abel said. “Shit. Let me get her.”
Her?
I turned my head the other way and saw Abel already starting to move.
I jumped off the hood of the car and ran after him.
“Stop,” I ordered.
“I’ll fucking get her,” Abel said.
I poked the bat at Abel and knocked him off balance.
“Porch light’s on!” Murph announced.
Fuck.
“You three bolt,” I said. “Go to Jackie’s garage. Right now. I’ll take care of this.”
I ran across the street as the guys ran up the street toward the woods.
The air was crisp and went straight to my lungs.
But I could run for hours. For days. In the heat. The cold. Whatever.
I almost didn’t see the girl. If it wasn’t for her white hoodie I wouldn’t have.
She was at the side of a house, frozen, staring right at me.
I realized how I must have looked. Chasing after her. A baseball bat in my hand.
She looked to be my age. Maybe even familiar.
From school?
I wasn’t sure.
“Hey,” I said to her.
“Please…”
I looked at the bat.
I tossed it into the air and caught it at the middle point. Then with a hard throw, it flew through the air to my right, crunching into some bushes.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said. “I would never hurt a girl. Ever.”
“I didn’t see anything,” she said. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”
“What are you doing out here so late?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Do you live here?”
“Uh, no,” she said. “I mean, yes. I live here. My father has a gun. He’ll shoot you.”
“Bullshit,” I said with a grin. “You don’t live here. And your father doesn’t have a gun.”
“Why would I lie to you? I saw what you did.”
“Thought you just said you saw nothing?”
“I lied,” she said. “About that.”
“But not the house?” I asked.
“No. I live