Voices – Page 23
“Brian?”
For a moment, he thought the voice was his mother, calling to make sure he was awake for school. In the past, this always used to annoy him. Of course he was awake for school. He was always awake for school. Now, it was welcome. It meant that he’d never left home, that the last two years had been some sort of bizarre dream.
“Brian, you in there? It’s too fucking dark and I can’t see you.”
That didn’t sound like his mother. It sounded like Jen.
Brian snapped awake, terrified that she might see him while changed. He touched his face, felt smooth skin, and let out his breath, relieved. He sat up, blinking in the dark.
“Yeah, Jen, I’m here. What’s up?”
“Nothin’. Just wanted to say thanks for putting up with my shit last night.”
“No big deal. Not the first drunk girl I’ve ever escorted home. Just the first one whose home is an abandoned ladies’ room.”
Jen laughed. “Can I come in?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure. Hang on; I have some candles in here somewhere. I lifted them from a truck a few weeks ago.”
“How romantic.”
“Yeah,” Brian said. “Nothing says romance like an abandoned Janitor’s room and some stolen candles.”
He struck a match and held it to the candle’s wick, then set it on a small shelf. The large purple cylinder immediately began giving off the scent of lilacs.
“Ooh, aromatherapy! Classy, Brian. Tres classy.”
Brian rolled his eyes. He was leaning against the wall, knees at his chest, arms wrapped around his legs. Jen sat down across from him and stretched, yawning.
“Sleep well?” Brian asked.
“Never do,” Jen said in a bright tone.
“Bad dreams?” Brian ventured.
“Let’s talk about something else!” Jen said, grinning at him. “Like puppies, or how kickass it would be if I happened to have enough cash on me to go grab some pizza with a friend.”
“Do you happen to have enough cash on you to go grab some pizza with a friend?”
“By random coincidence, I do.”
“Got any friends?”
“I think so. He’s a quiet guy, keeps to himself. People who don’t know him call him ‘Wolf.’ You heard of him?”
Brian grinned, and stood up. “Yeah. He told me if you came looking for someone to go get pizza with, I should take his place.”
