Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
“What are you doing?”
Kyle looked up to find his younger brother at the door. “Huh? Why?”
“You’re just sitting there.”
“Can’t I just sit here? It’s my room.”
Kaleb came through the door and stopped at the foot of the bed. “Are you doing homework?”
Kyle flung the notebook aside and leaned back with a huff. “I was just trying to draw, it’s nothing.”
“Oh. You haven’t drawn in a long time. I wish I had time to draw,” he mumbled, then picked the notebook up and turned the pages. He stopped at one. “Is this a dragon?”
“Supposed to be a lion, I don’t know, I’m not very good.”
“It looks like a dragon.”
Kyle fidgeted with his pinky ring. “Why aren’t you in the middle of studying or playing violin or something?”
“I’m sick of playing. Same old songs, over and over. I hate Bach. My fingers hurt.” Kaleb turned to another page, then another. He made a funny face. “Why’s one eye always bigger than the other?”
“I have a problem with proportions,” mumbled Kyle, then realized those were Tristan’s words coming out of his mouth.
“Well, I like the weird eyes. Maybe this is just how you do art, your cool way to do art, making weird eyes and dragons.” Kaleb turned another page, looked at another drawing. “Maybe you don’t have a problem with anything. I think these are cool.”
Kyle gazed up at his brother.
Kaleb smiled back. Then his eyes lit up. “Oh, can you draw a dragon wearing jewelry?”
Despite all the heaviness in his heart, Kyle laughed. “Sure, sure,” he said, “yeah, I can do that, I’ll draw you a dragon with lots of glittering rings, just for you.”
“That’d be so cool.”
Then their mother’s voice rang out. “Kaleb? What are you doing? Sweetheart?” She appeared at the bedroom door. “Kyle, stop distracting your little brother! What are you thinking? He needs to be practicing for his recital this weekend!”
Kaleb set the notebook on the bed and left at once.
His mother followed him out without another word.
Kyle stared at his notebook, balanced on the edge of the bed, one little nudge away from falling off, and wondered what a monster wearing jewelry would look like.
Hours later, Kyle was dead asleep and drooling on a body pillow he cuddled when there came a soft tap at his bedroom window. On the third tap, he stirred awake to find a silhouette eclipsing the pale light from the street.
Somehow, he knew who it was before his eyes did.
He slipped out of bed in just a pair of briefs and stood at the window. “Tristan?”
Tristan cocked his head and offered a smile. Would you like to accompany me to the graveyard?
Kyle wiped the sleep out of his eyes. “What the hell?”
I hope you aren’t mad at me, about earlier today.
“I don’t know. I’m tired.”
You wanted to know more about me. So I’ve decided to tell you more. Tristan’s voice was muffled through the glass. It’s better we go somewhere safer than your windowsill, though.
“And that’s a graveyard at—” Kyle checked the clock. “—at 2:17 in the morning?”
Isn’t life sometimes as boring as food? Aren’t people so tiresome? Your mom, your dad. Brock and his silly friends. Do you ever just … Tristan tilted his head and gazed into Kyle’s eyes. Do you ever just want to … let it all burn … and start over?
He asked the question in a lazy drawl. Almost playful.
Casually suggesting they could knock down the sandcastle of their lives, let the tide take it all away, and start anew with a hot pink bucket and plastic scoop toy.
The suggestion was as appealing as it was terrifying.
And it was also entirely in sync with Kyle’s present state of mind. “I guess,” he answered mildly.
We won’t be more than half an hour, tops.
It was a strange fact that Kyle lived a mere two blocks away from the cemetery. With just a brief walk, they were already there. After hopping over the wrought iron fence, they strolled along the paths, lit only by distant streetlights off the road. Kyle wore a fitted white undershirt and gym shorts. Tristan wore an oversized pale pink shirt with grey plaid slacks and slippers. His outfits never really made sense to Kyle, always as odd as he was.
“So what did you want to tell me?”
Tristan’s hands were in his pockets. You are the only friend I have ever had, Kyle.
“I know.” His patience was running thin. He kept rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Can you get to the point quicker? I’m tired and have a chemistry test in the morning.”
You have questions for me, of course, and I want to answer them, I really do, but I’m also in a predicament of my own.
“Okay, fine, and?”
And to further complicate things, I have feelings for you.
Kyle stopped right then.
Tristan, too. Yes. He said this to the ground, not looking at Kyle as he spoke. I know it may not come as much of a surprise to you. I have not been all that subtle with how I feel. I wear everything on my sleeve, even when I’m not wearing sleeves.