Page 57 of Silent Is The Heart

“The faucet handle broke off in the shower. I can fix it, though, if you’ve got a plumber’s wrench and tell me where the shut-off valve is.”

I should have addeddon’t touch anythingto my list of rules. Slamming the safe door closed, I get to my feet. I need to just channel some of my hostility to issue him aget out of my liferule, but I don’t want to become a dick again and have it spill over onto Aaron. Ignoring Wolf’s questioning look, I hustle past him, motioning for Leonard to move his ass. I hate how I look like him. I hate that it’s probably incredibly obvious to my best friend to see the resemblance. I don’t want to deal with this right now.

Racing upstairs, I rush to the bookcase on the far wall of the living room and shove it out of the way. Stupid fucking place to put a bookcase, Easton. I know. Opening the hatch behind it, I turn off the water line to the spare bathroom only to find Wolf has followed us. Wonderful.

Brow furrowed, he glances from me to Leonard who’s babbling in that obnoxious new calm of his about how he’ll get everything set to right. Did he take a fucking plumber’s course in prison? I don’t remember him lifting a finger when I was a kid other than to raise a bottle to his mouth or point at me and wield one of his degrading accusations about my weak stature or sexuality.

Shaking my head, it’s a silent warning to Wolf. A silent apology too, perhaps. Maybe he’d understand. Maybe he wouldn’t. He’d definitely worry about why I let Leonard into my home, though, and I don’t need anyone worrying about me. Wolf’s got his own shit to deal with, and I’ve got everything under control.

My spare bathroom is a flood zone. Grinding my teeth, I eye the spurt of water coming out of the faucet base decreasing. It’s one of those freestanding tubs with a shower pipe that hangs overhead like the one Aaron and I made love in lastnight. Leave it to Leonard to further shit on one of my favorite memories in my life.

“You got any tools, son? I can get this fixed up in no time.”

Why does he have to call me that? The word makes me feel like a pressure cooker about to blow the way it makes recognition flicker across Wolf’s face.

Yanking towels out of the cabinet, I grit between my teeth, “Under the kitchen sink.”

Sopping up the pool of water near the baseboard of the wall, I can feel my friend’s eyes on me. Can’t he just spit it out and get it over with? Sighing, I glance over, hating the indignant look I know is probably on my face.

“Dude…” he whispers. “That…that’shim?”

I can still remember the day I told him my ugly truth—the one about how Leonard came home drunker than ever and shot my mother. I left out the part about how he was just firing aimlessly at the horizon like he was angry that we were running away scared as he screamed at us in his stupor. Maybe he really didn’t mean to actually shoot one of us, but I didn’t figure at the time he deserved any grace, considering the end result. He still doesn’t, if you ask me.

So, it’s no surprise that Wolf asks his next question, “Why?”

“It’s just for a little while until he can afford his own place and then get out of my life forever.”

I can see from the look on his face that he’s thinking the same thing I did. Just give the guy some money to be gone, but the sadist in me wants him to work for it. I want him to feel some of the humility that I did.

Glancing at the doorway, my gaze connects with the man in question. What the hell do I care if he heard? It’s nothing different from what I told him when he first showed up onmy doorstep. The sickening sensation of guilt heating my face shouldn’t exist.

“Here,” he says, moving past Wolf. “I can see what the problem is. Looks like someone used PVC pipe for your water valve. It’s cracked, so that handle never stood a chance either way. I can follow it through and put a brass valve on. I’ll call off work and pop over to the hardware store. They should have everything we need.”

I’m going to find and throttle that company of idiots we took a chance on who did the renovation work up here when I moved in. How can a former drunk and convict know more about plumbing than they did? And I fucking paid them. Shifting over on my knees, I ignore his wisdom and continue soaking the water up with the towels and my freaking pant legs.

“Oh, my gosh! What happened here?”

Aaron. No. Oh, God. No.

“Hey.” I scramble to my feet. “Um, plumbing problem.”

“Oh, my gosh. Look at you,” he chuckles, bracing my hips gingerly. “You’re soaked.”

I love that it’s second nature that he leans in and gives me a kiss. I love that it’s second nature that I look forward to it each time we say hello and accept. Idon’tlove that when I draw back, Leonard is taking in the scene. There’s a flicker of surprise on his face that I answer with a molten hot warning, daring him to spout off his old pleasantries that filled my teen years.

“Do you want me to come back after he’s finished? Otherwise, I don’t mind waiting. I could go pick us up some dinner and bring it here,” Aaron offers, rubbing the small of my back.

It’s now that I take in Leonard’s navy work pants and SPC uniform shirt with his name tag on it,Leo. Who the hell ever called him Leo?

I don’t know what to say, but am grateful that Aaron hasn’t made the connection that Wolf did. Clearly, he thinks Leonard is a service worker. The out for a white lie brings me more relief than it should.

Leonard clears his throat, making me cringe. He doesn’t need to fucking speak right now. I can only imagine what will come out of his mouth; ugly shades of his personality from the past likely to rear their heads finally.

“Sir, I should have you fixed up in an hour or two if you want to go get yourself some dinner. No sense ruining your plans over this. Leave it to the professional.” He smiles.

Did he seriously just play along… for my sake? Who the fuck is he?

“We were just going to go drive around and look at Christmas lights,” Aaron informs him, looking so giddy over it that it eases some of my horror at the sight of him unknowingly engaging my father.

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