Page 46 of Deserter

I had to be losing my goddamned mind. I didn’t beg.

Her eyes narrowed, and she opened the door. “Fine, but if he falls asleep at school tomorrow, you’re gonna have to deal with it.”

I took the stairs two at a time and crept into his bedroom. One of the floorboards creaked beneath my boot and he shot up in bed with a cry. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m sorry!”

I squeezed the paper bag in my fist and took several deep breaths before approaching the bed. “Hey, kid. It’s just me.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Hi, Mr. Grey. You scared me. I thought that you—”

“I got you somethin’.” I cut him off, knowing exactly who he thought it was. I reached for the small lamp on his nightstand and flipped it on, and just like every time before, my heart turned over in my chest at the sight of his little face.

Jesus Christ, why hadn’t I killed his old man and made him mine?

It hadn’t gotten easier, but the only thing that kept me from taking action was the fact that doing so might put him in danger. Well, more danger than he was in living with Comedian.

“I lost another tooth.” Mikey grinned up at me and stuck his tongue through the small gap. “See?”

I ruffled his blond hair and sat down beside him. “Yeah, you’re gonna be shaving before I know it.”

He shoved at my chest with a giggle. “Stop it. I’m not that old, Mr. Grey.” He tried peeking behind my back. “What’d you bring me?”

I handed over the brown paper sack, wishing I’d had one of the club whores wrap it. “Open it and see.”

Mikey tore through the paper and stared down at the rectangular box. “What is it?”

I laughed and pointed down at the picture. “It’s a telescope. I thought we’d set it up in the backyard and look for space aliens.”

“Can we use it right now? What if we see a UFO? I read that some people think it’s weather balloons, but I think they’re wrong.”

He hopped off the bed and padded over to the little bookcase in the corner. “It’s in here. Remember this book? You got it for me last year—Lots More Tell Me Why. It has a lot of answers, but I want more on UFOs. Do you think you could find me another book about UFOs?”

I shook my head with a grin as he ran out of breath and sank back onto the bed. “You got a lot of energy, Mikey. C’mon, let’s get this put together.”

Betsy had fallen asleep on the couch and Mikey held a finger to his lips as we tiptoed past. I snagged his coat off the rack near the back door. “Put this on. It’s a little cold tonight and you don’t wanna end up sick.”

He slipped his arms into it and danced around the patio while I lit up a cigarette and read over the instructions.

“Mr. Grey, do you think we’ll see something amazing?”

I pulled a couple of chairs over. “You just never know, kid. Come here, let’s look.”

Mikey’s little body pressed against my side and I wondered if he was getting enough to eat. He was smaller than most of the kids his age, but Betsy swore he was healthy. I’d have a talk with her about it before I left.

I peered through the lens until I found what I thought was Virgo. “Okay, you see those brighter stars? If you look closely, they kinda look like a box with legs.”

With squinted eyes, he perched on my lap and looked. “Uh huh… it’s stars. Stars are boring.”

“Not just any stars, kid. These stars tell a story about a girl named…”Fuck, what was that girl’s name?It started with a P.“Uh, her name was Celia, and Celia was a beautiful goddess who loved flowers and sh—stuff like that. Well, her ma was real protective and didn’t like to let her have any fun.”

“That’s not very good,” Mikey noted with a stern expression. “Her mama should let her have some fun or she’ll be a grump.”

My arms tightened around him. “You’re right, kid. Well, her daddy messed up and agreed to let Hades take her. Hades was the god of the dead. So, he took her down to the underworld and wanted to make her his wife—”

“Wait!” He turned to look at me. “Did she want to go? Or did he kidnap her?”

I gnawed at my lip. “Well, her daddy gave her to Hades. And when her ma found out, she was pis—really mad. She marched down there and demanded that her daughter be allowed to leave, but Celia was eating dinner and it’s rude to leave in the middle of a meal, so her daddy made a deal; she’d stay and finish her meal and spend part of her time with Hades. The other part of the year, she’d come back to be with her ma. When she’s up here, everything blooms, but when she’s with Hades, everything dies.”

Mikey’s mouth opened in a wide yawn. “Mr. Grey, I think that Hades should leave Celia alone. She belongs up here with the flowers and the sun. If she’s stuck in the world under the ground, she’ll miss her mama and daddy.”

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