Page 20 of Them Bones

She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a tight, low breath, before he loudly cleared his throat and made the final few snips. Then he placed the scissors down in the sink and backed out of the bathroom, leaning against the paneling on the opposite side of the hall. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

“I’ll take all the credit for that haircut, you know.”

When her eyes opened again they were smoldering, and his smile faltered.

She seemed to catch herself, because she shook her head and then brushed off the loose hair around her shoulders.

“I should have used the cape,” she grumbled, bits of blonde hair stuck to the fabric of her Nirvana hoodie. She stomped down the hall and into her room.

Trying very hard to remember what it felt like to have limbs that work, Shane trailed after her, intending to help sweep up the hair. Hedidn’tintend to catch a glimpse of her bare back, visible in the gap of the door, which wasn’t entirely closed.

Nope. Not at all. Didn’t mean toone bit.

DUSTIN

Dustin wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened, but something had definitely happened.

He felt funny. Kind of embarrassed. Like the time he walked in on Ma on the couch with a guy and she shouted at him to mind his business andget the fuck out. Only… Shane and Laney weren’t naked. They were barely even touching.

He wasn’t sure why his insides felt squelchy, but he felt it anyway.

SHANE

Shane woke up before dawn with a yawn and a stretch, when he noticed something on the floor by his door.

Too lazy to stand, he rolled across the mattress and stretched himself as far as he could go to grab it, then he flopped back over and flicked on his lamp, the light burning his eyes in the dark.

He blinked the glare away, and then sat up in shock.

It was a drawing. From Dustin.

The whole left side of the page was taken up by that charcoal dragon, surrounded by black fireworks and mist and clouds. The beast was wrapped in a cloak made of fire spilling from the mouth of the blue and green dragon that peppered Dustin’s walls, her shimmering form filling up the entire right side of the page.

The beasts’ tails were intertwined, and the dark dragon’s head was tilted away, eyes closed, like it was being burned alive. The blue and green dragon was staring right at it, with eyes so clear that the dark dragon was reflected in her pupils.

He had absolutely no idea how to feel about it.

LANEY

Shane was being unusually quiet, and Laney didn’t like it.

He didn’t say much, as a rule, but he normally felt as much a part of the conversation as Dustin did. Today was different. He was distracted, a faraway look in his eyes like he wasn’t paying attention.

Her brain wanted to blame the haircut. The air had been supercharged, reminding her of that time Cary took her and Dustin to the science centre and she put her hand on a big silver ball that made her hair stand straight up. But he'd been fine at dinner.

This morning, he hadn’t looked at her once.

She didn’t know what had changed, exactly, but she knew it had. He was withdrawing from her, inch by inch, disappearing into himself, like that first night. Like he was contemplating how he was going to leave. And Laney really,reallydidn’t want him to.

Judging by the fresh cinnamon rolls, Shane had woken early and baked for her like normal. The first week he’d been there, he’d eaten anything and everything they put in front of him. But now, by week three, he tended to skip sugary pastry and candy, preferring fresh produce.

She didn’t let herself think too much about why fresh food might feel like a treat to him.

Shane had taken on the grocery shopping sometime around week two, after watching her heave the heavy bags of groceries into the hall, thin red marks across her palms from the walk and the handles stretched long from the weight. He’d examined her palms and thinned his lips. A few days later, when it was time to pick up more milk, he insisted on doing it himself.

Shane never asked where the money came from.

He had accompanied her to the bank, once, to pay the hydro and cable bill. It was a long walk across town, but the bank in their neighbourhood required ID to walk inside so she made the hour-long trek to a nicer suburban neighbourhood with tidy front lawns, shiny cars in the driveway, and plaza lights that worked.

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