Page 48 of Paint Eater
They stopped in a makeshift parking lot by a slightly sun-burnt field. The air was startlingly fresh as they stepped out of the car, the sun making the green around them glow. Without having to say anything, they headed towards the trail that cut through the woods.
“Man, this would be the perfect time to have a dog,” Jay said. “You like dogs?”
“Who doesn’t like dogs?”
“You’d be surprised, man. There’s a kid in my crew, Timmy—”
“Crew.” Logan laughed.
“Shut the fuck up. Anyway, this dude Timmy doesn’t like dogs. Like, he doesn’t likeanimals.”
“How old is he?”
“Like eighteen?”
“And he’s called Timmy?”
“You’re missing the point of the story.”
“Sorry.” Logan smirked.
“You ever have a dog?”
“No.”
“Parents not let you or, like, you never asked for one or never really wanted one?”
“Both, I guess. I didn’t ask because I knew there was no way my parents would allow a dog in the house, shedding on their things.” Logan flinched a little out of surprise as Jay’s hand suddenly wrapped around his. When he looked, however, Jay was just staring ahead, nonchalant.
“Yeah, my mom wouldn’t let us either, but she said it was because our apartment was too small and the dog would be alone all day, which, fair enough. I mean, at one point I wanted a horse and told my mom I could keep it in our closet. Thought it’d be a cool way to get to school.”
Logan snorted.
“Shedidcompromise and get me a hamster, though. Her name was Sandwich, and she was literally the greatest. Even when we let her out of her cage, she’d always come back. I mean, she liked hiding under stuff, but mainly she’d stay close to me. She loved burrowing under my shirt and sleeping there, it was so fucking cute. And when we put her in her hamster ball, holy fuck, she was fast as shit.”
“Sounds awesome,” Logan said genuinely.
“Yeah, she was. I was like eleven when she died and, man. I’m still not over it.”
Logan squeezed Jay’s hand. Jay returned the gesture.
“But,” Jay shrugged, “better to have loved and lost, right?”
“Right,” Logan said, even though he wasn’t sure if that was true.
They walked on in silence, Logan trying to ignore that they were still holding hands, even as the path turned more difficult, inclining up and becoming rocky. Despite the sweat and the summer heat, he felt purified by the air, by the chirping of birds, and the smile on Jay’s face.
They surfaced out of the trees and onto a wide, expansive field with thick, summer grass, honeysuckle lining the edges. It was almost windy there, and Logan could hear Jay take a deep breath as he turned towards him with a wide smile.
Jay let go of Logan’s hand and tapped him on the chest. “You’re it,” he said and sprinted into the field. Logan blinked at him for a moment before being propelled into action without even thinking about it.
Jay was quick, his long legs giving him an advantage, but he kept rolling around and doing star jumps, and Logan caught up to him easily, giving him a slight shove and then darting away.
“You can run, but you can’t hide,” Jay shouted out to him.
“Yeah, pretty sure that’s the point of the game,” Logan panted.
Logan didn’t know if he had a stitch from running or laughing by the time they had wrestled each other to the ground.
