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There was a sharp knock on the door.
Flynn quickly put the picture back down on the coffee table and wiped the tears off her face. She stood and took a deep breath.
“Hey, Flynn,” the boy said as soon as Flynn had opened the door. “Do you have a Band-Aid?”
He had straight brown hair brushed back from his forehead that crowned a long, symmetrical face. His cheekbones were sharp and tinted as pink as his mouth, both of which were bright against his otherwise pale skin. He was really good looking.
He was also vaguely familiar, but Flynn couldn’t place where she knew him from, or why he knew her name.
“What?” Flynn said. She pulled her gaze away from his beautiful green eyes to his left hand, which he was holding towards her, gripped tightly in his right. Blood was seeping through his fingers and dripping onto her porch. There was a lot of it.
“A Band-Aid?” he asked again, and then Flynn saw the moment on his face when he realized she’d been crying. “This is a bad time,” he said with so much sympathy that it nearly made Flynn start crying again. “I’ll go to the store and get some.” He turned to leave.
“No!” Flynn gently grasped his right wrist. “I mean, Its not a bad time. Let me help.” She pulled him inside her house.
He stopped before she came across the threshold and put his left hand closer to his chest. Blood dripped down his arm and into the sleeve of his leather jacket. “I don’t want to drip on your floors.”
“I can clean them.” Flynn's voice was calm but her mind whirled as she sorted out what she’d need to do first to take care of his injury. She wished her mom was home. She tugged his wrist gently and he followed her in, right to the kitchen sink. “We should wash it.”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, like he actually believed that. “The dog didn’t even bite me that hard.”
Flynn froze, one had still under the water as she waited for it to warm up. “You got bitten by a dog?” Her mind was immediately filled with images of rabid wolves with bared teeth and foaming mouths.
“It was more of a puppy?” the boy said. “I think he just was excited because I was playing with him.”
Flynn gently moved his injured hand under the stream of water and he winced. It was the only sign he’d given that he was actually in pain.
“Hell of a puppy,” Flynn muttered. The wound was a jagged tear in between his thumb and index finger, deep enough she could see muscle. It looked like raw steak and she swallowed. “I think you’re going to need stitches.”
“Really?” he asked, dismayed. “I mean, are you sure? Maybe I could just tape it up or something?”
Flynn shook her head. “It’s pretty deep. And dog bites can get infected. You should go to the doctor.”
“I don’t want to go to the doctor.”
“Is there someone who can take you?” Flynn bit her lip. She only had her learner’s permit, so she couldn't drive without another licenced driver. “An… adult, maybe?” She hoped she hadn’t just insulted him by implying he wasn’t an adult. She had no idea how old he was, but if she had to guess she’d say he was her age or maybe just a little older. She’d be shocked if he was eighteen.
The boy stared at his hand, watching as the blood changed from dark red to pink as it washed down the drain. He nodded, but his dismayed expression didn’t change. “Maybe I can call in a bit?”
She recognized his reluctance and let him off the hook. She turned off the tap, grabbed a wad of paper towels and pressed them against his injury. Once again, his grimace was the only way he’d shown it hurt. “Your pain tolerance is pretty high.”
“Guess I’m just used to pain,” he said with a grin like it was a joke.
It was Flynn’s turn to grimace. “Really?”
“Oh, no. Well, not anymore, I mean. It’s fine. I’m all good now.” His smile broadened, but then it slipped. “Do you really think I need to go to the hospital?”
Flynn looked pointedly at where she was pressing the paper towel to his injury. Bright red blood was already staining through. “I don’t think it’s going to stop bleeding on its own. And plus, dog bite?”
“I really don’t want to,” he said softly. “Hospitals are expensive.”
“True that,” Flynn agreed. Maybe the boy’s family didn’t have health insurance, and that’s why he was so concerned. She wracked her brains for a solution. “I think there’s a free clinic downtown?”
“I don’t think Ray would want me going downtown on my own,” he said.
“Wait,” Flynn said, his familiarity suddenly clicking into place. “Do you mean Ray Molina? Julie’s dad?”
“Yeah!” He smiled. “I’m Reggie.”
“Julie’s cousin from Iowa,” Flynn confirmed. “No wonder you knew my name!”
Reggie’s grin widened. “Julie’s told me everything about you, which is why I came here first.”
That made Flynn smile. “I hope she’s only told you good things.”
“The best things!” Reggie’s eyes sparkled. “Like how good you are with first aid.”
Flynn laughed. “Thank my babysitting course when I was eleven. But now I know why you look so familiar. You and Ray have the same long face and light eyes.” Julie had told her Reggie was coming to live with them, but she’d been a bit cryptic on the reason, just telling Flynn that Reggie had had some ‘issues’ at home.
Reggie brightened. “You think I look like Ray?”
“Oh yeah,” Flynn agreed. She led Reggie over to the couch and sat down with him, still pressing on the wound on his hand. Maybe she could get it to stop bleeding on its own.
“Ray’s pretty great. Like, he won’t be mad I got hurt at all, right?” Reggie smiled as he said it, but there was a flash of fear in his eyes, and Flynn’s heart clenched in sympathy.
“He won’t be mad at all,” Flynn reassured him. “I’ve known Ray since Julie and I were in kindergarten together, and he’s the best dad.”
Reggie nodded. “He seems like a good dad, and I don’t mean to say he’s not. It’s just… I’ve never had one before.” His mouth twisted.
Flynn’s heart clenched again. Her eyes went to the picture on her table. “I know what that’s like.”
Reggie’s eyes grew round. “Your dad hurt you, too?”
The clenching in Flynn’s chest tightened at Reggie’s words. The ‘issues’ at home Julie had alluded to were worse than Flynn had thought. “Oh no. That’s not what happened. He just died. When I was young. I never really knew him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Reggie said. “That sounds so sad. I’m so sorry you didn’t have a dad.”
“Thank you,” Flynn said. “It doesn’t always bother me, but sometimes… “ She shrugged.
“I get that,” Reggie said. “Some days are definitely harder than others.”
Flynn nodded. “Today has definitely been hard. I dreamed about him, which is weird, because I didn’t really know him, you know? He was a captain in the Air Force, and I dreamed he was leaving for the training flight where he died. I was asking him not to go. Begging him, but he just smiled and left anyway. And I knew he was going to die. I just knew—" She wiped at her eyes.
“Damn, that’s really sad,” Reggie said. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s just stupid. Why do I care so much? Why am I dreaming about him like this? He died when I was three! I shouldn’t care so much anymore.”
She was still pressing down on Reggie’s wound, but he covered her hand with his own. Their eyes met. “I don’t think losing someone we love is ever something we stop caring about.”
“But I was only three,” Flynn said.
“But you still knew him,” Reggie said. “He still mattered.”
Reggie’s words made Flynn’s throat thicken, but she was soothed by them at the same time. It felt like he really understood. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He grinned at her. “Thank you for telling me.”
She grinned back. He was really cute. But then her smile slipped as she remembered what he’d said. “But… your dad hurt you?”
Reggie smirked like the idea was funny. It didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t want to hear about it.”
“Maybe I do,” Flynn said. “You listened to me.”
“I wanted to listen to you.” He dropped his gaze. “No one should have to listen to my story.”
Flynn moved her hand so their fingers were intertwined. “My mom always says a burden shared is a burden halved. Tell me your story, Reggie. I want to hear it.”
Reggie licked his lips. “Only if you promise to stop me if it gets too much, okay?”
“I promise,” she said. “But just so you know, I was with Julie the whole time Rose was dying. And then for that horrible year afterwards. Trust me. I can take the bad stuff.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, as if fortifying himself. “My dad got really mad and went after me with a tire iron. I ran out of the house, but I wasn’t fast enough. He broke my wrist and three of my ribs before one of our neighbours saw and called 911. The cops think he would’ve killed me if she hadn’t. Pretty bad, huh?” His smile was brittle.
Flynn’s jaw dropped. “That’s horrible. Oh my God, Reggie. That’s just awful. Thank God you’re out of there and you’re safe.”
“It wasn’t the first time my dad hit me. But it was definitely the worse,” Reggie said quietly. “And my mom never did anything to stop him. So CPS sent me here.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Flynn said vehemently. “Ray’s an amazing dad, and Julie and Carlos are wonderful. You’re going to be really happy.”
“I know,” Reggie said, “and I am. But you know what’s really fucked up? I miss them. My dad was trying to kill me, and yet I really miss them. How fucked up is that?” His eyes welled with tears.
“They’re your parents,” Flynn said. “And you love them. Of course, you’re going to miss them.”
“But doesn’t that make me crazy? Or really stupid?” Reggie asked. “He tried to kill me! I shouldn’t care about him at all.”
“It doesn’t make you stupid, or crazy. It makes you their child. Just like me missing my dad when I barely knew him. Children love their parents. Even when the parents aren’t there. Even when the parents don’t deserve it.”
Reggie’s eyes went to the paper towel on his hand. “I wish I didn’t.”
“I wish I didn’t love my dad, either,” Flynn said. “Because it really fucking hurts.”
Reggie chuffed out a laugh. “Fucking hurts is right. Kind of like my hand.”
Flynn’s eyes snapped to his. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you’re trying to stop the bleeding?” Reggie said. “Has it stopped?”
Flynn peeled back a corner of the paper towel. Blood started seeping from the wound and she made a face. “No.”
“Well, fuck.” Reggie sighed. “Ray really won’t get mad if he has to take me to the doctor?” He bit his lip.
“He won’t get mad. I promise,” Flynn said. “Want me to call him?”
“I can do it,” Reggie said. He took his phone out of his back pocket with his free hand. “Thank, Flynn. Thanks for helping me.”
“Thanks for knocking on my door.” Their gazes met, and Flynn allowed herself a moment to get lost in the beautiful green of his eyes.
He swallowed. “Do you think… I could get your number? You know, in case I need first aid again?”
Flynn’s smile broadened. “But I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Reggie’s eyes gleamed. “Maybe I can think of another reason to call.”
“I’d like that,” Flynn said, smiling into his eyes. “I’d like that a lot.”
END