Page 67 of The Sound Of Us

Are you taking good care of him?

I don’t know Mrs. Dalton well enough to trust her with this. Morning teas don’t qualify as a factor to share with her something as big as my affair with Axel. When I don’t answer, she writes me another note.

Will you take him away from here?

Leaning into my instincts, risking everything because those words make her sound like an ally, I nod slowly.

Her wrinkly face lights up. She writes again. Don’t make him cut his hair, it’s cruel.

I frown. What is she talking about? Is she also mad about Frank not liking Axel's long hair? My confusion is evident because she starts talking instead of writing. “His hair is the only thing he has when he’s well.”

She drops her head, shaking it sadly. I don’t know what’s going on here.

I take the notebook from her and write. What do you mean, not well? I recall Axel saying he’d been sick when he was younger, but…

A frown crosses her face to match mine. “Uh, well.”

I take her by the shoulders, my frown deepening. She seems to have caught herself before she could give me some important information.

She slaps her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. I pull her hand away and cock my head, indicating for her to repeat herself or explain.

“He was just… just very sick at one point,” she says.

From the way Mrs. Dalton is reacting, I don’t think it’s a small matter.

I run my hands through my hair, frustrated.

Mrs. Dalton rests her fingers on my arm. “Just take him away, Eli,” she says with imploring eyes.

“And let him keep his hair. That Frank makes him cut it every time, but you don’t do that to him, okay?”

I nod. What else can I do? My thoughts are all over the place. I have to get to Axel. He needs to tell me exactly what’s going on.

I don’t like Mrs. Dalton’s concern. It feels too heavy. I have so many questions, but the one that’s bothering me the most is what this deal is with Axel’s hair. At first it sounded like such a mundane thing, but Mrs. Dalton is acting like it’s the most important thing she could tell me about Axel.

My stomach twists. Because I can think of only one common denominator if Axel used to be very, very sick and if his hair was the only thing he had when he was well.

And if I’m right, Axel’s life is much worse than he lets on.

I write in the notebook. I won’t do anything to hurt him.

She smiles radiantly and writes me a note back. I just want you to take him away.

“I’ve told him for years to find someone else and just run away,” she says. “And I don’t care that he’s doing it this way. Sometimes, you’re left with no choice.”

She searches my face for understanding. I give it to her and she gives me her understanding for what Axel and I are doing.

But I have to find a way to talk to Axel. This isn’t a simple game. Not some small-town fling.

So much is suddenly at stake here. I don’t know how it got so big so quickly, but one thing remains: Axel is in trouble and I’m not going anywhere until he’s safe with me.

Chapter 37

Axel

The headaches are getting worse and I just know my anaemia is getting worse, too. If I don’t schedule a visit to the doctor soon, I’ll be dead sooner than necessary.

Frank makes us coffee on Monday morning, before work.

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