Page 20 of A Stealthy Situation

In some ways, the DIK house reminds me of my childhood. It’s loud. Busy.

When things get quiet, that’s when I start thinking, and I don’t like where my brain goes.

Harrison shrugs, taking a long sip of his beer. “I love the stillness.”

“You are one weird dude.”

“I just think that if you don’t stop once in a while, really pay attention, appreciate what’s around, that things move too quickly. Sometimes you miss it.”

“Miss what?”

“The good in the world.”

I stare at him for a beat, then hold my arms out toward the drunken laughter, stumbling couples, and beer bong chugging around us. “Are you telling me this isn’t all good?”

“This is fun, but I wouldn’t call it good.”

“Chaos is my everything. A night like tonight, it’ll give me a buzz for the rest of the week.”

Harrison still looks skeptical.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” I grab his hand and pull him through the house after me, up the stairs, and through the halls until we reach the attic entrance. I pull down the string and climb up first, his heavy footsteps on the rungs letting me know he’s following.

“This seems like the opposite of what you wanted to show me,” he says, stepping into the bare roof cavity. The music is muffled up here, and yeah, it’s quieter … for now.

I cross to the large window and slide it all the way across. Music and the sounds of the party going on below filter up to us again, and I cross my arms over the ledge.

From here, I can see the entire backyard and everything happening in it.

“This is my kingdom.”

Harrison watches for a second. “People have always disappointed me.”

“What? Why?” Considering how over-the-top friendly he is, I would have thought he was one of those hypersocial extroverts.

“Dunno, really. I think it’s more of a me problem. I just get so invested in things, excited over them, and it’s like no one else cares.”

“Like what?”

He drags his bottom lip through his teeth. “Eh, it’s not important.”

“Of course it is.”

He glances my way, brown eyes meeting mine for a second. “I’m kind of a plant guy. Really into the environment and think nature is one of the coolest things ever, but as you can imagine, most people find that weird. It’s always ‘are you a dog or a cat person’ but never ‘are you a Venus flytrap or house fern person,’ you know?”

I don’t know. I have literally no clue what he means. A plant person? Is he one of those nutters who sits out in the forest to study fungus? Does he wear a tinfoil hat while he does it?

Harrison takes one look at my face and cracks up. “See? There. You’re mentally calling me a weirdo, but your face is screaming it at me anyway.”

“Not weird … umm, different?”

“Uh-huh. Right.”

“Well … are you going to answer the question?”

He looks at me like he isn’t following.

I roll my eyes. “Flytrap or fern?”

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