Page 6 of Wildly Yours
For the umpteenth time today I feel a jolt in my system. I really need to meditate later to calm myself down because right now I'm about to open the imaginary safety box in my mind and put my thoughts in there to settle myself.
“What? Has he seen a doctor?”
“Only the medicine man from the tribe.”
“And?”
“And he’s been going on more solo walks. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“So that’s it? He’s going for a walk?”
“Like I said, he doesn’t want to talk about it.”
My mother pulls me in for another hug and kisses the top of my head.
“Don’t fight with the Barone boy. You used to be such close friends.”
“Mom—”
“Life is too short, my love.”
She pulls away and walks back to the office to hang up her old apron on the peg where it has always hung. Nostalgia gets the better of me and I feel my throat catch as I watch her leave with her honey and seeds. As she disappears into the spring day, all that’s left is a bitter taste in my mouth from Cody Barone.
Chapter Four: Cody
Istop at Caleb’s auto repair garage to kill time until Serena is officially doing public business. My nerves are thrumming like there’s electricity running through my system, and it takes my twin brother three seconds to notice something is off.
“What happened to you? Raccoon piss in your well or something?”
I give him my best ‘fuck you stare’ and walk to the back of his shop.
“Got something I can hammer on for a couple of hours?”
“It must be really bad if you’re in town in the middle of the day. Seriously, what’s going on? I’m waiting for a part to be delivered so I’ve got time.”
“I finally figured out what all the noises are that have been messing with my research. To make matters worse, there are lights to match.”
“You look like you’re going to kill someone, and it’s over noise and light? I think it’s time you stopped living on the mountain, man.”
“How would you feel if you couldn’t fix cars anymore, or make your metal sculptures? How would you feel if the thing that brings all your senses into focus, that makes the world make sense, was disrupted?”
“Pretty shitty.”
“That’s what the noise and light are doing to me. And I can’t fix it. Not on my own, anyway.”
Caleb leans against the car he’s working on with a smirk. I know that smirk because I’ve been looking at it my whole life. Hell, it's the same smirk that flashes across my face when I get the better of someone.
“So that’s what’s really bothering you. You can’t fix it by yourself. You need someone. Is that why you’re here? Want my help?”
“There’s nothing you can do. I need help from the Mayor.”
Caleb starts to shake as he covers his mouth to try to hide his laughter. He knows the deal—he’s the only one who does.
“I don’t know why you’re laughing. This isn’t fucking funny.”
He reaches his hand to squeeze my shoulder but I shrug him off and pick up a tool to start banging on something.
“Look, I don’t think the reason you two aren’t… whatever you were back then… anymore, is funny at all. You know that. But I do think it’s funny that the one time you need someone—like—really need them, is the one time you have to eat your hat and admit that you didn’t handle things as well as you could have.”
