Page 4 of Four for a Boy

Chad pushed Romeo aside, bowed forward, and clutched his knees. No vomit came. Which made it worse. He wanted to be sick on the floor to prove his self-loathing could make him, but it didn’t come. His cock was still half-hard, but he wished on his life it wasn’t.

“Easy,” Romeo said, straightening him up.

“What went wrong?” Chad blurted.

Romeo threw a look back at Graham. “He’s dead—”

“Yeah, but you didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?”

Chad forced himself to swallow. “Act like normal.”

Romeo’s face tightened with a twinge of amusement. An open curiosity. He brushed his finger under Chad’s jaw and lifted his chin so Chad couldn’t avoid his eyes. “Are you disappointed I didn’t fuc—”

“Don’t.” Chad shuffled away. His heart hurt. “It was the phone call, wasn’t it? I’m sorry. I put it on silent … I didn’t even notice it myself. Next time I’ll turn it off.”

“It’s not the call,” Romeo said.

“Then what was it?”

“Nothing.”

“Romeo?”

“We need to get him in the ground before he starts to stiffen up.”

He spoke in a firm tone, nailing Chad with a look. He swallowed and conceded. Whatever it was, Romeo didn’t want to discuss it.

Romeo had been acting strange for days. Distant, almost, tracking empty space and spending more time with the magpies.He talked to them and they chattered back as if they were plotting together.

Chad had hoped the kill would help, but as he followed Romeo, a thought occurred to him.

Maybe the killwasthe problem.

Romeo heaved Graham up and onto his back. Chad followed him out.

The late February air brushed against Chad’s neck and made his teeth chatter. Romeo didn’t appear affected by the cold. Rocks marked the graves, not for sentimental reasons, but to ensure they didn’t accidentally dig up an occupied spot. While Chad was off collecting Graham, Romeo had been digging the grave in the near frozen earth.

They lowered Graham into the ground together and began shoveling dirt on top of him. Chad’s skin prickled with awareness. He knew Romeo was looking at him, but when he looked back it was too dark to see his face.

His eyes though…

The light from the house reflected off his eyes making them flash each time he glanced at Chad and away again.

Beautiful but deadly.

They filled the grave in silence, growing dirtier and sweatier.

Chad stuck his spade in the ground, leaned against it, and searched for the right words. “Even predators have to eat scraps now and again to get by.”

Romeo stopped and looked at Chad for a few moments. “Do you think they enjoy eating scraps?”

“I think if they’re hungry, yes. It doesn’t matter where the food is from, or the condition it’s in, or whether it’s been chomped on a bit before.”

“Sure about that?”

“If it’s between life and death, yes. Food is food.”

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