Page 12 of The Liar in Room 5

“Let’s gooooooo,” he shouted but crossed his heart while he did it. Good enough.

I led Ben back toward the creek so we could overturn rocks and see what was there. Ben was careful to make sure the rocks were moved responsibly. Pride filled my chest even though he wasn’t even my kid.

The creek shaded our exploration area, but I kept an eye on his cheeks to make sure they weren’t getting too pink. I’d seen his dad put sunscreen on him when they arrived, but I wanted to make sure he wasn’t getting too much sun anyway. I hadn’t spent a lot—well, any really—of time with kids since I left home when I was nineteen, but today’s adventure made me a little nostalgic for my days as a kid at the creek. Maybe I hadn’t wanted to spend my life in Carnarvon, Iowa, but there were still good memories attached. Which reminded me… I needed to call my folks.

“You ready to go back to your dad?”

After thirty minutes with me cataloging all the bugs and rocks he could find, he’d begun looking over his shoulder.

“Hey! You gotta help,” Ben told me with a definitive nod.

“Absolutely. Which ones do you want me to carry?”

Ben divvied the rocks that needed to be shown to his dad and uncle into piles for both of us. He agreed the roly-polies would stay home in the creek bed, along with a few snails we found. The pile he claimed for himself looked heavy, so when his attention was diverted, I snuck some of the bigger rocks into my own. Once everything was properly divided, we carried his treasures back to the table.

“Dad, look,” Ben ordered.

If Marc minded the messy hands that maneuvered his face to look at the rocks, he kept it to himself. Instead, he oohed and aahed at the proper times while Ben sweetly gave me credit for a few finds.

“It looks like Ben’s messiness is contagious,” Henry whispered into my ear after a shoulder nudge. “You’re kind of a mess.”

“Oh crap, I’m sorry… Your car…mud…” My voice trailed off when the extent of my carelessness hit me. “I can catch an Uber back to the house…”

Well, maybe the bus because Halo House gave me a place to stay, but I hadn’t figured out how I was going to pay for my life yet.

“Marc, we’ll be right back.”

His brother absently waved us off while his attention remained focused on Ben’s in-depth explanation of what the lines on the rock meant. I was impressed he got some of what I’d explained about compression right.

Henry didn’t ask or wait for permission before my dirty hand was clasped in his and used to move me away from the table. We headed toward the park restrooms, which had a row of sinks along the concrete wall.

Once there, Henry wordlessly pushed down the automatic faucet, which sent freezing water blasting out. The force on my hands created a ricochet effect, and it soaked the front of Henry’s polo.

“Oh jeez, I’m just making a bigger mess.”

“You’re not. I am,” Henry said with a chuckle laced with unmistakable firmness.

Ugh, as much as I was happy to be led, it was exactly what got me on the damn plate to begin with. My brain told me to pull away and wash my own damn hands. What I did instead was exactly nothing but stand there obediently like a… I don’t know what.

Actually, I did know.

And that was one game I refused to play.

“I’m very dusty. There’s a bus or something, I’m sure,” I offered tentatively.

“Are you new here? Public transportation isn’t really our thing,” Henry answered with a grin. “The seats are leather and a vacuum works perfectly fine on the floorboards. Get in.”

Henry held the door open and jerked his head toward the passenger seat. I made one final attempt to stand my ground.

He waited me out.

I got in.

“You know I’ve got a solid fifteen years on you. Respect your elders, or something.”

“Fifteen? How old do you think I am?”

“I don’t know…twenty-five?”