Page 85 of Icarus

He wondered if them asking questions might alert Mr. Black that someone had been in his home to witness him.

He wondered if Helios would survive Mr. Black knowing that.

Shroud

Angus let him sleep the whole day.

When Icarus awoke, there was a dumpling stew freshly made in the fridge for him. The whole house smelled like chicken and herbs.

Icarus ate his share and went back to bed.

Wine

He knelt, in supplication, took the flesh and the blood. Whispered desperation.

Asked for strength and bravery and cleverness. Asked for luck.

Saw the sky through the roof with eyes unseeing and kissed the cross with unclean lips.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.

Angus Gallagher looked weary as he asked, “Do you have any confessions?”

Icarus pressed his forehead to the floor.

“Lust, Anger . . . Greed.”

The silence lasted long enough for Icarus’s heart to slow. Angus sighed and put a hand on the back of Icarus’s neck.

“Your sins are yours to decide. But love is never a sin, and the rules of men who don’t understand that don’t matter,” he said, gently. “Do you have any other confessions?”

“. . . no.”

Angus took his hand back. When Icarus finally had the strength to pull his face up from the wood, he was alone.

That Night

Helios’s bedroom window was nailed shut, but the window of the bathroom wasn’t. What a ridiculous power play from an insecure and abusive man. To make this room feel like more of a prison.

Icarus slipped inside and soft walked down the hallway. He could hear the TV downstairs blaring sitcom garbage and took advantage of the irregular sound.

He found Helios curled in a ball, fast asleep. Closed the door tight behind him and locked it.

Icarus’s gear was still under the bed, against the wall in the darkest corner. He pulled them out and quickly checked to make sure everything was there.

Then he knelt at Helios’s bedside. Tucked his hand beneath the blanket to curl around a warm shoulder.

“Helios,” he whispered.

Helios’s eyes snapped open and he tried to scramble backward before recognizing Icarus beneath his balaclava.

“Jesus fucking Christ, how did you get in here?” Helios gasped.

“Bathroom window,” Icarus said, soft and reassuring. “I wanted to check on you, grab my stuff, you know . . .”

Helios glanced nervously at the door.

“Icarus, it’s not safe here.”