Page 41 of The Corruption of Hollis Brown

After a stressful week, Hollis would have headed straight to the train to get his fix of violence, but Walt didn’t know he did that, and Hollis wasn’t about to tell him.

Walt got up an hour before they had to leave, showered in the dark, blew his hair dry, and dressed him. Walt favored blue, gray, and brown, tossing Hollis’s yellow, orange, and red clothes in a pile in the corner.

He’d promised Hollis he wouldn’t throw them away, but Hollis was wary anyway.

Walt forced Hollis to eat more rice and beans, this time with a side of sweet potato toast because Hollis threw a fit, then he pushed them outside into the cold world.

We walk with Annie, Hollis announced in the voice Walt seem to take as a command.

He could still feel how much Walt didn’t want to.

“Holy shit!”

Before Walt could jerk away, Annie’s hands were in his hair, flowing like water, scraping past his ears. There was a helpless noise welling up Hollis’s throat that Walt forcefully suppressed.

“This looks so hot, Hollis, what the fuck?” Annie laughed. “Did your mom do this?”

Walt moved politely out of her grasp.

“Felt like something different, that’s all. If I have to walk back into everyone gossiping, might as well give them something to gossip about.”

Annie’s eyes narrowed mischievously. “They’ll definitely talk.”

Walt endured until they met Yulia in the parking lot, then his mood lifted.

This pissed Hollis off, of course, but Walt kept his promise and didn’t say anything strange.

Yulia squeezed Hollis’s face between her mittened hands and nodded sagely.

“It’s armor. I get it.”

Walt sighed inside with such longing that it made Hollis scream.

Rush

It was a strange thing, being seen.

Giggling has a different tone when it’s not mocking him.

Hollis could feel Walt preening inside him, but he was polite enough not to put words to it.

He sat Hollis closer to the front in most of his classes. Next to Timothy in English, and the other boy gave him a double take.

“We’re not friends now.”

Walt barely glanced at him. “I don’t need to be your friend to want to see the board better.”

Timothy sneered. “Strange timing for seat change is all.”

That’s one of Jorge’s friends, but he provided my alibi, Hollis explained quickly.

Walt raised an eyebrow at Timothy and turned away so Timothy would have to say his next line to Hollis’s shoulder.

“You’re still a freak.”

He sounds worried. Is being associated with you that much of an issue? Walt asked instead of responding.

Yes. Kind of.