Page 91 of On His Mind

He nods.

I scoot the head of the bed with the plate. I pat the spot next to me. He takes a seat and looks at my phone. The TV show is on pause.

I bite a piece of bacon. It’s so good. I don’t normally eat bacon. I pick up the second piece and pass it to him.

He shakes his head, but I insist until he takes it. When he takes a bite, he watches me. Once the bacon is gone, I rip the toast into two pieces and offer it to him.

I smile when he tries to refuse. Then he takes it after a moment. We eat the toast, watching each other.

I lean in and whisper, “What do they think you’re doing up here?”

He whispers back, “I told them I have homework.”

I nod. “When can I leave?”

He shrugs, taking the last bite of the toast. Then he stands up and shuffles around his desk. Two minutes later, there’s music coming from his laptop.

Then I start on the eggs. They’re salted perfectly.

Percy walks back with a pencil and a notebook. He flips to a page in the back. I look at him drop it in front of me.

“Draw?” he mouths.

I shake my head.

He sits and scribbles on the top of the page.

Draw something.

I pull the notebook back and write under it.

I don’t draw anymore.

He takes the notebook back and stares at my sentence for a moment, and then he looks up at me. His brow is pulled, and his lip twitches. He writes something and hands it back.

Why?

I swallow, taking the pencil from his fingers.

I don’t know.

He stares at that too, and then he nods.

I reach for the notebook, so he hands it back to me.

Do you have homework?

He lifts a hand and shakes it a little.

I write:Will they think it’s weird if you’re in here all day?

He looks down at the notebook and shakes his head. He takes the notebook and pencil.

Will you be okay here?

When I take it, I stare at the sentence for a long moment. Then I look at him and nod. His eyes linger on mine for a moment, so I smile at him.

We spend the afternoon switching off on music taste. He plays me a song, and then I play him one. He’s playing songs I’ve never heard before. Songs by Creed, Staind, Seether, and 3 Doors Down. And I play him songs from Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Morgan Wallen. He doesn’t say a word about my songs, and I don’t say anything about his.