Page 25 of Last Letters to Ara
I’m not sure why I do it, but I slap him on the arm.Hard.“I wouldn’t want to step one foot inside that mausoleum-looking...thing.” I toss one of the beanies at him. “Now put your mask on and let’s do this thing, before I start running in the other direction.”
Thankfully, the light has mostly returned to Theo’s eyes, and it gives me the confidence I need to don my mask. We decide to divide and conquer, Theo will take on the house itself and I will take on everything in the yard.
My mission is to blanket the wrought iron fence surrounding the front of the property, every shrub, object, and surface I can find, even tossing rolls over the trees. The driveway becomes my favorite, as I roll them down the length of it, covering the entire thing. By the time I’m satisfied, both arms become noodles, cheeks aching from my grin.
I finally stop to check on Theo’s progress and come up speechless. He’s got one hell of an arm and some fucking good aim. The house iscompletelycovered. TP rains down from every corner of the roof, balcony, and front-facing part of the house.
The smile on his face is nothing short of hellborn, as he delights in his masterpiece. Seeing him back to his weightless, charming self becomes contagious. I haven’t felt this happy in so long that I don’t even want to acknowledge just how long it’s been and ruin the moment.
Holding out the last roll that I saved just for him, “Care to do the honors of the last throw?”
Theo takes it with a smile and grabs my hand before I can pull it away, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you.”
There are so many layers of hurt, fear, and pain from the past wrapped up into those two little words, but there is also gratitude and recognition. Being on the receiving end of that look begins to mend something deep inside me, knitting pieces back together which were torn apart long ago.
Perhaps one day we can take the time to journey through the tiers of our pain together, but for now I squeeze back. “Anything for a friend.”
“I think it’s safe to say we arebest friends.” His thumb mindlessly drags across the back of my hand, sending waves of awareness up my arm. “We just TPed a house together.”
I nod to the TP he still holds. “Okay, bestie, show me what you’ve got.”
Theo launches the roll into the air, and as it crests into a downward curve toward the second floor balcony, my stomach drops. A small, potted plant ruptures into shards as it falls to the ground, the silence of night intensifying the crash. For a split second, we are both frozen in shock, or maybe the fruitless hope that nobody heard that.
The lights abruptly switch on exposing the male shape inside, shadowed against the light, moving at top speeds toward the balcony door to deliver our reckoning.
Present - Ara
“SHIT!!!!!” THEO GRABSmy hand, dragging me into a run. I break for the car, but he hauls me past it. “I don’t want him catching your license plate if he sees us drive away!”
I don’t have enough air in my lungs to formulate a response, so I just keep running, relying on the pull of his hand to drive myself forward. We make it to the street corner and take a right before I realize we still have our makeshift masks on.
“Theo!” I can’t breathe, pointing to my mask. “We look so illegal!!”
“Fuck! Good call.” We rip off our masks and dump them down one of the drains on the side of the street. Sorry environment, I’ll recycle extra hard this month.
Theo grabs my hand, hauling me back into a sprint. “We have to get far enough away in case he tries to follow us!”
I.
Hate.
Running.
So.
Fucking.
Much.
If I had known this night would result in my life riding on my ability to run a 5k, I would have definitely stuck with the fucking ice cream. We take another right, then left before a 24-hour Walgreens comes into view. Theo slows down to a speed walk, leading me toward the entrance.
“Thank God,” I wheeze and heave. Iwheeve. “I couldn’t have made it another street.”
We stand there panting, me more so than Lance Armstrong over here, our wide eyes fixed on each other. Theo’s are alight with joy and exhilaration, no trace of the shadows from earlier. There’s amusement, too, as he takes me in, and…something else. We burst into laughter and walk farther inside, getting strange looks from the cashier as we go by.
Grabbing an orange Gatorade, donuts, and an ice cream cookie sandwich, I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until these amazing snacks were staring me in the face. Theo tosses some jalapeño chips on top of the mound of goodies already in my arms, before leading me to a small clothing rack.
“Here.” Theo holds out an obnoxious pink shirt which reads “I’m a Clearwater B*ach”.
