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𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖?
Reece's Perspective
I'm surprised when Gabe opens the door. I left Antoine waiting back in the car so I could explain the situation before I sauntered up to the door and said 'Hey I have this dude, he's staying over tonight.'
"Whoa, you're soaked," is all Gabe says, looking me up and down. "How was homecoming?"
"I met a friend, and I'm wondering if he can stay over," I smile, trying to make my eyes look very bright.
"Ohhh, a guy? He your boyfriend?"
"No, just a friend. He's in my car. Can he come in?"
"How would your mother feel about that?"
"I'm seventeen, Gabe, and my mother wouldn't freaking care. It's not like we're gonna be having sex or anything. Yeah, I said the S. E. X. word. Crazy, right? Can I go get him?"
"Uh, sure, I guess. What's his name?"
"Pierre."
"'Kay...?"
"Oh, one more thing," I ask, in nothing but confusion, "why didn't Mum answer...? Where is she?"
"Had a hard day. She's out cold, and sick, I think. Probably will just take it easy this weekend. So I'm here to take care of her and your sister."
"Oh... okay. Also, could... Could Pierre borrow some of your clothes? He's also soaked."
"Sure, I guess. Why didn't you stop at his house first, though?"
"Things are complicated for him, Gabe. You'll see him, and you'll understand that it's the right thing for him to stay with us tonight."
"Oh," he says simply. "I understand. Okay, go get him."
As I walk back to my car, I think I like Gabe a little bit more than I did before. I open the door, saying to Antoine, "It's good. You can come on."
"'Kay," he says, standing up, following me to the front door. I shut the car door behind him and lock my car. He walks up, hair a mess, holding his stained shirt in his hand, dress coat draped over his shoulders, pants ripped, scratches on his palms from falling on the sidewalk I assume, and looking a bit pale. I hope Gabe just shows pity for him, and doesn't push him out, thinking he's not safe to have in our house. "Your papa is okay with it? I mean, me being here?" Antoine asks as we walk up to my house.
"That's not my papa, but yeah, I think Gabe will be fine. He's a pretty good guy, all around."
"You sure?"
"Pretty much," I give him a reassuring smile, and he looks away from me, down at the ground.
As soon as we reach the door, Gabe pulls us inside, showing immediate concern for Antoine. "You're Pierre?"
"Yeah," he says simply.
"Alright, you go take a shower. You can use my soaps. Only men's soap in there. Bathroom is down that hall; last door on the left. Make sure you take a nice warm shower."
"Sir, it's okay. I wouldn't want to use your hot water."
I think both me and Gabe go completely silent at this comment from Antoine, eyes wide, mouths hanging open. Finally Gabe says, "Kid, go take a shower! You don't have to worry about using our hot water."
I suddenly get really worried that Antoine would even worry about such a thing. What, has he gotten in trouble before for using someone's hot water? That's just stupid. And outrageous, honestly.
Antoine shuffles to the bathroom, trying not to, obviously, get our house soaked with the rain dripping off him. "I'll get you something to wear when you're done, Pierre," Gabe tells him as he walks off.
Antoine calls back, "Thank you, sir."
I go to my room and quickly change into a grey tank top and shorts- matching pajamas. Then I go back to the kitchen, where Gabe is sitting. He looks up, saying, "Is that kid okay?"
I shake my head, muttering, "I just needed to help him."
"Do you even know him?"
"Yes. In a way."
"From where?"
"Better not say."
Gabe looks concerned at this, and says, "He's not... dangerous or anything, right? He's never... done anything bad?"
"No, he hasn't," I lie. "He's good. Just kind of a... broken soul, it seems. Don't tell him I'm saying this, though. He kind of trusts me with... it."
"Sure," Gabe nods, and I stand up to go blow up the air mattress and get a blanket and pillow for Antoine.
Antoine's Perspective
I feel the warm water hit my cold body at high pressure, and I sigh in relief as it fills my bones, muscles... my being. I feel as it hits my hair, and I push my hair back away from my face, running my hands through it. There's a small ounce of guilt for using so much of their water in such a high pressure shower... It's so nice. But Papa gets mad at me for taking warm showers longer than five minutes in our little dingy shower stall that only basically trickles out the water, it's so low pressure. This house has a bathtub, like Mama's house.
As I shower, though, I start to feel a little dizzy though, and I assume it must be the steam in the bathroom and the heat. Then I feel a chill go through my body, and my teeth chatter, and I'm cold, yet my head feels hot. I quickly clean myself with Gabe's, as Reece Mallory called him, soup, before shutting off the water and stumbling out of the shower.
I stare at myself in the mirror. I run my fingers through my hair to loosen up the tangles. My cheeks look a bit flushed, but my bare chest is more pale. I run my hands over my chest, looking at the muscles in my arms and abs before shaking out my hair, splashing my face with cold water in the sink, and grabbing the towel, drying off the rest of my body.
I hear a knock on the door, and I wrap the towel around my waist, asking, "Come in?"
The knob turns, and Gabe's voice says, "Here's some clothes you can wear Pierre, when you're finished showering. Should I come in and set them on the shelf for when you're done or...?"
"No, I'm already done. You can just hand it to me."
"Oh, already?"
"Yeah, I don't take long showers. Thank you," I say, taking the clothes from him when he passes them through the crack in the door.
He gave me a pair of boxers, plain white pants, and a matching button down sleep shirt, but I decide not to wear the shirt, since I never wear a shirt to bed anyway, so I might as well not dirty this poor man's clothes if I don't need to. I sit down on the closed toilet for a second after I get dressed, feeling a little dizzy for a moment.
After I gain my stability, I stand up and leave the bathroom.
