The Boy Next Door

Chapter Thirteen

Four weeks later. Summer. And life here in the woods, is just hot, annoying, and complicated. We struggled with enemies, sickness, and hunger all in four friggen weeks. Ugh.

Aaron walks over to his little bed area and plops down. "I just don't understand why summer has got to be so damn hot. It's ridiculous." He sighs.

I nod in agreement and continue to clean the deer. After about four days of looking for food, we killed a deer. The fish wouldn't bite, the animals took the berries, and most prey left. Sucks I know.

I grunt as Jamie runs past. She stops and points to Wolf. He is growling and pawing at a tree. I walk over and see it's not a tree but a human disguised as one. I crouch and growl along with Wolf as Aaron comes over.

"Now just what are you two doing growlin' at a poor tree. He didn't do nothin' to you." He stops beside us and sees it's a man. "Well, who're you?"

The man nods and holds up his dirty hands. His hair is a tangled mess, his clothes torn and painted with mud and . . . was that shit?! He covered himself with poop?! Eww! I look at his pants and see that he cut them short and painted his legs the same as his upper body. His shorts are the same as his shirt; dirty, torn, and just plain ugly.

The man points at me and smiles. I give him a confused look and grunted a question. Jamie crouches next to me. She hisses and draws back. Something she's never done. Aaron steps forward and grabs his arm. The shit covered arm. Ew.

"Who are you?!" The man smiles at me again. He slowly picks up a stick and shows Aaron he's going to write it out. Neatly in the dirt he writes-

The boy's father.

Aaron slaps him upside the head. "Don't do that! He has no family but us." I stop Aaron's fist from colliding with the man's head. I grunt and point to the cave. I take the man's hair, the only thing not covered in shit, and lead him to our lake. I push him in and wait for all of the nastiness to float away. I pull him out once he's clean and half drown.

I take his very tanned hand and lead him to the cave. He sits when I push down on his head. Aaron comes over and sits across from him.

"Why're you here?" He hands the man a stick.

I ran away, he writes.

"From?"

My wife.

"Why?"

She hurt me.

"Why?"

She's evil.

"Do you have any siblings?" He shook his head. "Kids?" He points to me. "Quit lying. How is he your son?"

The man huffs and picks up his stick. When a mommy and a daddy love each oth-

Aaron snatches the stick out of his hand. "I know that! How do you know he's your son?" He hands the stick back.

He has my eyes and hair. But why won't he talk?

Aaron looks to me. "Wanna tell him?" I walk over to them from my skinning post and sit next to Aaron. I slowly open my mouth. The man gives me a concerned look.

She got you too? I'm sorry son.

I grunt at his words. He can't be talking about Mother. He can't be.