Free Bird

Chapter 17

Danny's POV

What the fuck am I doing here?

Cal just pulled into the driveway of a modest house in a fucking cul de sac and I don't know how to register this shit. I mean. It's not the best neighborhood, based on the condition of the houses and yards surrounding it, but it's not the worst, either. It's nothing like the neighborhoods I grew up in, anyway.

He lives in a fucking yellow house in a cul de sac.

This is not what I expected, needless to say. I did notice that Cal's house seemed to be in better shape than those around it. It had a fresh coat of paint, the windows had new frames, and the lawn was mown. While I was gawking, Cal had already exited the vehicle and walked around to my side. He opened my door for me, pulling that weird gentleman shit that I liked but also felt uncomfortable with. He offered me his hand and I placed mine into his, almost on a compulsion.

What the fuck else was I supposed to do?

Cal's hand was warm and freaking gigantic compared to mine. I felt little sparks when his fingers wrapped around mine and he gave a little tug, leading me to the front door.

If the outside of Cal's house surprised me, the inside was no disappointment. Everything was neat and clean. The walls were freshly painted and clean with pictures and paintings mounted; the carpets so clean and soft looking that I was pretty sure they had been put in within the last year.

Cal lead me through the entry way and into the living room. From there I could see a hallway and one single imperfection: something was being built between the living room and dining room. There was lumber scattered about with some tools. What looked like a counter top was leaning against the wall.

"I'm making an island counter right there so we won't need to use the dining room table all the time," Cal said from beside me. He was still holding my hand and I didn't want to pull away.

"We?"

"Me and Clarice. My sister. She'll be eighteen next month," he gestures to a cluster of pictures on the wall.

They all feature a beautiful young lady with long brown hair and green eyes like Cal's and a bright smile. In some of them she looks younger, but in many of them she is standing next to or sitting on a black horse with white markings on its face and hooves. One of them, in particular, catches my eye and I feel a twinge if envy when I recognize it as a senior photo. She's wearing a button up pink blouse, skinny blue jeans, and tan colored cowboy boots and hat. She looks like she's in a barn or something and is sitting on a hay bale with one arm draped over her bent knee.

She must be graduating this year.

She's only a few months younger than me. I could've graduated this year if circumstances had allowed it. She looks confident and happy and she should be. She's beautiful and she's living her life, looking forward to a future that few actually get. She could choose to go to college or to try out a trade school. She had options. I bet she has plenty of friends, too.

I didn't have any friends in school. Everyone knew who I was and what my mom and brothers were. They avoided me like the plague and sometimes bullied me for kicks, though that stopped when I grew a backbone and started kicking some ass around twelve and thirteen. After awhile I didn't have to throw hands anymore. People just stayed away.

Any friends that I had were always much older than me. Because they weren't really my friends. They were my mom and brothers' friends. That's how I met Ray. And Elijah.

"Just you and Clarice?" I asked. "What about your parents?"

"Mom died when I was twelve. Dad died last year. Clarice moved in with me after that," Cal explained shortly.