The Sleep Part I: The Fan & The Things That Hit It

Chapter 12: Recovery & The Road To It

We're huddled together in the living room of an empty house, eating tinned ravioli and the pile of fresh green beans we picked from the vegetable garden outside. It's an amazing meal, and nothing is fried.

Felix collapses on the sofa next to me and puts his feet on the coffee table. "So, what's your plan Evie? Where you going?"

"To my cousin Joe's," I answer. "He lives on a farm in Ohio. I wanted to get us out of the city."

"Smart move. The city's gonna get real nasty," Demario says.

"What about you, do you want us to drop you anywhere?" I ask Demario. "Or we can help you find a car. Whatever you want."

"It doesn't matter. I don't really got anywhere to go. I have cousins and all that, but they're bad news."

"Why don't you hang with us?" Sierra suggests.

I give her a WTF glare. I know the Demario saved us and everything, but he is a criminal.

"Would you mind, Evie?" Demario asks, looking at me expectantly.

I crumble. "Sure, but do you mind, if I ask... What you did? I know your not supposed to ask, and I trust you and everything it would just... help."

"Nah, it's cool. I robbed a liquor store, and a gas station, a year ago. We didn't have any money and my brother was sick."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me," I stammer, feeling like an ignorant bitch for judging him earlier.

"I get it if you don't want me round," he says, looking at his lap.

"No, no, sorry!" I stammer awkwardly. "I want you around, I mean, we want you around; you can stay with us as long as you want. But don't you need to find your little brother?"

Demario looks away, "He died."

I feel very young, very small and very naive. "I'm so sorry," I whisper.

Sierra changes the subject. "What about you, Felix?"

"I am an only child, thank god. No offense, Evie."

"None taken," I smile back. "What about your parents?"

"Oh, I don't have much to do with them," he says, casually. "I live with my Aunt and Uncle, and their snotty brat faced bitch of a daughter, my cousin. She can take care of them."

"So you're with us too?" I ask.

Felix cracks up laughing. "Totally," he says.

"What's so funny?" Sierra asks.

"We are like, a Disney producers wet-dream right now. "

"How so?"

"Well, look at us. We are the most PC, vis-min, diversity-central group of kids you could possibly cast in the history of TV. I mean a cute little Asian boy, a funny white kid and his sassy older sister, a blonde cheerleader - "

"Hey, I stopped cheerleading last year, it was like so, lame," Sierra says, sarcastically. I'm impressed. There's a sense of humor there after all.

"- A hunky black dude and a sexy gay latino. It's amazing."

I look around the room. He's right, I laugh.

"What's vis-min?" Demario asks.

"Visual minority," I reply. "Like in movies and on TV and stuff, you have to make sure it's not all white people."

"So I'm black. And I've gone to juvy. So that's why you picked me up from the gas station? So I could complete your group and be the token black guy from the projects or somethin'? "