chapter 31

word count: 1321

“hey, wait!!  my homework!! “ adam yelled after the grungy street man that somehow or another kept appearing out of nowhere and ending up right in the middle of the mix..

“my homework is in my backpack!  can’t  i at least have my homework?”

gil turned and looked at adam.. he looked so small and frail there, standing alone, in the big empty vacant lot.. what he saw before him certainly wasn’t a thug,, he wasn’t even a bad kid.. he was just a very hurt,, very confused little boy.. 

“sure.” gil said,, as a heartfelt smile graced his lips.. something inside him told him this boy needed a friend every bit as much as he needed to be taken out of harm’s way.. probably more.. 

“sure kid.. c’mere..” gil said as slipped to the ground, crossing his legs ‘indian style’ and waited for adam to join him..  

“sorry about the backpack kid.. i shouldn’t a took it.. truth is, that gun kinda freaked me out.” gil stated as adam slipped to the ground across from him and their eyes met.

“yeah.. i know.. kinda freaked me out too.” adam whispered, as he saw himself reflected in what he realized for the first time were a pair of very kind eyes..  

“what a ya say we start over? seems like we keep runnin’ into each other,, and i don’t even know your name.” gil said as he extended his dirt stained hand to adam.. “my name’s gil.. i mean,  it’s really gilberto,, but you can just call me gil.”

adam reached out and allowed gil’s hand to wrap firmly around his.. it was a strong hand,, yet somehow softer than adam had expected.. it made adam feel safe.. safer than he had in a long time.. even safer than when he had the gun.  

“i’m adam..”

“good to finally meet you adam..”

“you too.”

a moment of silence passed between them, as gil withdrew the shiny silver revolver from the back pack.. he spun the cylinder and popped it out.. ‘thank god,’ it was unloaded.. he clicked the cylinder back in,, and stowed the gun safely in a deep pocket of his jacket..  

“what a ya say we talk about the gun?” gil started.. 

“what about it?” adam asked as he picked up a twig and started to painstakingly peel away its bark.. 

“what a ya say we start at the part about your dad?  when i was walking away,, you said something like, ‘how am i gonna stop my dad?’ why don’t we start by you telling me what that was all about?” 

adam was clearly hesitant to answer.. “na.. it’s nothing..” he said his eyes trained on the twig,, appearing to concentrate heavily on loosing a shred of bark with is thumbnail..

“sure it is. “ gil said reassuringly.. “hey, adam, it’s ok.. it’s ok.. you can tell me.. after all, i kinda saved your life once already, right?? i wouldn’t a done that if i didn’t care about what happened to ya, would i?”

"ok," adam exhaled loudly, “but it’s a long story.” 

“hey, look at me, “ gill said as he cupped adam’s chin and lifted his head toward him, “do i look like i got anything but time?”

something about that statement struck them both as funny.. warm friendly laughter broke out between the two of them.. gill reached out and ruffled adams sweat spiked bangs.. adam smiled..

“ok,” he started,, “but i'm warning you,, it’s a long story..”

***

the number seven westbound had pulled up at the stop in front of the dairy queen.. jack looked at steve,, and steve looked back at jack.. they both shrugged,, stood up and prepared to exit the bus.. 

they hadn’t expected this.. they had traveled the length of the route seven bus all the way to the stop they knew adam would have to get off at to go home.. they hadn’t seen a single thing out of the ordinary at any of the stops along the way.. they had expected to see cops.. lots of cops.. they had expected to see that pussy,, adam miller, surrounded by cops. cops that knew he had a gun.

“whadda ya think happened?” steve asked jack as the bus pulled away.. 

“i dunno,” jack answered.. “but this is bullshit.”

with the air visibly let out of their sails,, the two boys wandered toward the dairy queen.. this wasn’t at all like they pictured it.. this wasn’t even any fun..

“my brother is gonna kill me.” steve said dejectedly, as jack pulled open one of the double doors on the dairy queen..

“i know..” jack replied, as he followed steve somberly through the dairy queen and up to the counter.

in a lame attempt to raise their spirits, the boys each ordered a cone before starting off back toward the bus stop..

“what time is it?” jack queried as they slumped down on the bus stops cement bench..

“ten to five.” steve answered as he looked up from his watch.. “we got half an hour till the bus comes.. you wanna walk around?”

“sure.”

as they lapped away at their cones,, jack led the way and headed off down the side of the dairy queen toward the vacant lot..

“where we going?” steve asked jack between licks.. 

“i dunno,“ replied jack disinterestedly, “just looking for something to do..”

just as they reached the corner of the building,, something shiny caught a ray of the bright afternoon sun and flashed at them from the middle of the vacant lot.. one flash,, and then  it was gone.. they saw two people seated in the middle of the grass in the vacant lot.. one looked like some homeless guy,, and the other,, whoa,, the other was unmistakably,, adam miller.. they hugged the building for a closer look.. 

“that’s him!! exclaimed steve. “who’s that other guy?”

“i dunno,” jack answered in a noticeably lowered tone.. “be quiet, we don’t want them to see us..”

***

gil continued to listen intently as adam went on to describe the climate of abuse that had surrounded him and his mother for as long as he could remember.. it was as if the flood gates had been opened,, and the kid was pouring out years of pent up hurt and frustration..

gil had to keep reminding himself as he listened, that this was buzz millers kid.. the piss poor excuse for a human being that adam was describing was not just some perp.. it was his boss. sure, everyone at the precinct had known he had it in him.. sure, they joked about it all the time..  but it wasn't like it was real or anything.. in fact, it had never been real till he sat here and let this little boy,, with his grown up cadence,, drag him into his very real,, very fucked up world.. 

“it’s not even about me.” concluded adam.. “it’s about my mom. she doesn’t know how to make him stop. she doesn’t even try.. she needs me..”

“yes she does.” gil answered reassuringly.. “she needs you very much.. and she is gonna keep right on needing you.. and that is why this whole gun thing is such a bad idea.. you see,, even if it’d a worked,, even if you’d a got rid of your dad,, what if you’d a got caught?? who’d a been there to take care of your mom then?? you don’t want her to end up all alone do ya??”

“no way.” adam admitted, thinking maybe he hadn’t thought this all the way through.. maybe this gil guy was right.

“you and me, were gonna figure this out.. you got that??” gil said as he pushed the backpack in adam's general direction and smiled.. “but for right now,, you better get home.. it’s getting late.. your mom is gonna be wonderin’ where you are.”

“i hope so.” said adam.. and he really did..