A Split Heart: Part 2
#4 of Heart
Mike was standing in the doorway. This was surprising to Jess for a few reasons. Firstly, she didn't remember seeing his car pull up, and she couldn't believe he walk to her place when it was that late and that cold. The chill breeze from the door reminded her how much she would hate to walk anywhere in winter. Secondly, Mike was carrying his backpack. He didn't usually bring that with him to visit friends. Thirdly, and most important to Jess, her friend looked devastated. He had obviously been crying earlier although he wasn't then. The wolf had a stunned look in his eyes that was slowly being replaced by depression.
"Mike?" Jess said, the question in her eyes: What happened?
As she asked, she realized something else was wrong. Mike was clearly not dressed for the weather. He often only wore jeans and runners out in the snow, but he was only wearing a hoodie over his t-shirt. No one was affected by the cold more than Jess, but it was below -20o C outside, not counting the wind chill. The wolf had to be freezing, and his hoodie wasn't even zipped up.
Mike felt the cold. Normally, he didn't like it, but now, the sharp bite kept him awake and focused. He had been worried that without the constant reminder he would simply collapse on the way here.
"Hey, Jess," Mike said. "Can I... can I come in?"
"Yeah, of course! You have to be freezing! What happened to your coat?" Jess asked as she stepped aside. However, the question she really wanted to ask excluded the last three words she had said.
"It's at hom-- at my house," Mike replied. Now Jess was even more confused. Why had he replaced 'home' with 'my house'? Mike didn't look like he was ready to offer an explanation to why he would show up at her house late at night with a tear-streaked face. Even as he removed his shoes, he was gazing about listlessly, almost like he was living in a dream. Or a nightmare.
"Mike?" Jess asked again as she stepped closer. This time, she put the question to words: "What happened?"
"I-- I, uh, got--" the wolf said shakily, gasps of breath breaking up his normally too quick speech. "My dad-- my dad--" He took a deep shaky breath, and then, in a whisper, "My dad kicked me out of the house."
"What?!" Jess couldn't believe it. Why would he get kicked out of the house? He wasn't the kind of person to do something stupid, like rob a bank. "Why? What did you do?"
"I..." Mike started. For a moment Jess thought he would open up, but then, "I can't talk about it right now. Can I crash here tonight? I can sleep on the couch or something, but..." his voice trailed off uncertainly. What would he do if she said no?
His fear was short-lived. "Yeah, sure," Jess said. She attempted some levity. "The cops aren't looking for you, are they? I just need to know so I can prep a story if they show up at the door."
"No, the police aren't going to be looking for me," Mike replied. More quietly, he added, "No one will be."
Hearing that coupled with the new tears running down the from the wolf's eyes nearly broke Jess' heart. What happened at home to make her upbeat friend look like this?
"Mike, when you're ready to talk, I'm here."
"Thanks, Jess. I just... I just need some sleep," Mike said. Maybe then I'll forget for a while, he thought.
"Yeah, of course," Jess said. She watched as the wolf went and lay down on the couch, not even bothering to shed his hoodie. His eyes closed, and his breathing slowed, but the fox could see her friend wasn't asleep yet. Nevertheless, she left the room and stayed in the kitchen so she could warn her mom about their house guest when she got home.
*
The morning dawned bright the next day, which insulted the wolf's sense of parallelism. He felt like crap. Why couldn't the weather be crappy too? Then again, someone had to be happy somewhere in the city, even if he couldn't muster up enough empathy to feel happy with them, or for them. He glanced at his bag, which he had packed with all the essentials he could think of and grab in the short time he had had to leave the house. He then turned his attention to the clock. Past the time when Jess' mom would be gone to work. It occurred to Mike that he had forgotten to ask Jess last night when she worked today. She could be gone already, but he doubted it. She probably would have woken him to warn him.
He got off the couch and grabbed his bag. Then he padded quietly over to the washroom, where he quickly changed into a newer (and better smelling) outfit. He might have lain on the couch all day had he not known that others would be up and about the house at some point. He didn't want to be a burden anymore than he had to be.
Meanwhile, Jess had roused herself from bed. She was groggily trying to remember if and when she worked today when the floor creaking outside recalled her to her house guest. I hope he's feeling better now, she thought.
Well, due to a short attention span, amongst other things, this is now going to be three (short) parts. YAY! Oh, and if you think you know why he's been kicked out, you're probably wrong. Well, off by a bit. But then, maybe not. We'll see. Point is, only I know for sure, and I'm loving the feeling of power. (Which is, incidently, a pretty good short story by Isaac Asimov. Look it up.) :-p