Vicious by Kevin O'Brien Read Free Book Online Page B

had a lean, solid build. He wore a leather jacket over a black T-shirt and olive cargo pants. For a moment, he blocked the doorway and gaped at her.
    “I’m sorry, but is there anyone else in there?” Susan asked. “I want to take my son in.”
    “Oh, go for it,” he said, nodding. He stepped aside. “If you’d like, I’ll stand guard out here, make sure no one goes in.”
    “Thanks a lot.” Susan started to lead Mattie past him.
    He touched her arm. “Um, someone wrote a nasty message on the stall divider,” he whispered. “You might want to—avert his gaze.”
    “Thanks,” Susan said. Then she took Mattie inside the men’s room. The young man hadn’t told her that the place stank or that someone had thrown a roll of toilet paper—now yellow—in one of the urinals. But thanks to the young man’s warning, she managed to distract Mattie so he didn’t see “SUCK MY BIG DICK” carved on the wooden stall divider. Mattie was just learning to read, too, so she was grateful for the warning. While Mattie did his business, Susan thought about Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye , saying how he wanted to go around erasing all the Fuck yous so little children wouldn’t see them. It was sweet of that young man to warn her about the graffiti, sweet of him to stand guard, too.
    After all that panic and drama, Mattie didn’t go number two. He didn’t even tinkle much. Susan kept his attention diverted from the stall divider while he washed his hands at the sink. When they stepped out of the men’s room, she found the young man standing by the door.
    “Thanks, you’re very nice,” Susan told him. She nudged Mattie. “Can you say thank you?”
    “Thank you!” Mattie said, squinting up at the young man. “Do you play football?”
    He smiled at Mattie. “I’m on my high school’s lacrosse team. It’s almost like football, but much cooler. Are you a Huskies fan?” He nodded at Mattie’s sweatshirt.
    “The Huskies rule!” Mattie announced, though he’d never seen a Huskies game. It was just something he’d picked up from the other boys at Yellowbrick Road Day Care.
    The young man smiled at Susan. “You from Seattle?”
    She nodded. “Yes. We rented this house for the weekend, and I’m not exactly sure where it is. Are you from around here?”
    “No, I’m from Seattle, too. But my family has a cabin not far from here. I’m staying there with some friends. Anyway, I know the area. Where are you headed? Maybe I can help.”
    “Birch Way,” Susan replied. “It’s a house on the water, number twenty-two Birch Way.”
    The young man just stared at her. His smile faded.
    “Do you—do you know where that is?” she asked, a bit puzzled by his sudden, somber reaction.
    He nodded glumly and cleared his throat. “Sure. Just keep going north on Carroll Creek Road for about fifteen minutes. Birch Way will be on your left. Look for a red mailbox. Number twenty-two is the only house on that road. It’s pretty isolated.” He seemed to work up a smile. “I’m one of your closest neighbors. My family’s cabin is a little over a mile away.”
    “So this house, is it nice?” Susan asked. “Is it okay? I mean, the way you looked at me when I mentioned the address—”
    “No, it’s fine,” he said coolly, cutting her off. “There are a lot of rental houses around here, and that’s one of the loveliest.”
    Susan gave him a puzzled smile. It struck her as odd that this high school lacrosse player would use the word loveliest. It seemed rehearsed, as if he had been told to describe the house that way to people. Susan automatically tightened her grip on Mattie’s little hand.
    “Well, I should take off,” he said after a moment. He glanced toward the gravel lot at the front of Rosie’s Roadside Sundries. “My friends are probably waiting for me. Nice talking to you. Enjoy your weekend.” He smiled at Mattie, made a fist and shook it. “Go, Huskies, right, dude?”
    “Go, Huskies!”