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Chapter Seventeen: Molly's The Yellow One


Becky was laying across my couch, her legs up on the arm of it, her hair in her face. I was laying on my back on the floor, my computer propped on my chest. We were halfway through The Two Towers, and about a quarter way through a quest on WOW. On the screens, epic battles raged. Princess Neryls was destroying more orcs than the characters on TV were.

"So what's the story with your brother?" I asked. He'd been haunting me all night. I was Scout and I wanted to know about Boo Radley. I could still see him in my mind, watching us walk to the Slyyymer from the window upstairs, eyes trained on me like a sniper.

Becky was biting her tongue on the couch. "He has aspergers, among other things," she replied. "I've been taking care of him and my dad since my mom died." On the screen, Princess Neryls just barely escaped being cornered. She managed to get to a safety zone away from the orcs and me, where I was swinging my sword as quick as my fingers could click the swing button. She sat up, pushing her computer away and watched me as she spoke. "He was getting better for awhile but then we had to switch doctors."

I ran my gnome over to her in the safety zone and we both logged out of the system. I put my computer up on a chair and crawled across the floor and sat down next to her. On the screen, Frodo's journey was continuing on. "Why?"

"The cost," Becky shrugged. "My mom's medical bills were rolling in and my dad was unemployed, he almost never leaves the house now. So basically his social security checks, my brother's disability, and my paychecks from Oasis have to cover everything." She ran her hands over her knees, "Luckily, my boss at Oasis understands that and he pays me well and gives me a lot of hours. Tips help, too."

I wrapped my arm around Becky and pulled her into me. She stiffened at first, but, like with the kiss, soon melted into me. She leaned back against my chest, her head rolled to rest on my shoulder and she let out a breathful of tension as her muscles relaxed. I kissed her forehead softly.

I didn't have words to say, there weren't really any. But I could feel my insides twisting into knots and my heart ached for her. I wanted to do more than hold her, but that was the best I could do, so that's what I did.

But it wouldn't be all I would do. It would take some time, but I'd figure out something to do to help her.

We put her computer up on the coffee table eventually and stretched out across the sofa, but she returned to my arms even after we'd moved, and we watched The Return of the King laying on our sides on the couch, her tucked into me, my arm around her. It was weird because usually when I lay like that it has a really sexual, sleeping together feeling about it, it's all charged and electrifying and everything. But with Becky that night it was just... nice. Really nice. And instead of making a pass or trying to feel her boobs or sleeping with her, I just literally slept with her.

"Nate..."

I hummed a response, my eyes felt glued together.

"Nate...?"

My body felt like it was full of cement.

"Naaa-aaaate...."

I forced them open when I felt her move off the couch. "Nate, I gotta go home and make breakfast for my dad. You're welcome to come if you want." Becky's voice was low.

I blinked myself awake. I nodded.

"Okay. Wake up, then, sleepy head," she whispered. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Upstairs, third door on the left," I answered.

"Thanks," she whispered, and she disappeared from the room.

She came back downstairs a few minutes later, after I'd rolled over and closed my eyes again. "Nate, get up."

I heard her packing up her computer. I stretched my muscles and rolled onto my stomach, doing a push up from the couch's cushions. I sat up. "I'm gonna go change real fast," I said, and I got up and went upstairs. I pulled my phone out on the way down the hallway. Chris had texted me a photo last night of him with a girl in a club and I was holding up five fingers in front of them, smirking. The girl was grinning, leaning into him.

Tieeeee, it read.

I pushed my phone back into my jeans pocket without responding. I pulled my shirt off and tossed it into a corner, selected another one and sniffed it for air quality control purposes. I swiped deoderant under my arms. I realized as I tugged the shirt over my head that I didn't care that Chris had tied me.

I went back downstairs and Becky was sitting on the couch again. Her computer was packed up in front of her on the coffee table. "It feels weird not heading to Fresh this morning," I joked, leaning over the back of the couch. "It's my usual stalker hours."

Becky laughed. "You think it's weird not going to Fresh first thing, how do you think I feel? I always feel like I'm forgetting something on days off, like I was supposed to be there and I'm gonna end up fired or something."

"It's a good thing I control my own hours, I'd be fired in no time at all for being late. I'm terrible at being on time for anything. Even when I mean to be I never am."

"Better late than never," Becky answered. "But speaking of late... Let's go before I'm late making breakfast. My dad won't mind so much but my brother will."

"What's your brother's name?" I led Becky to the front door.

"Bradley," she replied.

Irony, I thought. If you said Boo Radley fast enough you almost said Bradley by accident.

"Does everyone in your family have B-names?" I asked.

Becky laughed, "My mom was named Brenda, so, yes. Except mine is technically an R."

"Rebecca?"

She nodded.

"It's a pretty name."

"It's okay."

"It's nice."

At Becky's house, we were prepared for Scooby Doo at the door this time, and she caught his coller before he could peg me to the grass again, and she dragged him back out of the entry way, "He can take a nap in the laundry room," Becky said as she hauled him away. "He has a bed in there."

I watched until she had disappeared into the depths of the house. I stood there awkwardly waiting for her to come back. I could hear cartoons echoing through the house from the TV. The fish tank gurgled. I took a couple paces closer and leaned down to stare in through the water. A couple fish swam around a rock formation, grass wavered in the water motion from the pump. A blue fish swam up close to the glass and hovered right in my face.

"That's - that's M-Madison."

I turned around.

Boo Radley stood behind me. He was about Becky's height - aka, shortish - with a shock of shaggy brown hair and the same wide brown eyes as her. He was standing in the doorway behind me, watching me watch the fish.

"You're Bradley, right?" I said.

He didn't answer. He inched closer and tapped a finger against the glass of the tank to point at the fish. "That's M-Madison. Madison is blue. She's blue see. Molly's yell-yellow." He tapped at the glass a little further to indicate another fish that was in the back. The blue one hurtled behind a rock at the sound of his finger on the glass. "Molly's yellow," he repeated.

"They're really cool," I replied. "Are they your fish?"

"Since they were small," Bradley said, "They were small when I got them, now they're not small. But they were sm-sm-small when they became -- became mine."

"I have a fish, too," I said.

Bradley didn't answer.

"I'm Nate," I said, "I'm Becky's friend."

Bradley didn't answer or acknowledge this statement in anyway. Instead, after a moment's pause, he leaped forward and tapped the tank again. "There's M-Molly, she's yellow. SHe's yellow, see? Like the sun, she's yellow."

"She's pretty," I said.

"Yeah," he agreed.

Becky reappeared suddenly, "Okay, Scooby Doo's in the laundry room and --" she stopped short, stared at Bradley for a long moment, a surprised look on her face. "Hey Bradley," she said slowly.

"Oh hey," he answered.

"What'cha doing?" Becky asked. She looked at me, then back at Bradley.

"Showing N-Nate about Molly and Madi-Madison," he said. "I was saying how - how Molly's - Molly's blue and M-Madison is yellow."

Becky's face still registered surprise, "Wow, awesome that you were sharing your fish. Thank you for sharing that with my friend," she added. She smiled.

Bradley grabbed my wrist, "You should watch Spongebob with- with me and- and with daddy and me." He dragged me through the house, back out to the living room where I'd met Bruce the night before. Becky followed, her eyes even wider than normal as Bradley showed me to one particular chair and told me to sit down.

"Good morning, Bill," Bruce said as I walked by.

"It's Nate, dad," Becky said. She watched as Bradley pushed me into a chair and turned Spongebob Squarepants up on TV. She smiled. "I'm gonna make breakfast," she said, and she turned around to leave the room.

"Want help?" I asked, about to stand up.

"Nooooo you're watching watch-watching Spongebob with me," Bradley whined from the couch.

Becky smirked, "You're stuck right where you are for at least one hour," she said, and she disappeared from the room.

"What happens in an hour?" I called, but she didn't hear me.

"WhoLivesInAPineappleUnderTheSea!" sang out Bradley double-speed. He clapped and the lamp beside Bruce turned off and on and off and on.

"Stop that!" Bruce said, frowning up from the crossword puzzle book he was working in.

Bradley laughed, his voice shrill.

"What happens in an hour?" I asked again. But if Bruce was listening, he didn't answer, and Bradley continued on with his song.

"IfNauticalNonsenseBeSomethingYouWishTheDropOnTheDeckAndFlopLikeAFish!"