Free Shelter by Tara Shuler Page B

worthless piece of shit! You’re useless, and I’m fucking sick of it!”
    “Mom, please,” he pleaded. “I’m sorry.”
    “I don’t know who your little tramp is, but get her and your stuff off my property right now!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
    She reached down and grabbed Kai by the hair, pulling him out of the shed and throwing him to the ground outside. She whirled around and snatched his easel, which still held his most recent painting, and hurled it through the door. He raised his arms to shield himself, but the easel hit him in the head and gashed it open. Blood poured down into his eyes.
    Horrified, I watched the scene unfold. I was unable to move or speak. I finally managed to move toward the door, and on the ground, I finally saw Kai’s painting. It was a small boy wrapped in his mother’s arms, and they were both looking at each other and smiling happily. It broke my heart.
    In an instant, I grabbed Kai’s painting and tucked it under one arm. Then I took his hand and pulled him to his feet. I shot a warning glance at Kai’s mother, daring her to interfere. She just stood and watched as I pulled Kai toward the garage. We got into his car and drove away.
    “What am I going to do?” Kai cried. “I have nowhere to go!”
    “Nonsense,” I said. “You’re coming home with me.”
    “Won’t your mother mind?” he asked, his eyes wide.
    “I don’t think so,” I told him. “I guess we’ll find out.”
    Day was breaking when we got to my house, but my mother was still awake. She was lying on the couch in the parlor reading, and she jumped up when she saw us. She eyed Kai up and down, and then she noticed the gash on his head. She gasped aloud in spite of herself.
    “His mother threw him out,” I explained.
    Without another word of explanation needed, my mother raised her hand to stop me.
    “He will stay here, of course,” Mother said.
    “Oh, thank you, Mother!” I cried.
    “Kai, it’s nice to meet you,” my mother told him. “I’m sorry it’s under such circumstances.”
    “Thank you, ma’am,” he said, bowing his head to her a little.
    “Come,” my mother said. “Let’s see what we can do about your head.”
    My mother and I took Kai to the hall bathroom. She got the first aid kit while I cleaned the wound with a washcloth. He winced when I touched it, and I tried to be as gentle as I could. I couldn’t stand causing him any more pain.
    My mother returned with the first aid kit, and we had Kai bandaged up a few minutes later. My mother told him he could sleep in the room across the hall from me if we promised to be good.
    “No, Mother,” I said facetiously. “We’re going to make violent love to each other the moment you go to sleep.”
    My mother chuckled, noting my reference to the movie It’s a Wonderful Life in which Mary yells to her nosy mother, “He’s making violent love to me, Mother!”
    I led Kai upstairs and showed him his room. I found him a pair of my brother’s pajamas that he’d outgrown. Kai was taller than him, but they fit pretty well. My mother insisted I stay home from school to get some rest. I hadn’t had more than a fleeting few moments of sleep in going on three days.
    “I’ll be right across the hall if you need me,” I told him.
    He grabbed my arm before I could leave and twirled me around. He caught me in his arms and pressed his lips against mine. This time, his kiss was gentler than it ever had been.
    He squeezed me tightly, and then he let me go. He climbed into bed, and I walked over to his bedside and pulled the covers up around him and tucked him in. I brushed his hair away from his face and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.
     “I love you,” I whispered.
    “I love you, too,” he said, smiling up at me.
    I went to my room and changed into my nightshirt, and then I settled down into my soft, cozy bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Seven
Terror
     
    A few hours later, I awoke with a start and saw Kai