Free Attachment Strings by Chris T. Kat Page B

safely to Florida Avenue.
    I caught Parker’s worried glance when we got out of the car. Ignoring it, I strode forward at a brisk pace, which left Parker running after me. By the time I pressed the bell, he had caught up with me. My jaw was tightly clenched. In fact, it was clenched so tightly my teeth began to hurt. It cost me great effort to loosen up.
    No one reacted to the bell. Impatiently, I pressed the bell twice in rapid succession. Parker opened his mouth but shut it when I bestowed a menacing glare on him. Someone yelled from the inside, though it sounded muffled to us. “I’m coming, I’m coming! Just a second!”
    Did the voice sound familiar? Or was it just wishful thinking? Did I even wish it to be him? Last night I had dissed him without any further thought and without giving him a chance to explain. Not that he needed to explain himself to me. What with the no-strings-attached agreement.
    We heard a chain rattling from the inside; then the door unlocked. The man that opened up showed us his back at first while he shifted the weight of a child in his arms. I cataloged everything I could see of the young man: the blond tousled locks and the slender back straining under the weight of his bundle.
    It shouldn’t have, but it still came as a surprise when the young man turned to us with an apologetic smile on his face.
    “Alex,” I greeted.
     
     
    “J-J EFF ,” Alex stuttered before he caught himself and went on more self-assured, “What are you doing here? Changed your mind?”
    My left eyelid started twitching. How could one person be that arrogant? “Excuse me?”
    A bit more hesitantly, he said, “Did you change your mind about giving me a chance to explain? How did you find out my address?”
    Unbelievable . Fucking unbelievable. “I didn’t even know your last name, and I’m not here for personal reasons.”
    “You’re not?”
    Alex’s self-confident posture crumbled in record time as soon as I explained, “This is a duty call, not a bootie call. We’re investigating something and have some questions for you.”
    Alex blushed as I stepped aside to show Parker standing behind me. He nodded at Alex. “Hey there, boy. How’re you doing?”
    Irritated, I glanced at my partner. Why the hell did he call him boy? Parker caught my glance and shrugged. I heard Alex saying, “I’d shake your hand, but I’ve got my hands full. This is Sean, by the way.”
    I turned toward him. “This is Sean?”
    A shrill, piercing whistle startled both Parker and me. Alex appeared to be the only one unperturbed. He smiled at the child in his arms and asked, “You wanna stand and say hello?”
    Another piercing whistle answered. This time Parker and I merely winced. We exchanged a worried glance when Alex shifted the weight of his bundle until the child stood on his feet.
    “Should he, uh, even try to stand?” Parker asked cautiously.
    “I’m holding him and he loves to stand and walk.” Alex wound his arms around the child’s torso and together, they maneuvered him around until he faced us. The boy’s movements were spastic and I hastily took a step backward, barely evading getting hit by his flailing limbs.
    The boy was as blond as Alex, but he bore not even a trace of Alex’s beauty. The skin on his face was stretched taut and saliva trickled from the corner of his mouth in a steady stream. The bandana he wore functioned probably as some kind of bib; it just looked more stylish. I wrinkled my nose. The sight of this kid was not pretty. Most definitely not.
    Alex’s smile faltered and he hunched his shoulders. I watched him take in a jerky breath and when he looked at me, I discovered a sheen of wetness in his eyes. Astonished, I deduced him to be close to tears. I just didn’t know why .
    The boy made another attempt at speaking, but only gurgling noises came forth. I stared at him and his flailing arms. He certainly tried to communicate with me. I just had no clue how to react to his attempts.