My Mother's house

14

Two days had passed.  Dad was leaving Friday to go back to work.  He and David got David enrolled in school for the following Monday.  I bribed David and his friends to do the roof.  It cost me three kegs and the barn Saturday night.  I wasn't stupid, I knew they were having a back to school party and would invite the whole damn town.  But I also threw in that they had to clean the whole place up, before and after.
I didn't talk to Nath.  I saw him, made him and the boys lunch and drinks.  While they worked on the roof, I moved the furniture back, minus the kitchen appliances.  That had been done by Nath earlier that morning before anyone had gotten there.  He had gotten in all by himself and moved things back, even brought over some groceries for the fridge, then went right back outside and up to the roof.  The boys had started everything today.  Peeling off the old shingles and black paper.  That part had only taken the first half of the day.  They had all come down for lunch, but I made them eat outside. 
Most of them were shirtless.  Glistening muscles surrounded me, and if I could tune out their conversations, I would be in heaven.  I tried my best, but only succeeded when I saw Nath, shirtless like the rest of them, only he was more muscular.  My eyes raked over his body as I walked to him.
"What's the verdict?"
His brows scrunched together, slightly confused.
"With the roof.  Is everything good or is it going to be a complete gut?"
He shook his head, as to knock the current thoughts out.  "Sorry, yeah everything is fine.  Just needs new shingles and tar paper.  We should have the paper down and the first few row of shingles up tonight and be finished tomorrow, maybe the day after with how these boys work."
I knew I was reaching for something, but I had to try.  "When you get done tonight, can you help me pick out windows?  I don't know about any of that junk.  Dad said to get double pane."
"That's all you really need to know, that and the sizes, then just go to town and pick them up."
"Can you come with me?  I really don't want to mess this up and have to make another trip.  And do I measure the glass part of the window or the frame part too?"  Okay that last part was a little thick but it did the job.
"Sure.  I'll be in after dark to take measurements and then we can run to town once the roof is finished.  We can take your brother with us to help load and unload the windows."
Shit.  I wanted him alone to talk.  I wasn't sure yet how to bring it up.  I thought blurting it out would get it over with, instead of those pictures resting heavy on my soul.  I looked at Nath, examining every inch of his face.  Why would someone do something so horrible to such a beautiful person.  He was out here helping me for no reason.
Fuck.  He must think I knew everything.  He must think I was black mailing him into helping me.  That was the reason he was out here, doing all this work on my house and not getting paid.
"Never mind.  You don't have too.  I don't want to keep you."  I tried to backpedal.  Tried to take my request back. 
"It's no big deal.  You need it done, and I can help." 
God I could kick myself right now.  I smiled at him.  "Thanks Nath."  I turned and began to pick up plates and glasses.  They were all done eating and were standing around talking.  "You don't get beer by talking.  Get up that ladder."
I heard my little brother mutter slave driver under his breath.  Chuck not so quietly responded, she can whip me anytime.  I rolled my eyes as I walked away.

I had heard trucks and cars start and leave the drive.  David had stumbled in and up the stairs  I hadn't seen much of him since he had found his new friends and I kinda missed him.  I hadn't seen much of Dad at all.  He had been spending most of his time at the hotel, covering for Nath.  He had even decided that staying the night there was easier on him and said it would be a good trial run for me, that I could still call if I needed anything, but to treat it like he wasn't there.  Right now I wish he was here, so I could hint around about Nath.
Nath walked in the door.  I called out to him from the dinning room.  "In here." and heard his boots hit the floor.  He sounded tired.  His face confirmed this when he walked into the dining room and collapsed into a chair.  I had no idea roofing could be so hard.
"You look tired.  You can just go.  We can do this another time."  I picked up the paper pen and tape measure getting up out of my seat.
"How about I show you how to measure one window, you do the rest yourself and I take a shower."
"A compromise?"  I raised an eyebrow at him. 
"Deal.  But we need a hammer."  My face must have been a questioning one, because he started to explain.  "You have to take off the wood here," he pointed to the frame all the way around," and measure the whole window.  You'll see when you take it off.  The windows are old and I don't want to just replace the panes, the whole thing, frame and all should be replaced.  It's a little extra money and a little extra work, but it will cut down on the electric bill and help keep the water out."
I looked a little dumbfounded.  I guess I didn't really know how replacing the window would work.  Or that is was so hard.  "Never mind.  We can do this another night.  I know you're tired.  The windows aren't that big of a deal."
"Okay.  I'll just go up and take a shower then."
Wow, he must really be tired.  "Wait what?  Here?"
"Yeah, your dad is staying at the hotel tonight and I have to be back here in the morning anyway.  Plus the bar is usually slow on Tuesdays.  It's not that big of a deal."
I stood there, wondering how this had just happened, watching his back getting smaller as he walked out of the room and to the front door.  He went from not talking to me, to spending the night at my house.  I didn't want to assume whose bed he would be sleeping in.  My brother was home but I doubt that would make a difference.
It was dark out, but I knew he hadn't ate dinner.  Neither had my brother so I figured the nice thing to do would be to cook.  Nothing fancy, just spaghetti.  Plus I didn't want to be in my room right now.  I didn't want to know where he would be sleeping just yet. 
I cooked and made three plates, along with glasses of sweet tea and set them on a serving tray.  I carried them upstairs and stopped at my brother's room first.  I knocked, and when I didn't get an answer, I opened the door slowly.  The light was still on, and David was passed out face down on his bed, still in his work clothes. 
I couldn't help but grin.  The boy had no idea what a hard days labor was like until today.  I closed the door as quietly as I could and headed to my room.  But Nath wasn't there.  The lights were off and all was quiet.  I walked back out to the hallway and checked the bathroom.  It was still steamy, I looked around to the doors.  The only room that had a bed in it was my Dad's.  One that he had rarely slept in.  I could see the light coming out from under the door and headed that way, to the other side of the house.
I rapped on the door lightly.  "Room service."  I called out in a sweet voice.  The door opened, exposing a close to naked Nath, clad in only his boxers.  "I made some dinner for us, but David is asleep.  Are you hungry?"
Nath opened the door wider and walked back to the bed and sat down.  I followed him, sitting the tray in the middle and myself on the other side of the bed.  He hadn't picked up a plate, but took a glass and drank about half before setting it back down.  He didn't look at me, and things were awkward.
"Okay well just let me know when you get finished.  Or you can leave the plate outside your door and I'll get it later."  I got up to leave, not wanting to stay.  I took my plate and glass.  "Feel free to eat David's if you want, if not I can save it for later."
He nodded to me, and I couldn't stand it anymore.  I got up and left, feeling him staring at me leaving.  I went back down to the dining room, to eat like a normal person.  The more I thought about it, the angrier I ate.  After a few minutes of shoving forkfuls and chewing the crap out of the noodles, my food was all gone.  I got up and rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.  The dishwasher I was thankful I had now.  Thankful that Nath had suggested it.  The person who was giving me the silent treatment for something I had no idea what I had done to deserve. 
I couldn't figure it out.  The last time was when he rubbed burn cream on my back and I had kissed his cheek.  It all seemed uneventful to me.  I hadn't acted any different than what I normally would have, but I must have done something.  I went back up stairs and checked his door.  In front sat the tray along with a full plate and one that had been picked at.  Both glasses were empty.  I picked up the tray and headed my way back to the kitchen.
It wasn't that bad.  The noodles were cooked all the way.  It was a little bland, but nothing that couldn't have been ignored if hungry at all.  I dumped both plates in a container and put it back in the fridge, separate from the original left overs.  I had no problem eating after him.  I know it seemed strange, but we probably ate after one another when we were little.  I finished cleaning the kitchen and headed back to my room to change into pajamas, the whole time trying figure out what was going on with him.
I wanted so badly to lay on my back and stare at the ceiling thinking about it.  Stupid burn. Stupid Nath with his not being friends anymore.  Stupid pictures in the attic that had me all kinds of emotional now, wondering what the hell had happened all those years ago and why I couldn't remember any of them.
I remembered being little and getting my first barbie on Christmas.  I remember seeing Mom in the hospital when she had David.  I remember my first kitty, and how it shit in the laundry basket.  All of those things I remember from when I was little, but I couldn't remember Nath, or ever staying a summer at my Mother's house. 
If Nath thought I was blackmailing him to keep his secret, then I might as well try to.  I got up and padded out to the hall.  The light in his room was off, so I opened the door and snuck in.  I laid myself down on his bed, facing him.  Before I could get comfortable, Nath scared the crap out of me with just a few words.
"What are you doing?"
I got comfortable, my knees resting against his legs.  "I couldn't sleep."  Well that part wasn't a lie, but he didn't respond.  Silence hummed in my ears as I tried to focus on his breathing.  He wasn't asleep yet either.  Hadn't been close to sleep.  I let his breaths tick away like seconds that turned to minutes before I spoke again.
"How come I can't remember you?"
His steady breathing was disrupted, by a deep breath.  "You were little then.  It's not that big of a surprise."
"Is that why you're helping me with my Mom's house, because we were friends when we were little?"
"Something like that yeah."
"Tell me about when we were little.  About what we used to do." 
His breath caught for a few seconds too long, before taking in a deep breath.  "One time, my sister was supposed to be watching us, but your little brother wouldn't take a nap.  She was in her room, trying to rock him to sleep.  He used to get so cranky when he didn't get a nap.  So while she was rocking him, you and I snuck out to the creek.  It's the one that separates our properties.  We walked twenty minutes to get there because you kept trying to chase me, make me give you a piggy back ride.  When we finally got there, you decided it would be funny to catch as many frogs as we could, and put them in my sisters underwear drawer."  I could hear the smile in his speech and my lips curved up higher with each of his words.  "The only problem was, you didn't want to help me catch them.  You didn't want to touch a single one and would scream if one got close to you.  We were out there all afternoon trying to catch frogs.  Every time I caught one, you wouldn't hold it and we had nothing to keep it in.  You finally told me to take off my shirt and wrap them up.  I caught a few frogs and you found a stick so we could pretend to be hobos on the way back.  It was starting to get dark, and you were tired, so I finally gave you a piggy back ride, all the way back, but you wouldn't let me carry the hobo bag like a real hobo and you insisted on carrying it in front of me.
When we finally got home, my sister was pissed.  She was yelling at me to be more responsible like she always did.  You know every time we snuck out, I always got all the blame?  So while she was busy yelling at me, you went around the house to the front with the frogs and snuck them into her drawer.  I don't know how she couldn't hear them ribbiting all night long.  You weren't there in the morning, but she screamed so loud."
"Did we do stuff like that a lot?"  My voice was soft and quiet.  His story relaxing me.  "Pranking people."
"No, that was the only time."  His voice was solemn, and it made me wonder if he had gotten beat for something I had done.  I felt guilt weigh down on me.  I so badly wanted to say I was sorry.  Sorry for not helping him more.  Sorry for not being there more for him, being around him more so whoever was hitting him wouldn't.  I think I would remember Nath getting beat in front of me, so I trusted that he didn't.
"What else did we do.  Where did we play?"  I could feel my eyes getting heavy.
"We played at the creek a lot, and we would go swimming at the pond.  Yours had a deck to jump off, but you never learned how to swim, so you would just watch me with your feet in the water or play on the bank.  Sometimes we would play in the barn, up in the loft.  When you got older, the last summer you spent here, your parents would let you walk to my house to come play with me, but we would always end up back at yours."  His hand had found my hip, and his thumb made small circles on my skin.
"Was I really your best friend?"  I know I sounded like I was five asking that question, I blamed it on my sleepy state.
He took a few moments to respond.  "You know, I came to this room, thinking you wouldn't want your brother to think anything about us, yet you end up here anyway."
"He's not going to wake up until you get him up.  I can promise you that."
Nath pulled me closer to him, wrapping an arm under my head and lifting one of my legs from the inside to rest over his.  I was now cuddled up the side of him, and I hadn't felt this comfortable since before my accident.  "I think you were my best friend when I was little, and I don't know how I got so lucky."