Like a Bird (9 page)

“I can’t hear you very well, where are you?”

“On the other side of the country. I’ll be back tonight. I’ll come by your place, or maybe we can go out for dinner or something and talk about this. Ha, I’m kidding, you’d only come to dinner with me if I had a nice rack and a short skirt. Anyway, read my notes. I make more sense on paper. I’m trying to get to the airport right now. I gotta run.”

“Thanks, I’ll look at your notes. We’ll talk soon.”

“I feel good about this. But have a look at the stuff. Oh, and there’s audio from the meeting too. I’ll send you that.”

“OK, Lou. Have a good flight. Don’t crash.”

Louis laughed. “Yeah, talk to you soon, man.”

Gareth hung up and looked back at the surveillance screen. Sky was gone. He poked his head out his office door. Limping toward the staircase was Sky with Wisdom at her side.

- -

Movies tonight at my place 8pm. Totally low key. You in?

[Heart] Kitty

Sky glanced at the upside down message on Gareth’s phone as it sat unattended on the dining-room table. The kitchen door swung open and Gareth came back in. Sky jumped and grabbed for her fork to scrutinize the handle. Gareth pulled out the chair to sit across from Sky, ignoring his phone. He cleared his throat when Takao appeared to pour some wine for Gareth. Takao then tilted the bottle toward Sky’s wine glass, but Gareth shot out his hand to stop him.

“Why not?” Sky demanded as Takao retreated to the kitchen.

“You’re recovering,” Gareth said.

“From what? Falling off a cliff?”

“No,” Gareth said. “You’re an addict and you’re drug-free now. You will always be in recovery. That’s how it works.”

“For the rest of my life,” Sky retorted.

“Yes.”

She threw her fork on the table and got up to leave.

“Sit down,” he said firmly and pointed at her vacant chair. The deep rumble in his voice caused Sky to stop, though she glared at him over her shoulder. She took her seat again, avoiding Gareth’s irritated stare.

“Look at me,” Gareth said, his voice softer now. Sky kept her head down and peered up at him through her hair.

“Takao has made something special for you, so just forget about the fucking wine and enjoy your dinner.” Gareth looked at the napkin he was folding into neat squares.

Sky cast her gaze back to her lap and sat rigid.

Takao entered the room with a tray of steaming food. He placed the same dish in front of Sky and Gareth. A bowl of macaroni and cheese topped with a crispy crust awaited. Her jaw dropped and her expression offered a silent apology.

“How did you know?”

“Bon appétit,” Gareth said as he speared a few elbow noodles with his fork.

Sky continued to stare at her bowl while she listened to Gareth chew his dinner, the fork scraping against the bowl, as he scooped up his food. She followed suit when the noodles had cooled a little.

Gareth’s phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at the message, cleared it, and returned to his dinner. Sky watched him until he glanced up at her, and then her eyes darted back down to her meal.

When Takao had cleared the table, Gareth guided Sky into the living room. Sky moved cautiously, careful to keep her torso straight, although she still walked with a slight limp. She eased herself onto the sofa next to Gareth. Rose delivered a tray of tea and dessert.

As soon as the tray touched the table, Gareth prepared a cup for himself.

Sky shuffled forward on the sofa and was struck with the painful realization that she couldn’t bend over to reach the tray on the low table. She grimaced and groaned.

“It’s OK. I’ll help you. Tell me what you like,” Gareth said.

Sky blurted, “I like books and dogs. Ripped jeans and the color black and . . .”

Gareth smirked. “In your tea,” he clarified.

“Earl Grey please. Just a little milk and sugar.” Sky blushed.

Gareth nodded and placed a bag in her cup, then reached for the hot water, noticing his own jeans torn at the knee.

Rose walked into the room to pass Gareth’s phone to him. “Someone was just trying to call you.”

Gareth put the pot down and reached for his phone instead. “Thank you, Rose.”

Sky studied Gareth’s face as he checked to see who had called, but his expression remained blank as he set his phone on the table and resumed preparing her tea.

“So tell me,” Gareth said, “What else do you like? I don’t know anything about you.” He set the teapot down and handed Sky her steaming cup.

“That’s not true, sir.” Sky said.

Gareth frowned. “What’s not true?”

“It seems you know a lot about me.”

Gareth glanced at the camera in the corner of the room.

“All you do is read, eat, and sleep.” Gareth held his cup just in front of his lips.

“It’s not about the cameras. Obviously you’ve done a little research,” she said.

Gareth studied his cup. “All I know is that you grew up in foster care. And I know you were in a car accident, because you told me about it. Otherwise you’re one of the most elusive people I’ve ever met.”

“Not more elusive than you,” she said and blew over the top of her tea making milky ripples on the surface.

Gareth snorted and rubbed his face. “I have good reason to maintain my privacy.”

“And I don’t?”

Gareth leaned forward on the sofa. “I’m not going to play this little game all night. I’ll see you in my room at ten.” He left the room, taking his tea with him. Sky silently watched him go. Just as he disappeared around the corner, his phone, still on the table, rang.

Sky glanced down the hallway to see if Gareth was close by. When the phone rang a second time, she leaned forward and saw Kitty’s name at the top of the screen.

From nowhere, Gareth’s hand snatched up the phone. Sky jolted upright to face his glare. He grabbed her face in his right hand and pulled her toward him, his nose just inches from hers. “If you’re not careful, you’ll be spending a week in your cage,” he snarled. He wrenched his hand away, leaving red marks on her cheeks.

Sky massaged her jaw as Gareth stormed off. She noticed most of her tea had spilled all over her jeans. She leaned back on the sofa, brought her knees up to her chest, in spite of the pain, and took small sips of what was left in her cup, her hand shaking as she brought it to her lips.

- -

Gareth sat in bed, working on his laptop. The time on his phone read 10:12 p.m. He glanced at the empty doorway. He placed his computer on his bedside table, and when he turned Sky was standing in the doorway with Wisdom at her back, her left arm across her body, gripping her stump and her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her.

Gareth went to her. With one hand on her back, he steered her toward the bed and with the other, he closed the bedroom door against Wisdom standing at the doorway.

When Sky’s legs hit the side of the bed, she stopped and stood still, waiting for her next cue. She closed her eyes as his hand caressed her shoulder, but she remained immobile when he pulled off her T-shirt and released the clasp on her bra. With a few quick taps on his phone the room went from dim to black. Gareth undressed Sky until she stood naked before him.

A gentle push on her back and Sky kneeled on the bed like a stiff toy solider, unable to bend forward on account of her healing ribs. She crouched to her left side and eased herself down. All she could hear was the sound of Gareth’s shirt hitting the floor, his belt buckle ringing twice like a tiny alarm, once when he undid it and again when his jeans landed on top of his shirt.

He climbed into bed behind her, his skin brushing against her, his hand at her hip and then gliding over her smooth skin to her waist. As he moved to fondle her chest, she flinched and took in a sharp breath. Gareth tenderly swept her hair out of her face and noticed her cheek was wet.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered.

Sky sniffled and squeezed her eyes shut.

“I won’t hurt you.”

Sky wiped her eye with her short arm and caught her breath. Gareth dabbed the wetness away with the bedsheet. He kissed her head, lingered at her neck, and his hand slid between her legs. He grazed the cluster of hair and her hips twitched, his touch light and thoughtful. He drifted back in and noticed she was dry, so he explored her breasts as though they were new to him. Gareth pressed his hips into her buttocks and slid her nipples between his fingers. When he heard her moan, he fondled them with a little more vigor.

Gareth returned his hand between her legs and massaged her with expert fingers. Sky began to soften, her muscles giving way and her body growing warmer with each stroke. Gareth’s fingertips traveled lightly across her body, ending at her neck, where he brushed her hair aside and pressed his lips to her skin, gently sucking and nipping at her firm flesh. He slid in from behind and Sky tightened for a moment, so he pulled back. She opened the gates to receive him just as he tried to enter again. He slipped in hard and the moan she emitted caused Wisdom to perk up, her eyes sharp and alert on the other side of the door.

- -

Sky listened for breathing in the darkness, and when she heard none she groped the other side of the large bed to find it empty. Her feet touched the coarse fur of Wisdom’s back instead of the plush carpet she expected to feel. The wolf sprung up and shook off her sleep. Sky gave Wisdom a quick pat and scratched the itchy lump on her back as she shuffled into the bathroom. She splashed her face with cool water at the bathroom sink and mistakenly looked for the mirror again. Throwing on a large robe that hung from the door, she went down the hall to Gareth’s office, with Wisdom trailing behind her.

Gareth sat at his desk typing, his eye fixed on the screen. He didn’t look up when Sky poked her head in. She entered slowly, each foot rolling from heel to toe, her one hand gripping the thick tie holding the robe shut.

Gareth turned toward her as Wisdom’s nails clicked along the wooden floor right beside Sky. He gave Sky a wide smile that caused his eye to light up as she came closer. “Good morning,” he said.

Sky flashed a barely perceptible smile from behind her fingers that rubbed along the dry skin on her lip.

“Come, sit.” Gareth opened his arm as he motioned for her to settle into his lap. She sat lightly on one of his knees.

“How did you sleep?”

Sky nodded. “Good, thank you.” She looked away and then looked back at him, though she averted his gaze. “I have this thing on my back. An itchy little bump. It won’t go away. Can you look at it?”

“It’s probably just acne,” Gareth replied, his attention returned to his screen.

“No, it’s definitely not that.” Sky pulled the robe off her shoulder and turned her back to him.

Gareth glanced over. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s right here.” Sky reached around with her left arm to point at a spot just beyond her right shoulder blade.

“Do you want me to call a doctor?”

Sky frowned and tightened her robe. “No, it’s fine,” she said and slid off his leg.

“I have a lot of work to do, but I just wanted to mention one thing.”

Sky looked straight into Gareth’s eye.

“It’s not fair for me to drink around you. So I won’t do that anymore.” He turned back to his work.

Sky smiled lightly and whispered, “Thank you.”

“I think Takao is keeping breakfast warm for you. You should go eat.”

Sky nodded in reply. She cast one more look at him before she left. His hand was on his chin and he leaned toward his monitor, absorbed, as if she had never been there.

Chapter 9

For the next two days, Gareth locked the door to his office during the day. Sky had only Wisdom for company until darkness swept over the postmodern box in the woods. She would then join Gareth in his bedroom and sleep soundly till morning, when she’d wake to find herself alone in a nearly black room. At least her ribs were not as tender and her limp surfaced only at the end of the day, after walking the uneven trails around the house.

The network of narrow pathways carved by animal tracks wove through the forest, across a small meadow, and converged at a clearing at the bottom of the hill, where a wide creek crossed the property. Sky often returned to the same spot to listen to the water trickle over the rocks, and sometimes she would try a different route to see where she might end up.

Wisdom tagged along, although she often slipped away, terrifying Sky, who figured Gareth would strangle her for losing his beloved pet. Wisdom always returned, occasionally licking her lips and with a confident swagger.

“I guess there’s no denying your nature,” Sky would say to the wolf, who would trot ahead with a less pronounced limp.

One Saturday afternoon, Sky tossed a new novel from Gareth’s library and a bottle of water in a small bag to throw over her shoulder. She sauntered along her favorite trail to the creek and eventually made her way down the steep hill to sit on a log near the water.

After several chapters her eyes were tired, so she set her book down to watch the mixed green canopy sparkle as a breeze stirred the leaves. She noticed a black plastic object high up in a sturdy tree. Sky leaned in and squinted to make out a clear plastic dome covered the front of it. She rolled her eyes and flashed Gareth her middle finger.

Gareth, seated at his desk, glanced over in time to catch Sky on the black-and-white video as she glared at the camera and flip him the bird. He burst into laughter and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head just as his phone rang. Kitty was calling, again.

“Hello.” Gareth’s tone was flat.

“Oh my god, you answered the phone! You never answer your phone.”

“You might find this hard to believe, but I don’t talk much.”

Kitty guffawed so loudly Gareth had to hold the phone away from his ear. “Are you sure I have the right number? The man I was calling would never tell a joke,” she said.

“Are you in the habit of calling random men?”

“When I’m bored.”

“What do you want?”

“Mm, that’s a loaded question,” Kitty replied. “I want a lot of things, could you be more specific?”

“Kitty, why are you calling? I’m working.”

“Well, I just wanted to clear something up.”

“OK.”

“I get that you don’t want to be seen in public with me, but I’m starting to feel like an underpaid whore, and that’s totally not my deal. I just want to get to know you, but if all you want is a fuck, then I don’t think this is going to work out.”

Gareth scowled, and thought for a moment, uncertain what to say next.

“Hello?” Kitty said.

“I see,” Gareth said, his voice rough. He cleared his throat. “I’m a very private person. That’s probably hard for you to understand.”

“I’m not stupid, so try me.”

For a moment, there was only the sound of Gareth breathing over the line. “Kitty, you’re a great girl, I think you’re interesting and . . . amusing. I’m honestly not sure why you’re interested in me. I don’t think I’m able to offer you what you need.”

“How do you know what I need? I just wanted to tell you that I’m not just a fuck-mate. We have a good time, but I want to get to know you better. If you’re not into that sorta thing . . .”

Gareth sighed, trying to suppress his exasperation. “Kitty, I tend to scare the shit out of people. I’m not a crowd pleaser and I’m not interested in bars or fashion shows or whatever crap young, beautiful people do in their spare time.”

Kitty laughed. “Gareth, I would
never
drag you to a fashion show. That would be cruel! I just wanna go out for dinner or a movie and
then
fuck you. Is that so bad?”

Gareth had stood up and was pacing around his office, his hand on his chin, searching for the solution. “Let me think about this. I’ll get back to you.”

“OK,” Kitty said, confidence draining from her voice.

“Good night, Kitty.”

“Good night,” she whispered.

Gareth placed his phone on the desk and watched from his window as two squirrels squabbled over the same nut. The loser scurried up a nearby tree to chitter and twitch its tail at the victor. Sky and Wisdom emerging from the woods caught his attention. Gareth grabbed his phone to call Denise.

- -

Just after midnight, Gareth found Sky already asleep in his bedroom. He admired her pale skin reflecting the smallest sliver of moonlight from between the heavy drapes. He undressed and slid in beside her to watch her chest rise with each breath, her arms and knees tucked in tight. He put his arm around her waist and pulled the warm ball of her in close. Sky nestled into his chest without making a sound.

- -

Rain tapped on the windows and Wisdom stared out into the garden until Gareth sat down at the table for breakfast. The wolf padded over to Gareth’s side and dropped her chin on his leg. He scratched behind her ears as she closed her eyes to take in the attention. Takao placed a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs on the table and slipped out of the room like a whiff of smoke out an open window. Gareth broke off a piece of bacon and offered it to Wisdom. She swallowed it whole then inched closer to the plate. Gareth growled and she backed off to wait for another offering.

Sky entered the room yawning and trudged over to Gareth at the table, wearing one of his T-shirts and a pair of ripped leggings. “Good morning.” She took a drink of his water.

“What happened to your pants?” Gareth asked and pointed at her lower half with his knife.

“I woke up one day and found my pants wet and full of holes, like
someone
had chewed on them.” She flashed Wisdom a knowing grin. Before she went to her usual seat, she snatched a piece of toast off Gareth’s plate. He picked up the side plate and dropped the toast in front of her.

Takao appeared with a hot plate of breakfast for Sky. She smiled sweetly at him and nodded as her mouth was packed with toast. Gareth reached over and took the fresh toast off of her plate, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“The weather is shit today. Are you working all day?” she asked with a hint of malice in her voice.

“No. I actually thought it would be a good day for a swim.”

“Oh.”

“Do you have a bathing suit?”

Sky froze. “No. I don’t swim.”

“You mean you don’t know how or you just refuse?”

“Both.”

“Why is that?”

“I hate the water.”

“I’ve noticed you’ve never even used the hot tub. That’s too bad, it’s very therapeutic.”

“Uh-huh,” Sky mumbled, forking egg into her mouth.

“Come with me after breakfast. I’ll show you how to swim. The pool isn’t that deep and I promise I won’t let you drown.” Gareth gave her a short, crooked grin.

“No. Thank you.”

His grin vanished. “This is more of an order than an offer.”

“You will have to drag me kicking and screaming then, sir,” she said, her expression hard. She had stopped eating.

Gareth put down his fork and studied her closely. “Why are you afraid of the water? Or will you melt like a witch, maybe?” He grinned at his own joke.

“I watched my sister drown when I was seven. So fuck you . . . sir.”

Gareth arched his eyebrow and his gray eye focused more intently on her lip as it quivered.

“I’m sorry,” he said with a marked softness.

Sky sat with her shoulders hunched and stared at her plate without really seeing it. She brought her hand to her face and Gareth reached out to wrap his fingers around her slight forearm.

“I didn’t know,” he said, he stroked her arm lightly with his thumb. “You don’t have to go in the water if you don’t want to,” he said softly. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Her name was Rain.”

Gareth huffed.

Sky flashed him a look of annoyance.

“My mother was probably tripping when she named us. It’s not my fault. Besides, I like my name.”

Gareth nodded and tried to suppress his amusement. “It’s grown on me,” he agreed, and reached to put his warm hand on hers.

“She was about two years older than me, maybe a year and a half. I don’t know when our real birthdays are, so I’m not sure.”

“How do you not know when your birthday is? I know you were adopted, but . . .”

“Foster care. I was never adopted. It’s not the same thing.”

“I see.”

“Well, you probably don’t, but anyway, our mother just took off one day, left us with someone in our building and never returned. I was too young to remember what happened.

“How old were you?”

“Maybe a year or so.”

“For government records you must have a date of birth somewhere.”

“Yeah, they just made one up.”

“Oh.” Gareth spooned cold egg into his mouth. He washed it down with a gulp of water. Sky pushed her food around the plate with her fork, breaking up her scrambled eggs in to tiny pieces. “You have a sister, don’t you?” Sky asked.

Gareth gaped at Sky. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve heard you talking to her. Sometimes you talk to Denise about her.”

“How do you know who I’m talking to?”

Sky shrugged. “I don’t know, sometimes you can just figure out what people are talking about. It’s not some amazing skill.”

Gareth watched her while she played with her breakfast. “It is,” he said. “Not everyone is good at that kind of analysis. It takes a certain level of intelligence.”

Sky stared at her eggs for a moment before she looked at Gareth, her head cocked. “Are you saying I’m intelligent?”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“I won’t. Even though that’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Gareth smiled. “Well, I’m going to go do some laps. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast.” Gareth wiped his mouth with his napkin. As he stood up he said, “You did miss one detail: Elise is my twin sister.
”
He left the room without another word.

Sky bit into a piece of cold bacon. She chewed the salty meat, turning it to sand in her mouth. With a sip of water she washed it down and pushed herself away from the table.

Down the hall, behind the great room, Sky peered through the glass wall that surrounded the indoor swimming pool. Even on a stormy day, the solarium glowed with natural light. She watched Gareth glide through the water, touching each wall before somersaulting and gliding to the other end. His hair was tied back and in the natural light the scars on his left arm and back were clearly visible. His skin was twisted and puckered but smooth in places where it had been grafted. It looked as though his flesh had been cooked and then left to cool. Sky had felt his skin on occasion, but his scars were on her right side and the inside of her arm, though sensitive, failed to read the map of his flesh the way her fingertips could.

Gareth continued pulling himself through the water, each stroke clearing his head a little more as fresh oxygen flowed through his veins. He stopped to shake the water out of his ears and then crouched back down to push off the wall. On his thirtieth lap he rested at the near end of the pool and was startled to see Sky standing on the tile floor near the door.

“I’m surprised to see
you
here,” he called.

Sky stood motionless, her back pressed to the wall. “I want you to teach me how to swim.”

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

Gareth laughed and pushed himself up out of the water and stood on the deck, a glossy, muscular machine hovering over the puddle he created as water streamed down his skin. He dried his face with a nearby towel and turned away from Sky to adjust his hair.

It was her turn to smirk.

“What?” Gareth asked.

“What, what?” Sky said, still grinning.

Gareth sighed. “What are you smiling at?”

“You.”

Gareth just shook his head. “Are you ready?”

Sky held her breath for as long she could. Gareth untied her thick robe and pushed it off her shoulders, letting it fall in a heap around her feet. “You do have a bathing suit!”

“Denise brought me two.”

“It looks really nice,” Gareth said, trying not to stare at her breasts, half-covered by two fabric triangles. He reached out to take her arm and hand.

Under his light pull, she took slow, awkward steps, as if she were learning to walk for the first time. Her eyes were locked on the water just beyond Gareth, and when she was only a few feet from the edge she halted.