“You guys don’t have to go through all of this trouble for me,” I said and tried to help make thebed.
“Dude, you’ve got bustedribs.”
“And you’re our third baseman. We’re practically brothers,” Skylersaid.
“Brothers from other mothers,” David added with a laugh. “Did you bring bathroom stuff? Toothbrush andshit?”
“Yeah.” I pulled out my plastic baggie from my backpack that had my comb, deodorant, razor, andtoothbrush.
“Where’s the rest?” David asked and took my baggie from my hands. “Athome?”
“No, that’sit.”
I tried to think of what else he could be lookingfor.
“Ah, hell no, man.” David turned to look at Skyler and held up my baggie. “This is it?” Skyler was laughing along with David’s dramatic motions at my baggie. “Where is your shave gel, your aftershave, your cologne to knock out the ladies, and showerwash?”
What?
“I—I just usesoap.”
“Soap? Okay, like what kind, man? Where isit?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t thought about it enough this morning to grab the bar of soap from thebathroom.
“I didn’t get thebar.”
David lookedmortified.
“Bar? As in, a bar of soap?” heasked.
He was making me laugh, even though it hurt like hell. I nodded to confirm the bar ofsoap.
“Dude, a bar of soap is good to wash the bottom of your feet with. Not your body. Fuck, not even your hands unless you’re visiting grandma and all she has is a bright green bar of Irish Spring. So, you’re telling me you use a fucking bar of soap on yourbody?”
Skyler had been laughing so hard at David’s inquisition that he had to wipe his eyes. It was reallyfunny.
“I use it to shave with, too,” Iadded.
David stared at me with wide eyes. “Comeagain?”
“I work a lather in my hands and pat it on my face.” I held my sides as I laughed at David’s reaction. “I also used it to wash myhair.”
“Whoa, man. You lather bar soap to wash your hair?” Skyler asked. When I nodded, he added, “No wonder you wait until everyone is done with the showers before you go in. It must be like a fucking spa for you. Liquid shampoo and bodywash.”
“Man, I’m gonna find the dumbass older brother of yours and beat him silly for not introducing you to how to be a man,” Davidjoked.
He had no idea how much I would enjoy someone beating my brother to a pulp. But my brother wasn’t worth the time. David told me that until I could get to a store that I was welcome to use any of his stuff in the bathroom. As they left the room, Skyler turned and warned me about hismom.
“Just a word of warning, my mom calls here every night to remind me to check the lock on the front door and make sure it’s locked,” he said with a hint ofembarrassment.
“Yeah, so if you’re getting your groove on and hear the phone in the living room, it’s Sky’s mom,” David joked and jabbed at Skyler as they walked out of the room and shut the door halfway behindthem.
I laid down and got comfortable as best as I could. It hurt to move much at all and deep breaths were killing me each time I tried to take them. But even though I was in pain, I was safe for the first night in my whole life. I didn’t have to keep waking up, afraid of seeing someone coming into my room. I knew that I wouldn’t pass out and wake up like I had thismorning.
I folded my arms over my abdomen and gripped my t-shirt on the sides. I cleared my mind to concentrate on mystomach.
“Damn,” I said under mybreath.
