Rocko shut his laptop and took his seat at the kitchen table again.“So, what can I do for you?”How fast can I get this over with?
Apollo glanced at the whiskey bottle.
“Mind if I pour myself a drink?”he asked.
“Be my guest.”Rocko had a backup bottle in his bag.
Apollo opened the cupboard, grabbed a glass, ice, and soda from the fridge, and sat opposite Rocko.He stirred his drink by swirling the glass and took a slow, leisurely swallow without saying a word.Rocko wasn’t bothered by his silence; he preferred it now and didn’t bother to start the conversation.He watched Apollo’s throat as he swallowed and was immediately distracted.
“It isn’t that I don’t trust you,” Apollo eventually said.“I know now you’re not a threat to my people.”
“Now?”
“If you wanted to cause shit, you would have done it by now.Besides, you’re as screwed up as the rest of us.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m not trying to offend you.I’m explaining.”
“Then what is it?”Rocko asked.“Because sleeping outside my trailer isn’t normal.”
“No.No, it’s not normal.Then again, I haven’t been acting normally since you got here.”
“Why?What’s the problem?”he asked.“Hell, should I leave?”
Apollo’s eyes opened wide.“No.”
Rocko quickly moved from confused to frustrated, and his earlier mood hadn’t improved.He slammed his fist on the table.
“Then what the hell is wrong?One second, you’re friendly, then bossy, suspicious, or downright angry.Maybe you should ask Renee to have a look at your head.”
Apollo took a drink and calmly set the glass on the table before looking Rocko straight in the eyes.
“Earlier, you said your mind felt calmer here at certain times.When exactly are those times?”
Of all the things Rocko had expected Apollo to say, that wasn’t anywhere on the list.
“What?”
“When?When do you feel your mind is calm?Is there any specific time or commonality of events?”
How could he admit to the truth without looking like he needed a straitjacket and a padded room?
“I… there’s, um…” Rocko stuttered.
“Okay, I’ll go first.”Apollo took a deep breath.“It occurred at the restaurant in town, then again back here at the main house.”
“What occurred?”
“Something inside me is always on edge, on alert, thinking, worrying, planning.It never ends.There’s never peace,” Apollo said, watching Rocko closely.“Until now.Until you.”
Rocko felt the pieces fall into place.
“What does it feel like?”Rocko asked.“When you’re at peace?”
“My body calms, my mind eases, and the tension drains.The edge and stress are gone.When I’m around you, I have peace,” Apollo admitted.
Rocko sat back.Time to be honest.“And when I’m around you,Ihave peace,” Rocko grunted, still uneasy about the admission.“That’s why you were sleeping outside my trailer.”
