"I apologize. I don't see a lot of bi-men. Especially ones that look like you."
"I'm a firefighter."
He swore. "No wonder she went for you. Anyway, so you are now her... something. Tell me, did she say anything else about the hotel thing?"
I shook my head. "Not really. Just that she hadn't been to one since she was twelve, and she wasn't going to do it again. Did something happen?"
"Yes, sweetie." He stood and went to the counter, pouring himself a second cup of coffee. "Her uncle took her to one and tried to molest her."
"Uncle? You mean the one that runs the park?" Motherfucker. I'd met the bastard a few times. He was a cocky asshole, but I wouldn't have pegged him for being a child molester.
"I don't know the full details. Just that the incident is why she ran away. Her stepmother had handed her to him, practically."
I rubbed my eyes, trying to take all of this new information in.
"Is that why she took no interest before?" I asked.
"Hardly. She was only ever triggered when it came to hotels. I asked her that same question once, and she assured me that wasn't it. She just hadn't found anyone she found attractive. She did have some crushes when she was in school. She showed me pictures once."
"Pictures?"
He laughed. "Oh yeah. I'm her storage unit. I told her I was going to start charging her. Come," he urged me up, and I followed him to a backroom. "This was meant to be my office, but I use all her boxes as an excuse to not get any of my side businesses up and running." He flicked the lights on, revealing stacks and stacks of comic book boxes.
"It was easier to get these boxes, as they have handles and are all uniform. It helps with stacking them."
They were stacked along all four walls and were labeled with dates.
"I put when she gave them to me rather than when she took them. It'd be impossible to keep up with that. Let's see. She gave me those photos when she was leaving for the first time so that was... seven years ago? She only stayed here a few months. I'm going to need some help; I'm still healing from surgery." He patted his shirt gently and directed me where to pull the boxes from. I dug through a dozen heavy boxes before I found the one he was looking for.
"Go ahead and dump them on the carpet." He sat down on the floor and I plopped down across from him. Just in this box alone, there had to be a thousand photos. He saw the look of shock on my face and laughed. "I've gotten quick at sifting through these. Give me a second." He grabbed a stack and scoured through the photos. I tried to do the same but he took them from my hand.
"You don't know who you're looking for," he teased and continued searching. It was almost like being in another world, sitting and talking with Johnny. For a very brief moment, Ruth's death, the guy with the chainsaw, and everything else waiting for us back at the park didn't exist. Finally, he exclaimed and tossed the rest of the photos on the floor.
"This! This is the picture she showed me. These were the only boys she ever mentioned were crushes of hers." He handed me the photo, and my stomach dropped.
"What? Do you know them?" Johnny leaned forward.
I blinked and licked my lips, returning to the room.
"Yeah. That's me and Swayze."
Rule 30 - Koi
Lay low comfortably when possible.
Istared at the photo Johnny Blue had let me keep from his stash.
"She's not going to know one photo is gone." He winked at me as he left the room, letting me explore the rest of them. I wanted to go through them all, starting with the earliest dates onward, but total exhaustion was hitting fast. I put the boxes away and stood, taking the photo of Swayze and me, and went to the living room. I scooped Domino up and looked for Johnny to direct me to the spare room. He took us upstairs and only once I set her on the large bed did she stir.
"Koi?" she whispered.
"I'm here." I pulled the blanket back and slid under it. She moved closer to me, and I wrapped my arms around her. The act of embracing her felt foreign, but she was so soft and warm that I wanted to stay like this.
"Where are we?" she asked, relaxing against me.
"I took you to Johnny Blue's house. Is that okay?" My hand drifted to her hair, pushing it from her face.
"Johnny's?"
