Read Online Do-Gooder by j. leigh bailey - Free Book Online Page B

like ten years. I hardly think he’s been celibate since then, unless he really is shooting for sainthood.”
    “It’s none of my… it’s none of your business, whatever they do.”
    “Oh, come on. You don’t need to be such a prude. I caught the vibe right away.”
    “Look, it really isn’t any of my business, but ,” he stressed, “you’re probably right. I’m pretty sure they have some kind of arrangement.”
    “Like he helps make things easier for her, in exchange for a place to stay, and, let’s face it, I’m pretty sure he’s not sleeping in the lean-to when he goes through town.”
    “Don’t be crude.” Henry whirled on me so fast his ponytail swung around until it lay over his shoulder. “You make it sound like Mrs. O’s some kind of whore!”
    “That’s not what I meant.” His tone put me on the defensive. “I don’t mean that it’s dirty or anything, but you have to admit, it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.” Hey, listen to that. I made it sound so businesslike.
    “You don’t know anything about it. Sometimes we do what we need to in order to survive. Things are tough around here. If she… accepts help from your father or even others, it doesn’t make her a bad person. You have no right to judge her for the choices she makes.” The words erupted from his mouth like lava from a volcano.
    “Whoa, dude. I wasn’t judging anyone.”
    “Whatever.” Henry rubbed his forehead. “Anyway, let me know when you want me to drive again.”
    The problem with no radio and no conversation was it left a guy with way too much time to think. Thinking was dangerous. With Henry stewing in the passenger seat, my options to avoid thinking about stuff were limited. I could sing, but I wanted Henry to like me and maybe even be impressed by me. Not only would I not win a vocal contest, but my tuneless, off-key singing would probably make him beg to be let out of the truck. Since I was driving, and theoretically my eyes should remain on the road, I couldn’t even skim one of his new books for distraction.
    So, instead, I was left with thinking. Thinking about Henry, actually. I didn’t envy his family dynamic, not at all. Chuck may not have been in the picture much, but he didn’t actively hate me. And Mom never let on that anything might have been missing from her life. As far as I knew, she didn’t even date. Henry, after being kicked out of his home and living on the streets for so long, well, I didn’t know how he could be as normal as he was.
    And what was with that reaction to my comments about Mrs. Okono? It had sounded almost personal. Did he admire Mrs. Okono so much he didn’t want her to be insulted? Or was it more than that? He’d lived on the street for two years. I knew I couldn’t survive that way, couldn’t stay sane at any rate. And Henry was definitely sane.
    I’d read about how a lot of homeless gay kids got into prostitution just to survive. That was one of the things my school’s GSA chapter battled. Not our own homelessness, but fund-raising for shelters and services for homeless queer kids. I’d seen some pretty scary statistics.
    Was that it? Had Henry been a prostitute? Or rent boy? Wasn’t that the term? He was pretty enough, if that kind of thing mattered. I felt sick to my stomach.
    See, thinking led to all kinds of crazy thoughts. I really needed a distraction.
    Men with bigass guns were a distraction.
    I slammed on the brakes, sending a cloud of dust up from underneath the Range Rover.
    “What the—” Henry’s head jerked up. “ Oh shit .”
    Four men in green military fatigues stood in the middle of the road with large assault rifles pointed at us. Big, beefy guys whose faces would make Mount Rushmore look soft. Three were white, one black, all with shaved heads and identical sunglasses. They were like the Secret Service’s older, meaner, steroid-soaked stepbrothers.
    “Please tell me I’m only getting pulled over for speeding,” I