Read Online United We Stand by Eric Walters - Free Book Online Page B

buried beneath it. We would have been dead.
    I looked over at my mother. She was staring at the T V. She looked as though she was on the verge of tears.
    The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” I said.
    “I can,” my mother said.
    “No, you stay here,” I said, as I went for the door. I was just grateful to get away from another bout of tears. My legs felt shaky as I walked.

CHAPTER
SIX
    The doorbell rang again. Whoever it was, they weren’t very patient. Probably somebody trying to sell us something. Or worse, somebody wanting to talk about what had happened to us. I’d have preferred a salesperson or a Jehovah’s Witness, or pretty much anything else. I opened the door.
    “James!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
    He shrugged. “I just needed to get away from my place.”
    “I understand.” After all, I’d just escaped my own living room. “Come on in.”
    “Are your parents home?”
    “Yeah. Them and my father’s assistant, Suzie.”
    He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to come in. If I come in they’ll want to talk to me. I don’t want to talk to anybody.” He paused. “Why don’t you come out?”
    “Sure, of course.”
    I went out and closed the door behind me. James sat down on the steps, and I sat down beside him. We sat there silently. James was a good enough friend that we could just sit together without talking. Well, usually. Right now, though, it felt kind of awkward. I had to say something, anything … preferably something ordinary, unimportant.
    “Did your mother drive you over?”
    “No. I’m not sure she even knows I left.”
    “You didn’t tell her?”
    “I went out through the back door. I just didn’t want to be around all of those people.”
    “But what if she needs to get hold of you?” I asked. “You know, if they have to tell you something, or there’s news …”
    “I have my cellphone. I’ll call her in a while. I needed to get away. I left just after you left and started walking, and then I realized I was right here.”
    “I’m glad you came over. Do you want something to drink, or are you hungry or … ?”
    “I don’t want anything. I just want to sit here for a while.”
    “Do you want me to shut up?”
    “It’s okay. I just don’t want to bother you.” He stood up. “Maybe I should go.”
    I got up too. “Are you going home?”
    “That’s the last place I want to go. I just want to walk.”
    “I could walk with you. That is, if you want me to.”
    “Yeah, that would be okay … that would be good,” he said.
    “Let me just grab my jacket.”
    “I’ll wait out here.”
    I ran inside and grabbed my jacket from the hook. Then I thought maybe I should take along a couple of other things. I went to the kitchen to get my wallet and my phone. My mother was sitting at the table.
    “I’m going out for a while,” I said.
    She looked worried.
    “That was James at the door,” I explained. “He’s waiting out front.”
    “Why didn’t you invite him in?”
    “I did. He didn’t want to come in. He just wants to walk, and I said I’d keep him company.”
    “That’s nice of you. Where are you two going to go?”
    “I don’t know … No place, really … just walking.”
    “Can you do me a favor?” she asked. “Yeah, I’ll call and let you know that I’m okay,” I said.
    She smiled. “Am I that predictable?”
    “Completely.”
    “I just need to know that you’re fine.”
    “You always need to know that.”
    “Now more than usual. Just call, okay?”
    “Do I ever not call?”
    She gave me a hug. “You’re a good guy.”
    “I try. I’ll call.”
    I hurried out the front door and skidded to a stop. I didn’t see James. I hadn’t taken that long, had I? Where had he gone to, and how would I— I saw him standing a few houses down, leaning against a tree on the boulevard. I joined him.
    “So, where to?” I asked.
    “Nowhere special.”
    We started up the street. We were the only people out and walking. That