The Warning by Paul Pen

Author:Paul Pen [Pen, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542004572
Published: 2020-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

When Amador had arrived home the Saturday Leo and Victoria had gone to Aquatopia, Leo was already in bed. He’d listened to the gravel crunch under the car’s approaching wheels. Then he must have fallen asleep, because he didn’t hear his father’s footsteps approaching the house. When his bedroom door slowly opened, Leo turned on the light.

“You’re still awake,” Amador had said.

Leo didn’t answer. His father sat on the bed, by Leo’s waist. Leo covered his face with the sheet, on which the robot WALL·E was looking up at the sky with inquisitive eyes.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Leo shook his head. He turned over, pressing himself against the wall.

“Come on, son.” Amador shook Leo by the leg. “We’ve had a few very good months. What’s this about now? You know this episode’s going to force us to take you to that place where you don’t want to go.”

“I know,” he replied. “You don’t believe me, either.”

“So what should I believe? You haven’t told me anything about what happened.”

“She’s told you already. And you think I’m making it up again.”

“Leo, do me a favor. Look at me,” his father said. “Look at me, son.”

Leo sat up until his back was resting against the wall.

“Leo, who did this?”

Amador stroked the scratches on Leo’s cheek, angry when he guessed who had done it to him.

“Did a woman really come up to you and repeat the same thing the letter said?” he asked.

Leo looked away. He didn’t answer.

“In any case, son, all Dr. Huertas is going to do is help us.” Leo hid back under the robot picture. Seeing the boy go into a sulk, Amador added, “Understood, Commander. Sleep, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Leo remained silent.

“I’m going to turn the light off now. I love you, Leo.” Amador kissed the crown of his head, which poked out from under the sheet near the pincers that WALL·E had as hands.

Amador had gotten up carefully and walked toward the door guided only by the greenish glow from the alarm clock on the bedside table. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, thinking that Victoria had some explaining to do about the scratches Leo had on his face, that he didn’t hear his son murmur, I love you too, Dad. Perhaps he only said it to the sheet. Or perhaps Leo had only thought the phrase at the onset of the deep sleep he was wrapped in that Saturday night when the dust from the parking lot was nothing more than a bad memory on his skin.

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