Sam by Luke F. Harris

Author:Luke F. Harris [Harris, Luke F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, 1056
ISBN: 9780473371845
Amazon: 0473371847
Goodreads: 32332125
Publisher: Gwendoline
Published: 2016-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

chapter nine

It was dark by the time they pulled up outside his parents’ house. He was already several hours later than he’d said he would be.

“I hope you don’t get into too much trouble.” Tom spoke quietly so as not to wake the others, who had been asleep since before Masterton. A lorry had jack-knifed just north of the brewery at Mangatainoka and the traffic jam had backed up as far as Woodville.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied, unfolding himself from the back seat and removing his backpack from the mass of belongings in the boot. He walked round to the driver’s window, which was open. “Thanks for the ride,” he said, delaying the goodbye for as long as he reasonably could. “I had a nice time.”

“Me too.” Tom looked up at him and smiled.

“I guess I’ll see you round then,” he said, and kicked the tarmac with the toe of his shoe.

Tom looked in the rear-view mirror. The others were still dead to the world. “Of course.”

Reluctantly, he turned away. There was nothing left to say.

Patch was at the door before his key was in the lock. Two nostrils flared behind the frosted glass pane. He reached down to stop Patch from escaping as he opened the door.

“Sam, is that you?” a voice called out of the dark.

He let the door swing shut behind him and dropped his bag on the floor. “Yes, Mum.”

The hall light flicked on as his mother stepped out of the bedroom. She gently closed the door behind her. “Why on earth are you so late? I’ve been out of my mind with worry.”

She rushed forward to give him a kiss and then sniffed at the air. “Have you been drinking?” she asked, The furrows on her forehead deepened. “Actually, on second thoughts, don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to know. There’s some food in the fridge if you want it. Your father has already gone to bed.”

“Thanks,” he smiled. “There was a crash.” He saw her eyes grow wide with alarm and quickly added, “It was nothing to do with us, but it caused a long traffic jam.” He reached down and scratched Patch behind the ears, who was sniffing inquisitively at his pants.

“Well, so long as you’re OK,” his mother said. She squeezed him on the arm and turned back towards the bedroom. “’Night.”

As he slowly undressed, he dropped the dirty clothes one by one into the laundry basket. Then he opened the wardrobe and stood naked in front of the full-length mirror inside.

He sucked in his stomach and drew back his shoulders to inflate his chest. He held the posture for a moment and then exhaled deeply. It was hard to identify with the man’s body reflected back at him in the glass. Inside, he still felt like an oversized kid. The idea that another human being could find his body attractive was somewhat absurd.

He climbed into bed and closed his eyes. Yet he was far from sleep. All he could think about was Tom.

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