Selective Listening by Brian Paone

Author:Brian Paone [Paone, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brian Paone
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Stanley held Angel’s hand as they surveyed the thirty-foot drop to the water-filled quarry below.

“You’re trembling,” she said. “I’ve jumped from much higher than this. You’ll be fine. C’mon. On three—”

“It’s not the height.”

She looked from the shimmering water’s surface to his face. “What is it?”

The setting sunlight struck the quarry so sparkles of reflections made the water appear as if it were dotted with shards of glass.

“School starts next week. And you haven’t told me if you’re staying with your aunt or going home.”

Angel squeezed his hand. “Let’s just jump and say, Damn the future!”

Stanley slid his fingers from hers. “I need to know if I’m losing you or not.”

She turned to face him. “Even if I go back home, you’ll never lose me, Ponyboy Stan. You’ve been the bestest friend I’ve ever had. Ever.”

He kicked a rock from the ledge into the open mouth of the quarry and glanced at her jeans. “Were you really going to jump into that water with your pants still on?” He placed a hand on his bare chest and stomach, self-conscious of his scrawny physique.

“I … I don’t like bathing suits.”

“But your clothes will be all wet and gross and stuck to you.”

Angel pursed her lips and glanced skyward, avoiding eye contact. She wiped the first remnants of a tear from the bottom of her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I–I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” Stanley stepped forward. “You okay?”

She nodded and smacked her lips open, saliva lines stretching like ropes as she took a deep breath.

“Don’t go all Sodapop Curtis on me,” he said.

She chortled. “You really need to brush up on your references.”

“Maybe. But I got you to laugh.”

“You always do.” She paused and folded her lips into her mouth. “This is why I’m staying with my aunt for the summer.” Angel reached down, grabbed her pant cuff, and lifted the fabric above her knee.

Stanley placed a hand over his mouth, and his eyes widened. He squatted to inspect her shin and knee closer. “Your … dad?”

Angel nodded and burst into tears. She placed her face into her open palms as her pant leg drooped to her ankle again.

Stanley stood and wrapped one hand around the back of her head and pulled her face into his chest.

“Don’t go back home,” he whispered.

“It’s not up to me,” she replied, sniffing through her words. “I’m scared what he may have done to my mom for letting me stay here, even just for the summer.”

Stanley pushed Angel away at arm’s length, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “We can call, like, social services or something.”

“It’ll only make it worse.”

Stanley glanced into the quarry and watched the sunlight dance, like orange kisses, upon the water. “Fuck it. Let’s run away. Together. Right now. I–I’ll go pack a bag, and we can be—”

“I don’t want to drag you into my shit world. It’s not fair to you.”

Stanley swallowed hard. “You are my world. Even the shit that comes with it. Your shit is now my

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