Chapter 2
The next day, I took off work.
I rode the bus for an hour to the south side.
The scrapyard smelled terrible.
Holding my nose, I spotted him right away.
Lucas.
He crouched by a wall and was totally focused on twisting that Rubik's Cube.
He was wearing the same dirty T-shirt from the news story.
A bunch of kids were throwing pebbles at him. "Slow boy, slow boy!" they shouted.
He didn't react.
He seemed lost in his own world.
I walked over and shooed the kids away.
I crouched down in front of him.
He looked up. His eyes were dark, but there was nothing in them. No focus.
"You're Lucas, Lucas Gordon?" I asked.
He stared at me and said nothing.
Then he hugged that cube tighter.
I pulled a burger from my bag and waved it in front of him. "Want this?"
He swallowed.
I held it out.
He snatched it and tore into it.
He got sauce all over his face.
I pulled out a tissue and wiped his chin.
He didn't pull away.
"Wanna come with me?" I asked. "You'll get burgers. Every day."
He stopped eating and looked at me.
Like he was thinking about it.
After a long time, he nodded.
I took him to the public showers nearby and got him cleaned up.
Then we went to a clothing store for new stuff. White T-shirt and jeans.
He was tall. Skinny.
With a clean face, he looked cute actually.
Except for those eyes. Still empty.
I took him home.
We stopped at the little diner downstairs.
I ordered three dishes and soup.
He ate most of it himself.
I watched him. "Lucas. Starting today, you're my boyfriend."
He looked up, mouth full of food.
"Boyfriend. You get that?" I asked.
He shook his head.
I explained, "It means you do what I say.
"I say smile, you smile.
"I say shut up, you shut up.
"You do that, you get food.
He seemed to understand "get food."
So he nodded hard.
Good.
I paid the bill and took him upstairs.
When we got to the front door, it swung open.
Emily stood there.
She saw Lucas behind me.
She froze.
"Sarah, who's this?" she asked.
"My boyfriend," I said.
Then I pushed past her and went inside.
Lucas followed, quiet as a shadow.
Mom and Dad came from the living room.
The moment they saw Lucas, their faces went stiff.
"Sarah, where did you find this..." Mom's voice trailed off.
She wanted to say "bum," I could tell.
"I told you, he's my boyfriend," I replied.
I pulled Lucas down onto the couch next to me.
"Lucas, say hi," I said.
Lucas looked at my parents and grinned.
He almost drooled.
Mom looked like she'd swallowed something gross. "Sarah, have you lost it? You bring a slow kid home? What are you doing?"
"Dating," I said as if it was nothing. "I don't mess with Emily's happiness.
Emily walked over.
She checked Lucas from head to toe.
Her eyes said it all. Disgust.
"Sarah, did you have a breakdown or something?" Emily asked. "How could you date someone like this? He'll ruin you and our family's reputation."
I looked at her. "Isn't that what you want? I find a slow guy. No competition for you. You can have Michael all to yourself. No worries."
Emily's face went red, then pale. "You're impossible!"
She turned to Lucas.
She immediately switched to her sweet, sad girl act.
This was her move.
"Hi, I'm Emily, Sarah's sister." She held out her hand. Voice like syrup. "What's your name?"
Lucas looked at her hand. Then he glanced at me.
I didn't say anything.
He just kept looking.
Emily's hand hung there. Awkward.
"His name's Lucas," I answered for him. "He doesn't talk much."
Emily wouldn't quit.
She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and held it out. "Lucas, want an apple? They're sweet."
Lucas took it but didn't bite.
He just stared at me like he was waiting for my instructions.
I nodded.
Then he took a huge bite.
Juice sprayed everywhere.
Emily's smile froze.
Dad couldn't take it anymore.
"Enough." Dad slammed his teacup down. "Get him out. Now! We won't let someone like him disgrace the Reed family."
"He's not leaving." I stood up. "He's my boyfriend. He's staying. If you're ashamed, kick me out too."
Dad was shaking. "Sarah, you think you're so tough now?"
Mom started screaming. "If that boy stays, I'll kill myself. I swear!"
The house went crazy.
Lucas just sat there, calmly eating his apple.
He acted as if none of it mattered.
I grabbed Lucas's hand. "Come on."
I nudged him into my bedroom. Then I closed the door.
That shut out the noise.
Lucas stood in the middle of my room and looked around.
His eyes landed on a picture frame on my desk.
It was a photo of Michael and me.
He walked over and picked it up.
Then he looked at me.
He handed the photo to me.
I took it, opened the window, and threw it out without a second thought.
Glass shattered downstairs.
Lucas watched me. Then he smiled again.
He still had that same goofy look on his face.
But for a second, I thought I saw something different in his eyes.