Under the bed
Cute opened his eyes and looked up at the fan hanging from the ceiling. Lamma Island was backward. They still had those ancient fans. He was afraid it would come loose and fall on them. He shuddered.
He looked over at Richard who lay half-naked on the other side of the bed. He thought about the previous evening. Richard had drunk too much. In his drunkenness he’d almost broken the sacred oath Cute had made him take. Cute had been angry and had threatened to leave although he knew there was no way he could have left that late. But he wanted Richard to think it was possible. There was no way he was going to let Richard penetrate him as long as he was attached to Roger. No way!
He threw away the sheet and rolled off the edge of the bed. It was pointless lying there and pretending to sleep when he was wide awake. He put on the slippers and padded down to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. With the glass in his hand he went to the balcony. The sun’s brilliance made him squint as he looked out at the sea. It was a beautiful view.
He drank up the water and set the glass on the table. As he stretched out to shake the laziness off his bones, he let out a yawn.
And then he almost let out a scream! He could see Roger walking up the hill towards the house. No, not walking. Running. Shit.
Cute ran back into the bedroom and pulled on his jeans faster than ever before. He put on his tee shirt, grabbed his bag and ran towards the stairs leading to the ground floor. As he scooped up his shoes, he heard the key go into the key-hole at the bottom of the stairs. Thank God. He had attached the safety-chain, contrary to Richard’s carelessness towards locking his own door. The chain stopped the door from opening.
“Fuck.” He heard Roger say.
Where could he hide? Shit. Real deep shit. The kitchen had no doors. The wardrobe in the bedroom was see-through. The study was on the far side of the living room and visible from the gap between the door and the doorframe. The bed! He ran back into the bedroom and rolled under the bed. Thank God it was a high one with no fancy boxes to stow away stuff into. That made it easier for him to push farther towards the middle. But the carpet was dusty. It hadn’t been vacuumed in a long time. His nose twitched.
He heard Richard wake up to the incessant ringing of the doorbell. Roger had started calling his cell phone, which buzzed away on the bedside table. With a grunt Richard sat up and swung his naked legs down. Then he cursed and walked out into the living room.
“What are you doing here so early?” he hissed. “What’s this racket for?”
“Open door!”
Cute could hear Roger from the bedroom.
“You have it open already.”
“Open chain!” Roger said.
Cute heard the chain clatter against the doorframe as Richard took it off. He heard Roger storm up the stairs and walk from one room to another.
“Where is he?” he asked Richard.
“Where is who?”
“That kid.”
“What kid?”
“Where is he? Tell me. I kill you, you know! I kill you!”
“Huh?”
“Why the door was chained from inside? You never use chain. Why? Who is here? I can smell him.” Roger pushed on.
“I guess I got drunk last night. I must have chained it up. I don’t remember.”
“Oh. Okay. Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sure.”
“Otherwise, I kill you. Okay?”
“Yes, yes. You can kill me.” Richard sighed.
“Have you eaten breakfast?” asked Roger.
“Are you crazy? You just woke me up.” Richard laughed. “I’m hungry though.”
“Okay. I make you. Please shower. Don’t have whole day, you know.”
Cute saw Richard come back into the bedroom and rush into the bath. Then the shower turned on. He could hear Roger singing some song in French while he clattered away in the kitchen.
Cute rolled over. The dust in the carpet was driving him crazy. The musty smell was too much to handle. He wondered whether he’d be able to get out at all.
Richard came out of the shower wrapped in a towel. He walked up to the bed and poked his face underneath.
“Sorry about this,” he whispered. “Are you okay?”
Cute said nothing. He was angry.
“I didn’t know he’d come so early in the morning,” Richard said.
“Get me out of here.”
“I’ll take him to the washroom and close the door. That’s when you need to rush out.”
“Okay.” Cute wondered how long it’d take.
“Honey, breakfast ready, already. Scooby Doo, where are you?” Roger’s voice interrupted them. “HONEY?!”
Richard hurried out of the room.
“Have you eaten, my love?” asked Richard.
Cute felt angrier. The guy sure had nerve. He wanted to march out into the living room that very moment. What the fuck could Roger do? But again, one never knew if Roger was holding a knife or something. The situation could get dangerous. He decided to stay where he was.
“Not. I’m hungry. Look. I made eggs and bacons.”
“Smells great,” Richard said. Cute could not smell anything. He was breathing through his mouth lest he sneeze out loud.
“You are good boy today,” Roger said. “Shower already.”
“Have you showered?” Richard asked him.
“Not yet. After breakfast.”
“Bad boy. Go shower now. Let’s eat after you are done.”
“But….” Roger said.
“But what?”
“The food grow cold.”
“No, it won’t. You can have a quick one. Not an elaborate bath,” Richard said.
“Okay, okay. I take quick one.” Roger came into the bedroom.
Richard followed him. Maybe he wanted to ensure Roger didn’t see Cute.
“Why you following me?” Roger asked.
“I wanna see my baby naked,” Richard said.
Cute rolled his eyes.
“Naughty man. Just want see me naked.”
“Do you prefer I see other people then?” Richard asked with a laugh.
“No!”
Roger proceeded to take off his clothes one by one in what seemed like an elongated, exaggerated and overdone striptease. Cute could see the lower part of Roger’s body. Richard stood near the bed and made noises of appreciation.
Roger started gyrating and moving his hips as if he were dancing next to an imaginary pole.
Cute didn’t want to see any more. He fought hard against an urge to throw up.
Richard went over to Roger and then guided him into the bathroom.
“Why you touching me? See only. No touching me.” Roger put on a mock protest.
“Let’s shower together.”
“You again?”
“Yes!” Richard closed the door behind them.
Taking his cue, Cute made a dash for the door.
