Some Quiet Place

glances at me once, and I know she’s surprised I’ve finally brought someone home. “You’ve grown,” she says to Joshua after a moment, taking a couple steps to extend her hand.
    He shakes it quickly, shifting from foot to foot. “That’s right; you brought some food over once, after … ”
    Displaying a sensitivity I wasn’t aware my mother had, she smiles at him, smoothly directing her next words elsewhere. “I suppose you and Elizabeth are going to work on your project.” She chews some skin from her lip, a nervous habit.
    There’s no way to miss how she doesn’t address me, avoids it, really. I hadn’t mentioned working on the English project tonight, but Joshua isn’t stupid. He knows something is off. “Yeah, we are,” he tells Mom. He brushes some of that long hair out of his eyes. “Thanks for letting us do it here.”
    Mom flaps a hand dismissively, smiling at him some more. She’s probably thinking about how nice it is to finally have someone normal around, someone who isn’t her family. “Are you hungry?” she asks. “I could—”
    “We don’t have much time,” I interject, giving her a warning look. There’s a possibility Tim could wake up soon. She understands and shuts her mouth. “Thanks, though. We’ll be upstairs if you need us.”
    Mom nods, returning her attention to the broccoli. I take my shoes off, indicating that Joshua should do the same. He does so, trying to hide how dirty his socks are. I pretend not to notice and lead him upstairs.
    It is an odd sensation, having a warm presence at my back.
    I shut my bedroom door behind us. Joshua looks around curiously, eagerly, as if the room will tell him everything about me, add more pieces to the puzzle. He eyes the blank emptiness, the scant furniture, with interest. He says nothing. Just studies it all.
    “It’s white,” I state, making a motion to the paint cans in the corner. While Tim was sleeping last night I’d gone and fetched them from my truck. “We’re going to change it.”
    He takes this in with a bemused expression. “You want me to help you paint? That’s your project?”
    “What did you think it was?” I’ve already moved the furniture to the center of the room, so all there is left to do is spread the tarps out on the floor to keep the wood from getting splattered.
    Joshua doesn’t answer.“So … ” He begins to roll up his sleeves. “What do you want to do here? I see a lot of … green.” He eyes the paint cans, his mouth curving with amusement. “Guess we’re going for a forest.”
    I raise my brows at him. “Exactly. A mural, of sorts.”
    Nodding a second time, Joshua faces the wall. His lips twist. Seconds tick by and I know he’s imagining the possibilities as he squints at all the white. Twist, squint, twist, squint. Then he turns back to me. “I told you, I’m not very creative,” he sighs. “So you’re just going to have to tell me what to do. You don’t have a problem with that, right?” He actually attempts a wink. When I smile, he flushes, a bright red that crawls up his neck and face.
    To ease his discomfort, I begin spreading out the tarp. He jumps in to help, the material crackling between us. “Let’s start on this wall first,” I direct, and once we have the tarp laid out, I tape it down to the floor. I stand back, thinking. “I’ll outline the trees with pencil, and I’ll let you do whatever you want with them.”
    “What?” Joshua scoffs. “Are you serious? You really want to endanger your mural like that?”
    His laughter is loud, boisterous, and I listen carefully for movement in the hallway, alert to any stirring in Tim’s room. He snores on in his drunken stupor. Relaxing a little, I turn my attention back to Joshua. “I trust you,” I say with an easy shrug. The simple words startle him; his eyes widen. For a moment he doesn’t seem to know what to say. Before he can read more into it, though, I slap a paintbrush into his hand. I step away quickly. “We don’t have much time today,” I repeat. “I’ll get started.”
    Joshua just watches me. After another moment, he slowly turns away. As I draw the outlines, instinct is pushing at me again, insistent, loud, demanding. I already have one Sophia making things more complicated. I already have one Maggie to pretend for. I already have one mother who sees how I don’t belong. Don’t encourage the boy, it says. Don’t be friends with him. End this before it’s too late.
    And I