Keeping His Secret

*7 years ago*

I was 8

I was on top of the world.

Mom had called off work that day, deciding to take me out. I didn’t question her motives; I
wanted some fun time.

We had gone to the local amusement park near our house. Mom took me on all the
rides. Somehow, she even managed to convince me to ride my first roller coaster; the
Twister.

I had never felt such a rush in all my life.

By the time we arrived home that day, it was close to midnight. My muscles ached from
exhaustion. My eyelids were heavy with sleep. My stomach was full from all the junk food that
I had eaten.

I was in heaven.

My mother picked my small body up in her arms. I nestled my chin on her shoulder, just
barely awake.

She climbed the stairs slowly and quietly so as not to wake me up. Mom pulled back the
covers of my bed, resting my body underneath their warmth. She pulled them back up under
my chin.

I rubbed my eyes open, “G’night Mommy.”

She smiled gently, brushing back the hair on my forehead, “Goodnight, baby”

“Sweet dreams” I yawned.

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” She laughed. Mom leaned down, gently pressing her lips
against my forehead. She made a loud smooching sound as she pulled away.

“Ew Mom” I groaned, furiously trying to rub off her germs from my face.

She only laughed, patting my leg.

“Sweetie, you remember your babysitter, Abby?” She asked

I made a face, “Yes.”

“She’s going to take care of you for a little while. I have to go to work. I’ll be back
sometime tomorrow.” She promised.

“Don’t leave Mommy.” I begged, grabbing onto her arm.

She pressed her lips to my cheek once more, “I’m sorry sweetie. I have to.”

Her voice was off, but I was too tired to care.

Mom stood up, taking a step away from the bed. My grip on her arms loosened, allowing
her to walk out of it.

She closed the door silently behind her.

~*~

Mom wasn’t there when I awoke the next day. I wasn’t surprised either; she usually
didn’t show up until lunch time. This had happened so many times before. I was used to this
kind of thing.

My worries began to pick up, though, when dinner rolled around, and still no sigh of my
mother.

Abby knew I was worried, and made me my favorite food for dinner—Mac ‘N’ Cheese
with hotdog bites mixed in. She tried to keep me entertained through-out the day. I had to
give her credit for that. She knew I didn’t like her at all yet she still made an attempt every
time to befriend me.

“You’re mother will be back soon, don’t worry.” She reassured me.

I sighed, eating my food quietly.

The phone rang loudly, piercing through our uncomfortable silence. Abby stood up
quickly, walking over to answer it. I swung my legs back and forth from my chair as I
eavesdropped on the conversation.

“Hello?” Abby asked.

There was a pause before her next words.

“Oh, hello Ms. Stone!.... Yes, we’re eating dinner now…No, not yet…He’s been
wonderful, as always!... Oh, really? He misses you a lot though… I understand… Of course I
will. I’ll just give my parents a called and inform them of the chance… No problem, see you
later!”

My stomach dropped when she hung up. Abby returned with a glum expression across
her face.

“Hey, Daniel.” Abby said softly, adding to my bad feeling. I looked up at her, waiting for
her to continue, “Your mom got held up a work. She won’t be back for a little while. But she
promises to be back by the time you wake up tomorrow.”

“Why?” I asked, my eyes starting to water.

“Her boss is just such a meany.” Abby frowned “It’s ok, though. I’ll make sure we have
loads of fun tonight!”

I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t had any fun all day. Why would it suddenly change now? I
had very little faith that it actually would.

I finished my dinner in silence.

Abby made a greater attempt that night than ever before. She truly tried to get me to have
a fun time with her. I knew she was trying to distract me from the fact that my mother wasn’t
home, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t free my thoughts of my mother. I
missed her very much.

She was never gone this long.

Why now?

And worse…

Would this become regular?

I didn’t want to even imagine my life like that. Abby would have to be around even more
than normal. It was bad enough as it was currently.

Abby must’ve noticed my lack of energy for anything she attempted. She gave up hope
around bath time.

She send me to take a bath as she cleaned up the downstairs. I took a quick one, much
faster than normal.

My thoughts were this. If I hurried through the evening, I would go to bed earlier. And
when I woke up, Mom would be home.

It was a fool-proof plan.

My 8 year old mind had formulated the greatest plan. Go to sleep=Mom comes home.
Naturally, I made sure to follow it.

I hurried down the stairs, quick to inform Abby of my early slumber. Her eyes widened in
surprise when I spoke, glancing quickly at the clock.

“Are you sure?” She asked

I nodded, trying to slow down my movements. I couldn’t help it though. I was excited for
my mother to come home.

“Alright.” She sighed, standing up, “Want me to tuck you in?”

I quickly shook my head, “No thanks.”

She nodded, letting me go, “Alright, let me know if you need anything, ok Daniel?”

I nodded absently, not really paying attention to whatever she had to say. I hurried up the
stairs, rushing to brush my teeth before I went to bed.

I hurried through the ABC’s, my usual timer for how long to brush. There was no way
that I had brushed for a true two minutes, when the song only lasted a couple seconds with
the quickness I sang.

I spat out the tooth paste, rinsing with a Dixie cup on the counter. I grinned, inspecting
my small teeth quickly, before leaving the bathroom.

My room was the same way I had left it this morning; clothing strewn across the floor,
bed messy, toys everywhere.

I left the light off, careful not to step on any toys as I made my way slowly over to my bed.
I leaned over the side, flicking on the nightlight in the outlet near me.

It was a small fish in front of a bulb, giving off a dim light to the room.

I couldn’t sleep without it.

I gripped the pillow tightly to my body, squeezing my eyes shut. Sleep seemed to be
avoiding me, though.

Taking in a deep breath, I tried to calm myself.

What tricks did I know to fall asleep?

“One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep” I mumbled to myself in an attempt to
fall asleep.

I kept going, trying to get quieter and quieter with each sheep until I was only saying it in
my head, mouthing the words.

At 206 sheep, I realized that this wasn’t going to work.

I rolled over, fluffing my pillow some in an attempt to get more comfortable.

I glanced at the clock.

It was only 10:30.

I groaned into my pillow, realizing this would be an incredibly long night.

~*~

It was nearly 12:30.

I still hadn’t fallen asleep.

I had resorted to staring at the ceiling, letting weird shapes form in front of my wide
awake eyes.

My ears were alert for the sound of the front door opening. I figured that I would probably
be awake by the time Mom came home.

Once I knew she was home, I would go down and hug her, watching Abby leave with an
evil smirk across my lips.

There was a soft knock at my door. Someone opened the door.

My heart began to pick up speed.

I tensed my body, trying to play off being asleep. If it was Abby checking up on me again,
I didn’t want her to know that I was still awake.

The door closed again, but I had a feeling that I wasn’t the only person in the room.

My back was to the door, my eyes wide open. Whoever was in the room couldn’t see
though.

“Hey Danny.” A deep voice whispered, breaking the silence in the room.

I gritted my teeth, not knowing if I should respond or not. I didn’t know recognize the
voice, but I knew it wasn’t my mothers or Abby’s.

“I know you’re awake.” He said. I felt the side of my bed dip down as he sat down. “It’s
ok, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“I’m Slade.” I felt his arm wrap around my waist, turning my body over to face him.

“Slade.” I repeated quietly to myself. I looked up at his face, taking him in. The light from
the nightlight reflected poorly against him, giving me a vague image of his face.

He had dark curly hair, fitting nicely with a square jaw. He was smiling gently, his thin
lips hiding his teeth. He laid on my bed next to me, his hand propping up his head as he
watched me. I noticed a hint of muscle under the jacket he was wearing.

“Danny, I’m awfully sad.” Slade said.

“Why?” I asked

“I don’t have any friends. Everyone’s made at me.” Slade frowned, looking off to
somewhere behind me.

“Why are they mad at you?”

Slade shrugged, “I don’t even know. Isn’t that bad?”

I nodded.

“Will you be my friend?” He asked hopefully

“Ok.” I said, “But why are you in my room?”

“I needed a friend, and I thought you’d be a good one.” Slade said, brushing back the
hair from my forehead like my mother did.

“Did Abby let you in?” I growled, not liking her.

“Nah, I tricked her.” Slade said, winking at me. “She’s too dumb to know that I tricked
her.”

I giggled, liking that he didn’t like Abby either. Slade chuckled next to me, his voice much
deeper than my own.

“Why aren’t you asleep, Danny boy?” Slade teased, “It’s well past bedtime.”

“I can’t sleep. I’m not tired.”

“How come?”

“Mom isn’t home. I wanna stay up for when she gets home.”

“Where is she?” He asked, concerned.

“She’s at work.” I frowned, “Her boss is so mean! He keeps her all the time! Doesn’t he
know she has to go home?”

Slade pressed a finger to my lips, ‘shushing’ me while laughing “Keep your voice down,
Danny. Otherwise Abby will find out.”

“Sorry.” I mumbled against his lips.

“Do you want to play a game?” Slade asked randomly. My eyes lit up at the word game,
though, excitement coursing through my veins.

“Yes!” I said as quietly as I could manage.

He chuckled once more, “Here’s how the game goes. If I say a body part, you have to
point it out as quickly as you can. If you say a body part, I have to point it out as quickly as I
can. Whoever goes fastest wins.”

I frowned, “That’s a boring game.”

Slade smirked, “I didn’t tell you what the prize would be.”

He reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a bag. My eyes lit up as I made out
the shapes of candies inside of the bag.

I reached for it eagerly, but Slade held it out of my reach, “Ah, you have to win the game
first.”

“Fine, fine.” I wanted the candy “Let’s start.”

“Where’s your…” Slade thought for a moment, “left arm?”

I held out my left arm. Slade pulled out a piece of candy from the bag, tossing it to me. I
quickly unwrapped the Tootsie roll, sticking it into my mouth.

“Now you say something.”

I thought, “Where’s your right ear.”

Slade held out his fingers, twirling them. I giggled, “That’s not your ear! Duh!”

Slade frowned, looking at his fingers, “Ah, you’re right. Silly me.”

“You don’t get any candy.” I laughed, sticking my tongue out at him. Slade rolled his
eyes, adjusting his position on the bed.

“Where are your legs?” Slade asked. I pointed to my legs, earning me another piece of
candy from his bag.

“Where is your neck?” I asked.

Slade pointed to his neck. I reached into the bag, pulling out a nasty candy for him. He
ate it quickly.

“Where is your belly button?” Slade went.

I lifted the end of my Pajama shirt up, exposing my belly. I puffed it out, pointing to my
belly button. “Right there.”

Slade poked my stomach, causing me to giggle. He gave me a candy.

“Where’s your teeth?” I asked.

Slade opened his mouth, pointing to his whites. I gave him a candy.

“Where’s your wee-wee?” Slade asked.

I pointed in between my legs.

Slade frowned, “That’s your leg, silly.”

“No it’s not!”

“Yes it is!”

“Nu-huh!”

Slade rolled his eyes, “I can’t give you a candy…”

“But…” I frowned, really wanting a piece.

Slade shot his hand out, grabbing onto my crotch. My eyes widened, and I quickly
pushed his hand away. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. I moved my legs so that
they were in front of me, protecting me.

Slade chuckled, “I guess you were right.”

“Do I get my candy now?”

He tossed me a jawbreaker. Slade looked at the watch on his wrist, frowning, “I have to
leave, Danny.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I just have to.”

“Oh.” I sighed, “Can I have the candies.”

“Maybe next time.” He smirked, leaning over towards me. He pressed his lips against
my cheek gently before standing up. I didn’t move, watching him.

“Daniel.” His voice was deep, husky “Let’s keep our little game a secret.”

“Are you coming back?”

“Of course. Be patient, though. But I promise I’ll come back. Keep this secret and I’ll
bring a reward next time.”

A smile crossed my lips at the thought of more candy.

“Goodbye.” Slade walked out of the room quietly.