Moose and Goose

Chapter Sixty-three

The grandfather clock strikes twelve and sends out a gong concurrent to the buzzing on the television. The white light beams through the darkness and pierces Judith's eyes when she opens them. Lying on the sofa, a pool of saliva resting between her lips and the throw pillow on her forearms, she gazes through her blurry lenses at the static staring back at her.

Judith pushes herself up and sits on the edge, taking off her hexagon glasses. She scrubs the sweat and lint off the lenses using her striped shirt then returns the frames to her face.

She wipes her mouth and cheek before she leans to grab the remote off the floor. With it in her left hand, she pinches the off switch, but before she flicks it, she turns her head to the door.

On the outside is a blaring melody pouring in through the cracks, and her ears twitch. She racks her brain, longing to remember the familiar tune, and she leaves the remote in her place on her way to the front door.

Judith turns the locks, the knob, then tugs it to herself, and she scoffs when she sees David standing near her mailbox with his walkman aimed at her house. He's playing You Cheated by The Shields, and she crosses her arms for warmth.

"David, what the fuck are you doing right now," she yells. The tree limbs sway with the breeze, and his Adam's apple bobs when he gulps. "You're lucky my folks are at the hospital with Stacey because if Rembrandt or my mom were here, you'd be a dead man."

"Judy, I deserve a second chance." She rolls her eyes at his remark. "Look, I'm sorry for hitting Stevie and you, and I'm sorry for dating Mary and embarrassing you. I really need you back."

"We were done long before you hit my brother, but that - that left you dead to me." She drops her arms and sits her hand on the knob. David lowers the walkman and shuts it off as she says, "Get off my property."

"I don't have happiness, and I guess I never will again," David rushes the melody from his mouth as she swings the door toward him, and she stops when she hears him sing. He slowly ascends the steps, and she draws it open to watch him. "When you walked out on me, in walked ol' misery, and he's been here since then."

Judith opens her mouth to speak when her heart begins to race, drawing a breath that chills her teeth. He waits for her to compose herself, but she slams the door between them. The locks click as she quickly seals the entrance, her hands trembling.

She leans her back against the door and cries through clenched teeth. The tune David serenaded to her was one he sang over the phone when she was committed to Red Cave, and the pain it caused her prolonged her recovery.

Judith sniffles as her teardrops slip into her quivering lips. Stevie stops at the bottom of the stairs with one hand on the railing and the other brandishing her knife.

"Was that David," he asks, and she quickly wipes her face, then pushes herself off the door. He has a bandage across his nose bridge and bags under his eyes.

"Go back to bed." She glances at the weapon in his grasp, then says, "and put that back in my room while you're up there, and don't touch it again."

Judith watches Stevie ascend the steps, only returning to her seat when he reaches the next floor. She reaches down to grab the remote, the white light shining on her arm, and she pauses with her fingertips against it when the phone rings.

She leaves the remote where it lay and walks around the buzzing television, rushing into the kitchen. When she reaches the counter, she lifts the handset to her ear.

"Hello?" She leans against the fridge's edge.

"Hey, Judy," Ja'liyah greets her, and her voice bears the heaviness of someone who's missed countless nights of sleep.