BEASTLY

xx. strange and beautiful

Scott Hoying

I found myself out and about among the house, mingling with Naomi and Avi when I wasn't occupied with talking to Kevin. I updated him on everything going on in my life and, well, to say the least... he was astounded by the situation. He already knew about my dad and the hardships at home, but to hear this was quite shocking. I shared with him my experiences thus far, which have been mostly with Avi and Naomi. Naomi is the sweetest lady I have ever met, next to my late mama. She told me that her job was to take care of the men of this house. I tried to help her as much as I could with the upkeep, but she said it kept her busy. I argued against a night off for her if she'd sit down and watch a movie with Avi, and she shockingly obliged. Now, I'm not sure how she managed to watch a movie with a blind man, but I know it was an enjoyable experience for her, considering the vast amount of laughter that sputtered from the living room.

Not once had I seen Julian. He kept himself expertly hidden. Afraid, Naomi called it. He didn't want me to see what he looked like, as if I'd be disgusted by his appearance. He has no idea what kind of person I am... I don't judge a book by its cover. Ironically, I want the profession in which you get judged by your cover. An actor always gets his jobs based on looks.. friendship should never oblige.

The one time I almost saw him was a few weeks ago when he dropped off the Missio album. Ever since then he's dropped off different types of albums for me of all different types of genres. Katie Eary. Sophie. Royksopp. Chairlift. Rationale. Mirror to Mirror. All of this music was forming who Julian was for me... and he was quite a peculiar person. But I never said that peculiar was bad. Its almost like this is his means of communication between us... but god, it has to change. I'm going stork raving crazy in this house with only two people to physically talk to.

Most of my days are spent either jumping in the indoor pool in the basement (wow!), listening to the new music that Julian provided for me, or lounging in the living room watching television. I became a regular at watching re-runs of The Office and Supernatural in order to make up lost time for how quickly I finished all eight hours of Stranger Things. Occasionally I would find Avi in the room with me, sitting either on the other end of the couch or standing up off to the side. He would always laugh the hardest while we watched The Office... mostly about things that came from Michael Scott's mouth. I feel like they'd get along quite well.

I was halfway through an episode of Michael emceeing at The Annual Dundies when I heard a new voice in the room.

"Are you listening to The Office again, Avi?" I turned around slowly, noticing a new figure in the room. Julian. I'm guessing he must have noticed that Avi wasn't alone and he immediately cowered into the hallway. It made me truly sad. I didn't want him to fear being in the same room as me. In fact, it almost made me think that he was scared of me. Was it because how I reacted the first few days? I made sure that Julian wasn't in the room and I quickly hit the pause button on the TV.

"I was watching that!" Avi bellowed, approaching the couch and crossing his arms.

"No, you weren't. You were listening to it."

"Same thing. Whatever. Why did you turn it off?" I watched as Avi carefully reached for the couch, feeling around the front and having a seat. It was amusing to watch him maneuver so skillfully with his blindness.

"I think you know why." I sighed and leaned back against the couch. "It just... I don't know. Julian is sacrificing his home for me, allowing me to stay here for whatever reasons he may have. I just don't get why he doesn't talk to me. That was one of the first times I've heard him speak since the night he confronted my dad about the idea."