Ellis shuffled down the basement stairs of his mother’s house one afternoon, socked feet rubbing against the brown carpeting because he didn’t bother to lift his feet higher than he had to. He had his grandfather’s lunch in one hand; the other was on the railing. His mother’s dog, Bull, accompanied him, taking up the space between his ( Read more... )

Over an hour and a half later Ellis walked out to where their customer awaited him. He had grabbed a rag from one of the shelves behind him and was furiously wiping to get the oil and dirt and everything else that obscured the color of his flesh from his fingers before he reached the middle-aged man.

He failed so he ( Read more... )

            Later, when all the lights of the house were off and he’d finally urged his mother from the couch and up to her room, and the sounds of the television in the basement finally stopped, Ellis sat in the kitchen. The light from above the stove was the only light he needed, was the only light he used.

It barely reached him ( Read more... )

            At work, only a few hours later, after driving himself to work in his mother’s car (since she had mentioned getting her oil changed), Ellis had already managed to cut himself four times, dropped a tool on his foot twice, and made three engine mistakes. Luckily he’d caught himself before ever venturing out to find the waiting customer.
( Read more... )

           Ellis walked backwards up the stairs, hands on the banisters parallel to his sides. Nick followed, predatory and slow.

“How come every time I take-a shower you wanna go an’ ruin it?”

“Overalls, we both know you took that shower for me anyway. I’m just putting your cleanliness to good use.”

( Read more... )

            “…How long are we stayin’ here?” he asked then, wanting to say something so Nick could feel the vibration of his voice on his fingertips.

“We’ll leave Monday.”

The mechanic tilted his face upwards. “Figured you’d wanna leave tomorrow.”

“Yeah, well, you said you’d be in Chicago by then so ( Read more... )

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