VIII | Different

❦

'Who's Rowan?' Nora asks.

I try to catch the parrot again.
'Shut up, shut up, shut up!' it screams in Brient's voice.
The bird claws at my hand,

lands on Nora's head.

Scratches
appear on the side of my thumb.

They turn red.

'Are you okay?'

Nora unwraps herself from the blanket.
Hands me my pants.

'Stupid bird,' the parrot says.

She picks up her underwear.

'The toilet's down the hallway,'
it tells her.

She ignores it and puts her arms around me.

The bird flies to the window,
giving me one more look

and vanishes.

I push her away,
the scratches keep bleeding.

'Wear your clothes,
'My parents are coming home soon.'

My voice is hoarse.

She hands me a plaster.
I hand her a shirt.

She reaches out for it

and I realise
it's my shirt.

I pull it back.

'Sorry,' I say.

Nora cleans my wound with a wet tissue,
takes the plaster from me
and sticks it over the scratches.

She takes the shirt in my hand.

'This much is enough,'
she says.

A bright smile on her face.

But there's a flood in her eyes.

She turns away when I try
to speak.

There's nothing for me to say.

It's not my business.

[Read the full story at novelconbini.com!]