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“Fuck off,” North growled.
In the bathroom, Shaw was crying.
Something North couldn’t decipher crossed Theo’s face. Then Theo glanced over his shoulder, sharing a look with Auggie, and both men stepped into the room.
“Did you hear me?” North asked. “Get the fuck out of here.”
They came around the bed. Auggie moved toward the bathroom door.
“Get away from there,” North said as he moved to stop him.
But Theo caught North’s arm.
North let out a sound that was supposed to be a laugh. “Bad move, Pop-pop.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” Theo said. “And I understand you’re upset, and you’re worried about Shaw. But you need to walk outside with me right now.”
“Like fuck.”
“Then the next people who come through that door are going to be police officers, North. The motor court staff called in a complaint.”
Auggie crouched at the bathroom door, and he was saying something too quietly for North to make out. Shaw said something back, and Auggie turned and gave Theo a nod. When Auggie’s gaze skated over North’s, it was full of a kindness that only added fuel to North’s fire.
Theo tugged, and North let himself be led out of the room.
The day was warm, already spilling over into hot, with the sun climbing and thinning the shadows in the parking lot. The smell of tar softening in the summer day rose, mixed with the faint bleachiness of the motor court’s laundry. North shook off Theo’s hold, but then he felt lightheaded. He moved over to the railing that looked down into the lot and grabbed the steel to steady himself.
Theo stepped up next to him.
“Say something,” North said.
Theo propped himself on his elbows. After a few seconds of silence, North decided that even in profile he looked like a grizzled old dick.
“Even in profile you look like a grizzled old dick,” North told him.
Theo made a noise that could have meant anything.
“I thought I should tell you. One of those dicks that’s—have you ever seen a garden hose that’s so stretched out it’s about to burst?”
“You lead an interesting life, North,” Theo said without looking over at him. “One day, you’ll have to tell me why and where you’ve been up close and personal with so many ancient penises.”
When North glanced over his shoulder, he could see into the motel room through the window. Shaw and Auggie sat crisscross on the floor, with Shaw’s suitcase open between them. A pile of clothing suggested they were looking through outfits. At the moment, Shaw was displaying a full-body, spangled Spandex suit that he described as “Catwoman, but if she were a gay man and fabulous.” Which actually wasn’t far off, North had tried to argue, from the regular Catwoman, but apparently involved more sequins.
“He’s going to be fine,” Theo said, although he hadn’t bothered to look. “Auggie’s good at this kind of thing.”
“Great,” North said. “The most important person in my life, and you put Tiny-tot in charge of him.”
Something made him check Theo’s expression, and North could have sworn he’d seen a smile before it flickered away. When North turned his gaze back to the window, Shaw’s hair was out of its bun, and Auggie sat behind him on the bed, slowly running a comb through it. Shaw’s whole body drooped, as though he could barely hold himself up. He’s tired, North thought. He’s devastated. Even though the people he was grieving were, for the most part, pieces of shit. Because that was who Shaw was. And North knew he’d made it worse, forcing Shaw into an argument, taking them both to the breaking point. North’s eyes stung.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Theo said quietly.
The tears started to run, so North walked toward the stairs.
“North?”
His voice was thick, and it wasn’t his best delivery, and there was, overall, room for improvement. But North was still pretty proud of himself when he managed to say, “Fuck off, Pappy Van Winkle.”
It did undercut it, a bit, that he was fairly sure he heard Theo laughing.
