Page 129 of The Story of You

Silas gave his now infamous dismembering glare.

“Silas, meet Simon, Shane, and Asher,” I said.

“That’s one more than expected,” Silas murmured in that demure tone of his.

I didn’t know how to plead with him. I knew us driving like this was risky, but I couldn’t leave Asher. Thankfully, I didn’t have to.

A light turned on in the house leaving Silas no choice but to peel out of there.

* * *

Darius

We drove all night like a fucking Cyndi Lauper song. Oliver didn’t sleep, terrified of new people. Silas was pissed at me and badly shaken.

“Keep driving, Sye. We’ll head west,” I said and hoped he’d listen to me. I knew which way he wanted to go.

“Maybe I should … well, what harm would calling him do?” he said.

“No. No fucking way.”

“Hi, we’re Simon and Shane,” Simon interrupted. Asher didn’t say anything.

I watched from the rearview mirror as Oliver’s face screwed up. Then he took a giant breath before he belted out a loud cry interspersed with, “Babaaaaaaa!”

Silas lost his mind. He pulled over to the side of the road, got out of the car—slamming the door—and paced while he tugged his hair. He opened the car door on Simon’s side and reached in for his babe. With the windows rolled down, we could hear everything.

“What’s the matter, Eaglet?”

Oliver howled.

“Come now. Everything’s all right.”

Oliver howled still and it was clear Silas wasn’t handling it as well as he would have liked to. He tried to rock Oliver, swaying him back and forth, but Oliver wailed on, and Silas had reached the end of his sanity for the day.

Somehow, Simon knew. “Darry. Does he have some kind of … I don’t know, friend? Favorite toy?”

It was dark, but Silas was under the glow of one of the tall highway lights, desperately trying to calm Oliver down.

“Uh. Um, Brix.” Thank fuck I’d grabbed Brix. “Stuffed bunny. The bag.”

Simon sifted through the diaper bag and came up with the floppy-eared bun. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. So far as I’d known him, Simon had never been this guy. The one to take initiative. That night, he rushed to help Oliver and Silas.

As much as Oliver became a priority to Simon, so did Silas. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to find a label for their relationship, but it began that night and it grew, and Silas came to depend on him and Simon on Silas.

He brought the bunny to Oliver. He knew what to say. Somehow, he got Oliver to calm downandgiggle. “Brix is wondering if you want to sit with him?” Simon said

“He is?” Oliver said.

“Yah-huh. What’d’ya think? You wanna sit with us?”

There was the briefest of pauses, enough for two heartbeats. “Oliver does. Baba comes too.”

“Oliver, I have to—”

“I can drive if you’ll allow it, Silas,” Shane said in his even, reassuring tone. It was one even a mistrusting and broken guy like Silas could consider. “You must be exhausted. I have my license.”

The Taylors had trusted Shane to get his license when he had turned sixteen because he—unlike the rest of us—was responsible and they wanted someone else to help with harvest deliveries.