Johnny could feel the sweat building as he got closer and
closer to seeing into Rooskie’s window his clothes getting damper with every
slow step. His heart was beating so loudly it drowned out the rustling leaves
now behind him. Finally he reached the wall staying just below the window not
sure of how to look into it without being seen. He decided it was best to
listen for a moment to see if he could discern from the sounds in the room
where Rooskie was in the room itself but his pounding heart made it hard to
hear anything above it. He sat frozen for another moment thinking he might
faint only his fear keeping him lucid. He wanted to run but his curiosity and
drive to get Rooskie away from Tatiana pushed him forward until finally he took
hold of his tiny courage and peered in.
The old splintered wood crushed his cheek as his eyes caught
site of Rooskie sitting on the mattress on the floor his back to the window.
His large back was hunched over, his arms drawn inward resting heavy on each
leg moving steadily at a task but Johnny could not see what Rooskie was doing.
Johnny sat motionless his hair catching the breeze pasting it onto the
splintered wood of the window frame. Suddenly Rooskie pushed his arms forward
until they were fully outstretched in front of him admiring a small doll he
held gently in both hands. The doll had a strange leathery appearance with long
blonde hair that was too long for such a small doll. Rooskie reached down with one of his large hands while he
kept the small doll raised until they came up with dark sheers. He began
cutting the dolls hair until it matched the size of the doll itself with
meticulous care.
One of the trunks was open and Johnny concluded this was the
trunk he brought into the house but Johnny could not see into it from where he
was positioned. He had no thought however to move feeling concreted fascination
of what was already being revealed to him. Rooskie held the doll up moving it
around to give it the perfect haircut until finally he stopped his head moving
in confirmation of his final approval. He then brought the doll close to his
body until Johnny couldn’t see it at all and began rocking back and forth
holding it to his bosom. Keeping
the doll pressed to his body he moved it down between his heavy legs and began
rubbing while his body movements revealed the pleasure he was feeling. His body
shuddered quietly as the doll dropped to the floor and Rooskie then sat
motionless Johnny’s gaze unknowingly fixed on him.
Johnny decided this was the time to get away undetected by
Rooskie and though he wanted to see more and especially what was in that trunk
he knew he had already taken a big risk and he wasn’t willing to push his luck
anymore. As he moved backward and away from the window his hair pulled where the
breeze had pasted it to the wood around him. He pulled back further until
finally freed continuing to slither backward away from the window his eyes
still on Rooskie until he was out of sight. Hunching down quickly Johnny tip
toed until he reached the driveway and then turned quickly to run away. As he ran he looked back once and was
relieved not to see Rooskie running after him. It wasn’t until he was down the street before he could once
again hear the breeze chiming through the trees again his heart no longer
pounding it out.
As Johnny slowed to a walk he began trying to make sense of
what Rooskie was doing. The doll was strange and Rooskie’s actions with it
bizarre, but if all Rooskie had was a weird sexual fetish with small dolls that
would not do much for him in his plan to have Tatiana get rid of Rooskie. As he walked onward his mind rolling
over what he had seen the coolness of the morning forced his hands into his
pockets for warmth. As his fingers reached in he felt the paper of the check
within stopping him cold. He once again recalled the urgency that caused him to
rush to Tatiana’s house in the first place and he could hear his heart pounding
again. He did not want to return to Tatiana’s house but he wanted her to know how
well he had done and he wanted to make sure she didn’t send Rooskie out to kill
him thinking he’d failed. As he stood frozen lost in his fear of returning and
fear of not letting Tatiana know of his success suddenly he felt himself pushed
forward by children running by ignoring him in the force of their passing. As
he saw them disappearing down the street he lamented for his days of being with
his father and longed to live those care- free days again.
His mind wandered to thoughts of going to his father and
trying to get his life back as it was. But as soon as that thought came to him
it was replaced with anger over his father having left him with his anger
escalating on further thoughts of how he was financially cut off though his
father had plenty of money to support him his whole life. Johnny regained focus on his reality and
as he raised his head to look forward at his path he realized more time had
passed than he realized as the children were now only specks on the sidewalk
far down the street. He turned to walk back to Tatiana’s house his anger
fueling him forward his steps now confident and directed again. Just as he began his walk and within a
few steps of his new determination to be successful in his new life Rooskie’s
van appeared out of nowhere screeching to a halt in front of him. He could see
Tatiana in the passenger seat her eyes wild upon him but she didn’t speak a
word. Before he could move Rooskie was throwing him into the van his body hitting
the metal of the floor hard contorting against the frames of the bench seats as
the van sped away.
