I wake up to the sound of strange humming coming from the other side of my room. I take a deep breath knowing that I did not have a dream nor a nightmare. My mind was blank. Jack is there by my window, looking outside my room. When he hears my mattress moves, he looks over at me with sad eyes. I wiped the cold out of my mine, stretching out my back. My yawn seemed to echo within the room. It was sound defying. 

"I heard what happened to you. I did not mean for you to act out that way," he started. His eyes were red and puffy, while the corner of his lip twitched. He did not know whether to smile or frown. "You cannot tell anybody what you did under the boss. It was not legal. For the past 48 hours I have been cleaning out the shed, but there are too many of them. And there is so much blood." There was blood caked under his fingernails, dark and dry. 

I could feel the pain welling up in my chest again. I could not care less about the boss at this point. It was the boy's last image that kept running through my mind. I treated him like a piece of meat and dumped him into a hole. With the boss again and the truth coming out, how else was I expected to act? I was a monster. 

"Focker, I need your help. I can not finish the job alone," he whispered. "We do not have much time. Theodore's family is going to be at his house in a few days. We have to clean up his mess before we get in trouble." Trouble? Trouble with who? The police?

"He made me believe that what I was doing was perfectly normal. I thought that they were killed by the virus. I can't just go with this!" He moved away from the window, moving toward me. He sat on the edge of the bed, putting his face closer to mine. It felt intimidating. I still couldn't believe what we had done. I started shaking my head vigorously, backing away from them. "But he killed them!" I screamed. 

"They are dead! Does it matter how they were killed? We just need to bury them." The words that escaped Jack's dry lips was slow as if his brain needed that time to process what he was trying to accomplish.

"What changed? Why are you acting like this? The boss's death? You didn't act like this before," I said, letting each syllable get to him. Just a few days ago, everything was fine. Jack was my rival. But now, it seemed like a switch had flipped. There was a different person sitting in front of me. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was several shades of grey. 

"Someone saw the bodies while I was dragging them to a hole. It was a boy. He did not look like he was from here. After he saw me, he ran away. I did not have enough time to catch him." He probably told everyone and his mama what I was doing. God, I'm so screwed!" His hands got tighter around his body. 

I tried to keep my eyes open, I really did. But it was so hard, and I was so sleepy. Jack also seemed tired. You could tell that he hadn't slept for a very long time.  His hair was a mess. He was still wearing the clothes from the funeral. Guilt ran over me once more, and I finally decided to take a break. There was nothing special about going to school on a Thursday, anyway.

I went to my desk and grabbed a pen and paper. I knew my handwriting was sloppy, but at least my mother could understand it. I slipped the note outside my door and locked it. Jack watched me closely, fiddling with his fingers.

"We can talk about this later. I'm tired, Jack. Let's just relax." I took his jacket and pulled it off, throwing it onto the floor. He kicks off his shoes, making himself comfortable next to my bed.  I patted the spot next to me and he sat down. As his head lolled onto my shoulder, his eyelids finally slipping closed. Finally, he stopped talking. His breaths were even and calming, the expression on his face no longer stressed but relaxed.

He wrapped his hands around me, pressing his weight up against my back. His sleeve gently rubbed my arm. The smell of wood and old spice filled my nose. It did not feel right -but this is the first time I really feel his muscles underneath his shirt. After a few moments more I begin to analyze his actions in a lazy way, feeling a weird sensation. I felt aroused. Perhaps these ideas are meant to be kept to myself. I let my body rest beneath him, letting my tiredness take over.

In my dreams, I dream of nothing, thankfully. I woke up to see moonlight trickling in through the bent blinds. It is the only source of light in this dark room. Instantly, I could tell that my mom abided by the letter I wrote. If she hadn't then I would have gone to school earlier. I want to stand but for the moment my legs have given way to gravity, shaky, weak. Also, someone is holding me down to the bed. For a second, I could not recognize Jack under the covers. He was still asleep.

"Aye, Jack, you gotta get up." I slapped his forehead a couple of time. His eyebrows furred, but he sat up. I let out an exasperated sigh, groaning as I rolled off of the soft mattress I had been occupying with my rival. What time was it? How long had I been asleep? Did I have clothes on?

My stomach growled, and I felt a bit embarrassed. "I'll be right back," I assured. I deliberately walked to the bathroom, wiping the white corners of my mouth. After slapping cold water onto my face, I went to the kitchen. My mom was there. She raised her head from the cooking pot.

"Jack is quite the persuader. He even gave me a carving he had made out of wood. It was cute. He said he wanted to talk to you about something, so I showed him to your room." I could smell the scent of homemade food, it was not like the food that was processed at school. The fish was in the oven now and the rice was steaming with spices.

"What's the occasion?"

"We have a guest over. Just because we're low on food, doesn't mean I can't cook up something nice. I'll be done in a few minutes." She smiled at me and I had no choice but to smile back. I could feel her happiness rubbing off on me.

I went back to my room with the intention to tell him about dinner, but by the time I got to my room, he was already packing up. "I have to go. My uncle might get worried." I nodded, understanding.

"When will you come back?"

"After all the bodies are buried..." Jack said his goodbyes to my mother and me, walking off into the cold night.