Off the Moon
an excerpt

[from page 16 -- rated 18+]

“Hey, I have to ask you for a favor and it’s a big favor.”

Will paused before responding. “Okay, what is it?”

“No ‘this time’ this time? I can hear it in your voice.”

“Then I didn’t have to say it. What do you need?”

“Well … like I said, it’s big and it will mainly involve Tracy, so you’ll have to talk to her and get back to me.”

“It involves Tracy? Not likely. You know I don’t want her out there around all that, and I’m not giving her the phone because you and I both know she’s never been able to say no to you, although she says no to me easily enough.”

Ryan chuckled. “What can I say? I’m more charming. It’s a curse.”

“Yeah, yeah. What do you want, Ry?”

Looking over toward the hallway, he hoped Katie would stay in the shower more than her two minute norm. “I uh, want to bring a friend over.”

“Hell, no. No more of your girlfriends in front of my kids. I told you..”

“She’s not a girlfriend.”

“She isn’t a girlfriend? She … and not a girlfriend? Come on.”

“Deanna’s a friend and not a girlfriend. I do have them.”

“Only because Daws would kill you if you tried anything.”

“Alright. Look I don’t have much time.”

“Why?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but … she’s young, Will. Teen, I think…”

“Ryan … I swear…

“Hell, calm down. I told you, she’s not a girlfriend. I haven’t touched her. It’s not like that.” Waiting for his brother to stop pacing, which Ryan knew he was doing, he looked back over toward the hall. “She needs a safe place to stay. She hasn’t got anywhere else, and staying here … well, hell, you know a teenager has no business staying here…”

“Wait.” His muffled voice let Ryan know he’d partly covered the receiver with his hand and was talking to someone else. “Let’s start again. Who is this girl and why is she at your place?”

“Because she had nowhere else to go.” He got silence. “Her name’s Kaitlyn and she’s very quiet, malnourished though I’ve been trying to work on that, and insanely shy. But her eyes … Will, she has no one else and nowhere to go. I uh, kind of ran into her on the way to work the other day and … she was pretty desparate to find help. What was I supposed to do? Leave her?”

“Call the authorities, Ry. If this girl is a teen, she’s likely a runaway and you’re going to get yourself publicity you don’t want … maybe jail time. Call the authorities.”

“I can’t.”

“And why can’t you?”

“Because I promised I wouldn’t. She wouldn’t come with me if I hadn’t.”

More silence. “You know, between Tracy taking in every stray animal she finds and you taking in stray girls…”

“Yeah, and I do that every other day.” Ryan pushed fingers through his hair. “Come on, Will. She’s not a runaway. She says there is no one..”

“And you believe that.”

“Yes. I believe her. And she trusts me. Apparently, she trusts no one else, but she trusts me.”

“Just how unstable is she?”

“Thank you. Forget it.” Hearing the bathroom door open, Ryan hung up the phone. What had he expected, anyway? It was too much to ask. Will was tired of bailing him out, although it had been quite some time since he’d had to. But it was too much to ask, and it wasn’t fair to Katie, since … but all he’d promised was that she wouldn’t be alone. He hadn’t promised to keep her with him forever. He couldn’t. Not with his job; the travel and the fans and the time he needed alone whenever he could get it to work unbothered. He couldn’t be responsible…

Her eyes touched his while entering the room. He had to be. Looking at her, at the fight he could see within her every time he looked at her, Ryan knew he couldn’t dump her on anyone else. He couldn’t risk her not understanding. He would never be able to live with himself if she … he couldn’t even think about it. Over the few days she’d been there, he’d started getting attached.