FIGHT Read Online Free PDF Page B

concern.  He colored, but he was scared while coloring.  He watched TV, but he was scared while watching.  Most of his time passed with constant fear.  No matter what he did, petting the Ringers’ calico cat, tying his shoes, picking his nose, he stayed scared.  He kept waiting for a drunk to kick the front door down and find him.  He jumped at every noise, and he never got used to anything.  He couldn’t calm down, he struggled to sleep, and he never relaxed.  He took a dose of Adavan that most adults would’ve found potent, and he still couldn’t relax.
    Clutching Zoggy, his green zebra, August talked to God, as he lay staring at his bedroom’s ceiling.  God , he prayed, don’t let it be tonight.  Don’t let it happen tonight.  It didn’t matter that he’d seen his father die.  He was still scared that his father would bolt into his bedroom to kill the last Middleton left.  I’ll be a good boy .   I’ll do better at kindergarten next time.  He knew that repeating kindergarten wasn’t normal, and he felt stupid, but trying harder seemed like all he had to bargain with for God’s protection.  If you don’t let anyone get me tonight, I’ll be sooooo good tomorrow.  I promise.  And Zoggy says that he loves you, God.  Zoggy says that he loves you this much. (He stretched his arms out to their greatest length, holding his stuffed animal in his right hand.) And Zoggy misses mommy-in-heaven, and Zoggy loves mommy-in-heaven.  Tell mommy-in-heaven Zoggy loves her.  
    In the midst of his fear, a warm feeling told him God liked his prayer.
    God and Zoggy kept August company.  They were the kind of friends he liked. They were quiet, and they didn’t scare him.  They also didn’t laugh at him for having to repeat kindergarten.  God and Zoggy knew about mommy-in-heaven, and they didn’t mind.  They never made fun of him for not having parents, unlike some of his classmates.  God and Zoggy would be with him regardless of which home he went to next.  They’d been with him before he lived with the Ringers, and they went everywhere with him.  To school, to counseling with his therapist, and on any errands Gina included him on. 
    Also keeping August company that night, though no one knew it, was a nondescript sedan with Luke Espinoza inside, parked across the street and five houses down from the Ringers’ house.  Luke’s last assignment had been murdering Mulberry and Bronston to ensure their continued silence at Gabe’s trial, and tonight he was on a strange mission.  This was a first in his career.  He was supposed to find out what August wanted to play with and get it for him.  Why, he had no clue. In his many years as an associate, a guy officially employed by a Family, he’d never been charged with toy shopping for an orphan.  It made no damn sense. What kinda cash could be involved in this operation? he wondered.  As Luke sat with a cigarette in his lips, he retrieved a pair of Nikon binoculars from the glove compartment and used both hands to hone in on the Ringers’ place.  His binoculars were no use.  He’d hoped to find toys in the front yard so he could figure out what occupied the kid’s spare time.  That would’ve made things easy.  Spotting an old rusty bike leaning against the house would mean that he should buy the kid a new shiny bike.  Seeing a twelve foot trampoline in the backyard would mean that he should buy the kid a twenty foot one.  Figuring out what the kid wanted would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if he could’ve done it from his car.  With no clues in sight, he got out of his car, tossed his cigarette, crossed the street, and rang the Ringers’ bell.
    “Who do you think that is?” Gina asked a snoring Bill, as he snoozed on the recliner in front of the 6 o’clock news.
    She decided against answering the door.  Whoever was there would eventually leave.  But the doorbell was quickly followed by knocking, loud and impatient.  This annoyed