T.J. Klune - Bear, Otter, and the Kid 1 - Bear, Otter, and the Kid Read Online Free PDF Page B

no one else calls him on that phone. If someone needs to reach him, they do so through me.
    Im about to reenter the kitchen when I hear hushed voices, and I pause, immediately feeling guilty for eavesdropping. But I listen anyway. Theyre talking about me, so I figure Ive got the right to hear what they say.
“What were you thinking, saying something like that to him?” Otter hissed.
    “What the fuck are you talking about, Otter?” Creed sounds slightly amused and slightly pissed off all at the same time, which he has a great talent for. “He already knows. I told him a while ago. Its not a big deal. He doesnt care.”
    “Im not talking about that! I dont care who the hell knows!” Otter sounds upset, and my breath catches in my chest, not wanting him to say anything further. But he does anyways. “Its not about that ! Jesus, Creed! If you only knew….” Shut up , Otter! Shut up! “Besides, if I wanted him to know about anything , I would have said something myself. Stay out of it!”
But Creed pushes on: “So thats really why youre back, isnt it? It didnt work out between you and whats-his-name?”
    “Creed, I swear to Christ, just drop it! I dont want to talk about this right now!” I hear someone slam their beer bottle onto the countertop, and I assume its Otter.
“Chill, big bro. Like I said, Bear doesnt give a damn one way or the other.”
     
Oh, Creed.
    Silence falls in the kitchen, and I realize Im still holding my breath. I let it out slowly, hating the way it sounds ragged. But that was closer than I ever wanted to hear it said out loud. It’s not about that… if you only knew! His words ring in my ears, and I feel lightheaded. Okay. There might be something else that I should tell you—
    “What are you doing, Bear?” the Kid says loudly from somewhere behind me. I jerk a little bit to the right, hitting my head against the wall. It hits a picture, and a second later I hear it shatter on the floor. Goddammit, Kid! I think angrily, knowing I am more upset with myself than with him. I look over at Ty, standing in the hallway, hands in his pockets, a big O expression on his lips. I mutter something incoherently and bend down to pick up the glass before he steps on it. Creed comes out of the kitchen, and I can feel his smirk on my hot skin.
“Im sorry,” I say through gritted teeth.
     
“What the fuck?” he says lightly. “No need to be all ghetto in my nice house.”
    I bark out a harsh laugh. I look down at the picture and see its another one that Otter had taken. It shows Creed and his mom at our high school graduation. I am off to the side somewhere, out of sight, holding Tys hand and the sign he and Mrs. Thompson had made for me, saying “ Yay Bear! ” The picture captures Creed at a perfect moment of wild youth, diploma in one hand, his other around his mom. Theres a smile on his face so big you can almost count all of his perfect white teeth. Well, you could have before it had fallen on the ground, tearing right across his face. Shit! I think, feeling my face get redder. Before I can say anything further, Otter is hunkered down beside me, picking up shards of glass.
“Otter, I suck. Im sorry,” I whisper, wondering why I feel so goddamn bad.
    I feel him shrug as his arm is touching mine. “Its just a picture,” he says. “And its not even very good. Anyone with a camera can take photos and say theyre a photographer.” He sighs, and I can feel the bitterness coming off him in waves, and I wonder if he is just saying those things for my benefit. I wonder if he is really as pissed off at me as I am at him. I wonder why hes really here.
I wonder a lot of things.
     
“Bear, just leave it,” Creed says, towering over me. “Me and the Kid can pick it up. His show is on, and Otter owes him ice cream.”
     
“ Soy ice cream,” Ty says, making sure we havent forgotten.
    “Thats right!” Creed says, stepping around me and picking up Ty to throw him over his shoulder. Ty laughs in