The River Leith (12 page)

Apparently I’ll be facing a monsoon swollen river tomorrow.

Zach’s immediate reply to Leith’s text was a simple question mark, and Leith thought about not telling him anything more. Just showing up at Blue Flight or the apartment and letting Zach be surprised. It was likely a bad idea.

I’m being discharged. Tomorrow I come home.

It took more than an hour for Zach to reply. Leith sat on the bench in the garden and stared at his phone, his stomach tied in knots.

Your room will be ready for you. See you then.

Leith carefully folded his shirts and placed them into the bag Arthur had brought. He was wearing his jeans and the blue polo Zach had bought him, and Leith’s stomach flip-flopped at the idea that he was actually leaving. That he was going home to his own apartment
—
and Zach would be there.

He watched Arthur pacing the room, rolling and unrolling a newspaper, getting newsprint all over his hands. “Arthur,” Leith said, smiling. “What’s going on with you? Are you going to tell me before you rip that paper to shreds?”

Arthur tapped the paper against his palm. “I suppose I
should
. After all the doctor says I need to tell you before you find out for yourself.”

Leith sat down on the side of the bed. “Okay, so tell me.”

Arthur gave a tight, close-mouthed smile. “This newspaper is over a year old. I kept it because…well, isn’t it always nice to see one’s name in print?”

Arthur handed over the paper he’d been torturing, and Leith blinked at the gossip rag. On the cover was a blurry photo of him stepping into what looked like a boxing club. He read the headline aloud. “The Next Great Amateur?”

Arthur nodded and shrugged.

“So what is this? Some kind of story about me?”

“It’s about you, and because of that it’s about me…and Mom and Dad. I want you to read it and then we need to talk about something else too.”

“Is it a good article or a bad one? Why are you showing it to me now?”

Arthur made a face that seemed to indicate he felt the quality of the story was very much
meh
in his opinion. “Because this is the information that’s out there about you, and everything in the article is true. You have a right to know it. Especially the less savory items, which are mostly about me I suppose, but it’s a little bit about everyone.”

Leith skimmed down looking for Arthur’s name. “Are you fucking with me right now? You slept with women for money?”