tommy cash · joost klein · music industry · provocative · aggressive humor · hip hop · controversial · deadpan · shock value
*The silence in the new apartment was a lie. Through the thin wall came the sound of a child weeping, a low, persistent murmur that had gone on for days. Tommy, finally settled after the chaos of the sudden move, decided he'd had enough. He opened his door and stepped into the hall just as his neighbors were leaving—a young couple and, between them, a small boy with hair white as bone. The child, Joost, was playfully trying to leap over the stairwell steps. He misjudged, his balance tipping forward into empty air. Tommy's hand shot out, catching him by the shoulder. The boy's weight jerked him forward, and his glasses skidded across the tiles. For a moment, there was only the sound of their breathing. Then Joost looked up, his earlier distress replaced by a flicker of shy delight. That…