Page 96 of Wicked Promises
She rushes around me, hurrying down the hall.
The office door opening catches my attention. Lenora and Robert walk out, saying their goodbyes.
Lenora grins at me. “Ready?”
“Absolutely.”
We head out. I almost expect something to have happened to the car while we were inside—someone keying it or popping the tires—but it seems the same.
I wonder when I should tell them about going to see my dad. If I should even mention it.
We make it all the way back home before Lenora smacks her forehead. “Should I have taken you to the Blacks’ house? Would you prefer to be there?”
“No,” I say, hopping out. “They’re at work.” And Caleb is in school.
She nods. “Okay, great. I do have to head into the office for a little while today, otherwise I think I’ll be without a job myself. But you two can finally have your movie marathon day.”
“We stocked up on popcorn,” Robert tells me. “And a cleaning company is coming over this afternoon to take care of your room.”
I nod, swallowing. I just won’t think about the room or what’s written up there. I’m still trying to figure out where I’ve heardpretty birdbefore…
We go inside. I realize halfway through to the kitchen that I’ve been holding my breath. I let it out in one shallow exhale, reminding myself to breathe.
Robert is a bit slower on his feet, but we busy ourselves making popcorn and hot chocolate. A weird combination, but he insists that we can have both. And then we each take our separate corners on the couch, blankets on our laps, and settle in for a weird, happy day of movies.
Chapter 28
Caleb
My day starts with a phone call from my mother.
The harsh buzzing managed to wake up only me, not the octopus wrapped around me. I hit the button to silence it, then managed to dislodge Margo’s arms and untangle her legs from mine.
“Hang on,” I say into the phone. I put it on mute while I yank on my jeans. I trot upstairs as quietly as possible, then unmute her. “Good morning, Mother.”
“Caleb.” She sniffs. “Something bad has happened.”
I rub my eyes. “What happened?”
“M-my apartment was broken into.”
“Really.” I didn’t even know she had an apartment. I mean, I should’ve realized. It’s one of those things you don’t think about until you have to think about it. Obviously she was stayingsomewhere. I just never spared a thought for whether it was an apartment, a house, a hole in the wall…
“Can you come help me? You’re all I have?—”
“What about Uncle David?” I can’t help but ask. She’s leaned on them pretty heavily over the years. I pull the phone away from my ear, checking the time. Not even five o’clock in the morning. The first floor of the house is completely silent.
I cross to the living room window, peering out. The sun is barely starting to rise.
There’s a car parked across the street, its headlights glowing, and it drives away fairly quickly. Weird. At least this one didn’t go screeching off into the night like the other night…
“Are you listening to me?” Mom asks.
“No.”
“I said, I need you to help. I don’t have anywhere to go. David is being horribly moody, what with hishouse guests, and I simply cannot fathom who else to ask.”
I tilt my head. “Wait, back up. House guests? Who?”