1
For trigger warnings, translations, and a suggested playlist, visit www.LaraNormanAuthor.com/BloodyHalo. Please note that any and all of this information may contain spoilers.
~
She will rise. With a spine of steel and a roar like thunder; she will rise.
~ Nicole Lyons
Kinsley
Though I heard the rumors off and on throughout the day, I tried to ignore them. Tuned into my internal thoughts instead of the idle gossip floating on the air, I shelved books and checked out customers. My favorite thing about the library was that it smelled of crisp paper, toner, old bindings, and glue. Any noise was muted, hushed voices excitedly carrying the news as though Burke Gallagher, former Chester resident and subject of my first and only crush, was the Prince of India instead of a criminal. At the end of the day, I was happy to clock out, to flip the sign from open to closed and head back to my parents' house. There was no shame in still living with my parents at twenty-two. It was typical in the small, gloomy town of Chester, Connecticut, where no one ever aspired to be much. Cashiers, waitresses, and retail workers were typical jobs for the others my age who never left for college, and the majority of them lived at home, as well.
Gossip was normal and as expected as a constant cloud cover. A day couldn't pass without talk of who was seeing who—whether it was in public or in secret—who had been fired or who had passed on. Nobody moved away and nobody moved in; stagnant was the best word for our sleepy town. Though I wasn't fond of it, I’d learned to live with it; the routine and monotony was at least somewhat comforting. Gossip was a waste of intellect, but I never said so out loud. Who would care about my opinion if I did? Still, I knew Burke Gallagher's visit had the power to shake up the town. In fact, it already had.
"Hi, Dad," I said as I let myself in the kitchen door, hanging my purse and coat on the rack with robotic movements.
My father, Thomas Hawthorne, sat at the kitchen table in one of the three white chairs, flipping through the latest issue of his favorite hunting magazine. He didn't even bother to glance up as I entered, just acknowledged me with his usual greeting. "Hey, kiddo."
"Mom home?"
Mom got a ride home from work since they couldn't afford a second car. The only reason I had a vehicle was because I'd saved up my allowance through high school and added to those funds when I got my first paycheck. My car was ancient but mostly reliable. Anything was a thousand times better than getting a ride from my father.
"Not yet."
Opening the fridge, I stood looking at what I could make for dinner. I didn't really want ground beef again, but it was the only thing defrosted. Giving up, I closed the fridge and washed my hands so I could get started making spaghetti. It was the same routine every night, and every night I wondered what my parents would do without me. For two middle-age adults, they acted as though they couldn't function without help. Mom was the manager at the Thriftway but couldn't put anything edible on the table if her life depended on it. Dad was more likely to burn anything he attempted, but he was less likely to even get up and try. They were a lost cause.
My parents took me for granted, and I knew it, but what choice did I have? I didn't make enough money to move out, and the thought of living alone made me feel depressed. I had no choice but to relegate myself to taking on the meals and chores, or else they would never get done.
Mom came in at the same time I finished making dinner. “Hi, Kinsley. Ooh, spaghetti.”
I sighed.
Since ground beef was the most affordable, and Mom could mark it down on manager’s special, we ate it frequently. While I pushed the food around on my plate, Mom and Dad talked about the arrival of Burke and what it meant for the police department, apparently feeling as though they were obligated to keep an eye on him. Even the new topic of conversation wasn’t enough to keep me entertained. Mealtime was tedious, and I was bored long before I had the chance to flee.
After we'd eaten dinner and the dishes were clean, I went upstairs to my room. It was only recently that I'd begun to feel such a deep sense of restlessness. I hated doing the same thing day in and day out, nothing new ever happening to lift my mood. Go to work, come home, make dinner for my incompetent and overprotective parents, then spend the evening reading. I had friends, or maybe acquaintances was the right word, but I didn't go out. Crowds made me anxious, and my throat closed up at the mere thought of making small talk with a stranger. The life I once thought of as cozy and familiar was now suffocating me.
The rumors of Burke's arrival continued the next day. They were fewer and farther between, but I heard them regardless. Probably because my ears seemed to prick with awareness each time someone mentioned his name. Memories of Burke were not hard to pull up in my mind; he’d been the most popular boy in school, the most handsome, and the only one with infamous parents. Shaking my head, I went back to eating my sandwich in the small break room in the back office of the library.
A ding from my phone had me checking my bag. My one indulgence was to carry a smartphone, even though almost no one called or texted, but I wanted to be prepared in case of an emergency. As I pulled it out, I saw a message from Daisy.
My only good friend, Daisy Herndon, had been fortunate to go on to college in New York, but it meant I rarely saw her anymore. The text said she was in town and wanted to meet at the diner later. Deciding on the spot that I would go, I replied immediately. Anything was better than cooking for my parents. Guess it would be pizza night for them. I sent a text to Mom, knowing she would be less likely to have her phone on her in the middle of the day than Dad. He would make me feel guilty for not being there that evening, even if he didn't intend to. Unlike me, they didn't notice they'd become stagnant.
I caught the answering text from Daisy before going back to work, and it made me smile. I couldn't wait, either.
The idea of breaking up the monotony of my life cheered me immensely. The rest of the day flew by, and before I knew it, I was pulling into the lot of the Chester Diner. Spotting Daisy's red Celica in a space near the front door, I felt a sense of excitement I'd almost forgotten I was even capable of feeling. With a grin, I pushed my way in and found my friend waving to me from a table in the back.
"I went ahead and sat down because they're crowded tonight and we wouldn't have gotten a table otherwise," Daisy said as she stood to hug me. "You've lost weight."
With a self-conscious shrug, I sat across from her. "I hadn't noticed."
"You're a rail, Kins." Shaking her head, Daisy picked up a sticky, plastic-coated menu with the tips of her fingers. "Order a burger and fries, on me. And a milkshake."
My lips twisted in a wry smile. "I see going to college hasn't changed you any."
"Maybe I've changed college. Oh, the Frisco melt sounds perfect. It's been so long since I've eaten here."
As the bell over the door clanged, I looked up at some kids from our graduating class who came in, being their usual rowdy selves. I supposed they couldn't actually be called kids anymore, but they acted as if they still were. "It's all the same. I don't think they've ever changed the menu."
