“What’s wrong?” Her voice was sharp.
“Nothing, I just?—”
“Don’t make me call Kip,” she threatened. “What’s wrong?”
I sighed. “This isn’t home anymore.” My eyes burned. “It was becoming a safe place for both of us, but after this? I can’t live here, Mom. I can smell the blood. See the man’s face and the lacerations around his neck. I swear, I thought he was dead.”
Then I broke down. All of this was too much, and I knew Ishould call Kip, but I hadn’t lied. We had bills we needed to pay, and his was our only paycheck.
“Kip won’t let me work, so we don’t have a lot of money coming in. The bills are piling up, and we’re juggling one to pay another. I’m… I’m scared, Mom. Everything freaks me out now. I’m doing my best to hold it together, but the stupidest little noises have me wanting to cry out for Kip to save me.”
“Aw, Mason.” I could hear the pity. “You and Kip should come live here. We’ll make it work.”
I knew they would. They loved me with everything in them, just as I loved them. But…
“I can’t.”
Because if someone attacked, they could be hurt. Or worse.
Whoever was doing this was scaring the hell out of me. I wanted to crawl into the closet and never come out.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m grabbing my stuff and I’ll be over there in about ten minutes. You and I are going to the Applejack for lunch.”
“I can’t,” I told her. “Kip wants to go after work, and we don’t really have the money for it.”
“I’m paying. Get ready and watch out the door for me.”
It was then I realized how desperately I wanted this. I needed to get out of the house. I sent a quick text to Kip to let him know I was going out with my mom.
“Okay.” I felt like a little kid again.
“Listen to me, Mason. It’s going to be okay. Trust your mother. She knows.”
After a lunch of Cobb Salad for Mom and a spinach and tomato frittata for me, I felt so much better.
I patted my stomach. “Man, that was good.”
Mom smiled at me. “I’m glad you came out with me.”
We sat chatting, and for a few precious moments, I feltnormal, as though this was any other day, and there wasn’t someone out there who’d tried to kill me.
Twice.
We talked a while longer, mostly mundane things just to occupy my brain, then I realized it was nearly four, which meant I needed to get home before Kip got out of work. We left the parking lot and headed for our house when I remembered we needed milk.
“Mom, can you drop me off at the store? I need to get some stuff for breakfast.”
“I can go with you.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s a quick in and out and it’s only a few blocks from the house, so I’ll run.”
She frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I didn’t either, but in a fight I wasn’t sure if she would be a help or a hindrance, and I wasn’t willing to take the chance that someone would use her against me.
“Look, I’ll call Kip first.” I pulled my phone out and dialed. It went to voicemail, so I told him my plan.
“Well, okay.” Mom was obviously not convinced, but she let me out at the store, I went in, grabbed a few things, then headed outside. The faint smell of burning wood drifted on the breeze, but I couldn’t pinpoint its source. I tucked the packages under my arm and loped toward home.
