My heart sinks when my boss, Joanne, responds. Not Megs. “No, no sweetie. You’re all right. Take as long as you need. Well, no more than seven days, and then we’ll have to start docking your pay. But you can take the week no problem.”
Even though I long for my sister, Joanne’s voice is soothing. Familiar. Something to help ground my reality.
“Thanks so much,” I hear myself gush. “I’ll keep you as updated as I can.” Kit hangs up.
“What did you just do?” I ask accusingly.
He flinches at the sound of my voice. “Hello. Your brother’s been in a terrible accident, so you can’t come into work this week.”
“I don’t have a brother.”
“She doesn’t know that. Now you won’t be fired. At least not yet. There you go.” He slips my phone back in his pocket.
I cover my face with my hands. “What the hell, man?”
“That’s a weird way to say ‘Thankyou.’”
My hands fall back to my sides. “I’m notthankingyou for fucking with my life.”
“That’s rude of you. It’s fine. I don’t work for praise.” He clicks his tongue. “Though I do quite like it.”
Joanne may not know I don’t have a brother, but my coworker Matthias does. I’m not sure whether or not I’m hoping Joanne tells him why I’m gone. He’ll question it, but I don’t want him to get hurt if he gets suspicious. He won’t be able to help me.
I ask Kit hopefully, “Does this mean you’re only going to stay for a week?”
“No. I’ll be here for as long as I need to be.”
The destruction of that mere moment of hope makes my knees wobble.
“But…” I start then trail off. It seems too trivial to even bring up. The entry for the contest is due in three weeks. If he stays beyond then, I won’t be able to enter. I promised August I would enter this contest—it’s a chance to get my life on the right track.
“Lots of buts from you today.”
“Never mind,” I grumble.
“Okay. Well, I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, but you’ll be fine for a week now. It’s all I can do.”
Flatly, I say, “You could vacate my body. That’s something else you could do.”
“Not an option. Sorry.” He clears his throat. “What do you do for work?”
He’s making small talk? I should ignore him. Instead, Idecide to humor him. Playing nice could work out in my favor. “I work at a bookstore.”
“Is that why you were in a haunted house in the middle of the night? Looking for books?”
I grit my teeth. “That’s a side gig.”
“How’d you get into that? The ghost hunting, I mean.”
I don’t respond. That is none of his business. Humoring over.
“Lacy?” he questions.
I stay silent. He’s not the only one who can play this game. I’m done talking to him like we’re acquaintances getting to know each other. He’s essentially kidnapping me, just in an odd and invasive way.
He resigns. “Fine. Talk to you later, I guess.”
I lean my head against the window and glare out at the forest.
