Eisley licked her lips, and reluctantly, followed.I got back on the road again and drove aimlessly for a while, slow and steady.
“I should have remembered. Now I feel even worse.” She put her head in her hands. “His birthday. God, I’m so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid. It’s easy to forget.”
“How old would he be now?”
“Twenty-two, I think.” I pretended to not remember for sure, but I knew I was right. “He was a few months older than us.”
“That’s right.” She nodded, and her eyes took on a distant look. “I remember. They served us cake.”
Bitterness boiled in my belly. Birthdays were the only things celebrated in the Family. It was a disgusting show, and if we knew then what we knew now about why they did the parties, we wouldn’t have been so eager to participate.
“I feel so shitty for forgetting.” Eisley sighed.
“You shouldn’t. It’s called moving on.”
“Sometimes I feel like I died just as much as he did that night.”
Silence filled the car.
“Can we go to the memorial site?” she asked. “I know he’s not really in there, but—”
“It’s kind of dark. Can we go tomorrow? Why don’t we go back to your place tonight and make a cake or something for him.”
“A cake?”
I shrugged. “It’s better than mourning him. Why not celebrate?”
“Okay, I kind of like that idea.” She reached for my hand and squeezed. “I have a killer strawberry cake recipe. And I even make my own frosting.”
I made an exaggerated moan. “Even better.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I knew who was texting this late, but he’d have to wait so I could tell him everything.
And he could thank me later.
Rule 9 - Eisley
Don’t trust the police.
“First thing in the morning, we’ll go out, grab some flowers, and head over to the memorial site,” Kansas promised me as we walked hand in hand up my front porch steps and into the house.
“I like that idea.”
I slid off my shoes at the door and padded to the kitchen.Baking always made me feel better, and Kansas knew that. I turned the oven on and then began pulling out bowls, pans, and my ingredients.
“You’re fast,” he chuckled.
I grinned. “My kitchen is my safe space. I can zone out and forget my problems while I’m here. I like to shut it all off and focus on the task at hand.”
“I love that for you. I think it shows in your videos.”
“Yeah?” I perked up. “You want to go live with me?”
He blinked. “What, like, right now?”
“Why not?” I shrugged. “Or are you camera shy?”I teased.
