“I don’t know,Mom, but it’s fine.” I push her hand away when she makes a move like she’s going to touch one of the spots on my neck. Her brows are drawn down, along with her lips. I can’t seem to look at my dad. In my peripheral, I can see his face, and he looks more doubtful, maybe even pissed, yet my mom just seems concerned for me.
“Do they itch? Brad, check the mattress, maybe they have bedbugs.” Mom scratches at her arm while eyeing the bed she slept in.
“There aren’t any bugs,” he deadpans.
I try to change the subject. “How long are we staying here?”
“I don’t know.” My mom looks over at my dad, deferring to him.
He stands up. “We’re going home today. I’m going to head to the house now. I’ll call you when I’m ready for you to follow.”
Mom glances over at me. “Are you okay with that, honey?”
“It’s not like we can stay here forever,” I tell her, even though I’m not excited about the idea of going home.
Dad grabs his suitcase and hauls it toward the door while my mom follows him out into the hall. At least I get a few moments to myself.
I have my phone in my hand. I’ve been thinking about texting Kate for the past couple of hours, but I don’t know how to start the conversation or if she will even respond to me, so I decide just to call her instead.
She picks up on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, how are you?”
“Better. We’re on our way to the beach.” She actually does sound better than the last time I talked to her. I don’t want to bring up the Bigelows in case she doesn’t know.
“Oh, that’s cool. When do you think you’ll be back?”
“I don’t think we are coming back.” Her voice is soft now.
“What?” I couldn’t have heard her correctly.
“It’s just too much, especially after what happened to your neighbors and Mark.”
“Whoa, Mark? What happened to Mark?”
“They found him dead this morning, Lethe. People are saying… I don’t want to talk about it.” Her voice is firm, resolute.
I don’t push her on the topic, I can tell she’s done. I’ll look online for myself, but I do ask, “You’re really not coming back? Like, ever?”
“No, you guys should leave too. It’s not safe there. It could have been either one of us last night.”
The sound of the hotel door closing draws my attention to my mom reentering the room. I try to think of something to say to my best friend, but I have no words.
“We’re going to stop for lunch. I’ll talk to you later. Be safe, Lethe.” The line goes dead before I can form a response.
“What’s wrong?” Mom asks when I drop my hand, clutching my phone in my lap.
“Did you know about Mark?”
“Mark?” Her head pulls back. “Mark Root, the boy you dated last year?”
“I think so. Kate said he was found dead this morning.” The words come from my mouth, but they don’t feel real.
Her hand comes up slowly, and she covers her mouth, but it doesn’t do much to hide her shock. “What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. Kate wouldn’t say, and she left town. She said she’s not coming back.”
“I’m sure they’ll be back, they are just worried.” Mom’s words are not at all convincing.
