I help him stand. His face is flushed and eyes red from crying.
“They shot me,” he says.
He wasn’t shot. He’s fine. But Tommy must’ve seen a gun.
He mimics a pistol shape with his hands and prowls like a robber.
“How many people?” I ask.
“Ten.”
“Show me on your hands.”
He holds up two fingers.
“They left. They saw me and left,” he adds.
“Okay. Good.”
I get to Noel’s room, but he isn’t here. It’s a disaster zone. His gaming console is gone, desk torn open. The thieves probably saw Tommy and left him be, but kept looting the house—
Fuck, my bedroom.
I rush to it.
Noel isn’t here, either, and as I feared, everything is scavenged through.
I call him.
“Noel, you okay? Where the fuck are you?” I snap when he answers.
“Uh. Walking. I got a drink at the gas station.”
“The gas station,” I hiss. “The house was robbed. You been gone a hell of a lot longer than a walk to the gas station.”
He gasps. “We wererobbed? Tommy—”
“Tommy is fine. You weren’t supposed to leave him, Noel.”
“Okay, I was with Liam. Damn, it was like an hour or two and Tommy was sleeping.”
I scoff in disgust. “You can’t just leave him alone that long.”
“I amnothis fucking dad!” he yells into the phone, then ends the call.
I stare at my screen for a minute, debating my next move.
Forgot the closet.
I trudge over there, not wanting the night to get any worse, but knowing it will.
The safe in the wall is broken open. It’s empty.
Everything is gone.
My gun, my parents jewelry, heirlooms, and the cash. Every penny I saved for the last five years.
It’s all gone.
