His hand on the front of Jem’s pants.And he could say he was reaching for the waistband, but he wasn’t, and Jem was old enough already to know he wasn’t.His fingers closing.Curling.Squeezing.
And his arm, right there, level with Jem’s mouth.
Jem got into the hall bathroom and shut the door, and he sagged against the vanity, and he kicked the door shut.The shot ran through the house.Just like last time.Only last time, Wendell had been screaming.
Deep breaths.
He ran his hand across the back of his neck.The hair there was wet with sweat.
What in the fuck am I doing?
The bathroom was different too.The balloon wallpaper had continued here, but now the walls were the same grayish paint as everywhere else in the house.The vanity was different.Jem rubbed his eyes, blinked, made those weird faces you made when you had something in your eyes.He stood up straight.
Something flickered at the window.
For a single moment, it was Wendell.He’d gone outside.He’d hammered on the window.He’d still been screaming—in the end, that was what brought the neighbors.
And then it was a blackbird.And it was gone again.
His phone buzzed.
Jem put his hands over his face.
The phone buzzed again.
He took it out of his pocket.Tean’s name showed on the screen.
After clearing his throat, Jem answered.“Hey.”
“Hey.”And then Tean said, “Everything okay?”
“Scipio and I were having a no talking contest.”For a moment, he was drowning.And then somehow he said, “How are you?”
“Fine.”
“That good, huh?”
“Well, they’re all determined to act like my grandfather was a wonderful, sensitive, caring man instead of a machista asshole.”
“First of all, swear jar.”Jem checked himself in the mirror.His eyes were a little red, and he was flushed, but that was only because it was so hot in this house.“And second, isn’t that what people do when someone dies?”
“I suppose.”And then Tean added, “It’s very annoying.”
Somehow, Jem actually laughed about that.
“Are you in the bathroom?”Tean asked.“I hear echoes.”
For half a second, Jem hesitated.And then he said, “Working on my hair.”
“So, I was reading through River’s notes.They’re a mess, and I’m not sure how useful they’re going to be.But I was thinking if she was logging her investigation chronologically, it might make sense to start with the information at the end of the document.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“She was going to talk to a teacher in Vernal.I don’t know if she actually met with her or if she was next on the list, but I thought we could start there.”
“I can’t.I’m way too busy today.Did you know they have all the old ThighMaster commercials on YouTube?”
“Why would you watch old ThighMaster commercials?”
