Sebastian laughed, softly for once.
I began to unbutton his jeans, to slide them down, to press him against the rippled leather spines of books, to kiss his stomach. To forget everything that had brought us here.
Push it under your feet.
We’re just meat.
Sebastian tried to say something, but his voice was gone, missing in the echoes of the empty library, lost to the silence around us. We became unmoored, adrift on the slow tide of touch.
When I looked up, the shore was gone.
Later, still in the darkened stacks, I glanced at my phone.
A text from Faraday, twenty minutes old.
There’s a man outside my house.
Then nothing more.
I sat up, buttoning my shirt. On the gray industrial carpet beside me, Sebastian grumbled.
When Faraday didn’t answer, I called Salinger.
“It’s Jessica. Is she there?”
“I knew it—this is because ofyou, isn’t it!”
“Put her on,” I said.
“She won’t let me take her to Campus Health. Her finger won’t stop bleeding. They stole her phone!”
“Put. Her. On.”
The line went quiet for a long moment, but at last Faraday’s sobbing was in my ear. “Jessica.”
“Who was it?”
“The man who picked us up, at the funeral.”
“Orrin. What did he do?”
“My fingernail. It hurts so much!”
“Wash it, put some Vaseline on it, and cover it up. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” I started to put on my pants one-handed.
“Jessica, why did they do this?”
Fucking Xavier. Once Crystal’s case was closed, my family had moved up Faraday’s punishment—without telling me.
“Because of what you did to Oscar Junior,” I said. “For taking matters into your own hands. But you’re paid up now.”
“No, I don’t think I am.” Her voice broke again. “I think we’re in trouble, dear.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I saw Uncle Orrin out there, I went to talk to him. When he grabbed me, I yelled, ‘It was an accident! I only meant to push her down the stairs!’ ”
My whole body flinched. Sebastian was sitting up now, staring at me.
