Page 47 of All the way home

“That’d be fun to explore,” Kieran remarks.

“It’s blocked off.”

“Well, I can see that.” Kieran grins over at him. “An invitation as good as any I can think of, no?”

No, Zach wants to say. Morbid curiosity over the way Kieran’s brain works wars with every instinct he’s had to mind his business and follow the rules.

Fortunately, somebody else seems just as suspicious of Kieran’s intentions, so Zach doesn’t have to be the one to spoil his fun. A security guard with a stony expression walks in front of the sheet of plastic, hand on his belt.

Kieran purses his lips. “Fine.”

Chapter Fifteen

Rena

“What about Kieran?” Keeping her voice as steady as possible, Rena wrestles down every instinct she has to stand up and walk away again to field the call.

Mum sighs. “He’s not answering me.”

The gate is so loud, Rena has to cover her ear with one hand. “Pardon?”

“He’s not answering. Would you just put him on?”

“He’s not here,” Rena tells her, grateful that it’s the truth.

“Well, where’s he gone?”

“He met someone.” Rena catches Lucas’s eye.

“What?” There’s a huffing sound, like a second sigh, exasperation leaking through. “At the airport?”

“You know Kieran. Nothing is impossible.”

“And you just let him wander off?”

At that, Rena bristles. “I didn’t let him do anything.”

The silence that hangs in the three and a half thousand kilometers between them is nearly unbearable.

At last, with a crackly sigh, Mum clears her throat. “It feels like he’s avoiding me.”

Mum would never outright ask, which means Rena doesn’t have to give her opinion, which is that avoiding is a polite word for what Kieran’s been doing for the last five months.

“He never responds to my messages. I haven’t had a phone call from him since Thanksgiving, and I just—I worry about him.”

“You do know we’re flying home tonight, right?” Rena has to laugh.

“Well, I’m watching CTV, and that storm is awful. Your flight’s delayed, you know.”

“I know.” Rena tries to catch Lucas’s eye again, but he’s snatched Little Fires Everywhere from her lap and is steadfastly absorbed in the first chapter. “I’m monitoring.”

“I won’t have you spending Christmas in Calgary,” Mum says, almost a warning. The rest of it is unspoken: I’m calling because I’m worried you’re not coming.

A few aisles over, a child shrieks, high-pitched and earsplitting.

“We won’t.” Exasperated, Rena clamps her hand tighter against the side of her head.

Mum says something that gets lost under a second shriek.