Page 39 of Gifts

Me – I’m not. I like your mouth, but we need to switch over to an encrypted app for any more talk about your mouth.

I get nothing. Then I see she’s writing. Then nothing.

Finally, she hits me back.

Keelie – I don’t know anything about encrypted apps.

I grin at my phone.

Me –I’ll teach you.

Moments pass.

Keelie – Asa.

I imagine my name, a whisper across her pink lips.

Me – We’ll talk about that later. See you tonight.

Keelie – Yes. Tonight.

I toss my phone in the console and pull out from between the shitty warehouses to stop by Whitetail and get her some wine. The first thing I’m going to do when I get to her house tonight right after I find a closet to put her in so I can kiss her without her kids seeing, is download an app on her phone where we can talk.

Really talk.

*****

Emma

I’m so tired. I thought I was tired before, but after all the school drama yesterday and dad on my ass asking me every little thing, I didn’t sleep at all last night. The rumor today is that Maggie is suspended and Terry Mosher might be expelled.

The last bell rings and I blink, looking up at the Smart Board. Shit, I glance down at my paper and wonder how long I’ve been zoning. I missed most of the notes again, but I manage to quickly scribble down the assignment.

I throw my stuff in my bag, relieved the day is over. Levi has practice, so I’m stuck waiting for Dad to pick me up. Not that he’s ever late, he’s always on time. But his constant questions make my head spin—I’m sure it’ll be off the charts after yesterday.

I thought living with him would be cool. He’s always been chill and low-key, but there’s nothing laid-back about him now. I’m not looking forward to time alone with him in the car. And worse, he informed Levi and me this morning that we’re going over to Ms. Lockhart’s for dinner.

She’s nice and pretty, so I guess I should be happy for my dad. As far as I know, he’s always been alone. This still doesn’t make me want to go to her house for dinner. I’m dreading it like finals week.

“You okay, Emma?” I look up and realize everyone’s left the class but me, and Mrs. Trudeau is looking at me from the front of the room.

“Yeah, sorry,” I mutter and grab my bag to leave. Just when I wasn’t in a hurry, now I am because I have no desire to talk with anyone, let alone my teachers. They all look at me different lately, and I know it’s my grades. I used to be a straight-A student, but trying to focus now is a monumental task that’s become impossible.

I walk down the hall and there are some stragglers, but it’s mostly cleared out for the day. When I get to my locker, I flip the combination so I can get what I need for the night—not that I have the energy to study. I don’t have the energy for anything lately.

When I reach for my books, there’s a stray piece of paper laying on top. I pick it up, wondering if it might have fallen from a folder, but that’s impossible since I carry everything with me.

When I unfold it, my heart races and I’m frozen in my spot. Standing here, staring at the piece of white paper, there are three sentences typed in plain, boring Times New Roman:

IN CASE YOU WERE GETTING ANY BRIGHT IDEAS, YESTERDAY PROVES WE CAN FUCK WITH YOUR FAMILY. NEXT TIME WE’LL FINISH WHAT WE START. WE’RE WATCHING YOU.

Oh, shit.

*****

Keelie

If I wasn’t so busy I might be nervous, but after hitting the store and tackling the kids’ homework, there hasn’t been time for my nerves to explode into fireworks. We didn’t even get to Saylor’s reading time, she kept putting it off and I’ve had enough to do. She hates sitting long enough to read for just fifteen minutes and we’re in the last quarter of the year. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.

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