Page 67 of Better Hide

I am not weak.

I stalk into the kitchen, rage flowing through my blood. Ralph is at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. He glances up.

“Hey, Ralph,” my voice is harsh. Harsher than I mean it to be, but I can’t help it. My blood is on fire. I need to keep things cool to work this situation correctly, but I can’t get my body to relax.

Ralph freezes for a half second at the look on my face, then collects himself. “Oh hey, Jayden. Marian said you guys got in last night.”

I pull out the chair next to him, leaning back and putting my hands behind my head to keep them from shaking. Anger heats my skin.

“You guys have a good trip?” Ralph takes another bite, using that fake soft voice preachers do, and I hate it. There’s nothing soft about this snake.

“She tell you why we were here?” I let my eyelids drift halfway shut, but all I can see is jamming that spoon up his nose and scraping his brain out from the inside.

Jesus Jayden. Get control, or you’ll ruin this whole thing.

Ralph tries to act relaxed, but he’s stopped eating and keeps glancing at my waistband, checking for weapons. That sends a thrill through me.

So he is scared. Cute.

“Yeah,” Ralph says, “said you needed a little cash.”

A little? I flick him a look.

Ralph glances at the living room where Sam is playing his game. “I might be able to help you guys out. The Lord has been good to us.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Does the Lord approve of your porn history there, Ralphy boy?”

Ralph goes utterly still. He doesn’t even flicker an eyelash; he just stares at me with dark eyes. Then, something snaps, and he lets out a laugh. “You got me for a second, Jay.” He shakes his head, continuing to laugh.

I remain deadpan. I attempted to find his porn history last night. The entire computer was squeaky clean. Which was odd. I know he’s up to something. It’s gotta be on his phone.

“Still got the jokes, I see.” Ralph continues to laugh.

I stare at him. I’ve never joked a day in my life. Ralph is nervous and trying to play it cool.

Ralph pats his knee. “I can’t believe it’s been so many years since I’ve seen you! You must have been in high school.”

Weak. He knew me when I was weak.

I don’t respond. I want to see what his forehead would look like turned inside out. Would his skull rip cleanly from his brain, or would there be bits still attached?

I lean over, hands shaking. Instead of doing what I want to, I grab Ralph’s bowl of cereal and drag it over to me. Making eye contact with Ralph, I grab the spoon and take a bite. I can’t taste it; my mouth is moving on autopilot.

Ralph watches me.

“Hmm, soggy.” I stand. “Let’s talk about this somewhere more private, shall we?”

I don’t think I can hold back any longer.

Instead of moving, Ralph leans back in his chair. “Sorry to hear about your dad.”

Heat instantly races under my skin. I hate people calling him my dad. He was no dad to me. Smooth anger takes over, and focus slides into place. “Yeah, it’s a shame. Anything could have happened to him.” I arch a brow, looking at Ralph. He’s been watching me closely.

I know he knows. He’s not stupid. He knows the cops are after me.

Ralph shakes his head. “It’s a shame you guys have been so distant. We didn’t want to keep Sam a secret, but Cole cut Marian out, and we didn’t have the right time to tell him.”

I narrow my eyes. “We tried calling.”

---