Page 148 of Please Hate Me

I let out a slightly-too-loud groan, patting the ground in search of my thin wire frames. When that effort proved futile, I finally pulled out my phone and switched on the flashlight once more.The two missed calls from Lucian taunted me, sending a bolt of annoyance into my gut.

Even with my eyes squinted, the world was barely a soft blur. I tried to crawl on my hands and knees, but something stuck to my palm and slipped under my shins. Whatever it was, it felt papery but glossy.

The church creaked above me, and my heart lurched.

The building is old. It’s just the foundation settling.

Despite my attempt to reassure myself, it was impossible to deny the eerie feeling that shrouded this area. I had been ingraveyardsthat felt less haunted than this basement.

Eventually, my fingers found something cool and metal, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I sat on my feet as I slipped my glasses on, sliding them up my nose with one finger. As the world came into view, I found myself stranded in a sea of black-and-white photography. Although most of the pictures seemed useless at first glance, I would wager money that one of them had everything I needed.

Jackpot.

The creaking came again, and I realized I might not have been as alone as I thought. I swiftly grabbed as many photos as I could, hurriedly shoving them in the pockets of my jeans and hoodie. Once I had all I could handle, I sped back into the main area and prepared to climb out the window as quickly as possible.

After fleeing from the church, I grabbed a coffee from that cafe my brother liked before parking under a tree in the back of their gravel lot. Before I could go home, I needed to go over the photographs I stole.

Plus, Mason texted me and let me know she felt like she was going to die if she didn’t get blue raspberry Pop Rocks. She then amended that message to say that sheactuallywanted blue raspberry suckers. And once more, to request a blue raspberry slushie. Usually, this ever-shifting request would seem vastly unreasonable, but I was just glad she asked me instead of the house felon. Consequently, after I finished rooting through these photos, I’d have to go on a blue raspberry scavenger hunt.

Ice rattled along the sides of my clear plastic coffee cup as I stabbed a straw into it and brought it to my lips. I downed about half the cup with long gulps, enjoying the taste of good black coffee. Then I deposited the remainder of my drink in my cup holder before grabbing fistfuls of Polaroids from my pockets. I shuffled them into a solid stack and started to leaf through them. At first, there was nothing of note, and then my fucking phone rangagain.

I answered it with a huff. “Some of us have jobs, Lucky.”

“I’m at my own job right now, asshole. Do you think Iwantto waste my time calling you?”

“I’m not the one who has a track record of needing help.”

He was the one who always needed me.Sebastian, can you watch the kids for five minutes? Sebastian, my brakes are out, can I have a ride to work?

“Sebastian, it’s about Mason.” An unusual crack in his voice caused my stomach to somersault.

“Is the baby okay?”

Mason was almost thirty weeks, so if she went into labor now, our daughter would be fine. Modern medicine would take care of my girls. Still, I would prefer to have a bit more time. We just weren’t ready for Lavender yet; no car seat, no crib, just a few outfits and diapers.

“What? Yeah, I mean, as far as I know.” Lucian’s voice tore me from my thoughts, but that was okay. At least the baby was fine...

But then, why was he wasting my time?

“What’s going on, then? I don’t have all day.”

I pinned the device between my ear and shoulder as I started sorting through the photos, tossing the ones I didn’t need to the passenger-side floor.

“So, you know Mason loves her dad… right?”

Unfortunately.

“Most children tend to glorify their parents.”

A nervous inhale filled the line.

“How do you think she’d react to him dying?”

My whole body went stiff, causing the remaining photos to fall to the floor. Mason was absolutely wonderful. She was intelligent and kind, but Mason and big feelings mixed like oil and water. She had a panic attack over her first positive pregnancy test, and that wasgoodnews.

“Let’s just say… It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about that for a while, right?” I laughed nervously.

But Lucian’s silence articulated more than he ever could with words.

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