Page 126 of Afflicted

“Tell me about your brother,” he says as we take the turn back into the highway.

“Kaden?” I sigh heavily. “Um, well, he was tall, and uh, he was on the wrestling team in high school. He was real strong, and he ate like crazy. Mom used to joke about needing a second mortgage just to feed him.”

Silas laughs, his hand flexing around the steering wheel as he reaches over with the other to curl his fingers around mine. “Did he want to become a professional wrestler?”

“No, he wanted to be a cop, like my dad, but my dad tried to talk him out of it.”

Silas’s gaze flickers over to me. “Oh?”

“My dad hated being a cop. He said he became one to do good, and all he saw was corruption.”

“Why didn’t he get out of it?”

I shrug. “I guess… I think he was worried about not being able to support us, and he wanted us to be secure and out of the house before he and mom…” I trail off.

“Sorry, we don’t have to talk about this.”

“It’s alright, I guess sometimes it still hits me that back then we thought we had so much time. All that life ahead of us, and now…” I gaze out the window. The clouds are becoming thicker, and lightning flashes in the distance. “Now, I don’t even know what a future would look like.”

“What did you get out of your locker?”

I fidget with a loose thread on my pants. “I have a locket, with a picture of me and Kaden in it. My mom gave it to me when I left home to go to college, because she knew I’d miss him. She’d worn it since we were kids. It’s the only thing I had with me when they rounded us up. I wasn’t allowed to keep the chain, but I have that at least.” I gaze over at him. “And you? What did you take with you?”

“A cassette tape and a polaroid picture.” His mouth quirks. “Do you even know what a cassette tape is?”

“Haha,” I drawl sarcastically. “Yes I do. What’s on it?”

Silas takes a heavy breath. “It’s the recording of the top 40 countdown, on the radio. But in the background you can hear my… my friend and I, laughing. It’s the last recording I have of her.”

“Is she the girl in the picture?”

He nods, hands flexing around the steering wheel. “Yeah.”

“What happened to her?” I feel like I’m prying, like he doesn’t want to talk about this, but he huffs out a breath, leaning his head back as his eyes stay tilted towards the road.

“She killed herself, after… After some boys at school assaulted her.”

My stomach drops, and I feel cold all over. “Oh jesus, I’m so sorry.”

His hand shoots over to grab mine. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t have told you.”

“No, no it’s fine, I mean, I wanted to know. I’m sorry. I just… That’s so sad.” I realize now just what my attempt would have set off, what painful memories Silas would have had to face. “I’m sorry if I brought that all back.”

He looks over at me with a heavy frown. “What? No. That’s not - Juliet, I was distraught because of what happened toyou. Of course it brought back bad memories, but that’s not what you should be worried about. I was able to help you, and save you. I…” He trails off, looking back at the road with slumped shoulders. “I mean, I hope I helped you.”

“You did. Really, you did.” I squeeze his hand, desperate for a change of subject. “I still remember the first time I saw you, in the cafeteria. I remember thinking you’d be attractive if you were alive.”

Silas’s shoulders lift as he chuckles. “Is that right?”

“In my defense, you did stare at me in a pretty creepy way.”

“Yeah, I did that a lot those first few months.” His mouth lifts into a grin. “Even while you were asleep.”

I gasp and swat at his arm. “You pervert!”

He snaps up my wrist and hauls me into him, wrapping one arm around me as he continues to drive. “Don’t even pretend that doesn’t get you all hot and bothered.” He chuckles as I glare up at him. “You need to accept you’re a little freak.”

“I guess I just needed you to help discover that.”

---