Page 40 of Hyde

“I’ll make it up to you.” I seal my promise with a kiss.

I don’t remember falling asleep, but it wasn’t nearly long enough before I wake up.

Do you want to know where the worst place to get your period is?

A retreat house. In the middle of nowhere. Run by Priests.

Chapter 11

Hyde

“Here.” I walk back into Leslee’s room, holding a heating pad in one hand and some strips I cut from a sheet in the other.

She lets out a moan and it’s not the first time I’m pissed that I forgot her bottle of extra-strength ibuprofen. The generic aspirin one of the priests gave me doesn’t seem to be helping.

Taking one look at her complexion, I soak a washcloth at the small basin and lay it across her forehead before I look around for an outlet. Thankfully, there’s one near the head of her bed.

“Okay, now this thing is pretty old, so keep a sheet between your skin and the pad, baby.” I coo the words out to her as I place it over her abdomen.

“Rub my back?” she pleads with so much pain in her voice I can barely stand to tear myself away.

“I got a ride into town, so I have to leave now, Le-Lee. I’m sorry, it’s my best chance to get everything you need,” I answer her, even as I reach a hand behind her and uncertainly rub her back until I hear her groan again. “How the hell do you go through this every month?”

“It’s not always this bad. I think it’s because I lied to the priest last night,” she replies sounding so pitiful that it’s hard not to laugh.

“I don’t think that’s how this works,” I assure her as a shiver runs through her body.

“Hurry back?”

“As fast as I can in a fifteen-year-old Nissan being driven by a sixty-year-old priest.” I’m instantly rewarded by the hint of a smile on her pale, clammy face.

Once inside the town’s local pharmacy, I throw up my hands at the selection of feminine hygiene products and stalk around the store, eyeballing the clerks until I find an older woman.

She gets me situated, not only with supplies but with the best over-the-counter pain killer—all without fuss. The last thing I wanted was to deal with a teenager who would be mortified at being asked about these products.

I grab a couple of prepaid visa cards and burners before throwing down a wad of hundredsandthat does manage to fluster her at last.

“Oh, and add his purchases to my tab, please,” I add when the priest who drove me to town approaches the single check-out counter.

This seems to win her back over, which is better than her calling the cops.

*

“Hey, Ma,” I say when she picks up the call.

“Where are you? Riley’s been scared to death since Leslee reached out to Flint.” The worry in her voice is evident as she talks non-stop and I can tell she’s walking at a brisk pace. “Finn! Go find Riley and send her back to Jasper’s office.”

“We’re at a Catholic retreat house in Colorado for the moment, I put your name on the prayer list in the chapel.”

“This isn’t the time for bullshit, Joe.” Mom sighs, sounding stressed.

“I’m actually serious. I wanted to get a read on how long we should stay put,” I tell her.

While I should have made this call yesterday, I wanted to make sure that Leslee didn’t sound like death warmed over when she spoke to her family. While I’m pretty sure she disregarded the recommended dosage on the pain killers, she’s definitely feeling better.

Mom lets out a brief bark of laughter just as she knocks on a door. “Can’t wait to hear how that happened. Okay Joe, I’m in Jasper’s office. Flint and Heat are here.”

“Short version of the last couple of days: there was a drone circling Alex’s property. I wasn’t going to take the chance that it was a couple of kids goofing off. Anyway, I stopped to rent a truck, Leslee met some priests, they hooked us up with a place to stay. What’s happening on your end?”

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