Page 70 of Harper

“Eh,” I mutter. “Ews-as-ka.”

Why is it so fucking hard to say, Who’s asking?

“Is that Native you’re talking, Joe? What’s that mean?”

I don’t speak Alutiiq, you dumb fuck. But my mouth is parched. Make yourself useful: get me a beer.

“Geez,” says the voice. “Can someone call Sandra Clearwater? Tell her the sheriff’s fucked up and needs a ride home?”

Another voice I don’t recognize says, “I know her. I’ll do it.”

Good. You do that. She’ll just love that.

I close my eyes again, and the next thing I hear is my cousin’s voice.

“Joseph? Jesus H. Christ, Joseph!” She’s pissed. Why is she so fucking pissed? Calm down, Sandra. Have a drink. “Bart, help me get him up. Thank God you’re home tonight. Can you imagine me having to deal with this myself? For the love of all things holy…”

I’m hefted up by strong hands under my arms.

“Thanks for the call, Grover. Sorry about the inconvenience.”

“No worries, Sandra. Thanks for coming so quickly.”

Rain drenches my head and shoulders the second we get outside. I turn my head upward and try to catch drops in my sand-dry mouth. Sand-dry. Like Sandra. That makes me laugh.

“Stop fuckin’ laughing. We gotta get you in the car, Joseph.”

I look up, blinking my eyes in an effort to focus on my cousin and her husband. I notice Bart first.

“Bart? Hey, Bart! What’re you doin’ here? Lez’ get a’drink!”

Bart laughs, and Sandra tells him it’s not fucking funny.

“No’funny. No’funny,” I say, knocking my head against the door frame of the car as they shove me in the back seat. I look up at Sandra, who leans over me to buckle my seat belt. “I’m a dad, Sand-dry. I’s no’funny.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“Non…non…non…sense!” I exclaim.My head is very heavy and very poundy. And oh, shit. “I need to barf.”

“Don’t you dare fucking vomit in my car, Joseph—”

“Too late,” I say as puke slides down the front of my shirt and pools on my lap.

“You fucking shithead!”

“Someone’s in trouble,” I mumble.

Someone’s in trouble. Someone’s in…

Someone makes a sound so loud, like a cross between a scream and a sob, it sounds like an injured animal. It’s so loud, I swear I can almost feel it. It’s almost like it was coming from me.

…trouble.

Chapter 8

Harper

After such a devastating confrontation with Joe, I’m like a ghost the following week.

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