Page 9 of Caged Bird

I grinned back, walking to my truck. “I’m holding you to that.”

Paul got in his vehicle, starting up the engine and tossing a careless wave in my direction.

I returned it and leaned across the center console to pull my phone out of the glove box where I’d left it that morning. It was empty of messages and calls. Unsurprising, since Mom was the only person who had the number. When we’d fled Saint View, I’dleft everything behind. My car. Our house. Clothes. Phones. I’d replaced everything when we were far away from that hellhole.

I called Mom, checking she was okay and she didn’t need anything. She didn’t, not that she would have told me if she did. She never wanted to burden me. But she sounded happy, and so I convinced myself she’d be okay alone for an extra hour or two.

I started up my truck and navigated my way out of the jobsite and back onto the road. The phone rang through the car’s Bluetooth system before I was a block away, and I turned the truck around without even looking at the caller ID.

She always managed when I was at work. The daylight brought her peace. But as much as she encouraged me to go out and have a life, I knew the fall of night brought out the demons in her mind. All of them shaped like her eldest son.

“It’s okay, Mom. I’m coming home.”

There was a long pause and then a deep chuckle.

My foot slammed on the brake.

The car behind me swerved to avoid a collision, and the driver leaned down hard on the horn.

But I barely heard it. I didn’t pull the truck to the side of the road, despite the Friday afternoon traffic having to divert around me. I didn’t fully register the confused and angry shouts from the other drivers as they passed me by.

All I could hear was the laughter of a monster.

“Not Mommy, little brother.”

Like I didn’t already know.

“How did you get this number?”

Eddie clucked his tongue. “Is that any way to greet your big brother after five years of avoiding him?”

I wanted to hurl the phone out the window. Pour bleach in my ears and pray that cleaned out the sound of his voice. One I’d spent years trying to forget.

“Cat got your tongue, huh, Zaney boy?”

I’d always hated when he’d called me that. “What do you want?”

“Can’t one brother just call up another brother for a Friday afternoon chat?”

“No.”

He let out an overexaggerated, disappointed sigh. “You don’t have to be so disagreeable, Zane. All I need is one small favor. You do owe me one, after all.”

I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I owe you nothing. I’m hanging up. Go to hell, Eddie.”

Eddie’s voice, that had been sweet as molasses a moment earlier, suddenly turned sharp. “You don’t want to do that, Zane. Don’t piss me off.”

I wanted to do it anyway.

But I’d learned, a very long time ago that crossing my brother never ended well. So I forced my fingers to stay where they were, strangling the steering wheel I wished was Eddie’s neck.

“I need you to come pick me up. I’m in the hospital.”

“Dying, I hope.” Though I already knew the universe wouldn’t be that kind.

“I’ll forgive you for saying that when you’re here to take me home.”

“Guess I won’t ever be forgiven then.” I bit my tongue, knowing I was goading him, and it wasn’t smart, but I couldn’t help it. Every word spilled from my lips like lava exploding from a volcano. I couldn’t stop it if I’d tried.

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