Page 85 of Between Us

She lets out a deep breath and nods, finally seeming to hear me on this.

A little while later, Tim walks out of the back with Mr. Gibson and Archie. The dog is walking, just sporting a new cone and a bandage around his paw. There’s a small chance he had to get surgery, although from how quickly they’re wrapping up, I believe that it’s not too serious.

They stop near us, and Tim looks toward the older man. Seeming to give him the choice in telling us what was wrong.

“The nail cracked down the middle,” Mr. Gibson says, “but Dr. Miller thinks we were able to avoid further damage by getting him here.”

Mikey lets out a sigh of relief; it’s exactly how we’re all feeling.

Until sweet, naive Luke perks up and tells Blake and me, “Good job! You guys savedtwopets!”

Neither of us say anything or dare to look at anyone other than the five-year-old. I can feel Dr. Miller’s glare as he tries to work out what Luke means.

Mikey picks up on the tension—probably understanding very well when a parent is pissed at their kid. “Luke,” he warns his youngest brother and shakes his head.

“What?” Luke asks innocently. “They saved Zippy and then they saved Archie.”

“Stop talking,” Mikey instructs and pinches his leg.

“Ow!Don’t pinch me.” Luke pinches his oldest brother back before hopping off his seat and moving to stand between mine and Blake’s legs. “Tell them. Your dad will be so proud of you.”

He pats Blake’s cheek, and it’s so sweet. So wholesome. She smiles at him but it’s clearly for his own sake.

“Luke, I need you to go sit with your brothers, okay?” she softly tells him, turning him toward the other two boys. Looking at me over his shoulder, he gives me a confused look.

When he gets back to his seat, Shawn leans over and whispers something in his ear. From Luke’s morphing expression, I think his brother is explaining that they’ve accidentally gotten Blake and me in trouble.

“How long until Erika or Kevin get here?” Dr. Miller asks Blake, and we both finally look up at him.

“I think in like thirty minutes.” Blake’s voice is so small I’m not sure he can hear her.

He just nods stiffly and tells us, “Stay right here and wait with the boys while I go over some things with Mr. Gibson. I want to talk to you both before either of you leave.”

“Okay,” Blake whispers.

“Yes, sir,” I tell him, sounding more confident than I feel.

He gives us a look that’s partly disappointment, but more so confusion, before walking to his office with the older man and his dog.

Chapter Forty-Three

Adrian

SittingnexttoBlakein Tim’s office, we’re all silent for a minute. I don’t want to make assumptions about what he’s thinking—I’d rather know before making a baseless apology—and I don’t want to accidentally get us into deeper shit than we’re already in.

Finally finding his words, Tim breaks the silence. “Okay, look. I have an idea of what’s going on here, but I want to give you two the chance to speak first.”

Before I can form a word, Blake cuts me off. “This isn’t Adrian’s fault. All of it was my idea.”

“Blake…” I trail off, shaking my head. She reaches over to squeeze the hand resting on my thigh but pulls away when she leans forward in her chair, addressing her dad again.

“The Paulson boys were being their typical selves and pulling pranks when I sprained my ankle.”

“I knew there was more to that story than you were telling us.” It’s the driest I’ve ever heard his tone when talking to anyone, especially his daughter.

“My ankle doesn’t have anything to do with Zippy—not really, I guess. They set up some Halloween decorations in the shed to scare me. They got me out there by saying Zippy was stuck.” Her dad doesn’t say anything as Blake gives him the short story of what happened that night. The skeleton, her falling, calling me, and Luke remembering Zippy before anyone else.

Immediately, Tim asks, “Why didn’t you call me, Blake? It could have been venomous, or he could have been allergic.”

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