Page 25 of Limbo

I’m about to crawl in with him when a door creaks open.

Oh shit.It’s not my door.

My eyes dart to the baby monitor next to Connor, a bunch of incoherence flooding through the speaker. Jesus Christ, they’re in Cate’s room.

“Lock the door behind me, Con,” I say, running out.

I make a fast right turn and barrel directly into Graham, standing in Cate’s doorway. The impact knocks me flat on my ass. He never stops yelling at her, even as I lie at his feet. Upright again, I slide between him and the doorframe. I step around Lauren scream-crying on the floor in front of the crib and pick up the baby. Groggy, Cate appears more annoyed than scared—further proof of our fucked-up situation.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Graham shouts.

Lauren grabs my leg as I pass, blubbering something about her “sweet baby.”

Half of me wonders if she’s too drunk to remember Cate’s name.

“Cal?” Connor asks through the door when I knock.

“It’s me.”

The lock clicks, and I push it open. He takes Cate from my arms and returns to the fort to put her down. Experience has taught us we can get her back to sleep as long as we lay her down in the dark within a few minutes.

His head appears through an overlap in the blankets. “You leaving?”

My little brother knows me well.

I pull on a sweatshirt. “I won’t be far. Just need some air. Diapers and wipes are in the closet if you need them.” I listen to determine where in the house they’ve chosen for their next battle arena. From the echo, it sounds like the bathroom at the end of the hall. “Lock the door.”

Connor nods. “See you later.”

Another practiced smile, and I’m gone.

Vibrations next to my head wake me. I slap around until connecting with my phone on the pillow.

Connor:Home.

Lovely. It only took her until seven in the morning.

No school until after lunch,I tell him.Sleep.

Since I’m already awake, I grab my shower bag. Jess is sitting in her usual study place in front of the couch when I come out, Jordan’s sleeping head less than a foot away from hers.

“Think he’d notice if I curled up next to him?” she asks.

“Maybe not at first.”

She giggles. “Callie Henders, the girl who tamed Jordan Waters. You’ll be a legend.”

I ignore her on my way out. He isn’t domesticated. We’re merely engaged in a battle of wills, waiting for the other to surrender. And I will win.

While I take my shower, all the shit from over the weekend still clutches on for dear life. I turn the water as hot as I can tolerate. The burn on my skin affords a distraction, my mind clearing. But once my body adjusts to the temperature, it all floods back in. I slap off the faucet, cutting the stream of water.

By the time I get back to my room and dress, it’s time to call Connor’s school. The phone on the other end rings twice before the automated system picks up.

I use my Principal Poole voice—low, harsh, and perfected from two years of practice—and recite the words along with him. “Thank you for calling Norris Central Public Schools. If you know your party’s extension, please enter it at any time.”

I hit the zero followed by the nine.

A few rings later, a cheerful voice answers, “Mr. Poole’s office. This is Gloria.”

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