Page 71 of Script Swap
It was a lot.
I sat there, shivering and slowly soaking the pile of cut-up old T-shirts that I was, it turned out, sitting on.Fox climbed in next to me, rolled the door shut, and sat on an enormous roll of fabric.(Is it called a bale?It wasenormous.).Heat chugged from the vents, and Fox passed me an old flannel shirt, which actually worked great as a towel.I mopped myself up as best I could, and then I sat there, twisting the flannel in my hands and trying to find somewhere to look.
Fox did absolutely nothing.
Finally I said, “How’s your dad?”
“He’ll live,” Fox said.“Or so they say.He’s been awake a couple of times, if you can even call it that.He doesn’t know where he is.Doesn’t know what’s happening.”Fox’s mouth twitched in what was most definitely not a smile.“He keeps asking for Tinny.”
“Oh, Fox.I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.He built this house of cards; he’ll survive when it all comes tumbling down.”Something must have shown on my face, though, because Fox said, “Too harsh?”
“I don’t know.”But then I said, “He’s your father.”
“Yes, he is.”That seemed to close the matter because then Fox said, “I saw Nora on the news.”
Idefinitelymade a face that time.
With a laugh, Fox said, “She’s giving interviews to anyone who will talk to her—which, at this point, is pretty much everyone.”Framing the words with their hands, they pretended to read off a headline.“‘Local actor plays detective—in real life and on the stage.’To hear Nora tell it, she’s the next Vivienne Carver.Or the next Matron of Murder.I’m sure she’s already locking down deals wherever she can.”
“God, Pippi must be dying with envy,” I said.
“She tried to walk in on one of the interviews,” Fox said with a smirk.“Live TV.Security had to remove her.”
“If there is any justice in the universe, I’m going to find that clip on YouTube and use it for the background on my phone.”I considered my next words, tried to think of a safe way to say what I wanted to say.“Nora did it.She killed Kyson.”
“That’s certainly what Jonni would like everyone to believe.”
“No, she did.I mean, I can’t prove it—apparently I’m as terrible an amateur sleuth as I am a writer—but she did.I’m going to tell the sheriff.Maybe she’ll be able to find a way to catch her.”
“Ah,” Fox said.“The self-pity route.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re done avoiding your problems, and now you’re going to feel sorry for yourself.”
“I’m not feeling sorry for myself.”
“I’m a terrible writer.My books are no good.I’ll never be published.”Fox arched an eyebrow.“Sound familiar?”
“You know what?I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
“Lord, there’s a surprise.You want to talk about everything in the known universe until it makes you uncomfortable.”
A faint vibration from the engine made its way through the floor.“Yep.I guess you’re right.”
“Oh, I’m most definitely right.I’ve seen it before.Although I’ll admit, Dash, that I didn’t expect you to take the coward’s way out.”
“I’m not—” I drew a deep breath.“I know you don’t understand.Bobby doesn’t understand.But believe it or not, this is a sign of maturity.I’m accepting my limitations—”
Fox blew a raspberry.
I stopped.Regrouped.“I’m recognizing that it’s time to consider something new—”
Another, louder raspberry.
“I’m making the grown-up—”
