Page 34 of Conner's Luna

"I don't know," I whisper. I sneak into the bedrooms, unnerved at the dark shadowy rooms. Even the bathroom with its tiny window gets checked. "I think that's all the windows."

"Good girl. Sir Cumference, because he ate too muchpi."

"That was twopijokes in a row," I point out. "Will my dad be safe coming home?" I ask Conner tearfully.

"Yes," he responds forcefully. "What do you get when you add sixty-nine and sixty-nine?"

"One-hundred and thirty-eight."

"Dinner for four."

It surprises a laugh out of me. "That's gross."

"Mmhm. How do you teach a blond math?"

"Conner," I warn him as I walk into the kitchen to make my tea. I wrap myself up in Dad's old, ratty robe and tuck it tightly around me. It smells like Old Spice and bacon.

"You subtract her clothes, divide her legs, and square root her."

I snort. "You're mean."

"Did you just call me average? I thought I was special," he laments teasingly.

"You are," I croon. "It only takes one person like you to make a statistically insignificant difference."

He laughs so hard I can hear him jostling the phone. "Alright, babe. You feel better?"

"I do," I tell him. I grab my tea and my backpack. I have to check and see if the MacBook is broken after being dropped. I don't even remember picking it up, so Conner must have. He's so self-assured, but there's also something so... disjointed... about him. He's a puzzle piece that just doesn't seem to fit properly.

"Get some rest. I'll talk to you soon, Bails."

"Bye Conner," I say a little sadly. I hang up and look around the house. The house isn't ours. Dad is still trying to get us back on our feet and this rented house feels like a loaner. It's nothing like the beautiful house that Mom and Dad had purchased and fixed up themselves. There is something bland and dry about this place and we won't change it too much because we don't plan on staying here forever.

I still feel warm and cozy, however, because of the small 5x7 photo of Mom sitting on the mantel. The fireplace is blocked off, typical of rentals, but the mantel is pretty. It's not home, but how can it be when it's missing someone so vital to our family? This is why I came to C State. I won't leave Dad in this soulless house alone.

The house settles into darkness as the sun sets completely. Dad won't be home for another hour or so. I pick up Mom's photo and I carry it outside to the screened-in porch. In the distance, I can see the lights of campus twinkling. They never dim, even when the neighborhood falls asleep.

I double-check the lock on the glass slider and settle onto the couch. I doubt a wolf, even a rabid one, could come through the glass, and Conner's off-color jokes settled my nerves enough that I can enjoy the peace and quiet.

"I have to tell you about this boy, Mom," I whisper. "He's funny, and smart even though I think he pretends he's not. He's really handsome, too, but I don't think he really likes me that way. There's something between him and this other girl. Maybe they were dating once and she broke his heart? Oh, and the boy she's dating now is really gorgeous and I had this crush on him. Then... well... he turned out to be a massive a-hole. Too bad, for someone so amazing-looking, that he has the personality of a turnip."

I take a breath of steaming tea and let it soak in. "He's been nice to me, Conner I mean, not Trey the a-hole. I just... there's something I'm missing here." My voice drops to the merest hint of a whisper. "His eyes changed, mom, and Lydia, that's the girl, by the way, I think she tore my backpack with her nails as if they were knives." My fingers poke the shredded hole in the side of my bag. The hole is jagged and in the middle of the fabric, not at the seams. How did she do that without tearing off her nails at the bed, or at least hurting herself?

I look into the woods, thinking about Conner walking through a footpath in the dark. He had his cell phone, but he didn't take a flashlight like he told me he would. At least I didn't see it in his hands when I looked back at him from the stop sign.

"Maybe I'm being ridiculous, but it's so illogical. Even the bullying, what sense does it make? Jerks like to be jerks, I get that, but there's something, Mom, something I'm missing."

I take a deeper swallow of my tea and let it settle my nerves. "I like Conner and sometimes he seems interested in me, then other times he's very dismissive."

I'm quiet for a moment, soaking in the sounds of night settling in all around me. It's a mix of nature and civilization. A door slams from a few houses down. I can hear the occasional conversation even if I can't make out individual words. An owl starts to hoot in the woods. I see the faint flutter of wings as the bats start to search for their breakfast.

"I wish you were here, Mom. Something's going to happen soon. Remember Mimi used to insist her little hairs stood up as if she were electrified when something big was about to happen? That's how I feel all the time around here. My entire body is electrified. It's far away, yet so close-"

"Bailey, I'm home! Why were all the doors locked?"

I carefully set Mom's picture back down and paste on a smile to greet Dad.

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