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“So, what did the girls say?” I asked Eve as we settled in.
“They said he’s so dreamy,” she mocked and sighed. “Seriously, it was crushes all around. Apparently, his bad-boy vibe isn’t new. He’s always been a bit of a rebel, but the kind girls want to climb like a pole. That being said, he’s elusive. No exes at school, which is odd. Maybe he likes older women?”
“I don’t care who he likes. What’s his reputation from, though? Did anyone say?”
“Not really. They said he gets into fights, and maybe deals a little drugs or something. I mean, nothing that makes him the anti-Christ, you know. Maybe you’re overthinking all of this.”
“Maybe. Still, I want to check out this Uncle Jack, the one who fostered him. If anyone knows anything, it’ll be him.”
“Right, this is the foster dad he ran away from in the middle of the night and had bruises all over from? Just checking we’re really thinking this through carefully, you know,” Eve muttered as we finally reached the trailer park.
I’d told her about the bruises but not the odd scarring, and certainly not everything that had happened since.
“Yes, that’s the one, but we’re just here to talk, and it’s still daytime. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the talking part.”
“The talking part isn’t what I’m worried about.” Eve wrinkled her nose as she took in the dilapidated trailers all around us.
This place had the same air of neglect and general apathy as the rest of Midnight Falls, but on a much larger scale. Broken kids’ toys lay in the grass, and a couple of trailers had people sitting out front in loungers, drinking and smoking (and by the smell, they weren't smoking cigarettes). Eyes followed us as we walked through the rows of homes. It felt like we had a huge flashing neon sign over our heads screaming that we didn’t belong here.
“Hey, girlies. Need help?” a booming voice called to us. A large lady sat on a sagging porch. She waved her arm at us, and we drifted over to her.
“Good afternoon, we’re looking for an Uncle Jack,” I said.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “And why are you looking for him? He don’t do business from the park. Everyone knows that.”
“It’s not for business, it’s about his foster son, Cayden.”
She shuddered and crossed herself. Eve and I exchanged glances at that.
“That boy left here and put his uncle in hospital that night, after everything that Jack’s done for him. Good riddance, I say.” She turned and spat, and the sight turned my stomach.
“Okay, good to know. Do you happen to know which trailer Jack is? We’d love to stop by and give him our best wishes for recovery,” Eve said, pasting on the smile and sweet voice she used for customers at the diner.
The lady jerked her head to the left. “Last one of the row, triple-wide, you can’t miss it.”
“Thanks!”
I tugged Eve’s arm, and we both moved off at record speed.
“Wow, she was lovely,” I whispered.
“Wasn’t she? What a fun day trip you planned for us!” Eve giggled.
Despite Eve’s lighthearted demeanor, the lady’s words rang in my head. Cayden had put his foster father in the hospital? And why did she cross herself? Cayden wasn’t Damien all grown up, was he?
We got to the last trailer, and sure enough, it was wider than the others. It was just as run-down as the rest, however, and the peeling paint and broken-down lawn furniture outside made my heart ache a little.This was where Cayden had grown up?
Eve marched to the door and knocked as I stared at a broken dream catcher wedged in the dirty front window. The threads were torn, and the feathers plucked bare. Who had hung it there? Had it been Cayden? A little boy trying to stop nightmares?
“Who are you?” The trailer door pushed open roughly, and a man stood there, presumably Cayden’s foster father. He wore a stained white shirt with a brace on his arm. Was that what had sent him to hospital? Had Cayden done it?
Eve gave him her patented winning smile. "Good afternoon, sir. We're here from Hade Harbor High and-".
"You here about the boy?" Jack cut her off and leered at her, his thin lips parting as he scanned her up and down. "In trouble already, is he?" He chuckled lowly, and the sound was distasteful somehow, like he was enjoying himself. “Come on in, ladies. Let Uncle Jack pour you a drink and tell you all about who you’ve let into your clean, safe little town.”
Inside the trailer was exactly like the outside had promised it would be. Dimly lit, with drawn curtains for the most part. Dust motes floated above us, and a stale smell hung in the air. Cigarettes and old sweat. Jack pointed to a faded bench seat before a small table and went to the fridge.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Eve said quickly as he pulled out a can of beer.
