AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nola was on her knees and bent over, as if praying. But that didn’t make sense. Nola didn’t believe in God. She once tried to explain to Eve why the existence of a higher being was irrational. Eve refused to listen. Though the Knoxes weren’t churchgoers, Eve didn’t feel right entertaining the idea there was no God. It made her feel small and lonely and like she didn’t matter, that she wasn’t important.
Eve was just about to call out to Nola. To shout at her for being so bullheaded and selfish and inconsiderate when Nola suddenly sat back on her heels. Lying in front of her on the dead grass was an animal. Eve wasn’t sure what kind but from its paws, her first thought was a dog. It was still, not moving, just lying there.
“Jesus,” Shaun breathed. “What’s she doing?” Eve pulled her eyes away from the animal and turned her attention to Nola. In her hand something shimmered in the sun. “Is that a knife?” Shaun whispered in disbelief. Eve squinted to see better. It was a knife. The Swiss Army knife that Nola had started carrying in her pocket. Why was Nola out here in the middle of nowhere with a knife? Eve stepped forward but Shaun reached out and snatched her back.
Nola shifted her weight again revealing the animal, and yes, Eve clearly saw that it was a dog. Brown and white with bushy, wiry fur, of indeterminate breed. “Nola,” Eve cried, her voice swept away by the sharp wind that whistled through the trees.
Nola held the knife like a surgeon, index finger atop the blade, and slid the sharp edge down the dog’s soft belly. A surge of bile rose in Eve’s throat and she felt the ground tilt beneath her. “Nola,” she shouted, stepping out from behind the trees and into the open. “Stop it!” Eve sobbed. “Stop it!”
Nola’s head snapped up and she quickly hid the substitute scalpel behind her back like a toddler caught hiding a stolen cookie. The dog was laid open, a grotesque tableau. Tendrils of steam rose from the open wound.
Eve turned and ran back to the truck, stumbling over frosty ridges in the ground and into the cover of the trees, her head swimming with the horror of what she just saw. She wrenched open the truck door and scrambled inside. Nola was crazy, Eve thought. That’s all there was to it. Her sister was crazy.
Where was Shaun? She had left him behind. Had Nola turned the knife on him? No, Eve shook her head at the thought. Nola would never hurt someone, at least without being provoked first. But that dog. That poor dog.
Finally, through the windshield, Shaun came into view. He jogged lightly toward the truck and climbed in next to Eve. He inserted the key into the ignition and the engine turned over with a roar. “You okay?” he asked.
“Let’s go,” Eve said biting back tears.
“That was crazy.” Shaun shook his head from side to side.
“Please just drive,” Eve whispered.
“She took off,” Shaun said. “Toward Ransom Road.”
“Just drive,” Eve snapped.
Shaun put the truck into gear.
Eve was immediately contrite. It was crazy. The entire situation was insane. Her sister was insane. Shaun was in shock, just like she was and trying to make sense of what he had seen.
Shaun drove them up the service road and onto the highway that would lead them back to town. Eve wanted to apologize but the words wouldn’t form so instead she looked out the window and tried to erase the memory of the dog and its innards and Nola holding the knife. Her stomach churned and flipped with each bounce on the uneven road. Throwing up in Shaun O’Keefe’s truck would only make this day even more unbearable.
“Do you want me to drop you off at your house?” Shaun asked cautiously as they entered the town limits.
“Can you just drop me back off at school?” she asked. It was as good a place as any.
“You sure? School’s pretty much done for the day,” Shaun said. “I can take you home if you want.”
Eve didn’t know where she wanted to go but she was sure she wasn’t ready to go home just yet. “Yeah,” she said and turned back toward the window. “I have to grab something from my locker.” They drove in silence the rest of the way and when Shaun turned into the school parking lot, Eve said flatly, “You can drop me off here.”
Shaun pulled into an empty parking space and Eve reached for the door handle as if ready to make a quick getaway but then stopped. “Please don’t tell anyone,” Eve murmured, looking down at her hands. “I know it looks bad. I know there’s something wrong with her, but please don’t tell anyone. Please. I’ll take care of it.”
A tear slid down Eve’s face and plopped into her hand. Using one finger, Shaun wiped the moisture from her palm. Eve wanted to grab his hand, hold it tight. She wanted to bury her face in his neck and sob but it would do no good and she’d just end up being embarrassed.
“Please,” she said again.
“I won’t say anything, I promise,” Shaun said, his hand still on hers. “She didn’t even see me. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine,” Eve said extracting her hand and swiping at her tears. “Have a good Christmas.”
Shaun looked as if he wanted to say more but settled on, “You too,” as Eve pushed open the truck door and stepped out. Head down, she started to walk toward the school but veered away once he pulled out of sight.
Eve didn’t really need to get anything from her locker, she just needed to get out of the confines of Shaun’s truck. She needed to try to clear from her head the image of Nola looming over that dog with a knife. Besides, if she ran into Ms. Reiss she would ask if Eve found Nola and she’d have to lie and say no. It was better to just wander around and pretend to be searching for her sister.
As Eve stepped off the curb to cross Sherman Street she caught sight of Nick and two friends leaning against his BMW. Their horselike laughs slammed into her. What if they saw her get out of Shaun’s truck?
A crackle of dread went through her. Nick hated to be embarrassed, one-upped. He would find a way not only to get back at Eve but Shaun too. She’d have to warn him.
She hurried down the block, deciding her best bet was to stay on busier streets, the ones with more foot traffic.
There goes another friendship, Eve thought, looking over her shoulder to see if Nick was trailing her. After today, there was no way Shaun would want anything to do with her.
First, he encountered her crazy sister and if Nick saw them together, Shaun was sure to face the wrath of Nick. Eve was sure they both would.
